‘Drinking fruit juice is the fastest way to gain weight’: Nutritionist reveals

11 years ago | Posted in: Health | 10113 Views

With forecasters predicting a warm July and summer holidays looming, many people will be swapping their chocolate bars for so-called healthy snacks.

However, many of these diet favourites may be worse for your waistline than you think.

Dietitians at Tesco have compiled a list of the top traps that catch out unsuspecting dieters.

These include the unlikely culprits of honey, olive oil, fruit juice, and low-fat yoghurt.

Catherine Matthews, nutritionist at Tesco Diets, said that fruit juice is ‘the fastest way to gain weight’.

She said: ‘It takes less than a minute for most people to drink 150 calories.’

Another issue is fruit juice’s lack of fibre. When we eat fruit, fibre forms a protective layer that acts as a barrier to the intestine. This slows absorption of sugar, so the liver can to deal with the sugar steadily.

In fizzy drinks, fruit juices and smoothies, the barrier has gone, which leads to the liver being overloaded.

This triggers two things: Firstly, this overload provides a sudden burst of energy which very quickly tapers off, leading to what many experts describe as a ‘sugar crash’. This can cause many people to end up feeling lethargic, irritable and even more hungry than they did before.

Secondly the high levels of fructose – fruit sugar – that are not burned off are converted to fat.

And if you thought smoothies were better, you’d be wrong.

Ms Matthews explained : ‘You may think a fruit or veggie smoothie is packed with vitamins and minerals, but it is [like juice] also laden with sugar. Some contain as much sugar as fizzy drinks.’

A recent study for MailOnline revealed that many ‘healthy’ drinks are actually worse for you than cakes and biscuits.

It found that a single serving of so-called healthy fruit juice contains the same amount of sugar as three-and-a-half doughnuts, or 13 hobnob biscuits.

It also revealed that a single 250ml serving of white grape juice contains the same amount of sugar as four Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts.

The study also found that a bottle of Blackcurrant Ribena contains the same amount of sugar as 13 Oreo biscuits and that a Costa Massimo Red Berry Cooler contains the same amount of sugar as 16 Nature Valley Oats and Honey Granola Bars.

She went on to say that olive oil is the worst offender as, despite its health-giving properties, it is still oil and every teaspoon contains about 50 calories.

Speaking to The Times, Ms Matthews also warned about other diet-busters such as honey, which is extremely high in sugar, and of low-fat yoghurts and biscuits which sometimes contain more calories than the full-fat versions. The sugar is added as a way to make up for the flavour lost when the fat is taken out.

However, these are not the only potential dangers for dieters – slimmers are also being warned to watch out for wine as, while a glass or two can have some health benefits, a large glass can contain as much as 225 calories.

Source: Dailymail UK

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