is fruit juice better than fizzy drinks?

We all know that we need to cut down on fizzy drinks - the sugar content alone can be extreme. But did you know that fruit juice can also be damaging?

"While the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in fruit juice give it a nutritional edge over fizzy drinks, it can have the same, or more, calories", according to a testing lab for Consumer Reports.

In whole fruit, fructose is encased inside the plant's cells, so your body has to work harder to break them down. Sugars in juice are digested and released into your bloodstream faster, causing blood glucose levels to spike. This triggers the body to pump out large amounts of insulin, which can prompt fat storage, and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

A six-year study by top US universities, working with 13000 adults, concluded that fruit juice is just as likely to lead to early death as fizzy drinks. People with a high intake had an 11 per cent increased risk of dying from any cause for every extra 12oz of a sugar-sweetened drink consumed daily.

The best bet is to either drink water, or add fruit juice to water to make it taste better.

HMHB says:  Eating while fruit enables, with its fibre and fructose, is better than consuming smoothies and fruit drinks. But be sensible, as with all dietary needs.