Florida Department of Citrus seeks to 'educate' scientists about the value of orange juice

Apparently, the Florida citrus industry has a thin skin. When we reported earlier this month that many scientists have come to the conclusion that 100% fruit juice isn’t much healthier than soda, growers took notice.

To recap, here are some of the eerie similarities between fruit juice and soda:

A glass of juice concentrates all the sugar from several pieces of fruit. Ounce per ounce, it contains more calories than soda, though it tends to be consumed in smaller servings. A cup of orange juice has 112 calories, apple juice has 114, and grape juice packs 152, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The same amount of Coke has 97 calories, and Pepsi has 100. And just like soft drinks, juice is rich in fructose -- the simple sugar that does the most to make food sweet.

Of course, fruit juice has many vitamins and minerals, but these are generally not lacking in the modern American diet. Besides, the healthier way to get them is to eat the fruit itself instead of drinking juice.

These facts have left many experts wondering why campaigns to impose taxes on soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages in the name of fighting obesity have neglected to target juice as well. As Dr. Charles Billington, an appetite researcher at the University of Minnesota, put it, juice “is pretty much the same as sugar water.”

That’s not how orange growers in Florida see things. To make their views known, the Florida Department of Citrus enlisted dietitian Gail Rampersaud to inform the experts quoted in our story about the virtues of orange juice. Several copies were delivered Tuesday.

Written on letterhead from the University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Science’s Food Science and Human Nutrition department, where Rampersaud is a nutrition research and education assistant, the letter points out that:

•  One hundred percent orange juice is a natural source of essential vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients needed for a lifetime of good health. In fact, one 8-ounce glass counts as a fruit serving and can contribute to almost 25 percent of your USDA-recommended daily fruit and vegetable servings, based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

•  An 8-ounce serving of orange juice is an excellent source of vitamin C and provides at least 100% of the Daily Value for this important antioxidant. A recent analysis of NHANES data reports that 60 percent of adult men and 53 percent of adult women had dietary vitamin C intakes less than the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) established by the Institute of Medicine and over 22 percent of adults had plasma vitamin C concentrations that put them at moderate risk of developing vitamin C deficiency. In addition to being rich in vitamin C, an 8-ounce serving of 100 percent orange juice is a good source of thiamin, potassium and folate and delivers other important nutrients such as vitamin B6 and magnesium.

•  Citrus juices are nutrient-dense and provide a high ratio of nutrients relative to their calorie content. A study that I conducted and published in the Journal of Food Science reported that 100 percent orange juice was more nutrient-dense than many commonly consumed 100 percent fruit juices, such as apple, grape, pineapple and prune.

•  Citrus fruit and juices, including 100 percent orange juice, are free of added sugars and contain only the natural sugars found in whole fruit. A comprehensive review of studies regarding 100% fruit juice intake and increased weight in children and adolescents reported that the preponderance of evidence does not support such an association. In fact, this review suggested that consuming 100% fruit juice in moderate amounts “may be an important strategy to help children meet the current recommendations for fruit.”

•  A recent analysis of NHANES 1999-2002 data reported that 50% of children age 2-5, 74% of children age 6-11, and 81% of adolescents age 12-18 are not meeting MyPyramid fruit intake recommendations based on a single day’s dietary intake. An evaluation of the same NHANES data reported that 100% fruit juice intake was associated with higher daily intakes of whole fruit in children age 2-11 years. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidelines include moderate intakes of 100 percent fruit juice (i.e., 4-6 ounces per day for children age 1-6 years and 8-12 ounces per day for older children). One hundred percent fruit juice can help children get the nutrients they need and help meet fruit intake recommendations.

•  While it is true that the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that the majority of fruit choices should be whole fruit, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee did recognize the nutritional value of including 100% fruit juice in the diet for providing nutrients such as vitamin C, folate, and potassium. The Committee concluded that the “recommended intake of fruits and juices achieve an optimal balance” with regard to meeting nutrient intake recommendations.

The letter failed to impress at least one researcher, who forwarded it on to us. (We posted it with Rampersaud’s permission.)

Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at UC San Francisco, was quoted in the story saying, “The upside of juice consumption is so infinitesimal compared to the downside that we shouldn't even be having this discussion." Here is his response to Rampersaud (also posted with his permission):

Thank you for your letter. As it is stated in the Kaplan article, I am not against fruit. As far as I am concerned, the most important nutrient contained in fruit (not just citrus, but any fruit) is fiber. "The juice is Nature's way of getting you to eat your fiber." Thus, I am not against fruit; indeed I am for it. So the Florida Department of Citrus can rest easy in terms of the citrus crop.

