Drinking fruit juice instead of eating green vegetables and whole fruit may boost the risk of type 2 diabetes in women, according to a study published in Diabetes Care.
In this study, more than 73,000 women were followed for 18 years as a part of the Nurses' Health Study.
Those who added three servings of whole fruit to their daily diet lowered their risk of type 2 diabetes by 18 percent. Eating one additional serving of green vegetables each day lowered diabetes risk by 9 percent.
In contrast, drinking one extra serving of fruit juice was found to increase risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of age, body weight or family history of diabetes.
Fruit juice may be viewed as a healthier drink choice because, unlike pop, it contains vitamins and minerals - and one-half cup (125 ml) of juice counts as a Food Guide serving of vegetables and fruits.
But some fruit juices have a sugar content that rivals that of soft drinks and, as this study's author notes, many women drink fruit punches instead of 100% fruit juices.
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, about six percent of Canadian women between the ages of 45 and 65 have type 2 diabetes. Compared to women without diabetes, women with type 2 diabetes have an 8-fold increase in risk of heart disease.
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