Fruits or Fruit Juices?

Some blame convenience for choosing fruit juices over whole fruits. Grabbing a pack of orange juice on your way out seems easier than buying enough fruits for the week. But is it really? Leave aside the cost (packaged juices will always be more expensive than whole fruits bought from your local fruit seller), have you ever wondered about which is healthier – the whole fruit, or its juiced version? Here’s looking at why whole fruits are better than fruit juices, and why you should consume whole fruits over and above the one odd glass of fruit juice with breakfast.

Added sugar and sweeteners: Since packaged juices are produced for maximum flavour, what you ultimately get is high on sucrose or fructose corn syrup. Read the nutrition labels on each packaged juice carefully and try to figure out where the real fruit really is. You’ll be shocked to see that some of your favourite packaged juices will have very little traces of actual fruit, if at all. Again, consider the fat, sugar and calorie content as well.

Juicing processes remove fruit skins: Fruit skins are full of healthy nutrients like carotenoids and flavonoids that studies have established as quite beneficial to our health and fitness mostly due to increased fiber content. When these skins are removed, as is done with apple juice, grape juice, and tomato juice, we receive a much-depleted version of the fruit in a tall glass with lots of sugar and salt. What’s the point of drinking fruit juice for health if that’s what it takes to make it palatable?

Juices remove pulp: Fruit pulp is also high in fiber content and in some fruits; it is the richest, healthiest part of the fruit. White pulp in oranges is the primary source of flavonoids from oranges. Juices sold with ‘added pulp’ might not have the same ratio per glass as a whole fruit can offer you, and we don’t really know what the quality of that pulp is. Also, is it natural pulp, or has it been sweetened for added taste? Whole fruits win on this account as well.

Loss of nutrients and volume: All you have to do is look at how many whole fruits need to be juiced to give you that one glass of drink-able juice. Whether it’s orange, apple, or lychee juice, what you ultimately get is a much reduced, much cleared and therefore much less healthier fruit product. Stick to the whole fruit and you don’t miss any of the fruit’s original goodness and appetite controlling properties.

Now, of course you can always find a healthier way to juice fruits – mix them with vegetables, try to retain as much pulp and fiber as you can, leave the skin on, pulse instead of puree, etc. The market is loaded with fruit and vegetable juicers that promise maximum retention of pulp and fiber after the juicing process. These steps seem okay and healthy enough. But if you ask us, juicing three apples to get one globful glass of thick, difficult to swallow apple juice seems quite unnecessary compared to just picking up a fruit and munching it on your way out every morning and evening. So even if you prefer freshly squeezed orange juice with your breakfast, make sure that you also eat a whole fruit for the actual goodness a little later.


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