# Would you drink Coke or Pepsi for breakfast?



## Daniel (Nov 11, 2009)

Would you drink Coke or Pepsi for breakfast?
_Los Angeles Times blog: _Booster Shots
by Karen Kaplan

November 9, 2009

_*A glass of orange juice might was well be a Coke or Pepsi. *_

It appears that L.A. Times readers love their juice. Dozens of you wrote in to sound off about Sunday’s story “Nutrition Experts See Juice Glass as Half Empty.” The bottom line – that 100% fruit juice can be as unhealthy as soda – was not welcome news to many readers.

To recap, the story points out that fruit juice has comparable amounts of calories and sugar as soda on an ounce-per-ounce basis. Drinking excess soda will make you gain weight, and the same is true of juice. Health experts scratch their heads when schools remove soda from their vending machines and substitute juice instead. Though juice comes from fruit, it is not nutritionally comparable because it has more sugar and less fiber. As Dr. Charles Billington, an appetite researcher and endocrinologist at the University of Minnesota, put it: “It’s pretty much the same as sugar water.”

Juice drinkers wrote in with their complaints.

Among them:
_If [your butt] is super-glued to the couch, you can become obese eating celery._ (I doubt it – that would mean eating a LOT of celery – but in principle, you could become obese if all you ate were apples and oranges.)

And:
_My Dad lived to be 96 and drank more than one glass of orange juice, squeezed fresh every day. He hooked me, but I am only 80._

One reader pointed the finger at the way juice is packaged:
_Just as with soda, having a big old half gallon in the fridge leads to pouring big old glasses of it any old time -- and a whole lot of calories._

But he added:
_My father in his 60's was thinking that he was so healthy drinking his Tropicana orange juice every day -- a whole quart. Then suddenly, wham!! Diabetes hit him and he almost died. This is a Yale Medical School grad very aware of medical issues. In hindsight, he realized that he had been in sugar denial._

Several readers also wrote in to say that they’ve been on to juice for some time now. For instance:
_I stopped drinking fruit juice several years ago when I realized I had high triglycerides, which can be a symptom of the body having trouble processing sugar and other carbohydrates. The large amount of sugar in orange juice even makes my teeth hurt now when I try some._

A researcher from the Harvard-affiliated Joslin Diabetes Center commented:
_The "healthy halo" around juice has been in great need of a reevaluation._ 

He pointed to this study, published last week in the journal Cell Metabolism, that found that sugar consumption reduced the lifespan of worms. (I know, people are not worms, but they are useful models for studying aspects of human health.)

If you’d like to add your two cents, please feel free to post a comment here.

The problem of excess sugar consumption certainly raises the question (asked by one reader) of how much sugar one can consume each day without getting into trouble. The answer depends on how many total calories you’re shooting for each day. A helpful guide is available from LifeClinic.com. For instance, a 2,200-calorie diet can include up to 12 teaspoons (or 44 grams) of sugar each day.

I also got questions from many readers asking whether their beverage of choice (pomegranate juice, cranberry juice) was any healthier than orange or apple juice. You can look up almost anything at this website from the Agricultural Research Service’s Nutrient Data Laboratory, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Be sure to check the 1-cup option to get an accurate read on calories, sugar and other components of an actual serving size (the program defaults to “100 grams”).


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## Into The Light (Nov 11, 2009)

seems to me orange juice would still have more fibre in it than pepsi! unless they've added fibre to pepsi these days?!


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## Daniel (Nov 11, 2009)

Well, the juice has slightly more calories than the soda, per ounce, so in that sense it is even more unhealthy:



> A cup of orange juice has 112 calories, apple juice has 114, and grape juice packs 152, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The same amount of Coke has 97 calories, and Pepsi has 100.
> 
> http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-juice8-2009nov08,0,1821402.story?page=1


Regarding fiber:

Just add Metamucil to the Pepsi  (which is actually a bad idea according to the PDR)

Of course, some people buy orange juice without pulp.

And, surprisingly:



> They say coffee has more soluble dietary fiber (the type of fiber that dissolves in water and helps prevent cholesterol from being absorbed by the intestines) than wine or orange juice.
> 
> Need More Fiber? Try Coffee - CBS News


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## David Baxter PhD (Nov 11, 2009)

I used to drink Coke for breakfast when I was in university and hung over...


