Table of Contents
- Juice: What’s In Your Glass?
- The 100% Fruit Juice Dilemma
- Best Choice: Vegetable Juice
- Good Choice — Acai Berry Juice
- Worst Choice — Juice ‘Cocktails’
- Good Choice — Pomegranate Juice
- Good Choice — Cranberry Juice
- Good Choice — Red Grape Juice
- Good Choice — Prune Juice
- Good Choice — Orange Juice
- Kids and Juice
- Go for Whole Fruit
Juice: What’s In Your Glass?
Everyone enjoy cool glass of fruit juice. Sweet taste, vibrant color, and it is good for you. Not so fast, say dietitians. The best kind of juice supply you with some nutrients, no clear difference between the worse juice and liquid candy. You have to know the difference.
The 100% Fruit Juice Dilemma
100 percent fruit juice is a good source of nutrients like potassium and vitamin C, but too much juice can serve as other source of sugar and calories. Many expert recommend sticking to one juice serving a day. Since juice does not contain the same fiber and nutrients that raw fruits have.
Best Choice: Vegetable Juice
Drinking veggies is good and convenient for you. Beet juice may help lower the risk of high blood pressure. Lycopene in tomato juice may help curb the risk of prostate cancer. Pulpy vegetable juice can still retain some fiber but not as much as raw vegetables.
Good Choice — Acai Berry Juice
Acai juice is made from a berry found in South America. Acai pulp seems to contain a higher concentration of antioxidants than blackberries, cranberries, blueberries, or strawberries,
Worst Choice — Juice ‘Cocktails’
Avoid juice cocktail, and juice-flavored beverage. Most of which contain very small amounts of real juice. Nutritionally, their main ingredients are usually sweetener such as high-fructose corn syrup, water and very small amount of juice. These are rich in sugar and calories, but low in nutrients. Water is a better option.
Good Choice — Pomegranate Juice
Do you want to know which juice offer the biggest nutritional payoff per sip? Pomegranate juice tops the list. It is high in calories and sugar, but rich in antioxidants. Pomegranate juice have a higher concentration of antioxidants than green tea or red wine.
Good Choice — Cranberry Juice
Cranberry juice contains vitamin C which is needed by your immune system. Also, when you drink unsweetened cranberry juice, helps prevent the accumulation of bacteria that cause urinary tract infections in humans.
Good Choice — Red Grape Juice
Red grape juice also contain flavonoids and resveratrol, as you have probably heard of red wine. Both are good for your heart. The key is that, the juice and red wine both are made with the entire grape: skin, seed and all.
Good Choice — Prune Juice
Prune juice have always being used to relieve constipation. It is effective because it is a good source of fiber and contain sorbitol, a natural laxative. Prune juice is also packed with antioxidant, potassium, and iron.
Good Choice — Orange Juice
Orange juice contain high proportion of vitamin C, calcium, and vitamin D, which help your bones. Unsweetened orange juice has fewer calories than some grape or berry juice. It also contain fewer antioxidants than grape, pomegranate, and blueberry juice.
Kids and Juice
Almost all children like juice, but do not give them too much. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 4-6 ounces of 100 percent fruit juice per day for children below 6, and 8 to 12 ounces for ages 7-18.
Go for Whole Fruit
An alternative to drinking too much of fruit juice is to eat the whole fruit. You will get all the nutrients present in the fruit’s flesh and pulp, also the fiber will help you feel full and curb your hunger.
