Ask the Nutritionist: Sorting out beverage serving sizes, nutrients

Q. How big a glass of juice is considered a serving of fruits or vegetables?

A. As long as it is 100 percent juice, ½ cup (4 ounces) of fruit or vegetable juice is considered equal to ½ cup of fruit or vegetables.

Juice can supply many of the vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals found in whole fruits and vegetables. However, juice does not supply the fiber found in solid fruit, and the calories in fruit juice can add up quickly without producing lasting hunger satisfaction.

For people who are unable to eat solid fruit due to some illness, several servings of juice daily can provide important nutrients. However, for the rest of us, most recommendations suggest that we drink no more than ¾ to 1 cup of fruit juice a day.

The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages children to choose whole fruit, too, and recommends limiting fruit juice to four to six ounces a day for children one to six years old.

Choose carefully: a “juice cocktail” or “juice beverage” means it is not 100 percent juice. Right above the Nutrition Facts panel, you can find the exact percentage of juice in a juice-containing beverage. When checking nutrient content on the label, adjust for the package serving size listed, because it usually refers to an 8-ounce, not 6-ounce, serving.

Q. The sweet flavor of popular chai drinks makes me wonder, are they high-calorie?

A. Chai is usually black tea, though sometimes green tea, flavored with sweet spices including cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. However, that sweet taste also comes from 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar or honey added to each serving, usually along with a few tablespoons of milk.

Chai latté as served at coffee bars contains steamed milk and added sugar. Typically, a 12-ounce coffee bar chai latté drink contains 160-200 calories with 4-6 teaspoons of added sugar compared to a 12-ounce unsweetened coffee latté, which contains around 100-150 calories, all from the milk.

On the other hand, a chai latté is no higher in calories and sugar than many of the specialty coffee lattés sweetened and flavored with caramel or other syrups. The mixes available to make chai lattés at home typically include about 4 to 5 teaspoons of added sugar per serving, so made according to package instructions, each cup contains from 90 to 160 calories. Lower calorie sugar-free mixes made with artificial sweeteners produce a beverage with only the calories of added milk, about 20-60 per serving. Some coffee bars offer a “lightly sweetened” chai latté, though even these weigh in with about 130 calories and at least 3 teaspoons of added sugar in a 12-ounce cup.

You can enjoy a chai latté with even fewer calories if you simply make chai tea and add milk but no sweetener; top with some extra cinnamon if you like. At a coffee bar, you can ask for an unsweetened latte made with chai tea and nonfat milk. If you want it slightly sweeter, add a dash of sugar yourself; total calories and added sugar will be much less than when a sugar-based mix is used.

• Provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research.