Nutrition – Fresh orange juice: why shouldn’t you abuse it?
Starting the day with a fresh orange juice is the guarantee of a successful breakfast. However, even if it is a fresh fruit, squeezing it can impact your health. We take stock with Florence Foucaut, dietitian nutritionist in Paris.
For many of us, squeezing an orange every morning is the first “healthy” gesture of the day. Thus allowing to fill up with vitamin C. On this point, no mistake because as Florence Foucaut explains to us, “the vitamin C content of orange is 53 mg per 100g”. That’s half of our daily needs.
Small “problem”. To get the most out of it, you will need to consume it as quickly as possible, “vitamin C being very sensitive to light and oxygen”.
Less fibre, more fructose
However, as the nutritionist dietician points out, drinking fresh orange juice and eating whole fruit are not the same thing. In effect, “If you squeeze the fruit, you will lose fiber compared to the whole fruit. Fiber plays a role in the glycemic index”. These fibers reduce the intestinal absorption of sugar and help prevent blood sugar spikes. “Ideally this blood sugar level should be as stable as possible and without peaks. Because blood sugar peaks increase the work of the pancreas and are harmful to health.”
In addition, the texture modifies the glycemic index (GI): the GI of the juices will always be higher than that of the whole fruit.
The absence of fiber also promotes the concentration of fructose in the juice. Gold “overconsumption of fructose leads to dyslipidemia, which results in a high level of triglycerides in the blood”. Potentially opening the door to cardiovascular problems. Therefore, even if drinking a fresh orange juice every morning contributes to the consumption of 5 fruits and vegetables per day, it is better not to abuse it. Prefer the whole fruit which will always be more satiating and rich in fiber.
