Fruit Juice Review: Just Say No to Sunny-D

Sunny Delight TV ads try to pass off a fake fruit juice as a health drink for kids and teens. “Sunny-D” TV ads show some thirsty hoard of teens or adolescents guzzling the stuff as their TV mothers feel good about serving them this artificial fruit juice. If you’re concerned about your teens’ nutrition, give them real fruit juice, as in 100 percent natural fruit juice, rather than something that says, “with real fruit juice.” The actual real fruit juice in Sunny D comprises only 2 percent or less of the ingredients.

Teens like the fruit taste of Sunny-D’s concoction of water, high fructose corn syrup, artificial color and preservatives, all advertised as a health drink for teens and kids. Don’t be a victim of slick TV ads for artificial juice: Do you really want to feed your teens corn syrup laced with sodium benzoate, Yellow #5, Yellow #6 and a food additive called sodium hexametaphosphate, which is also used for detergents and water softeners ?

Just because three vitamins are thrown into Sunny Delight doesn’t mean you should feel good about serving it to your kids. I’m not saying serve nothing but carrot juice or beet juice to your kids and not let them enjoy something sweet, but this content is for all those health-conscious mothers who care about these kinds of things. Besides, 100 percent natural orange juice tastes as refreshing and sweet as Sunny Delight.

Parched teens who like the taste of orange will guzzle 100 percent natural orange juice any day. If teens like the taste of Sunny Delight, then they’ll surely like any bottled 100 percent pure orange juice, or frozen orange juice concentrate.

100 percent pure orange juice that comes in a carton, however, often tastes bad, so I do not advise that. The health food or “naturals” sections of supermarkets, plus Whole Foods Market, all have a large selection of 100 percent, all-natural, no-sugar-added fruit juices in many flavors, including orange, as well as fruit-combo flavors. It costs a little more, but teens’ nutrition is worth it. But if you’re watching pennies, 100 percent natural frozen juice concentrate is cheaper than bottled natural juices.

Why would you give your kids Sunny Delight instead?

Frozen, all-natural juices are also sold in organic versions (and so are bottled juices). Again, if you’re short on money, realize that you shouldn’t nickel-and-dime your teens’ nutrition — or your own, for that matter, as some adults surely drink Sunny-D because they have fallen for the slick TV ads. Yeah, it tastes cool, but so does natural juice.

This is not a health drink!It’s liquid candy with vitamin C thrown in! You might as well get some of those orange candies that come in plastic wraps, melt them, refrigerate the result, and then guzzle it later — for the same effect of any fake juice product “with real fruit juice !

Some Whole Foods stores have fresh juicing stations. They juice organic fruit, and then sell the drinks in various sizes. Yes, they are pricey, at $8.99 per half gallon. But I’m not inclined to believe that most mothers buy Sunny Delight because they are dirt poor. They buy this candy juice because of the TV ads, and keep buying it because their teens like it.

If you’re not overly concerned about everything your teens drink, that’s fine; I’m not after you here. It’s a free country; buy what you can afford and what your kids like best if those are your two leading criteria as a consumer. But I’m targeting the health-conscious mothers who are trying hard to ensure good nutrition in their kids, and are being mislead by TV ads.