Health
Drinking 100% orange juice is linked to surprising health benefits, study finds
Pure orange juice might have some unexpected benefits.
Researchers from Toronto Metropolitan University researched the effects of drinking 100% orange juice compared to a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB), or “orange drink,” on appetite, food intake and glycemic response in adults.
The study was funded by the Florida Department of Citrus. It was published in the journal Nutrients and also surveyed emotions and sensory characteristics associated with the beverage.
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Thirty-six “normal weight” adults were tasked with drinking either 100% orange juice, an orange drink or water before eating.
The researchers found that food and energy intake was lower in subjects who drank 100% orange juice compared to the orange drink.
“A little bit of orange seems to go a long way,” study co-author Nick Bellissimo told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
Caloric compensation from 100% orange juice was 84%, while the orange drink was −25%.
(Caloric compensation is the “regulation of energy intake by adjusting one’s intake based on previous consumption,” according to the National Institutes of Health.)
There was no significant difference in average appetite between the beverages, but blood glucose levels were lower after people drank the 100% orange juice.
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“Rest-of-day blood glucose concentrations were lower after 100% orange juice compared with the orange drink and water control,” the study stated.
“In conclusion, consumption of 100% orange juice as a preload resulted in higher caloric compensation, lower total daily EI [energy intake], and lower blood glucose concentrations compared to the orange drink.”
The researchers’ hypothesis was that the flavonoids in 100% orange juice slow down the digestion and absorption of sugar. (iStock)
Study co-author Nick Bellissimo, associate professor of nutritional physiology at Toronto Metropolitan University, reacted to the findings in a statement to Fox News Digital.
While a “number of dietary guidelines” recommend reducing sugar intake from “all sources,” Bellissimo said, the findings suggested that 100% orange juice can be beneficial.
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“Orange juice is similar to a sugar-sweetened beverage in that it contains free sugars, but it also contains sucrose (fructose and glucose bound together), while also containing vitamin C and flavonoids,” he noted.
The researchers’ hypothesis was that flavonoids in orange juice slow down the digestion and absorption of sugar.
“Thus, you are not seeing the same spike in blood glucose as you see with the SSB,” Bellissimo said.
Study participants who consumed orange drinks ate more calories at lunch than the 100% orange juice drinkers. (iStock)
“Interestingly, the energy in the orange juice was compensated for at the next meal – i.e., participants decreased their food intake at lunch by an amount similar to the energy in the orange juice – whereas participants ate more calories at lunch after consuming the SSB.”
Bellissimo confirmed that this effect on energy intake and glycemic response “persisted for the rest of the day.”
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“And participants consuming the orange juice actually consumed fewer calories, primarily by decreasing their carbohydrate intake,” he said.
“A little bit of orange seems to go a long way,” Bellissimo added.
People who drink 100% orange juice should mix it with some water for a more positive blood sugar result, a registered dietitian suggested. (iStock)
Ilana Muhlstein, a registered dietitian and nutritionist in Los Angeles, was not involved in the study but shared her thoughts on the study with Fox News Digital.
“The most important finding of the entire study is that the blood glucose concentrations were lower after 100% orange juice compared with an orange drink of the same calories, which shows that the body can recognize a difference between natural sugars and added sugars,” she said.
“The body can recognize a difference between natural sugars and added sugars.”
As a dietitian, Muhlstein said she is “constantly encouraging people to drink water,” especially prior to their meals, just as done in the study.
“It’s important to note that drinking water has a meaningful impact on lowering blood sugar levels,” she also pointed out.
“If someone wanted to drink orange juice, I would encourage them to stick with 100% orange juice, versus an ‘orange drink’ sweetened with sugar, and do their best to mix it with some water for a more positive blood sugar result.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Florida Department of Citrus for comment.
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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