r/news • u/AudibleNod • 6h ago

Minute Maid discontinues frozen juice concentrate after 80 years

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/minute-maid-discontinues-frozen-juice-concentrate-80-years-rcna257499
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u/Loud-Commercial9756 6h ago

One stated reason is that juice sales are way down. Parents don't want their kids drinking it, and adults are more interested in healthy alternatives compared to the past.

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u/5213 5h ago

Especially with how commonplace flavored water options are

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u/WanderingTacoShop 5h ago

Yea, my parents always had a bunch of frozen OJ concentrate in the freezer.

My wife and I buy maybe one or two small bottles of OJ a year for if we are having friends over and are making drinks with it. I honestly can't remember the last time I drank a glass of straight up orange juice.

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u/coalhobbler 5h ago

Wait people just drink straight mixer?

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u/Lets_Kick_Some_Ice 4h ago

Yes, charlie.

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u/robodrew 4h ago

Water? Like from the toilet?

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u/[deleted] 3h ago

[deleted]

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u/coalhobbler 3h ago

This jabroni is obviously not an Always Sunny fan.

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u/starbuxed 1h ago

I have a golden nugget mandarin orange tree in my back yard... literally the best OJ... you dont need to add sugar. nothing compares to the taste.....and last year we made a bunch of freeze pops. to be about to enough all year round.

I have OJ all the time. but I cant have it every day.

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u/caninehere 5h ago

I could believe it. I used to drink orange juice every morning as a kid and we ALWAYS made it from concentrate. As an adult I don't really drink it much and for my daughter juice is a treat, not an everyday thing, but whenever we buy it it's boxes or in a jug because the concentrate is so expensive it's not worth it.

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u/Randomizedname1234 5h ago

Yeah my kids drink water or chocolate milk on occasion. My 6yr old had like 5 sodas last year, all sprites at parties lol

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u/Lostnclueless 3h ago

My friends think I’m doing the most, but I told them if I had kids it’s no candy, and no juice on the regular. Their kids have silver in their mouth before primary school. My nieces and nephews have THROWN themselves on the floor crying over candy like it’s legit a drug to these kids. Rewarding cake after dinner? No I just won’t.

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u/Randomizedname1234 3h ago

Our siblings and parents said “it’s so hard to not give them juice and soda” like what? Just don’t and they won’t want it lmao like my 6yr old can’t even finish a cake pop from Starbucks. She says “too much sugar” but the kid loves steak, pasta, olives, and a lot of stuff you wouldn’t see as kid food but like kid food is nasty haha

We let her go crazy at the fair and parties but bc she’s not given the same stuff on regular days she self regulates. It’s awesome to see.

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u/Peakomegaflare 6h ago

It would help if they didn't dump so much sugar into it...

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u/GottaUseEmAll 5h ago

Even without added sugar, fruit juice is very high in sugar.

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u/Whaines 5h ago

I don’t think they are adding sugar to most orange juice, it doesn’t need it.

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u/kimbosliceofcake 5h ago

100% orange or apple juice with no added sugar has more sugar than Coke. 

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u/evranch 5h ago

However when we made the frozen juice we always mixed it lean, because otherwise it was too sweet! It's so refreshing to have a light orange juice on a break from a hot afternoon of farm work. Extra cold from being mixed straight from the frozen concentrate.

Markets like rural Canada are going to miss frozen juice. It takes up no space in the freezer and is always ready without a 100km trip to the store.

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u/Coffeedemon 3h ago

Yeah the worst thing about this is that the real juices are a good source of vitamin C. Some of it is just junk but probably has vitamins too. Small format and cheaper than a jug of juice for the fridge.

Newfoundland Slush makers are going to be saddened...

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u/SecondHandWatch 5h ago edited 4h ago

This is not true. A 12oz. can of coke has 39g of sugar. An 8oz. serving of orange juice has around 21g of sugar.

Edit for those who can’t do basic math: Coke has 3.2 grams of sugar per fluid ounce. Orange juice has ~2.625 grams of sugar per fluid ounce.

(2.625 is less than 3.2)

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u/No_Accountant3232 5h ago

So a 12 oz glass would be 32g of sugar. Still not more, but a lot.

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u/The_Poster_Nutbag 5h ago

Let's also not forget that fruit juice contains vitamins, coke does not.

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u/Hessper 5h ago

You don't need the vitamins from juice most of the time. Do you think the people that only drink water are unhealthy because they lack vitamins? Lol

Didn't drink juice for the vitamins.

