Fruits are healthy—so fruit juices must certainly have high nutritional value. Almost no one would doubt this "classic" piece of dietary advice, and hardly any research has been done to examine the true health implications of fruit juice. This is because fish, meat, and alcohol are always the ones being nitpicked; they have almost been completely demonized.
However, what if we told you that the increase in cases of osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases is not the fault of the three "bad" guys mentioned above, but of citrus fruit juices? Because the "incriminating evidence" used against those "villains" can also be applied to them: since the late 1940s, the number of people regularly consuming citrus fruit products has doubled, and in parallel, the number of patients with various "civilization diseases" has also increased proportionally. A convincing explanation for this correlation was even proposed: citric acid and vitamin C enhance the intestine's ability to absorb iron. At the time, there was much evidence suggesting that excessive iron absorption in the body has adverse effects on the aforementioned diseases.
Because researchers did not deliberately seek a causal link between juice and disease, these connections were mostly discovered unintentionally. For example, when looking for a relationship between diet and lung cancer in non-smoking women, it was unexpectedly found that the more orange juice and citrus fruits the women consumed, the higher their risk of the disease. In another study on kidney stones, scientists found that the cause of small stones was not just the amount of liquid consumed, but also the type of drink. Contrary to the popular view, people who regularly drink coffee, tea, wine, and beer are in better health because these beverages reduce the risk of disease, whereas those who frequently consume apple juice, grape juice, and tomato juice have a higher risk.
A study on osteoporosis surprisingly drew two conclusions that attracted attention: in an experiment involving 65,000 women, it was found that although calcium absorption was increased through diet, it still could not prevent fractures of the thigh; as the intake of magnesium, iron, and vitamin C increased, fractures also increased significantly. Greek researchers, in a study on fracture risk in children, also found that children who drank more juice were more prone to fractures, just like children who often drink cola; their bones were very fragile.
Most health-conscious parents would rather hand their children a bottle of diluted juice than milk. Because milk contains "bad" fats and cholesterol and may cause allergies. But young parents don't know that many juices contain indigestible sorbitol, which is especially high in apple and pear juice. Moreover, infants' incompletely developed digestive systems can only handle the fructose in juice to a very limited extent. Therefore, many breastfed infants often suffer from abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea from juice—the effects of juice are not as wonderful and pure as you might expect.
But there can be even more extreme consequences: In recent years, there have been numerous reports of infantile spasms, which are apparently caused by these young children drinking excessive amounts of juice, up to 2.5 liters of diluted juice per day! The minerals in their bodies are continuously diluted and excreted in urine. And because the drinks contain no salt, it leads to a salt deficiency in the blood. This usually results in muscle spasms, lethargy, nausea, and vomiting.
To avoid any misunderstanding, we state here: we are not trying to stop you from drinking a small glass of juice. We only want to remind you that some things are unexamined and smoothly labeled as "healthy" and heavily promoted, but there are still subtle signs that can reveal their "dark side." Overconsumption of beverages presumed to be "healthy" can very likely lead to the very health problems you were hoping to avoid.