Drinking your fruits and veggies is not only convenient it makes good sense. However, one idea to keep in mind is the reason you’re drinking the juice. Are you simply looking to enjoy a good healthy drink or do you want the specific health benefits offered by the juice. So let’s take a closer look the best and worst juices for your health.
Good Choice: Vegetable Juice:
A good vegetable juice is made from a variety of vegetables like carrots, celery, beets and tomatoes. An addition some fruit juices like grape may be added to enhance the flavor of the end product. Vegetable juice is a good way to jumpstart your day with an overall nutritional drink. If you’re watching your sodium intake, consider the low-salt option. Also the reason I included vegetable juice in the selection is the tomato is considered "the fruit of the vine." :-)
Not so Good Choice: Juice Blends and Juice Cocktails:
Be on the lookout for the terms:
Juice Blend
Juice Cocktail
Juice-Flavored
Juice-Enhanced
When you read these terms, this may mean the product itself may contain small amounts of real juice. The main ingredients are water, artificial sweeteners, including high-fructose corn syrup and other ingredients. Usually they are high in sugar and low in actual nutritional value.
Not so Good Choice: Fruit Juices with a Single Fruit Named on the Label:
For example, while walking through the juice aisle in your local grocery store, you’ll see the 32 oz. apple juice bottles. The label has a photo of a big juicy apple and the Apple Juice on the label. However, sometimes when you read the ingredients listed in the label it also contains other fruit juices and other ingredients. Simply read the ingredient section of label to see if the product is 100% from the type of fruit names on the label. Now let’s turn our attention from general health benefits to more specific health benefits for enjoy a glass of juice daily.
This simply means you are enjoying a juice not only for the taste, but also the condition-specific health benefits offers by the underlying fruit. Good Choice: Tart Cherry Juice
Tart cherry juice an excellent choice for helping to maintain healthy joint function and soothe sore muscles. It is also a natural source of melatonin for help you enjoy a more restful night’s sleep. For example, it takes the juice of approximately 100 cherries to make just one ounce of the Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate. All you would need to do to make a glass is to mix one ounce of concentrate with 7 ounces of water. Best of all it is all natural and you’ll know you getting 100% pure cherry per glass. Learn how to make cherry juice from concentrate:
Good Choice: Pomegranate Juice
While pomegranate juice is high in natural sugar and calories, it is an excellent source of antioxidants. In addition, according the published research, the pomegranate is an excellent choice to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. However, if you are watching your sugar intake, consider the pomegranate capsules. They are a concentrated way to get the benefits of this biblical fruit without the high amounts of natural sugar. In fact, less than one gram of sugar per serving.
Bad Choice: Drinking To Much Fruit Juice Daily
Again if you drinking fruit juice several times per day simply for the taste this could add up to being an extra source of sugar in your diet. Also, as mentioned above, if you’re drinking for the condition-specific health benefits consider taking the fruit capsules because they contain less sugar. Consider whole-fruit capsules like: tart cherry capsules, pomegranate capsules, red raspberry capsules and blueberry capsules. The capsules will allow you to enjoy the specific health benefits with less than one gram of sugar per serving.
Good Choice: Cranberry Juice
Cranberry juice helps to boost your immune system and keeps your urinary tract healthy. In addition it is a natural source of vitamin C.
Good Choice: Red Grape Juice
There has been a lot of research conducted in the natural health benefits of red wine and heart health. Red grape juice is a natural source of resveratrol. However, the juice doesn’t deliver the fiber amounts like enjoying the fresh fruit.
Good Choice: Prune Juice
Prunes contain a natural laxative. This is due to the fact they contain sorbitol. In addition to its laxative benefits, prune juice also contains antioxidants and potassium.
Good Choice: Orange Juice
The body doesn’t produce vitamin C, so it has to be consumed. Unlike other mammals, we are simply not designed to internally make vitamin C, thus to remain healthy we should consume it often. When selecting orange juice, go for the unsweetened juice. It will offer fewer calories and sugar per serving.
Drinking your fruits and veggies is not only convenient it makes good sense. However, one idea to keep in mind is the reason you’re drinking the juice. Are you simply looking to enjoy a good healthy drink or do you want the specific health benefits offered by the juice. So let’s take a closer look the best and worst juices for your health.
