OJ - a Healthy Drink?

Everyone knows that a glass of orange juice is the best way to start the day; it's healthy. Well, at least that's what we've always been told.

But is that the truth?

The sad fact is that a cup of OJ contains 22 grams of sugar. That's about five teaspoons in just one cup.

It sounds crazy, until you realize that it takes three to four whole oranges to make a cup of juice, depending on the size and type of the orange. You're not likely to eat four oranges in a sitting, but it's easy to consume just the juice that would come from them.

The carb count for the juice is in the mid-thirties, mostly because of all that sugar. It has less than a gram of fiber, because most of it has been lost in the processing - compared to three to four grams in a whole orange. But isn't OJ a good source of vitamin C? Sure, but again the processing removes many of the vitamins and minerals (and a lot of the natural flavor). Plenty of less-sugary foods boast high vitamin C counts, like broccoli, spinach and strawberries.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, consuming too much sugar is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, dental cavities and some types of cancer; moreover, Excessive juice consumption can pose special dangers to people who are on blood thinners or have kidney disease.

The lesson here's pretty simple. If you need that orange zip in the morning, don't drink it. Eat a whole orange instead. You're getting a more natural form, a bit of fiber, and a good dose of vitamins.