|
Whether you drink it with your breakfast, as a mid-afternoon refresher
or any other time of the day, fruit juice always seems to hit the spot.
However, just because a beverage has fruit flavor does not mean it is
nutritious. Fruit juices and fruit flavored beverages vary greatly in
nutritional value.
Learning to tell the difference between real fruit juice and fruit
drinks, and how to assess their nutrient content, is relatively simple
if you read the label on the bottle or carton. Federal food labeling
laws require that beverages that contain fruit juice or have pictures of
fruit on their label declare the percentage of juice present on the
nutrition facts information panel.
Here are some important terms to remember when looking at a fruit juice
or beverage label:
- 100 percent fruit juice. These products contain 100 percent fruit
juice from a single fruit or a blend of fruit juices.
- Fruit drink, beverage or cocktail. The product contains less that
100 percent juice. Be sure to read the label carefully because some
products contain only 5 or 10 percent juice.
- Fresh. The product has not been processed including such freezing or
pasteurization.
- Pasteurized. Like milk, many juices are heat treated to help them
last longer and to kill any bacteria that may be present. Nutrients and
flavor are usually not affected by this process. All fruit juice
products that are shelf stable or frozen have been pasteurized. For
safety reasons, it’s best to choose pasteurized juices, especially for
those at high risk for complications from food-borne illness, including
pregnant women, small children, the elderly and people with compromised
immune systems.
- Fortified. Nutrients that were not present originally have been
added to the juice. For example, calcium-fortified orange juice is now
commonly sold as a way to help consumers meet their daily calcium needs.
It is important to note that among juices containing 100 percent juice,
the
amount and type of nutrients provided differs. Orange and other citrus
juices are good sources of vitamin C, potassium and folic acid, whereas
cranberry juice mostly provides vitamin C. Surprisingly, unfortified
grape, apple and pear juice rate fairly low in nutritional value. Thus,
juice blends that list grape, apple or pear juice as their first
ingredient will have a lower vitamin content than blends that list
citrus juices first on the label.
Also keep in mind that although some fruit drinks may supply 100
percent of the daily value for certain nutrients like vitamin C, they
may also be loaded with added sugars. Depending on the amount of sugars
added, there might be a significant difference between the number of
calories per serving in a fruit drink than in 100 percent fruit juice.
For more information, contact your local
Colorado State University Extension office.
|
