Fruit juices: is there any benefit?

For many consumers Fruit juices Are any drinks in cardboard packages orbottles with painted fruit. We grab the first packet from the shelf, without bothering to read the composition of the drink. In actual fact, fruit juices are at best nectar. And the usefulness of many such drinks is highly questionable.

European standards clearly define: Natural fruit juices are beverages that contain between 80% and 100% juice. In addition, they can add sugar (notmore than 150 grams of sugar per 1 liter of juice) and citric acid. By the way, natural fruit juices with the addition of sugar are no worse than juices that do not contain sugar. Moreover - juices from some fruits and berries (for example, raspberries or cherries) are very acidic, so they are not so delicious without sugar.

Natural fruit juices are manufactured in various ways, either by spinning or by recovery. Pressing suitable for fruit juices available directly at the place of production. And for the production of juices from tropical fruits in regions where these fruits do not grow, use restoring concentrated juice.

Nectars can not be called full-fledged juices. The juice content in these drinks is lower than in natural juices - from 25% to 50%. However, this means that the nectar certainlywill be worse than natural juice. The fact is that some fruits and berries contain too little natural moisture. Natural fruit juices from them do not make sense - too many fruits will have to be translated in order to squeeze out a tiny amount of juice. Therefore, the flesh of such fruits is diluted to obtain nectar. For dilution use water or juice of other fruits - you get "mixed" nectars. For example, the pulp of the peach can be diluted with apple juice, and the banana pulp - orange.

On the step below the nectars are fruit drinks. Morse should be kept not less than 15% natural juice. It can be made from puree, concentrated juice and frozen berries. According to the norms, the fruit juice can not contain artificial colors and flavors - only the natural ingredients are required for its taste.

And on the bottom step of the "juice hierarchy" are juice drinks. The content of natural juice in them - from 10% to 40%. The rest is water and variousadditives. And if natural fruit juices according to the norms should not contain flavoring additives, artificial colors and flavors, then in juice-containing beverages their content is quite acceptable.

Despite the fact that some manufacturers like to emphasize the usefulness of juice-containing drinks, it is very doubtful. Vitamins and minerals in them contain very little, they are suitable only to quench their thirst. Juice-containing drinks can be less harmful than sweet sodas, but they do not become useful from this.

So, as you can see, not all that we are used tocall juice, in fact it is. The best way out is to drink freshly squeezed fruit juices. So you will be sure that in your glass there is nothing but the juice itself. But constantly drink freshly squeezed juices, alas, hard - it's troublesome or expensive. Therefore, when choosing ready-made fruit juices in a store, be sure to pay attention to their composition.

If the composition of the drink contains fruit puree,flavors, dyes, flavors - this is not a natural juice, and the benefits from it will be small. Beware of the products of those producers who call nectar a fruit drink and juice is a nectar, or they try to convince you of the exceptional usefulness of juice-containing drinks. Exceptionally natural fruit juices (and partly - nectars) are not only tasty, but also useful for your health.