How are fruits & fruit juices good for us if sugar isn't?

All I ever hear anymore if how sugar is the "white devil" among dieters. How is this the case if people praise the benefits of fruits and non-dairy smoothies? I mean, how can a bottle of apple juice be better for you than a can of Coke if the juice contains more sugar? I guess what I'm trying to ask is, will a large fresh fruit smoothie be good for me or the equivalent to a milk shake?

How are fruits %26amp; fruit juices good for us if sugar isn't?
"sugar" is not bad for you. your body could not survive without it. the reason that white sugar and soda are considered bad for you, is that they have no other nutrients to go along with the sugar. your body was designed to like sugar so much because most natural sources of sugar also contain many other nutrients that are essential to life(primarily vitamins and fiber). in nature you would never find sugar alone without anything else. when you get the majority of your sugar intake from refined sugar your diet is likely to be deficient in many things. also, taking vitamins in a pill form is not comparable to getting the vitamins from food sources.

a simple rule to follow is this: if it tastes good, and it comes from an unprocessed natural source, its probably good for you. god made it pretty easy for us to tell the difference between what is good and what is bad with out tongue, in recent times we have gotten greedy and figured out ways to take out what makes good food taste good(i.e. sugar, msg, etc) and concentrate it into a pure form, leaving all the necessary nutrients behind. this is a major cause of many health disorders.

as far as the smoothie question i would say that a fruit smoothie is definately more healthy than a milk shake provided is is made from real fruit and not just a syrup as is the case with most commercial places that sell smoothies. milkshakes arent that bad depending on the ingredients.

just remember: if god made it, and it tastes good, its probably good. if man made it, and it tastes good, its a gamble

you shouldnt worry as much about the numbers in the nutritional facts section as you do about the ingredients.
Reply:sodas can kill you my father told me how the local drugist drank coke all the time hisdoctor saidhewasgoing todie, Iwas at a storebuying a pepsi a ladysaid THAT KILLED mysister, peo-ple should stay awayfrom all processed foods, period,anything unnatural will hurt you bodysbalance and most ailments are caused by not eating healthy foods,no white flour cured my arthritisand , no red meat, not chocolates. sweets,
Reply:Friends, let's set a few misconceptions right.



Fruit juice is not "good" for anybody. It is sugar-water with some vitamin C. The sugar is fructose and people say that it doesn't raise your blood glucose, so it's OK. It is not.



The other lame excuse is that it provides you with fiber (if "pulpy.") Well, there are many better ways of getting fiber than via the juice-eating the fruit itself, for example.



Short answer: stay away from the stuff. Particularly, stay away from the bottled and canned stuff, because it's made from rotten/overripe/injured fruit that no one would ever buy.
Reply:The more processed the food, the higher the sugar (general rule). That is why an apple is better than the same weight of apple juice. I would have to look at labels to see which had more sugar, but since fruit juice has natural nutrients, and Coke does not, that is why fruit juice - even if the same in calories, is better.



However, for serious dieters, distilled water 64 oz a day is the best.
Reply:Who said they were good for you? Only unsweetened fruit juices are, and they still contain fructose (another form of sugar.) The only very healthy choice is water.
Reply:freshly squeezed juice is good for you--not from a can or from a smoothie
Reply:fruit has a sugar called fructose and its okay in moderation. just dont over do it because excess fructose can turn into fat
Reply:Sugar is sugar. . .there is no "good sugar vs. bad sugar". Too much fruit juice can put on weight. The whole fruit is much better than just "juice". But as with everything in life, balance is "key".
Reply:fruit has "good sugar" not "bad sugar" like cookies. a fruit smoothie is better than a milk shake!!!
Reply:Fruit Juices usually contains sugar from the fruit itself, that's why it's really healthy.