Healthy Fruit Juices: What to Know about Them?

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There is always some controversy about the health effects of juice. Pure juice can provide people with the vitamin C and also the antioxidants and finally help them achieve their “five-a-day.” However, some people often do argue that juice is a concentrated form of sugar and may even contribute towards obesity.

People can drink juice as a part of a healthy diet and count it towards their daily calorie intake.

It is essential to note that the best type to choose is the 100% pure juice, as it avoids any added sugars, sweeteners, or also colourings.

Healthy juice choices

What are they?

All fruits and vegetables do contain potential plus essential vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. People can experiment with making fresh juices from the single fruits or the combinations of fruits and vegetables such as spinach, kale, or celery. They can also move to purchase fruit and vegetable combinations from the grocery stores.

The following sections will list some healthy juices, potential health benefits, and more so its nutritional content.

Apples

In fact, Apples are a good source of polyphenols and may support a healthy microbiome. Clear apple juice has a small polyphenol content because of the clarification process caused by oxidation. Cloudy apple juice has a higher polyphenol content as well.

One cup unsweetened apple juice approximately provides:

• Calories: 114
• Carbohydrate: 28 grams (g)
• Total sugars: 23.9 g
• Vitamin C: 2.23 milligrams (mg)

Beet

Beets, or beetroots do contain nitrates, antioxidants, and essential nutrients. It is indicated that they can reduce blood pressure, blood glucose, improve the vascular function, and also protect the kidneys. However, in some people, beets may cause the urine to turn pink or red.

Beet juice may also go on to interact with some drugs, so it is important that a person on medication does seek medical advice before going on to consuming the juice.

A one serving of pure, fresh-pressed beet juice provides approximately:

• Calories: 101
• Carbohydrate: 23 g
• Total sugars: 20 g
• Vitamin C: 9.12 mg
• Folate: 120 micrograms (mcg)

Blueberry

Blueberries are a rich source of anthocyanins. It suggests that blueberries are the active compounds that may protect against any form of oxidative stress, DNA damage, and also cancer cell proliferation. Blueberries may also be neuroprotective, though the scientists need to perform more studies in order to confirm this.

One cup of blueberry juice approximately provides:

• Calories: 110
• Carbohydrate: 27 g
• Total sugars: 24 g
• Vitamin C: 18 mg

Cranberry

It is often suggested that cranberry juice can reduce the urinary tract infections, particularly in individuals with any form of recurrent infections.

One cup of unsweetened cranberry juice approximately provides:

• Calories: 116
• Carbohydrate: 30.9 g
• Total sugars: 30.6 g
• Vitamin C: 23.5 mg

Tomato

Tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, which often suggests that it is beneficial for cardiovascular health.

One cup of canned tomato juice approximately provides:

• Calories: 41.3
• Carbohydrate: 8.58 g
• Total sugars: 6.27 g
• Vitamin C: 170 mg
• Lycopene: 22,000 mcg

How to prepare and consume juice?

People do often purchase juice in cans, bottles, and cartons.

A person can also use a hand juicer for citrus fruits or an electric centrifugal or masticating machine for other fresh fruit and vegetables.

It is preferable to consume fresh juice immediately after preparing so as to avoid oxidation and deterioration of vitamins.

Health benefits of juice

It often observed that there are several benefits associated with drinking juice.

Please note: It is often seen that consuming one portion of fruit juice per day may help people achieve the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables. In fact, fruit juice is a good source of vitamin C, carotenoids, and polyphenols.

It is also recommended to consume 4–5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. It is advised that one-quarter cup of pure, 100% fruit juice can fulfil one of the daily servings.

Fruit juice may be protective against hypertension, but only with a moderate intake. It is indicated that drinking below 200 ml of 100% fruit juice a day is often associated with a lower risk of hypertension, there is an increased risk of the doses exceeding this amount.

It is also noted that the protective effects might be due to the nutrients and the bioactive compounds present in the juice. The harmful associations at higher doses may be totally attributable towards consuming excess calories, which do specifically outweigh the positive effects

It is vital to note that some juices might even offer cardiovascular protection and also lower cholesterol. Polyphenols and vitamins in the juices have an anti-oxidant and an anti-inflammatory effect. It is also seen that the need for such mechanisms and possible adverse effects of sugars are often seen in the various juices.

Possible health risks of a fruit juice

Some possible health risks associated with fruit juice concern the fiber, sugar, and finally weight gain:

Fiber

For instance, a while a fresh fruit juice does have some dietary fiber, the amounts are not as high as those in raw vegetables or even fruits. Daily dietary recommendations are often for females to consume at least 28 g of dietary fibre per day, and for males to consume 34 g of fibre per day.

Sugars

Although pure fruit juice does not contain any form of added sugars such as those in the sweetened drinks, it does have fructose, which is a naturally occurring form of sugar.

Weight gain

Fructose replaces other carbohydrates which are similar towards calories, people do not put on any weight. In fact, the fructose itself is never responsible for the people moving towards gaining weight. Rather, the culprit is all about taking in too many overall calories. It is noted that the sweetened juices with added sugars may often contribute towards weight gain in children and diabetes in adults.

Therefore, people must look at all the ingredients to make completely sure that juice is 100% fruit or vegetable. It can then be pointed out that people must not completely replace the whole fruits and vegetables with any form of juices.

Summary

Juices can provide all the essential vitamins, minerals, and more so antioxidants. Drinking a serving of juice may contribute towards a person’s recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables. Many fruits and vegetables have the health benefits, and someone can choose to even concentrate on the specific juices that often complement their health. However, it is the juices with added sugars that may contribute to weight gain.

It is also essential to note that the Juices must not replace whole fruits and vegetables.