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## Daniel (Nov 11, 2009)

I always start my day with Canada Dry or Canadian Breakfast Tea :teehee:


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## forgetmenot (Nov 11, 2009)

Pepsi i drink it every morning night afternoon diet pepsi actually


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## Eye Stigmata (Nov 12, 2009)

Blue Menu Unsweetened Grapefruit Juice does it for me in the morning!
40 Cal per 250ml = perfection  :lol:


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## David Baxter PhD (Nov 12, 2009)

You have to be careful with grapefruit juice, unfortunately, because it interacts negatively with a lot of prescription medications:


http://forum.psychlinks.ca/medication-interactions/16820-grapefruit-a-bitter-peel-to-swallow.html


http://forum.psychlinks.ca/medicati...efruit-juice-can-cause-drug-interactions.html


http://forum.psychlinks.ca/medicati...uices-to-avoid-when-taking-certain-drugs.html


http://forum.psychlinks.ca/prescrip...ubstances-in-grapefruit-juice-identified.html


http://forum.psychlinks.ca/prescrip...al-the-secret-powers-of-grapefruit-juice.html
If you are taking any prescription medications at all, not just those for mental health issues, please check with your doctors and pharmacists first before drinking grapefruit juice or eating grapefruit.


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## Andy (Nov 12, 2009)

Before I knew about grapefruit I used to peel and eat 2 or 3 a day. I don't recall it doing anything but I do remember my old Dr. telling me to stop and looking at me like I was such an idiot for doing that. lol Who knew it was suppose to be common knowledge back then. Duh. :crazy:

Of course it is my favourite fruit and they are great as far as calories. Every once in a while I will buy one, I can't help myself.:notworthy:


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## Meg (Nov 12, 2009)

I have a glass of watered-down juice with my breakfast.  The vitamin C helps iron absorption, and I need every molecule of that that I can get!  Caffeine in coke or pepsi, on the other hand, would hinder iron absorption.


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## Daniel (Nov 12, 2009)

> I have a glass of watered-down juice with my breakfast.


 
Spinach or cucumber juice?


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## Meg (Nov 12, 2009)

:uh-uh::uh-uh:

Spinach does not belong in juice!


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## David Baxter PhD (Nov 12, 2009)

> Caffeine in coke or pepsi, on the other hand, would hinder iron absorption.



...and increase anxiety and insomnia.


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## forgetmenot (Nov 12, 2009)

reminder to self drink only pepsi zero it is caffeine free and no calories.


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## David Baxter PhD (Nov 12, 2009)

Violet said:


> reminder to self drink only pepsi zero it is caffeine free and no calories.



Or save yourself some money - just drink brown water.


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## forgetmenot (Nov 12, 2009)

I can't drink water it makes me sick. really  hate it.


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## David Baxter PhD (Nov 12, 2009)

You need the brown water, out of the rusty rain barrel. Mmmm... iron.


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## forgetmenot (Nov 12, 2009)

Yah it might just have more flavor hmmm iron good.


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## NicNak (Nov 12, 2009)

So I guess natural sugars in fruits are not any better than added hard sugars.  This is interesting to know.

Wonder if same applies to eating fruits that have high natural sugar souces, like berries etc.

Maybe I will have to pack away my smoothie blender


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## Daniel (Nov 12, 2009)

> Wonder if same applies to eating fruits that have high natural sugar souces, like berries etc.


Well, eating berries is very healthy.  A cup of blueberries, for example, has 4 grams of fiber and 80 calories.

The problem with juicing (as opposed to blending) is that pulp/fiber is removed.


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## NicNak (Nov 12, 2009)

Daniel said:


> Well, eating berries is very healthy.  A cup of blueberries, for example, has 4 grams of fiber and 80 calories.
> 
> The problem with juicing (as opposed to blending) is that pulp/fiber is removed.



Ohh I understand now.  So I can keep making smoothies :yahoo:  Cause I just blend fruit.


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## Daniel (Nov 12, 2009)

Especially if you add spinach, cucumbers, and kale.


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## NicNak (Nov 12, 2009)

Daniel said:


> Especially if you add spinach, cucumbers, and kale.



I see some scents blended of Melon and Cucumber.  Wonder if that would taste good to drink....I would think Honey Dew Melon would make a nice smoothie and maybe add some Cantelope.  I would try to add Cucumber...too.

But maybe I am weirder than I think :teehee:


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## David Baxter PhD (Nov 12, 2009)

Just go straight for the rusty water. So much less fuss and no blender to clean up.


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## NicNak (Nov 12, 2009)

David Baxter said:


> Just go straight for the rusty water. So much less fuss and no blender to clean up.