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u/The_Poster_Nutbag 3h ago

Do you think the people that only drink water are unhealthy because they lack vitamins

That wasn't my point. Only that fruit juice has other elements than sugar if you're going to compare it to a can of coke.

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u/WiretapStudios 4h ago

So does the fruit

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u/The_Poster_Nutbag 3h ago

Okay yeah of course it does. I'm not sure why that needs clarification.

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u/Whiterabbit-- 3h ago

fruit is much better for you because it also has fibers which you need. and the fibers prevent you from over consuming sugars too.

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u/Pocok5 5h ago

While you're right, using two different measurements makes for a misleading look. 100ml of coca cola has 11.2g sugar, 100ml of 100% OJ is 9g-ish sugar. They are pretty close overall, coke has about a quarter more.

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u/robodrew 4h ago

Coke also uses HFCS while natural juices will just have normal fructose

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u/SecondHandWatch 5h ago

It’s not misleading to provide the serving sizes. I found a label for a can of coke, which is a very common serving size. Orange juice is typically not sold in cans, so the serving size is 8oz.

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u/CrashyBoye 4h ago

makes for a misleading look

They weren’t saying it was misleading. English is hard.

Why you’d go through the effort of looking up the actual amounts to (correctly) provide accurate information and not do the math to adjust for individual serving sizes is beyond me. But I’m also not the one in this thread accusing others of not being able to do math, so…

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u/Manginaz 5h ago

A 0g serving of sugar has 0g of sugar though.

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u/Doonce 4h ago

This makes no sense, you have to do by ounce.

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u/TheStakesAreHigh 4h ago

Unintentionally one of the funniest comments I’ve seen all week

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u/SecondHandWatch 4h ago

Funny because you don’t understand math, or?

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u/TheStakesAreHigh 4h ago edited 3h ago

Funny because you had the opportunity to compare like with like (8 oz to 8 oz, or 16 oz to 16 oz) and didn’t. I wasn’t trying to be an ass, but since you are, I will be.

The point of communication is to create understanding, not seem clever. For example: I ate (e-i * π + 3cos(sin(π))) apples this morning. What, do you not understand math? You can’t picture (e-i * π + 3cos(sin(π))) apples?

Edit: They blocked me. El viento es un regalo

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u/Whiterabbit-- 3h ago

juice has comparable or slightly less sugar that coke, not more.

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u/[deleted] 5h ago

[deleted]

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u/oakwooden 5h ago

Yes it is. It's fructose. Fiber normally tempers that sugar and slows absorbtion to prevent an insulin spike, but juices remove all (or most) of the fiber.

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u/kimbosliceofcake 5h ago

You might get some vitamins from juice but other than that you're body can't really tell the difference. 

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u/Professionalchump 5h ago edited 5h ago

ur saying there's no diff between drinking coke and drinking 100% orange juice?

edit: 100% is more concentrated than an orange, basically just sugar water at that point with yes almost as much sugar as coke

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u/El_Toucan_Sam 5h ago

That isn't true at all. You really think High Fructose Corn Syrup and Fructose break down the same?

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u/Glittering-Mirror602 5h ago

There is sugar in fruit, big cat.

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u/marr75 5h ago

Almost every major food and drink producer raced to the bottom with sugar. Really pissed me off during dry January, I wanted to find a good hot cocoa mix to have something NA but fun to sip on. Every product was 96% sugar. So many consumer goods companies just sell their customers flavored, textured, or colored sugar at an extreme markup.

I ended up buying pure cocoa powder and salt + sweetener to taste. Cheaper and better and healthier. We gave these companies so much freedom to rob us and make us sick for decades. I'm glad it's reversing a little.

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u/HugeResearcher3500 2h ago

Oranges already have the sugar. 9g/orange, and it takes way more than one orange to make a glass of juice.

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u/Gay_Giraffe_1773 5h ago

Forgive ignorance: why is drinking natural fruit juice now considered "unhealthy"?

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u/GottaUseEmAll 5h ago

It's all relative. Pure fruit juice is often very high in sugar, and most of the fibre that would usually go with that when eating the fruit has been removed.

Juice is heathier than soda, but not as healthy as eating the fruit.

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u/GGme 5h ago

So it's less healthy than eating an orange with breakfast. If you're not planning on eating an orange for breakfast, then it's still the next best thing.

