The Health Benefits of Juice

Q. Will Juice lower my cholesterol?

A. Just as incorporating juices into your diet will help you lose weight naturally, it will also help lower your cholesterol. Fresh fruit and vegetable juices contain no saturated fats or added sodium. They are full of vitamins and minerals and help everyone stick to a healthy, low-fat diet. If your doctor has advised you to lower your cholesterol by changing your diet, talk to him or her about the value of fresh juices.

Q. Can't I get all the nutrients I need from vitamin pills?

A. Nutrients found in fresh fruits and vegetables are far more potent than those found in pills. Because nutrients influence each other by working synergistically, they help each other to create working reactions within the body. When combined naturally in food, they are far more effective and better absorbed than when singled out in pill form.
And there's another reason. Nutrients are constantly being discovered and named. For example, you've heard of beta carotene, but does alpha carotene mean much to you? This nutrient, found primarily in fruits and vegetables, has recently shown protective effects against vulvar cancer. Phenols, indoles, aromatic isothiocyanates, terpenes, and organosulfur compounds are part of a ne category called “anutrient,” which may show protective effects against some cancers. You guessed it: they are found in fruits, vegetables, grains, and other plants.
The point is, these nutrients are only just being shown to have value, being given names or categories, and certainly won't appear in supplement pills for a while. Remember, juices provide not only nutrients with well-known functions, but also nutrients with roles that are not yet understood or recognized. Fesh fruits and vegetables are good for us in ways we do not even know about yet! Finally, if you do need to take a particular supplement, be sure to swallow it with the juices that are highest in that nutrient for better absorption.

Q. Why is juicing so important? Why can't we just eat food?

A. Juicing is the most helpful thing you can do for your body nutritionally. When you eat, the body takes approximately one and a half days to process the food completely from the time of ingestion to elimination. And even when working to perfection, the body extracts is a small percentage of the valuable juice from the body. When you juice, highly concentrated nutrients enter your bloodstream very quickly because your body doesn't need to extract the juice from the fiber.

Q. Fruits should be part of my daily diet to be healthy. Does that include fruit juices or does it have to be whole fruits?

A. According to the USDA's Pyramid Food Guidance System, any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as part of the fruit group in the food pyramid. Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut up or pureed.

Q. Are all fruit juices healthy?

A. Not all juices are the same. The juice that has all the nutrients you can get from fruit is the juice that is 100% fruit juice. Those that are not lack the nutritional value of 100% fruit juice and have added sugars as sweeteners. 100% fruit juices are fat free, rich in vitamins and minerals and has a lot of nutrients.

Q. How much calories do fruit juices have?

A. Calorie contents of fruit juices differ depending on the kind of fruit juice. Sugar content is always a factor to consider. 100% fruit juices have 60 to 80 calories only for each ½ cup serving.

Q. How much juice should a person consume?

A. Children 4 years old above can consume 8 ounces of juice, which is about ¾ cup. Older children and adults can consume 8 to 12 ounces of juice daily. Note that these are servings of 100% fruit juice.

Q. I am a diabetic. How much fruit should I consume?

A. Fruits contain carbohydrates. Depending on what your allowable carbohydrate consumption is, factor in the amount of carbohydrates the fruits you will consume have.

Q. How much fruit and vegetables should I eat? Is juice included in this amount?

A. A person should consume 4 ½ or more cups of fruits and vegetables per day. 100% fruit juice can be consumed as substitute for whole fruits and vegetables.