I must run to the rescue of the reputation of the mighty potato!
Potato - 150 gram serving - 110 cal, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein, 10% vit C and Vit B6.
White Rice - 1/2 cup serving - 100 cal, 0.4 g fiber, 2 g protein, a smattering of Niacin.
So I’d say potato comes out ahead with 5 times the fiber, 50% more protein, and some vitamins. Brown rice beats both of them, but when you eat brown rice, you KNOW that you are eating something healthy.
But it is fresh fruit, just like OJ. You should have several servings of fresh fruit daily. And if you have to drink it, that’s fine also.
OJ is not fresh fruit. OJ is, at it’s best, recently squeezed fresh juice without the fiber and many of the nutrients of the fresh orange. At it’s worst, it’s a reconstituted paste of oranges squeezed two years ago, without the fiber and with even less of the nutrients due to nutrient loss in storage and transportation.
Please see this old thread where the “virtues” of fruit juice are debunked by people who know these things, including our own Dr. Qadgop.
Fruit juice in moderation for a healthy individual with no weight struggles is just dandy! Fruit juice as an occasional treat for an overweight person is no worse than an occasional can of soda or slice of cake. But it’s now widely accepted as a food They once thought was healthy, when it actually isn’t.
(Fruit juices for babies and kids are now sold watered down with 60% water. That should tell you something right there.)
Some “juices” are far removed from fresh fruit, true. OJ *can * be one of those. But some OJ is full of pulp and thus fiber, which is the missing thing from many reconsitiuted OJs. Real “fresh squeezed” OJ has no significant nutritional difference from eating an orange- depending on how it’s “squeezed” it can still have plenty of the pulp and thus fiber that’s the missing nutrient in most “juices”.
Fruit smoothees (at a reliable source) are simply fruit that has been run through a Osterizer or something to turn an entire whole fruit into juice. There is no nutritional difference in eating a fruit or eating a pureed fruit. If you read the thread you linked to, you’ll see that the only thing that gets taken out of fruit by turning it into juice is the fiber. And, even so- not always, like if the juice was made from pureered whole fruits or it has the pulp still in it.
Now, it is certainly true that most of the “fruit drinks” you buy in cans or the like in the Grocery store are basicly sugar water with a little vitamins. However- other than fiber- that’s all that most fruit is- sugar with a few vitamins. Did you think there was something magic in eating a fruit? :dubious: (There is much debate on whether or not Pastuerizing “kills” the enzymes & such. If you think it makes a difference, get fresh fruit juices then.)
So, if the OJ hasn’t had the shit processed out of it, and still has a good amount of pulp- then there really isn’t much difference between eating that and eating a whole orange. If the Jamba Juice dudes put whole fruit into their smoothies (and I’ve watched them do this), then pureeded fresh fruit is *identical nutritionally * to fresh fruit.
The big difference is that it’s a lot of work to eat one orange, and you’re usually satisfied after eating one. Whereas drinking 1 orange’s worth of juice not very satisfying, and most people end up drinking several oranges’ worth of sugar for breakfast.
OK, I’m 50 now and grew up in West Ky. When I was a kid we ate some perfectly normal things for there and then that tasted great but when I think of them now, the list of ingredients should have a black border around it.
One of my favorites when I was a kid was something called “wilted lettuce.” To make this fine dish you start by picking some fresh lettuce from your kitchen garden and shredding it up a bit. Then you cook some fatty bacon until it’s crisp. You crumble the bacon and dump it atop the lettuce. Pretty good so far but then you take the hot bacon fat and pour it on the lettuce, wilting it thoroughly. This is lard and lettuce! :eek:
Another one is milk-gravy. Again, you cook some bacon or pork sausage and remove the meat. You then mix flour and milk into the hot fat and stir it vigorously so it doesn’t clot in the skillet. This clumpy mixture gets poured over biscuits and eaten.
Another use for biscuits at breakfast was to dip them into a mixture of corn syrup and peanut butter.
