Besides eating a high-protein diet, few nutrition changes make as big of a difference in people's health as eliminating calorie-containing beverages from their diets. This includes 100% fruit juice.



Unfortunately, on any given day, about half of adults and two-thirds of children consume sugar-sweetened beverages.Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption among U.S. Youth, 2011-2014. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/44039. Accessed 2 Jan. 2023. Fruit juice is the most common of such beverages.



Contrary to public health recommendations, heavily influenced by the companies who sell the beverages, fruit juice, soda, and other sugary beverages have no place in a "healthy diet."



The "Fruit Juice Is Healthy" Hoax



One cup of apple juice contains 28 grams of carbohydrates, 24 grams of which come from sugar. An 8-ounce serving of Coca-Cola contains 24.6 grams of sugar. In both beverages, most of the sugar comes from fructose. 



The reality is the two beverages aren't much different from one another. Sprinkle in a negligible amount of vitamins into the Coca-Cola, and they'd be virtually the same from a nutrition and metabolism standpoint.



How could this be? How could the U.S. dietary guidelines explicitly state that fruit juice is an acceptable replacement for whole fruit if it's not much better than soda? How could the labels on fruit juice bottles lead you to believe they're good for you when they're not?



A glimpse into the relationships between the government, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the food industry helps you understand. It isn't that different from the relationships between the government, the American Medical Association, and the pharmaceutical industry regarding vaccines. One hand feeds the other in an ongoing cycle that benefits these groups, often at the expense of the people using their products.



The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), formerly known as the American Dietetics Association, licenses registered dietitians (RDs), the supposed "experts" on nutrition in the healthcare system. If you've dealt with a disease or a family member has, you've probably met with a dietitian.



Funny enough, when I was in the hospital after I broke my neck, I asked for extra chicken on one of my entrees. They told me it wasn't allowed without a consultation with a dietitian. I laughed at the absurdity. That said, not all dietitians are bad. I've worked with many amazing dietitians over the years. They were the ones who took it upon themselves to understand nutrition science rather than take the word of the professors they learned from in school.



A paper published in Public Health and Nutrition titled The corporate capture of the nutrition profession in the USA: the case of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics provides a unique view into how the organization is influenced. 



A non-profit organization called US Right to Know got access to some of the AND's internal communications through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. The communications revealed:




In 2015, when AND’s partnership with Kraft was disclosed and criticised by the public, the AND/ANDF BOD dropped the deal. However, the documents gathered through FOI show they privately continued to engage with corporations by: (i) investing AND funds in shares of Nestlé, PepsiCo and several pharmaceutical company stocks; (ii) accepting corporate contributions without disclosing their size, (iii) allowing BOD (board of directors) members to work for or consult for companies with interests that conflict with the mission of the AND, (iv) discussing internal policies within the BOD to fit industry needs, ignoring the work of the SATF, (v) allowing corporations to support AND’s members research and (vi) releasing public positions favouring corporations.
Carriedo A, et al. The corporate capture of the nutrition profession in the USA: the case of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.



In essence, the AND: