Drink wars: carbonated drinks vs fruit juices

In today’s edition of drink wars, we are taking a look at two favorites, carbonated drinks vs fruit juices. These are two drinks that have been pitched against each other for ages.

If you go to to a restaurant or a party, it is very likely that you are offered a choice between the two. You can choose between something carbonated and refreshing or sweet and non-carbonated.

The question now is which one is the healthier choice. Now, the general opinion is that juices are healthier because they contain less sugar and are not carbonated. Is that a true test of how healthy a drink is? Is that assumption true? Let’s see if we can answer these questions here

1. They both pack a lot of sugar

The assumption that fruit juices are healthier than soda drinks might not necessarily be true. Even though fruit juices aren’t carbonated, they also have high sugar content.

On average, both soda drinks and fruit juice packs can have up to 110 calories and about 20-26 grams of sugar. That is a lot of sugar for one pack of drinks. Do you still want to take that pack of juice?

2. They both may lead to weight gain

We all know taking lots of sugar is a great recipe for weight gain. These two drinks will get you to the same obese destination, whichever one you take. This is because they both contain loads of calories and little to no fiber.

What happens is that you keep drinking them without feeling full. The more you drink, the more calories you are ingesting, the more weight you are gaining.

Also, it is not a good idea to drink your calories instead of eating them. You won’t be able to control the number of calories you are actually ingesting. Although to be fair, if you ingest a little quantity of these drinks, you may not gain weight. And soda companies are trying to reduce the sugar content in their drinks

3. Juice does have more nutrients than soda

Yes, finally! An advantage of juice over soda. Since it is made from natural fruits, fruit juice does contain several minerals and vitamins that soda does not have.

Iron, B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, carotenoids are just some of the vitamins and minerals contained in fruit juice. One thing to remember, though, is to go for freshly squeezed juice. This is because vitamins and minerals degrade with time. So, get them while they are hot and strong.

The verdict

So in the matter of carbonated drinks vs fruit juices, what say ye? To be fair, if taken in small quantities, fruit juices are still the healthier option. They contain several vitamins and minerals and beneficial compounds that help your health.

Both taken in high quantity, though, puts you at risk of obesity, heart diseases, and Diabetes. In conclusion, stay away from both soda drinks and fruit juices.

If you have to take any, take 100% natural fruit juices, and also don’t take too much. Or better still switch to water and add some pieces of fruit or a little fruit juice to taste. Keep your body healthy, you only have one of it.