Orange Juice - Good or Bad?

Do you start your day with a tall glass of orange juice? You’re not alone. Orange juice is a popular breakfast drink all around the world. But is this delicious refreshing beverage a benefit or a hindrance to your health? Read on to decide

Benefits of Orange Juice

Provides Vitamin C - Drinking at least two glasses of orange juice per day increases the vitamin C concentration within the body by 40 to 64%. Vitamin C, an essential vitamin that cannot be synthesized by the human body, is an important antioxidant, a substance that protects the body against the harmful effects of free radicals, the molecules that may cause tissue damage and early aging.

Protects Against Inflammation - Inflammatory reactions within the body lead to the development of increased insulin resistance. The intake of orange juice, together with a high-carbohydrate, high-fat meal, prevents the occurrence of inflammation within the body, making it a good preventive measure against the development of diseases such as insulin resistance and atherosclerosis.

Improves Blood Pressure -Regular orange juice contains hesperidin, a healthy water-soluble plant pigment which may improve diastolic blood pressure. Hesperidin serves to improve the activity of small blood vessels, blood pressure and decrease the cardiovascular risk biomarkers in susceptible patients.

Decreases Bad Cholesterol Levels - Regular orange juice consumption may lead to the decrease the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with high cholesterol level. However, the mechanism behind this blood cholesterol level improvement with orange juice consumption is still unclear. Further studies and clinical trials are necessary to further establish this fact

Other Nutrients - Orange juice is also a good source of potassium, thiamine, phosphorus, folic acid, vitamin B6 and flavonoids. Flavonoids are plant substances that can exert powerful actions on cognition and may reverse age-related declines in memory and learning.

Dangers of Orange Juice

Blood-Sugar Levels - Orange juice has a relatively low glyacemic index, which means that its carbohydrates elevate your blood sugar more slowly, compared with a high-glycaemic food like white bread, sweets or potatoes. The problem is that most people do not stick to a small serving of orange juice, and a large serving can cause a high-glycaemic load, or a large amount of carbohydrates at once, which can quickly elevate your blood sugar.

Energy Levels - Inconsistent energy levels throughout the day are a side effect of drinking too much orange juice. Drinking too much regularly can induce large fluctuations in your blood sugar. Although you may feel energised immediately after downing a large glass of orange juice, your energy may quickly drop as your blood sugar plummets.

Weight Gain - Another side effect of consuming foods and beverages with a high-glycaemic load is that they can contribute to weight gain and obesity. Orange juice is not very satisfying, because it doesn't have any fibre. The blood sugar drop that follows the consumption of large amounts of orange juice can make you crave more carbohydrates and cause you to want more food, which can result in weight gain

Medication Interactions - Researches reveal that drinking orange juice in excess neutralises the effectiveness of drugs used for heart, blood pressure and cancer and also creates side effects in the body.

Tooth decay - By nature, orange juice is acidic and so it can cause tooth decay and other problems in the mouth, if mouth is not rinsed well with water after drinking orange juice. Acidity contained in orange juice affects the enamel of the teeth. Researchers from University of Rochester Medical Centre determined that the acid contained in orange juice is so strong that it decreases tooth enamel hardness by 84% and it literally washes away the tooth.