What Excalibre said, essentially.
There’s really no data that suggests it’s any better for you than an equal amount of sugar and water, a la “soda pop”. There is evidence that giving it to children in large amounts has led to an increase in childhood obesity, higher rates of tooth decay, and that it may contribute to the alarming increase in the early development of diabetes type II (now being seen in pre-teens).
My beverage hierarchy for otherwise healthy adults runs like this:
- Water
- non-caloric & non-carbonated flavored beverage
- Skim milk (may rank higher if the individual needs the calcium, lower if they don’t)
- Vegetable juice (watch the salt load, tho!)
- non-caloric carbonated flavored beverage
(I’d also consider 1-5 above to all be basically healthy or neutral) - 1 or 2% milk
- Fruit juices
- fruit juices or “punches” with added sugar
- Carbonated sodas with sugar
(6-9 above may be ok in the proper amounts but too many folks consume enough of them to turn them into liabilities rather than assets) - Whole milk (waaay too much sat fat for most)
- Maple syrup (when used as a beverage)
Now there are many exceptions depending on the person, their personal medical status, nutritional needs, activity levels, and amounts consumed, and the above scale is not meant to fit all. And different juices may be more appropriate in different situations too. So, as regards my list, take what you think you can use from it and discard the rest.