Skip the Commercial Juices
Fruit juices are considered health drinks. While they contain high amounts of sugar, they also hold numerous nutritional benefits. Drunk in moderation, in theory, fruit juice is a fine addition to a balanced healthy diet.
However …
Commercial juices have been found to be anything but healthy in recent years and you may want to reconsider what you and your family are drinking altogether.
According to Consumer Reports – a study was done that tested 45 popular juice brands on the market. The sampling included grape juice, fruit blends, and pear juices. Heavy metals were found in elevated levels across all brands.
Brands tested included Twenty-four national stores and private-label brands: 365 Everyday Value (Whole Foods), Apple & Eve, Big Win (Rite Aid), Capri Sun, Clover Valley (Dollar General), Great Value (Walmart), Gerber, Good2Grow, Gold Emblem (CVS), Goya, Honest Kids, Juicy Juice, Looza, Market Pantry (Target), Minute Maid, Mott’s, Nature’s Own, Ocean Spray, Old Orchard, R.W. Knudsen, Simply Balanced (Target), Trader Joe’s, Tree Top, and Welch’s.
The metals found included mercury, lead, and arsenic. Children are particularly vulnerable to heavy metals, but adults as well can be damaged by them.
The Dangers of Heavy Metals in the Body
- Lowered IQ
Behavioral Problems - Hyperactivity Issues
- ADHD
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Cancer
- Headaches
- Vision problems
- Allergy issues
- Skin cancer
- Reproductive issues
- High Blood Pressure
Heavy metals accumulate in the organs – the brain, liver, kidneys, heart, and even in bones. Simply speaking, they can hinder biological function anywhere in the body and it can be very tough to diagnose as most doctors do not test for metal toxicity.
It is interesting to note that organic brands did not test any lower than traditionally grown.
Only 13 brands responded to questions asked by Consumer Reports. Only two— Gerber and CVS —answered all questions. Some gave a general statement, and one declined to comment at all.
The response was that they did their own testing and it adhered to all current government regulations also noting that heavy metals can be naturally occurring.
While there are some government-set limits on heavy metals in food products, the fact is that metals should not be consumed at all. We are exposed to them in the environment and the air regularly thanks to pollution, pesticides, and mining, we should not be adding to that and overloading what our bodies can deal with and eliminate.
The Best Advice: Limit juice drinking (including pressing it yourself). Visit https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/arsenic-and-lead-are-in-your-fruit-juice-what-you-need-to-know/ and scroll to the bottom for a chart of “Better Alternatives” to see which juices ranked cleanest. *Even pressing juice yourself seems to be in question these days, limiting juice altogether seems to be a wise idea right now.
Sources:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23424-heavy-metal-poisoning-toxicity
