Fruit juice may be stricken from food guide

Long a topic of debate, Health Canada may remove fruit juices from their Food Guide, the guide the federal government supplies Canadians with to assist them in making healthy food choices.

Currently the Food Guide suggests Canadians consume 10 servings of fruit and vegetables each day. Of those 10, a half-cup of fruit juice is considered a single serving, though that could change is Health Canada comes to the conclusion fruit juices may not be as healthy as once believed.

Heath Canada noted in a press release they are “in the process of reviewing the evidence base for [their] current guidance to Canadians. Depending on the conclusions of the scientific review, guidance for consumption of various foods, including juice, could be updated in the future.”

It’s been known for awhile there are many benefits to eating whole fruits and vegetables over their juices, but some experts note that the juice alone doesn’t contain very much beyond water and sugar, some more than soft drinks like Coca-Cola. Canada’s Food Guide already suggests whole fruit and vegetables over their juices, but does consider juice in their balanced diet.

Some nutritionists suggest that considering juices as a fruit serving is an easy-out in meeting recommended daily intakes, while others argue simply taking fruit juice off the list won’t convince Canadians to eat more whole fruits and juice is a fine alternative to other, less healthy drinks. Many Canadians already don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables, juice or not.