How to Choose a Healthier Juice

How to Choose a Healthier Juice

If you live in a health-conscious area like I do in Northern California, you know how popular the pricey, organic, cold-pressed juices are.  At my CrossFit gym, my workout partners are guzzling “green” juices that look less-than-appealing, but are surprisingly tasty! These gourmet juices are usually made with a wide variety of organic fruits and veggies, from kale and collards to cucumber and ginger. They’re sold at Whole Foods or independent juiceries.

Are these juices a healthy option and how do they stack up nutritionally compared to their whole fruit or veggie counterparts? While there are no studies to date on the pricey, organic cold pressed juices, a recent  study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics compared six common fruits and their commercially available fruit juices that are sold in major supermarkets. The results revealed that antioxidant levels in fresh apples and grapefruit were 50% higher than the antioxidant capacity of the 100% juice of either fruit, but the study also noted that pineapple and grape juices had similar antioxidant capacity as fresh fruit, but that could be due to the fact that these juices have added vitamin C to enhance the shelf-life. The study found that when commercial juices are made, beneficial flavonoids are often removed  to prevent cloudiness. The peel and pulp of the fruit are also removed before the juice process, taking away even more fiber and antioxidants from the juice product.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are always are considered better because they have more filling fiber. A recent study in the International Journal of Obesity found that whole fruits and vegetables provide more satiety than the same calories consumed as the fruit or vegetable juice.

When I’m buying a juice, here are four things I look for:

1. Look for juices that have No Added Sugars.  You want your juices to be naturally sweet from the fruits and/or vegetables that they’re made from. Fruits and veggies are naturally rich in simple carbohydrates so adding sweeteners to them only increases your desire for overly sweet treats.
2. To keep calories in check, look for those that are all veggies or a combination of veggies and fruit.  I personally like the juices and squeeze greens like kale, collards or spinach with lemon, apple and spices like ginger.
3. Opt for juices  that cloudy and have sediment rather than clear choices. Opaque juices have more of the pulp and fiber that can boost the fullness factor of the juice.
4. Enjoy juices that are made from nutrient-rich foods you don’t normally eat. That may be beets, kale, collards, tart cherry or acai.
5. Make your own. If you have a good blender, you can follow any number of recipes online to make your own juice. The benefit of those you can make in a blender is that you’ll retain more of the beneficial nutrients along with the hunger-squashing fiber.

Reference:

Houchins JA, Tan SY, Campbell WW, Mattes RD. Effects of fruit and vegetable, consumed in solid vs beverage forms, on acute and chronic appetitive responses in lean and obese adults. Int J Obes (Lond). 2013 Aug;37(8):1109-15. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2012.183. Epub 2012 Nov 20.

How to Choose a Healthier Juice is a post from: Appetite for Health