Human studies of the Universities of Hohenheim and Kiel show that a glass of juice to a meal causes no weight gain. In addition, the juice significantly reduces the level of uric acid.
More gout and overweight - for some years, sugary drinks have been a pillar of these problems in the industrialized nations. Not only sweetened lemonades, but also fruit juices are affected. This is not justified, scientists from the universities of Kiel and Hohenheim in Stuttgart have now found out in two human studies. The regular consumption of orange juice can even lower the level of uric acid and thus counteract gout. Enjoyed with meals, the researchers were also unable to observe any increase in weight due to fruit juice. They therefore recommend one glass of fruit juice per day, as this naturally contains not only sugar, but also vitamins, polyphenols, minerals and fibers and thus represents a valuable supplement to the diet.
It was a change from Paulus to Saulus: Just a few years ago, fruit juices were considered healthy; today they are banished from some kindergartens and elementary schools. The reason: their high total sugar content, which can certainly keep pace with that of many sodas. For some nutritionists, they are therefore as unhealthy as cola drinks.
That's what Prof. Dr. Reinhold Carle from the University of Hohenheim and Prof. dr. Anja Bosy-Westphal from the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel want to verify. The nutritionists carried out two human studies, in which 26 young, healthy volunteers covered 20 percent of their daily energy needs for two weeks with either decaffeinated cola or orange juice.
"For the juice, most subjects were around 1.2 liters, for cola about one liter a day," explains Prof. Dr. med. Carle. In the sense of a so-called cross-over study, there was a leaching phase of one week for the participants after the first 14 days, then the orange drinkers switched to cola and vice versa.
Against gout: Orange juice lowers uric acid levels
In the first study, the focus was on how cola or orange juice affects uric acid, which is responsible for the increasing incidence of gout disease in industrialized countries. The result: "Even with this very high consumption, orange juice, in contrast to cola, did not affect the glucose metabolism, and the uric acid level was even significantly lowered," explains nutritionist Prof. Dr. med. Bosy-Westphal.
The reduction in uric acid level was most evident at higher baseline levels. "For the uric acid-lowering effect of orange juice is both the vitamin C intake by the juice and its content of flavonoids, especially hesperidin, into consideration," said the expert.
Because vitamin C promotes the excretion of uric acid, which is why the regular consumption of orange juice for the prevention of increased uric acid levels (hyperuricemia) could contribute. This effect had already been shown for hesperidin in animal experiments. "And if the crystallization of uric acid in joints and tissues is inhibited, this in turn can prevent the development of gout," concludes Prof. Dr. med. Bosy-Westphal.
Body Fat: No increase through juice at meals
In the second study, volunteers also covered 20 percent of their daily energy needs with orange juice - but this time they first consumed 400 milliliters of orange juice three times a day for two weeks, the other time they consumed the juice between meals.
"We were able to show that even this very high level of consumption had no negative effects on body weight - if the juice was not consumed in between, but was drunk for breakfast, lunch and dinner," reports Prof. Dr. med. Bosy-Westphal. "When consumed with food, the juice reduces and adapts spontaneous energy intake to the meal." However, when consumed between meals, the researchers found a slight increase in body fat.
Researchers recommend one glass of juice a day
Literary fruit juices against thirst would therefore also Prof. Dr. med. Carle and Prof. dr. Bosy-Westphal not recommend it, but that is not a common practice anyway: "The annual per capita consumption of orange juice in Germany is around 7.5 liters," explains Prof. Dr. med. Carle. "In contrast, about 75 liters of sodas are drunk. In contrast to sugar-sweetened soft drinks that adolescents and especially young men eat in quantities of up to half a liter daily, fruit juices are essentially not as a thirst quencher in between. "
According to the conclusion of the study results, fruit juice can not only be safely consumed in the usual amount of consumption, but can also be regarded as a valuable supplement to a meal. "Orange juice is a valuable source of potassium, folic acid and vitamin C. It contains bioactive substances such as carotenoids and polyphenols with good bioavailability", emphasizes Prof. Dr. med. Carle. "For example, a glass of fruit juice for breakfast can replace one of the DGE's recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables a day."
The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) recommends to consume 250 g of fruit daily - an amount that is less than 43 percent of Germans. Taking the fruit juice intake off the DGE recommendations would be 59 percent below recommended levels. "That would not make sense," says Prof. Dr. med. Carle. "As early as 2015, a study by the University of Hohenheim showed that the human body absorbs the valuable ingredients of orange much better from the orange juice than from the fruit."
Soure: yumda, 26.06.2018
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