The funny thing is that I never bought juice for my kids until my daughter was diagnosed with diabetes. Now we keep 15 gram carb juice boxes on hand to treat lows.
I personally like to drink juice, but I don’t like the empty calories. Old Orchard has a new line of juice cocktails called Healthy Balance that are sweetened with Splenda and have 75% less sugar, calories, and carbs than regular juice. They also don’t have preservatives, artificial colors, or flavors.
Flavors include: Apple, Apple Cranberry, Apple Kiwi Strawberry, Apple Raspberry, Cranberry, Cranberry Grape, Cranberry Raspberry, Grape, Pomegranate, Pomegranate Blueberry Acai, Pomegranate Cranberry, and Ruby Red Grapefruit. I went for the more exotic blends and I really enjoyed them. Sometimes cranberry juice cocktail tastes a little syrupy to me (thanks to HFCS and tons of added sugar), but I thought the Healthy Balance cranberry juices were light and crisp.
My kids didn’t want to have anything to do with any of the juice flavors I picked up at the store with the coupons the company sent me. But that’s not a negative against the juice. The kids don’t normally drink juice and wouldn’t even try a sip.
But here’s why Healthy Balance interested me: diabetes…on two levels.
While you obviously wouldn’t want to give this to your child when they are experiencing a low blood sugar because it’s low carb, I could see adults with type 1 or 2 diabetes drinking this juice as a low sugar alternative. And if your T1 kid likes juice and can’t drink it freely anymore (and you don’t mind giving them artificial sweeteners), you can indulge them in a little low-carb apple juice at snack or meal time.
But the reason it peaked my interest is the charitable aspect:
“Healthy Balance was created to give a healthier beverage option to those who are watching calorie or carb intake. Healthy Balance is one of the only juice brands low enough in carbs to be suitable for a sugar-restricted diet, and it is the basis for a 4-year corporate partnership between Old Orchard and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Your purchase of Healthy Balance helps to ensure a minimum donation of $650,000 towards finding a cure for type-1 diabetes.”
That’s right, they are giving a substantial amount of money to JDRF.
The Healthy Balance website has resources including recipes and articles about health, fitness, and living with diabetes.
Disclosure: Old Orchard sent me coupons to try out their Healthy Balance juices. Monetary compensation was not received and opinions are my own. Please read my disclosure statement.
