Juice manufacturer Old Orchard Brands is expanding its financial support for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). A press release issued by the company announced intentions to give up to one million dollars in new funding. The company hopes to raise money for the JDRF with its Healthy Balance Challenge, in which twenty cents from each sale of Old Orchard Brands Healthy Balance line of low-sugar fruit juices will be donated to the JDRF.

The JDRF accepted Old Orchard's support last year and, according to Old Orchard, the company has pledged $650,000 worth of cash and product donations through 2009. Money raised through the Healthy Balance Challenge will be in addition to that sum. Arnold Donald, CEO of the JDRF, says partners such as Old Orchard Brands "care deeply about the work we do in researching a cure for type 1 diabetes. They continue to support our organization with innovative retail-driven programs that increase funding for research, and that's a rare and valuable partner to have."

You could also say that every dollar in support for the JDRF equals good publicity and increased sales for Old Orchard. Of course, I would never be so cynical.

In an August 7 blog, I wrote about the dangers of fruit juice, especially the ongoing popular perception of fruit juice as a "healthy" food product. In a case of great timing, The New York Times published a little piece yesterday about the dangers of sugary drinks in general, but especially the evils of soda. "Americans have sipped and slurped their way to fatness by drinking far more soda and other sugary drinks over the last four decades," states the Times report in which researchers explain why these beverages are a big factor behind rising levels of obesity in the US. Of course, the American Beverage Association refutes the researchers' claims.

This article is definitely worth a look for anyone interested in health news, but particularly for diabetics. Of course, health-conscious diabetics are not guzzling gallons of soda anyway, right? But it's nevertheless helpful for diabetics to be aware that a diabetic-friendly diet is not really a special, medically-limited diet. In fact, it's just a healthful way to eat, period. Think about it: you're an example for others!

Do yourself and your family a favor and limit your fruit juice consumption. Better yet, cut juice - along with soda - from your diet entirely. Although the companies that manufacture fruit juice love to slap labels on their products claiming they are "healthy" and "natural," this just 'ain't true. Fruit juice, even without extra sugar added to pump up the taste, is loaded with sugar and calories. It's bad for the teeth and it's bad for the waistlines of kids and adults alike.

Excess juice consumption - like excess soda consumption - may even contribute to the development of Type 2 diabetes. Dr. Robert H. Lustig, professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of California at San Francisco and a passionate opponent of juice consumption explains it as follows: The fructose in juice is metabolized into acetyl-Co-A, a compound that is normally processed by the body without harm, but which occurs in such high quantities in people drinking lots of juice and soda that it can damage the body in a variety of ways. One of these ways is the production of a compound toxic to beta cells in the pancreas, which some experts believe triggers the development of Type 2 diabetes.

When it comes down to the facts, juice is not much more than a sugar cocktail of fructose, glucose and sucrose, with none of the beneficial fiber you get from eating fruit. The calories it contains can contribute to weight gain, obviously, but in addition it is not effective at suppressing the appetite, which encourages overeating. The final word goes to Dr. Lustig: "Drinking juice - even if it says '100% natural' - is no better than drinking soda."

Many popular foods out there are touted as being "healthy." However, many are not all that nutritious and will just load your body with sugar, to the detriment of your health, especially if you are diabetic. There's an excellent short article on this very topic that I recommend. It's by Dana Carpender, who has written two low-carb recipe books and is also the editor of the online newsletter Lowcarbezine! (Her own website is www.holdthetoast.com, by the way.)

Anyway, Dana says watch out for highly-processed snacks that are high in sugar and low in fiber. The main offenders? Rice cakes, granola bars, and "wheat" or "whole grain" bread. This last one is one of my pet peeves: if you look closely at the labels on most loaves touted as "whole grain," you will find they actually contain little in the way of fiber. In addition, they often contain added sugar.

Watch out also for polyunsaturated vegetables oils, says Carpender. Yes, back in the 80s we were all told they were the way to go, but now we know differently. Carpender also takes a swipe at flavored yogurts and fruit juice. I was cheering when I read this. Popularly perceived as "healthy," big-brand flavored yogurts are just sugar in a cup. Same deal with fruit juice - all the sugar and none of the fiber. Go, Dana!