Now, add another strike against juice: Recent research from the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia has found that drinking a glass of fruit juice every day is associated with heightened blood pressure. Researchers studied 12 months’ worth of self-reported juice drinking habits provided by more than 140 healthy adults. After adjusting the data for potential confounders like age and weight, the results were clear: The central systolic blood pressure of daily drinkers was 3 and 4 points higher than those who drank it occasionally or rarely, respectively. Why? Juice consumption can contribute excessive sugar intake, a known trigger of blood pressure spikes, researchers speculate. So is it time to swear off juice for good? Or does the drink still have some nutritional merit? “In all honesty, I really don’t recommend drinking juice,” says culinary nutritionist Stefanie Sacks. “Unless it’s the fresh, cold-pressed, or centrifugally-juiced-right-in-front-of-you type of juice and you’re drinking it in moderation.” (But even those blends can be sugary to a fault, she says—stick to no more than 8 ounces a day.) And the bottled, filtered stuff on the grocery store shelves? It’s better just to forget it. But go ahead and enjoy liquefied produce with a good-old-fashioned smoothie. “I like to blend fruits and vegetables because you’re getting the whole fruit, you’re getting the fiber, and you’re getting all the nutrition,” Sacks says. Get blending right now with these super-healthy smoothies you can make at home.
