Ever wonder which juice contains the most sugar?
Well I did a little comparison shopping so that you wouldn’t have to! Most brands of juice whether 100% juice, or with added sugar or HFCS, stayed within the 23-28 grams of sugar per 8 oz range. However, 5 were so high in sugar they might as well have been with the syrup in the pancake aisle!
4 grams of sugar is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Top 5 sugariest juices
*All nutritionals are compared using 8 ounces/1 cup of juice per (said) grams of sugar.
5. Most brands selling Pomegranate were between 34 and 36 grams of sugar. (= to almost 9 tsps of sugar per cup!)
4. R&W Knudsen Pineapple coconut and Chadwick’s Bay Prickly Pear Lemonade both clocked in at 37 grams. (= to 9.25 tsps of sugar per cup)
3. Safeway brand (regular/purple/concord) Grape had 39 grams. (=to 9.75 tsps of sugar per cup)
2. Welches brand White Grape Juice contains 40 grams. (=to 10 tsps of sugar per cup)
And the winner for the juice that ounce for ounce contains the most sugar….drum roll….please….
1. Chadwick Bay Natural Sweet Cherry Juice at 52 grams! Chadwick’s claims no added sweeteners and 100% juice. That’s not juice, that’s syrup! (=to 13 tsps of sugar per cup)
Some surprising results:
Sunny D both “smooth” and “tangy” has only 14 grams. Sadly, this doesn’t mean I’d even come close to recommending it. With corn syrup (at least not HFCS!) as it’s second ingredient, it is a food-like-substance containing mostly chemicals, preservatives, a little juice, and artificial flavorings.
Powdered lemonade and Kool- Aid contained 16 grams of sugar per 8 oz. (when mixed with water). Again, not drinks I’d recommend (for reasons stated in previous paragraph) but better than I expected.
Apple vs. Orange Juice
Apple and Orange juice are among the most commonly consumed, so which one is higher in sugar? Whether organic or conventional, freshly squeezed or from concentrate, orange juice generally came in between 22-24 grams. Apple, regardless of brand, was consistently 28 grams.
Juice Containing the Lowest Amounts of Sugar
L&A all cranberry had no added sugar and contained only 7 grams. However, I’ve tried cranberry juice with no added sugar before and to say it puckers the mouth is an understatement! Check the label. Most of the cranberry juices I checked were closer to 30 grams.
Odwalla’s carrot juice was only 13 grams. Depending on the carrots, carrot juice can be sweet or bitter. I’ve yet to give this juice a try, so let me know if you’ve tried it and what your opinion is.
The Juices I Recommend….in small quantities
Grapefruit juice of varying brands continually contained around 18 grams. This is actually one of the only juices I’d recommend (if you’re on any prescription medication beware of interactions. Check with your Dr. before consuming grapefruit).
Tim Ferriss of The 4 Hour Body recommends consuming a “small quantity of fructose, in the form of grapefruit juice before a crap laden meal” as it helps to to metabolize sugar so as not to cause insulin spikes.
Lemon juice (freshly squeezed) has a similar effect. I’ve tried both and I have to say that both grapefruit and lemon had a stabilizing effect on my blood sugar level (when I ate something that contained a lot of sugar).
You Can Drink Juice. Just Remember it’s a Treat!
Drinking juice in small quantities is fine but eating a piece of fruit is a much healthier choice. The American Pediatrics Association recommends that children ages 1-4 consume no more than 6 oz of juice per day. That is less than one sippy cup. Water it down, or, even better, teach your child to enjoy plain water and reserve juice for a special treat.
* Fructose is the correct term for the type of sugar that fruit contains. Just as lactose is the actual term for the sugar that naturally occurs in milk. I’ve used the term “sugar” to keep my point very clear- fructose is sugar.
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