Is it fine to take only fresh juice for breakfast?
Nutrition Counsellor,
Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals,
Kolkata
Q: I take 500 ml fresh juice every day but no breakfast. My fresh juice contains 2 large apples, 2 pears, 2 oranges, 4 carrots and 1 large tomato. Some people say that its good but many people say that its bad because fruit juice contains sugar and its not good to consume it on all 7 days at the cost of skipping breakfast. Can I continue doing the same or not? If yes, then what fruits and how much quantity should I take? I understand that skipping breakfast is harmful, but what about my case?
A:You are of an ideal body weight and so the concern for a lot of sugar intake does not arise in your case, if and only if, you are not on a completely sedentary lifestyle. Fruit juice provides the much needed supply of vitamins and minerals. But it is suggested that breakfast should be a little more complex in nature rather than simple glucose supply. It is breaking your fast, so the supply of food should be such that it is able to sustain you for a long time and is able to give your system a little bulk. Thus it is recommended that you should have a toast or two of whole wheat bread with low fat spreads, along with milk or juices. Normally for a healthy normal weighted male as you, a cereal sources like breads, oats, cornflakes etc. are recommended. They provide much needed fibre to the body to regulate the bowel movements of the system.