Fruit juice can have great taste, high nutrient, and a great low calorie. However, they don’t usually contain all the nutrients of the whole fruit in equal proportion. When the juice is extracted from the pulp, you’ll get all the carbohydrates, useful plant chemicals (phytochemicals), minerals, and vitamins in the extracted juice but all or most of the fibre is lost, depending on the type of fruit.
Fibre is an important nutrient in the body since it aids the digestive process and hastens the passage of waste through your digestive system. It is equally known to serve as protection against certain types of cancers. Fibre is not found in the juice because they are only found in the outer membranes (the peels, skin, and seeds) of the fruit. These parts are usually taken out during the process of juice making.
The edible skins of several fruits – including strawberries, raspberries raisins, prunes, plums, pears, grapes, figs, blueberries, apples – are all very important sites where biological activities take place in the life of the fruit. Pigments such as flavonoids and carotenoids that are found in the skin provide nourishment and nutrients that protect our health.
The skins of most of these fruits have been studied and known to help protect against ultraviolet light and reduce the risk of cancer. Sadly, the process of juice making does not allow for this part of the fruit to be included in the final product, thereby reducing the amount of nutrients that are obtainable from the fruits.
The white pulpy part of fruits such as orange and grape is the main source of flavonoids and the orange colored section of the fruit contain virtually all its vitamin C.
Most of the juices obtainable in the supermarkets contains a very small portion of the main fruit juice. They are mixed with sweeteners and other ingredients that are not so friendly to the system. Consequently, one can take a large amount of calories without getting any reasonable percentage of nutrients. This is why it is important to look at the juice labels to ensure that the juice is made of 100% whole fruit.
It is important to understand that taking juice does not necessarily mean you are consuming a low calorie drink, as people are meant to believe. That is why those who need to increase their caloric intake –such as teens, children, or athletes – are advised to take the juice.
Fresh juice is undeniably tasty and an ideal source of different nutrients. But if your priority is to have more fibre in your diet, it is always better to go for the whole fruit instead. Also, you may run into the risk of taking more sugar in many processed juice which can greatly increase its caloric content. But that risk is completely avoided with whole fruit.