That's ok Dr Baxter.  I would not want to take that away from you :teehee:


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## Daniel (Dec 9, 2009)

Into The Light said:


> seems to me orange juice would still have more fibre in it than pepsi! unless they've added fibre to pepsi these days?!



I will finally concede to your point after a month of soul searching 

Also, OJ is also a good source of potassium.


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## David Baxter PhD (Dec 9, 2009)

mmmmm... potassium... yummy...


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## Daniel (Jan 9, 2010)

Unexciting but surprising update:



> *Oatmeal + Orange Juice*
> 
> A study from the Antioxidants Research Lab at the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that drinking vitamin C--rich orange juice while eating a bowl of real oatmeal (read: not processed) cleans your arteries and prevents heart attacks with two times as much efficacy than if you were to ingest either breakfast staple alone. The reason? The organic compounds in both foods, called phenols, stabilize your LDL cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or so-called "bad" cholesterol) when consumed together.
> 
> Best Life Magazine - Nutrition - Natural Selections


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## Mari (Jan 9, 2010)

I am not sure what 'real oatmeal' is? Any idea? If they are referring to that cooked mush then I hope raw oats are okay or another grain cereal.  Mari


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## David Baxter PhD (Jan 9, 2010)

I think real oatmeal is the kind you slow cook for hours or fast cook for 30-40 minutes, as opposed to that "instant oatmeal" mush where you just add hot water.


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## Daniel (Jan 9, 2010)

Yeah, I know they want people to avoid the highly processed instant oatmeal.  

This is what I use:

Old Fashioned Quaker Oats - QuakerOats.com


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## David Baxter PhD (Jan 9, 2010)

Are you a registered member at that site, Daniel?


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## Daniel (Jan 9, 2010)

Not yet 

I now see_ Best Life Magazine_ has a recipe where both old-fashioned oats and steel-cut oats are combined into something called the Save-Your-Butt Breakfast.

Anyway, this makes sense:



> Whether you’re eating steel cut oats, old fashioned rolled oats, or quick oats, they’re all good. Just avoid “instant oatmeal,” which is the kind that comes in the little pouches, already mixed with sugar, salt, and artificial flavors.
> 
> http://coachlevi.com/nutrition/rolled-oats-steel-cut-oats-difference/


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## Daniel (Feb 23, 2010)

Another exciting update:



> *Worst Hotel Breakfast Drink:
> 
> **Orange Juice *
> 1 cup
> ...


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## Daniel (May 5, 2010)

To be fair, Tropicana now sells orange juice with half the sugar at 50 calories a glass, though eating an orange would be healthier.

YouTube - Kyra Sedgwick Trop50 Commercial


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## David Baxter PhD (May 6, 2010)

You have to admit, it really seems to be working for Oprah in that video you posted, Daniel...


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## Daniel (May 6, 2010)

:lol: Not coincidentally:



> There's also a series of print ads...in..._O  — The Oprah Magazine_.  Naturally, she channels  her inner spokesperson: "Tropicana is something that's been in our  family for a long time, and I love the premise of Trop50 because it  delivers the goodness of orange juice, but with just half the sugar and  calories."
> 
> Eat Me Daily


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## David Baxter PhD (May 6, 2010)

re: Kyra Sedgwick starring in Tropicana ads

The comments to that story are hilarious... evidently, the point of the ad, orange juice, is lost entirely... it's the shoes and the dress that catch everyone's attention:



> April 30, 2009
> OMG, I'm living in the Kansas City area and have looked everywhere for those shoes -- I LOVE those shoes.
> 2. Sam comments:
> April 19, 2009
> ...


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## HBas (May 6, 2010)

I am currently training with a Personal trainer that put me on a eating plan because it's to be healthy and not to loose weight. Any way - I am only allowed juice to replace a fruit when it's meal time. No fruit or juice in the morning. Rooibos tea as often as I want though ... I am allowed a fruit at snack time in the morning (between 10 and 11) and at snack time in the afternoon ( between 15:00 and 16:00) - with my portion of Protein of course so if I am in a real rush I drink a juice and a protein shake! Also only allowed a certain amount of Grapefruit!

I take a thin slice of lemon in my water and thin slice of orange in my tea, that helps with VitC as well. I have not felt this much natural energy in a very long time - just because of eating right. All the good things are great in the right portions.

Thanks for the cool thread - as always Daniel.

HB


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## Daniel (May 6, 2010)

> Also only allowed a certain amount of Grapefruit!


Can you earn grapefruit credits , like by bench pressing before and after?


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## HBas (May 6, 2010)

Muhwhahahaha ... I suppose


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