David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

Is Orange Juice Healthy?

30 Nov 2014 · 2 min

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1:57

In this monologue, Dr. David Perlmutter examines the carbohydrate and sugar content of typical breakfast beverages, comparing a 12‑ounce can of Coke (39 g carbs) with a 12‑ounce glass of fresh‑squeezed orange juice (36 g carbs, about 9 teaspoons of sugar). He highlights that two glasses of orange juice would provide roughly 70 g of carbs, which approaches the upper limit of the 60‑80 g daily carbohydrate allowance recommended in his Grain Brain program. Perlmutter advises that if one wishes to consume orange juice, it should be heavily diluted (3:1 or 4:1 with water) or replaced with lower‑carb options such as water or coffee. He stresses the importance of recognizing hidden sources of carbs in the morning routine and encourages viewers to be mindful of total carbohydrate intake throughout the day.

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What's for breakfast? I've asked you that question before. Well, we decided in our last episode that maybe oatmeal isn't something we want to put on the plate for various reasons. We've talked about that. But what are you going to drink with breakfast? Are you going to have a can of Coke? Now, maybe you do. Maybe that's what your choice is. That's 39 grams of carbohydrate. So people are going to say, well, maybe that's not exactly what I want to do. I'll have, let's say, a fresh-squeezed glass of orange juice. Is that necessarily a good idea? Let's have a look. As you see here, yes, 39 grams of sugar in a can of Coke, but in a 12-ounce glass of orange juice, you're getting 36 grams, just about the same as a can of Coke, 36 grams of carbohydrates, and that translates into Count it up, 9 teaspoons of sugar. So with a couple of glasses, 12-ounce glasses of orange juice each morning, you're getting 18 teaspoons of sugar, close to 70 grams of carbohydrate. That's a lot of carbohydrate. In the Grain Brain program, we're trying to limit your carbohydrates to between 60 to 80 grams per day, and that means 2 glasses of orange juice, and that's going to be it for you for the day. If you are desperate for orange juice, you probably want to dilute it, maybe 3 to 1 or 4 to 1, or drink water. There's nothing wrong with that. Have a cup of coffee. But I think it's really very important that we take a step back and understand that there are a lot of hidden sources of carbohydrates, and your morning glass of orange juice might very well be one of them. I'm Dr. David Perlmutter.