Matter of fact, even when I ate “normal” foods they were probably pretty bad for me. Whole milk, three or four scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon in large quantities, biscuits with one or the other of the above toppings on them. Everyone thought this was healthy and nutritious then.
Testy
Weetabix. Its billed as a good for you cereal, after all, whole wheat, which is supposed to be good for you, and no sugar. Yet it has an moderately high glycemic index, which, for me, makes it really bad.
The problem here is that most dudes don’t know what “FOOD” is. There is nothing magical or mysterious about it- this is all that “FOOD” is:
Calories/Food energy (can be got from Carbs, Fats or Protiens)
Proteins/Amino acids
Essential Fatty Acids (this usually isn’t a problem, most of us get plenty)
Fiber
Vitamins
Minerals.
That’s it dudes & dudettes- that’s all you need to live & survive. Except lots of water & air, sure. One could likely live for a long time on those canned food drinks they feed to seniors and dudes who aren’t eating enough. There is quite a bit of debate on whether “whole” foods are better or whether cooking “kills” the enzymes & such in food. :dubious: There is also a possibilty that there are some micronutrients that whole, fresh foods provide that processed foods don’t. If so, still just an occasional meal of such will provide them.
There are also some bad shit in some foods- too much cholesterol or fats that cause such- like “trans fats”. (Some little chol is good for you.) Some additives can be bad, maybe. *Too much * calories or fat is bad (too much of some vitamins is also bad).
It’s nice if a “FOOD” provides you with several things from the above list. Its *not so good * if a “FOOD” gives you too many calories while not giving you not so much of the other things we need. However it’s not “bad” for you- unless taken to excess. Sugar does not = “evil”. :rolleyes: Sugar is a fine source of food energy. It’s just that it’s very easy to consume sugar, and thus consume too many calories.
But one NEEDS calories and vitamins. So if a “fruit juice” is “nothing but sugar water and a little vitamins” you’re still getting: Water (good) , Sugar (Carbs, which is calories or food energy, which is good if you don’t get too much) and vitamins (usually harder to get, and thus 'good"). If you like OJ, go ahead and drink it. But just watch those calories.
If you are having a problem with wieght gain, then sure- guzzling fruit juices (or sugar soda) will give you more of what you don’t need- too many calories. But not everyone is fighting “the battle of the bulge”. Some have the opposite problem, you know.
In America- *most of us * get plenty of calories, proteins, EFAs & likely vitamins (a supplement still is a good idea for those who are pregnant, lactating, who’s Doctors recommend it, and who “don’t eat right”- the last being almost all of us). We don’t get enough fiber. Women often need more calcium, and maybe Iron. So, sure- cut back on calories and get more fiber- if you’re an “average American”. But we’re not all "average".
A good diet includes lots of fresh veggies (fiber, vitamins & minerals, low in calories) fresh fruit (calories, vitamins, fiber) and some lean meat (protein, EFAs, vitamins & minerals). We can’t all eat this way. Many won’t. 
Sometimes we have to make compromises. For example- Whole grains are a good source of calories & fiber. Some of us hate whole grain bread. If you simply won’t eat it, then the white bread (“Iron Kids”) with added fiber should be OK.
I’d generally say- stay away from processed fruit juices if you can get whole fresh juices instead, or even better- eat whole fresh fruit (even fresh fruit can be eaten to excess, however). But if you don’t like to eat whole fruit, and just won’t- then drinking whole fresh juices is OK- if not taken to excess. If you’re a huge fan of “processed fruit juices”- well, OK, :dubious: but be careful and watch those calories.
*Life * is a compromise. Enjoy it.
OK, but Jamba Juice isn’t just fruit juice, slortar - it’s a chain of stores that sells mondo-gigantic fruit & dairy smoothies, often with added protein powder or assorted vitamin powders. They do fill you up.
That’s why I say it’s not really a thirst-quencher, but a meal replacement. If you’re just thirsty, why not drink water or Gatorade?