Rule 35 - Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature.

I picked this rule out because Michael Pollan's point is: "...don't drink your sweets." As he further states:

Humans are one of the very few mammals that obtain calories from liquid after weaning.

You think Jamba Juice is healthy? Sorry, but it's not. I used to get Mango-a-go-go; 16 oz (their small size) provides 280 calories, 59 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of dietary fiber. Their "power" (large) size comes in at 550 calories, 117 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of dietary fiber. (BTW a cup of sliced mango is 107 calories, 24 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of dietary fiber; for perspective, a Big Mac without cheese is 576 calories.) What's interesting is that Jamba Juice now has a Jamba Light line. So they know that their juices are just a bunch calories and have now gone light?!!

In Jamba's nutrition section online, they state that "fructose is better for you" than the other sugars and that "good calories come from fruit and other natural sources". Jamba, any good thing can become bad when done in excess. Come on, you know that! Last week I explained how fructose is metabolized differently than glucose. I wouldn't say that it's better for you, but eating a whole fruit is, yes, better for you. Why? Because it contains fiber.

Fiber slows down the absorption of sugar into our body. All type II diabetics have hopefully been told that fiber is good for them. The daily recommendation is 30 grams per day (we probably eat only half that); a study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that diabetics who ate more high-fiber grains, vegetables, and fruit can better their blood sugar and possibly avoid the need for additional medication. When these study subject increased their fiber intake to 50 grams per day, they noticed striking improvement in their blood sugar (as well as cholesterol).

By slowing the absorption of sugar into the body, you avoid the spike in blood sugar level, instead blood sugar levels become more stable. A large quantity of sugar in the body overwhelms the liver, and we know what happens when the liver is overwhelmed with sugar -- it starts converting the excess sugar into fat, for storage.

Why do you think we give type I diabetics juice when their blood sugar is so low that they have passed out? It's a quick shot of sugar. I just peeked at the label on the Original Capri Sun with "25% less sugar" across the front. Ingredients for its fruit punch: water, sugar, pear and grapefruit concentrates, citric acid, water... Hold on! They're adding sugar to the juice? And the vitamin C (citric acid) is added too?? I shudder.

If you must, treat juices and colas as it is, as a treat -- only on special occasions.