The USDA reports that Americans ingest an average of 20
teaspoons of sugar (caloric sweeteners such as table sugar
and corn syrup) per day-twice the suggested limit. Huge
increases in sugar consumption in recent decades can likely
be linked to the proliferation of corn syrup and high-fructose
corn syrup as sweeteners. (Nearly all processed foods contain
at least one of these, largely due to their cheaper cost than
table sugar and their ease of use in the food manufacturing
processes.)
As public awareness of the harmful effects of sugar and corn
syrup has increased, we have begun to look for ways to cut
back on the sugar and corn syrup. However, we are a culture
that loves our sweets. We still want to have our cake and eat
it too, so to speak. Artificial sweeteners enjoyed popularity for
awhile, but as evidence has mounted regarding their dangers,
consumers are looking for healthier natural sweeteners.
Health-minded people often turn to fruit juice-sweetened
products (such as juices, jams, and cookies) as a "healthier"
alternative to those sweetened with sugar or corn syrup. It is
generally assumed that if it's from fruit juice, it must be
healthier, and that's an image food manufacturers aren't likely
to argue with. However, what you see on the ingredient list is
not necessarily what you get. In fact, much of the
commercially used fruit juice concentrate (apple, pear, and
white grape being the most popular) should hardly qualify as
such.
Fruit juice concentrates come in different forms. Most people
are familiar with frozen juice concentrates that people buy for
reconstitution at home. Additionally, most juices you find on
the shelves are reconstituted from concentrate. Juice
concentration involves evaporating most of the water out of
the juice, leaving most of the flavor, color and nutrients
behind. Water is then added back in to reconstitute the juice.
Concentrated juices are easier to store and have a longer
shelf life as well. Not much to argue with there.
However, to make fruit juice concentrate into a production-
friendly sweetener, it has to go through a lengthy and
expensive process called "stripping". As the name implies,
everything is stripped out of the juice: vitamins, minerals,
color, flavor, etc. Then it goes through a deionization process
similar to the one that turns cornstarch into corn syrup.
What's left is essentially glucose syrup-sugar water that looks
and behaves a lot like corn syrup. It is sweet, but it is
colorless, flavorless, and doesn't alter the pH of whatever is
being sweetened, all of which are highly desirable in the
manufacturing process. Although it no longer resembles
anything close to a fruit juice concentrate, thanks to loopholes
in the FDA's guidelines it is still considered a fruit juice
concentrate. Marketers can still put "100% juice" or "no sugar
added" on the package.
How can you tell if the product you buy has stripped juice
concentrate or not? Manufacturers are not required to
disclose how much of their juice concentrates are stripped, so
there really is no effective way to know. However, a good rule
of thumb is this-if you can't taste the fruit it has been
concentrated from, then the concentrate has probably been
stripped. The next time you reach for that raspberry juice
blend, whose primary ingredient is pear juice from
concentrate, you can pretty much guarantee that the pear
juice has been stripped to remove the pear flavor.
If you buy fruit juice-sweetened products thinking that they
won't affect blood sugar like table sugar does you are wrong.
Stripped concentrates are nothing more than sugar syrup and
have the same effect. They are absorbed just as quickly into
the bloodstream and metabolized the same way. Add to that
the complete lack of nutritional value and you've leveled the
playing field with table sugar.
Are you really doing yourself a favor by choosing fruit juice
concentrates over other sweeteners? Probably not. Sugar is
still sugar, even if it goes by a healthier name.
Eric Thorn, a successful businessman, highly recommends the
Zija Moringa Beverage as an all-natural healthy beverage. Visit http://www.zijapower.com to learn more about Zija.
