Are you drinking real juice or fake juice?

Growing up it was common for people to have a glass of juice with breakfast.  If you eat the hotel breakfast, they usually offer a selection of juices.  Today, many people eat a grab-and-go breakfast and never think about drinking some real juice.  Or, they buy what they think is “real juice” and have a glass of what really isn’t juice.  In fact, some “juice” people drink has no juice in it at all. 

Are you drinking real or fake juice?  A student in my class told me they bought SunnyD for their family to drink as their “juice’.  When I said Sunny D isn’t real, 100% juice, the student commented, “But it is cheaper than juice”.  Yes, it is cheaper because so little of it is real juice.  It is mostly sugar water.

Consumer Reports has a good article, Decoding Fruit Juice Labels .   And one really has to look at the label to find out if it is real juice, some juice or no juice.  As the CR nutritionist notes, “Juice labels can be very misleading.”

What is NOT Juice:

• Juice Drink
• Juice Cocktail
• Fruit Drink
• Fruit Punch

If you see the above terms anywhere on the label, what you are buying is not 100% juice.  Often, the product is water, lots of added sugar, artificial flavors, food dyes and usually only a small amount of real juice. 

Some “juice drinks” contain little juice and some contain up to 50% real juice.  Look at the label, especially the ingredients, to see if juice is listed first in the ingredient list.  Also, look at the ingredients to see if sugar has been added.  The nutrition facts label is also a good place to look for “Added Sugars”.  Real, 100% juice, has NO added sugar.  Lemonade is a refreshing drink but lemonade is not real juice.  Fruit Punch may look like real juice on the package but may actually contain only 5% real juice.

Contains only 5% real juice and 88 added sugar calories. 

Is juice from concentrate real juice?

Yes.  Nothing wrong with buying juice that has been reconstituted.  Basically, the manufacturer took real juice, took out the water to make it concentrated and then added the water back.  Or, they took out some water, froze the juice and then you add the water back.  Either way, it is still 100% real juice.

Is Diet Juice real juice?

Diet juice has some of the calories removed and thus some of the juice.  These products may be sweetened with artificial sweeteners. 

Is reduced sugar juice, real juice?

If you see “reduced sugar” on the label, it means this product has a 25% reduction in sugar content.  The “sugar” in real juice is not added sugar.  To reduce the sugar in juice, the manufacturer may take out some of the juice and add some artificial sweetener so the product still tastes like juice.  If you take out some of the juice to reduce the “sugar” content, the product is no longer 100% real juice but may be an option for someone who wants less calories but a product that has at least some real juice.

Look on the label for 100% Juice

Many people pick up a carton or a bottle and never look to see if it is “100% juice”.  FDA is the government agency that regulates food labels.  100% juice means it is ALL juice and hasn’t been diluted with water.  There is no need to add ingredients to real 100% juice but some manufacturers do.  You may want to avoid 100% juice with additives like food coloring, sweeteners, preservatives, or added vitamins.

Ingredients:  100% orange juice and label notes no added sugar.

If it has vitamin C, is it real juice?

One reason we want some real 100% juice in our day is because juice is a great source of vitamin C.  Unfortunately, manufacturers now make fruit drinks, juice drinks that aren’t 100% real juice but the label boldly says, “Vitamin C”.  To get your vitamin C, drink real 100% orange juice or real 100% grapefruit juice. 

What about V8 Fruit and Vegetable Blends?

I tell students in my class that they should eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.  One student didn’t like many fruits or vegetables so he started drinking V8 and asked me if that was a good choice.  I told him it was a fine choice.  V8 Fruit & Vegetable Blends is a blend of 100% vegetable and fruit juices.  You will get not only 1 serving of fruit but also a serving of vegetables.  No sugar is added and this is a healthy option. 

What if the label has a picture of fruit on it?

A picture of fruit doesn’t mean it is real juice.  FDA will let manufacturers place a picture of fruit on a label to denote the flavor but not necessarily that fruit is the ingredient.  Consumer Reports notes, “For example, SunnyD Orange, Strawberry, features images of orange and strawberries but has just 5 percent fruit juice – and no strawberry juice.”  Look at the ingredients and you will note the added sugar:  high fructose corn syrup.  There are also other additives including artificial color red 40, artificial flavors and another added sugar, sucralose.  One serving of SunnyD Orange Strawberry has 12 grams of added sugar.  This means 48 of the 60 calories per serving are from added sugar. 

This week enjoy some juice but make sure it is real, 100% juice.  Look at the list of ingredients.  I just looked at the ingredients in the juice in our fridge and the only ingredient is:  Pasteurized Orange Juice.  My daughter likes Naked Juice and all are 100% Fruit Juices.  Many different flavors and blends of flavors.  All Naked Juices have no added sugar.  Find a flavor of juice that you like and read the label to make sure there is no added sugar.  

100% real juice with no added sugar.

Sources:  Decoding Fruit Juice Labels , V8 Fruit & Vegetable Blends , SunnyD Orange, Strawberry , Naked Juice   Image Sources:  Fruit Punch , Naked Juice , Real Orange Juice