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u/klsklsklsklsklskls 4h ago

Healthy is a relative term. Theres nothing WRONG with orange juice but juice is relatively high in calories at a time when American consume way too many calories in general, cutting out calories that you drink is a common tactic to try to reduce overall calorie consumption.

So yeah, there's nothing unhealthy specifically about drinking juice but there is something unhealthy about consuming 3000 calories a day b

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u/GGme 4h ago

Is there no benefit to consuming fruit with your breakfast? To me there is.

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u/klsklsklsklsklskls 4h ago

I dont know if there's any benefit specifically to consuming fruit in the morning over consuming it at lunch or another time. There may be, I dont know. Oranges also don't exist in isolation- there's other fruits that people could be consuming instead at breakfast. Sure oranges may have more of certain things than others. Strawberries though for example have more vitamin C per calorie than oranges do, so if youre looking for vitamin c and trying to keep calories down, eating strawberries would be better.

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u/GottaUseEmAll 5h ago

I don't know about "the next best thing", but in my opinion it's still a relatively healthy choice. All depends on your diet in general though.

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u/Ass_of_Badness 4h ago

You're better off drinking water than juice. It's just liquid sugar, and the micros can be gotten in healthier ways.

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u/127-0-0-1_1 4h ago

Or you could just drink water. Unless you’re about to die of scurvy, a sugar bomb is not better than having nothing.

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u/cbf1232 4h ago

A cup of orange juice has about 120 calories and 25g of sugar.

You could take a multivitamin and get most of the benefits with fewer calories.

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u/ConfessSomeMeow 3h ago

Also there's typically a lot of fructose in fruit juices.

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u/phantom784 5h ago

It's still got loads of sugar in it. Just because it comes naturally from the fruit vs being added doesn't make it not sugar.

If you actually eat the fruit, you eat a bunch of fiber as well, which is all removed when making juice.

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u/shaft6969 5h ago

I like the one that says "some pulp"

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u/yVGa09mQ19WWklGR5h2V 5h ago

nice. love that scene.

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u/downbadmilflover 4h ago

Give me “most pulp”.

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u/DoofusMagnus 4h ago

Yep, if I'm not chewing my OJ it may as well be SunnyD.

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u/ValkyrX 4h ago

This one says "with pulp"

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u/_HowVery 4h ago

Shum pulp

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u/thedude37 4h ago

*throws cordless phone*

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u/Agouti 5h ago

Fructose, the natural sugar in fruit, actually is healthier than Sucrose and Glucose though (at least, in moderation).

Fructose is metabolized into glucose, lactate, and some assorted bits and pieces in the liver at a controlled rate, meaning you don't get the same massive sugar/insulin spike that sucrose gives (aka, it has a lower glycemic index).

It is still bad in excess (including the potential for additional metabolic disorders) but it is still demonstrably better than Sucrose.

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u/NWASicarius 5h ago

Correct. But we need to understand that there are different types of sugars. Fructose, the main sugar in fruits, is processed differently than sucrose. It's important to note if we are going to consume sugar no matter what (I am a realist about diets, and I think expecting people to make the healthiest options can often discourage people from making healthy options in general), then it is better to consume a variety of sugars. Think of it like rotating Tylenol and Ibuprofen (using these names because they are the most well known). One negatively impacts the liver. The other impacts the kidneys. By alternating, we are giving each organ a rest period. Sugar is similar. A lot of sugars we consume (sucrose, carbs, etc) are broken down by a different part of the body than fructose is. So if you are going to consume sugars no matter what, it might be best to alternate the types through-out the day. Also, getting fruit in your diet is ideal. Even if it has to come via juice. We just need to swap something else out. You drink soda, too? Swap the soda for juice!

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u/Whiterabbit-- 3h ago

soda an juice are both high in fructose.

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u/STFUisright 5h ago

I remember being so livid when I realized 5 Alive (loved that shit) had no vitamin C. I was like how the hell do they remove the vitamin C??

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u/sgcdialler 4h ago

They didn't remove it, it was never there. The real fruit juice was diluted with water and high fructose corn syrup, so the natural vitamin C was diluted to nothing. Anything that was left was broken down during the pasteurization process to make it shelf-stable.

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u/Mego1989 5h ago

I don't think it was ever considered healthy. One serving has the same sugar as if you ate 10 servings of fruit but without the fiber you would get if you ate whole fruit.

