Few years back, juicing was a sort of fad and mostly used by people who were more conscious about their health. Today, juicing much more popular, as more and more people are juicing to lose weight, cleanse their system and for more nutrients intake. While juicers are easily found in department stores, several juice bars have come up not in trendy California neighborhoods but also in the Midwest.
Nevertheless, some dietitians are of the view that while the best types of juices provide us with several nutrients, there are some bad juices too that are nothing more than liquid candy. And there is more than a grain of truth in such claims. Hence, it is important that you should be aware of the difference.
Vegetable Juice: Drinking veggies is not only convenient and good for health, but is also considered to be the best choice. For instance, lycopene present in tomato juice may be helpful in diminishing the chances of developing prostate cancer. Similarly, drinking beet juice may aid in keeping blood pressure in check. While pulpy vegetable juice contains some fiber, but less compared to raw vegetables, Web MD reported.
Moreover, fiber helps to keep hunger at bay, while providing much less sugar and fewer calories compare to the usual fruit juice. However, you need to heck the sodium content of these juices or opt for a low-salt variety.
Cocktail Juice: On the other hand, one should be cautious of juice cocktail, juice drink and juice-flavored beverage. Nearly all such products contain a very small amount of actual juice. Usually, the main ingredients of such drinks include water, little amounts of juice, and some sort of sweetener like high-fructose corn syrup. From the nutritional point of view, these beverages are comparable to most soft drinks that are rich in sugar and calories, but low in nutrients. In fact, plain water is a better choice.
Pure Fruit Juice: Although pure fruit juice with no added sweeteners is an excellent source of essential nutrients like vitamin C and potassium, it may also contain additional sugar and calories. At the same time, juice contains much less fiber and phytonutrients compared to raw fruits. This is the main reason why several experts suggest just one juice serving of pure juice daily, Authority Nutrition states.
Juice From Supermarkets: Moreover, the fruit juice available at the supermarkets is unlikely to be what the manufacturers claim -"100% pure" and "not from concentrate." Usually, they squeeze the juice from fruits and store it in massive oxygen-depleted tanks for nearly a year before packaging the product. The problem with the method is that it can remove most of the flavor, making the manufacturers add so-called "flavor packs" to the juice, to restore the flavor lost during processing. Therefore, even when one purchases the best quality juices at the supermarket, they still lack the original state.