Unfortunately, juice has no fiber. Just calories, of which half are fructose. I am attaching an article I wrote on the Fructose Epidemic demonstrating the difficulties in hepatic metabolism from fructose, and another article I co-wrote with the American Heart Association remanding the American public to reduce its consumption of fructose. As you can see, I am not the only one who thinks this is a problem.

The problem is not with fruit, but with juice. Juice is merely a method of decreasing depreciation and increasing profits for the food industry. For if you take the most important nutrient and throw it in the garbage, what person does that benefit?

So, if you are a representative of the citrus growers, you should be in my camp, and should applaud my research and my stance. Fruit affords all the micronutrients you highlight, affords you fiber, and reduces your consumption of fructose (1 orange has one fourth the calories of a cup of orange juice). If, on the other hand, you are merely a shill for the food processing industry, then I will be happy to battle you and your entire industry in an open forum. I welcome the challenge.

-- Karen Kaplan

Photo: Why drink juice when you can eat fruit? Credit: Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times

Comments

[florida slurper]

Puleaze! Is this Lustig saying that vitamins - which are absent in sodas are inconsequential because we can get them elsewhere?! - Gee, didn't such experts say the same thing about breast milk in the 1960s? I certainly don't want to have to play with an orange every day & sucking on lemons just isn't as enjoyable as a nice glass of 100% lemonade. I've never been a fan of concentrated juices - I think the "organic" concentrate versions are useless. However, Florida fresh 100% squeezed juices sold in the refrigerated areas of the market are great for vitamin C & the pulp has some fiber. Lustig just sounds like California sour lemons to me! `Let him comment on the hazards of eating fibrous sugar cane!

[articles]

Here's the American Heart Association abstract about reducing fructose/sugar consumption. There's a link to the free full text of their statement on the right side of the page.

http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/120/11/1011

I couldn't find a copy online of Dr. Lustig's article on the fructose epidemic, but I'd like to read it if someone knows where I can find it. The reference is:

Lustig, R. H.
"The Fructose Epidemic"
The Bariatrician (2009). Vol. 24, No. 1, p. 10

[Jim Buch]

I believe that the major motivation of selling fruit juice, specifically orange juice, was exactly as stated in the original article. A business decision to find a way to increase sales. I am sure that at the time, there was no perception that concentrated juices would be unhealthy.

Of course, there was no lengthy scientific trial of the effects of doubling, tripling or quadrupling of the fruit consumption via added juice.

As you may well know, for quite some time, it was common "good" medical practice to induce women into hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to make their lives better following menopause. For nearly 30 years, HRT was practiced and clinicians were positive that the benefits were enormous.

Subsequently, a scientific study of HRT with modern controls was funded . The study was terminated early because of the large harm to women from HRT was displayed within just a few years of the trial.

I repeat, there has been no long term study of massive doses of fruit juice as a "another good thing", and the fruit juice industry should show their confidence in their product by helping to pay for such a study now that it has been questioned.

"Put your money where your mouth is, if you believe you are in the right." Take the extra steps needed to protect your customers, just in case you are mistaken in your 60+ year old judgment of safety from massive increase of fruit product intake.

[Lisa Grant]

The Florida Department of Citrus enlisted dietitian Gail Rampersaud to inform the experts...

Dear Gail,

Here's the problem with your letter:

• One hundred percent orange juice is a natural source of essential vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients needed for a lifetime of good health.

Sure. But an actual orange is better. It has precisely the same essential vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients as the juice, with the benefit of half the calories and sugars as juice, plus all the fiber the juice lacks.

• An 8-ounce serving of orange juice is an excellent source of vitamin C and provides at least 100% of the Daily Value for this important antioxidant.

Sure. But an actual orange is better. It is precisely the same excellent source of vitamin C and *also* provides at least 100% of the Daily Value for this important antioxidant as the juice, with the benefit of half the calories and sugars of the juice, plus all the fiber the juice lacks.

• Citrus juices are nutrient-dense and provide a high ratio of nutrients relative to their calorie content.

Sure. But an actual orange is better. It is MORE nutrient-dense than the juice, has a HIGHER ratio of nutrients to its calorie count than juice, AND has the added benefit of half the calories and sugars than the juice, plus all the fiber the juice lacks.

• Citrus fruit and juices, including 100 percent orange juice, are free of added sugars and contain only the natural sugars found in whole fruit.

Sure. But an actual orange is better. It is as free of added sugars as fruit, AND has the added benefit of half the calories and sugars than the juice, plus all the fiber the juice lacks.

• The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that the majority of fruit choices should be whole fruit.

Great! We're finally on the same page. :)