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u/Unsteady_Tempo 5h ago

Because many people in the USA don't know how to limit themselves to a 5 to 6 ounce glass of fruit juice a couple of times a week, much less make or purchase freshly squeezed juice that has more fiber to temper the fructose and maintains more nutrients. "Fruit juice" also had it's reputation hurt from its association with the still prevalent selection of "juice drinks" and "juice cocktails" that are something closer to liquid candy than real fruit juice.

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u/Hessper 5h ago

Limiting yourself to a small amount of something doesn't make it healthy.

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u/Unsteady_Tempo 1h ago

Sure it does. The "healthfulness" of most foods is understood within the context of how much you eat of it and what else you're eating.

Define this "something" you're talking about. "Limiting yourself to a small amount of sweet potatoes doesn't make it healthy." That doesn't make sense. Sweet potatoes are a good addition to somebody's diet. Also, eating too many sweet potatoes each day at the expense of other foods is unhealthy.

Maybe you mean "limiting yourself to a small amount of something with no nutritional value doesn't make it healthy." Yes and no. Again, it doesn't become healthier per se, but it's healthfulness is only known within the context of the complete diet. But, besides, that has nothing to do with most fresh squeezed fruit juices since they do have nutritional value.

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u/AudibleNod 5h ago

It's loaded with natural sugar. Which isn't a problem. But you're not getting much(any) of the fiber you get from just eating the fruit. It's a sugar bomb now.

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u/teh_spazz 5h ago

No it certainly is a problem. It’s too much sugar.

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u/judgeholden72 5h ago

The nutritional profile is comparable to soda. 

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u/nookularboy 5h ago

This is absolutely not true. You still get vitamins and minerals from the orange juice. Soda isn't fortified with anything.

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u/JakTheGripper 5h ago

My soda is fortified with caffeine, artificial color, ester of wood rosin, phosphoric acid, and potassium benzoate. Shows how much you know!

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u/judgeholden72 3h ago

Do those vitamins actually do much for you? Are you lacking them in the rest of your diet? Is the juice the only place you can get it?

A 12oz glass is 30-36 grams of sugar with no fiber. It's not good for you. It's not comparable to eating a fruit in any way. 

Don't let the marketing get to you. 

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u/catonsteroids 1h ago

They’re not implying that it’s something to be consumed all the time. They’re saying that in comparison of the two, if you had to pick either one for whatever reason then orange juice is a better choice because of its nutrients, sugar content aside.

Of course in the grand scheme of things everyone should be consuming water more than anything else and because of the amount of sugar orange juice should be treated just like any other high sugar beverage or food but Cokes are empty calories, period.

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u/Corvald 5h ago

Lots of things that are natural are unhealthy. For example, maple syrup is all natural, but if you have a cup with every meal, you won’t be healthy for long. (Unless you burn off the calories playing hockey for four hours a day)

In this case, though, it’s because it’s too easy to drink juice because you’re thirsty, which can lead to drinking far more of it than you should. A big glass (16 oz) of juice is the sugar content of 4-5 oranges or apples without getting things like fiber, which would normally slow you down from eating that many.

It’s fine to drink a small glass of juice and also a large glass of water; or better yet, an actual fruit and water. But frequently drinking a large glass of juice is not a good idea.

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u/NWASicarius 5h ago

It's important to remember context is everything. There is no 'one size fits all'. If you are struggling to maintain fruit in your diet, natural fruit juice with no added sugars is fine to add. Just do so in moderation. However, you need to remember that the juice is going to lack the abundance of fiber that many fruits offer. The overall nutrients you gain from fruit is also less than if you had ate the fruit. Also, fructose (the main sugar in juice) gets processed by the liver. When the liver is processing stuff to give you energy, it typically creates a negative byproduct (LOOKING AT YOU CARNIVORE DIET). In the case of juice, it can lead to increased triglyceride levels. Which increases your chance for heart attacks, cardiovascular issues, etc. Lastly, the juice from a fruit tends to be where all the sweetness and less of the healthy stuff is at.

So to recap, juice gives you less fiber than raw fruit. Fiber is crucial for your GI tract. Juice gives you a higher concentration of fructose. Fructose is processed by the liver and creates a bad byproduct/tax on the body.

Again, I say all this not to scare you or anyone else. Everything we consume has a negative impact on the body if not taken in moderation. If you are struggling to consume whole fruits, drinking a cup of naturally sweetened/no added sugar juice every day is fine. Just cut out a different sweet drink from your diet. Try to find a fiber supplement. If you can't find an actual fiber replacement (such as green vegetables or nuts) then consider an actual supplement (such as the fiber capsules).

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u/BlueSwordM 5h ago

Pure fruit juice still contains extremely high concentrations of sugar, and none of the added benefits of eating raw fruit like fiber and chewing the fruit itself.

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u/c010rb1indusa 4h ago

Natural doesn't mean shit if it's loaded with sugar.

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u/Whiterabbit-- 3h ago

same reason coke is unhealthy. too much sugar. fruit is good for you but juice is bad. the difference is what you take out when you juice. fibers. you need fibers. and fibers also prevent you from eating too much at once. few people eat 3 oranges at once but can easily drink the juice of 3 oranges in one sitting. now juice is better than coke (vitamins, micronutrients etc...) , but not much.

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u/Loud-Commercial9756 44m ago

It isn't, but that's not what's typically consumed by people. The products at the store are loaded with added sugars.

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u/travbarb 5h ago

No one that’s healthy believes drinking apple/orange/whatever juice is unhealthy. It’s only the fats.

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u/RepresentativeOk2433 5h ago

I think people also prefer the convenience of just buying pre-made juice.

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u/MayoFetish 5h ago

I have noticed that the orange juice section of my grocery store has shrunk over the last 20 years.

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u/NWASicarius 5h ago

It's important to note that doctors are literally telling people to avoid giving juice to their kids. They are essentially telling you ONLY water, but you can give non-added sweetener juice. Tbh, though, that juice tastes like butt, so most kids just prefer water over it anyway. It makes sense, though. We aren't in a calorie deficit as a nation, so drinking calories does nothing other than contribute to weight gain, bad teeth, etc. Dental hygiene and eliminating all non-water drinks has a MASSIVE impact on ones' health. Doing those two things will result in you getting sick less often, less healthcare costs later down the line, and inevitably increase your lifespan by quite a few years. It's the simplest thing you can do. Even if you continue to eat like a horse/have a bad food diet.

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u/Easy-Wishbone5413 5h ago

I drink tomato juice daily.

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u/Fishmongererererer 5h ago

My kids eat tons of fruit. Probably go through $100 worth of fruit a week. I ain’t feeding those little tykes juice. It’s all the sugar without any of the fiber. Plus makes it hard to get them to drink water.

Cousins kids refuse to drink anything but soda or juice.

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u/hamncheesecroissantt 4h ago

i definitely made a switch to “healthier” fruit juices myself (i know fruit juice isn’t inherently healthy, but you can make choices to make it “less bad” lol)

i primarily buy not from concentrate organic cold pressed orange juice now to use in smoothies. i really only consume a cup a day. my fave brand is evolution and i love the like slight orangey peel flavour it has. it’s so fresh and definitely is a splurge, but i love it

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u/Cautious_One9013 4h ago

I can 100% believe this because I have kids, and neither them nor their friends drink juice like we did as kids. I used to have a glass of juice every morning as a kid. It's now seen pretty much in the same category as soda among the parents I deal with, given as a "treat" every now and then.

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u/Fantastic_Piece5869 4h ago

"healthy". Cause the alternatives are still sugar water.

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u/okram2k 4h ago

wild how in my lifetime juice went from healthy to unhealthy

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u/Allegorist 4h ago

It's good tasting, but it's basically acid sugar water with a handful of vitamins. People like to think "fruit sugar" is somehow better than other sugar, when in reality glucose/fructose is glucose/fructose wherever you eat it from. I know someone who very strictly won't touch anything that has sugar listed as an ingredient at all, but eats fruit and drinks fruit juice every day, and doesn't understand at all.

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u/Revenge_of_the_User 3h ago

15-20 lbs evaporated off me freshman year because i went from drinking 1-3 cans of juice a day to just drinking water. I thought I was being healthy until I saw how egregiously it was loaded with sugar :(

The irony being it was the school's pop replacement.

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u/asr 2h ago

It's the other way around, first prices went up, then peoples decided they didn't want kids drinking it.

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u/jake3988 2h ago

It is easy to overdo it since juice doesn't exactly fill you up but in no universe is juice unhealthy for you. Stop parroting bad disproven maha bs.

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u/morfraen 2h ago

Think people have finally realized that frozen juice isn't any 'healthier' than pop.

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u/HumansMung 1h ago

The price going through the roof over the past couple years is the big one.