HealthNotes

Almost any fruit or vegetable can be juiced. Vegetable juices are lower in calories than fruit juices, and the most common are tomato, carrot, and mixed vegetable juices. Fruit juices include temperate fruit juices (such as apple, pear, peach, nectarine, apricot, prune, and cherry), berry juices (including cranberry), grape juice, melon juices, citrus juices, and tropical juices.

Freshly squeezed or extracted juice made at a juice bar or from a home juicer has the best flavor. Fresh frozen juices are quickly frozen after extraction, without pasteurization, and retain most of the nutrients and taste. Chilled fresh juices, found in the refrigerated section of the grocer store, are freshly extracted juices that are then packaged for shipping and distribution. Frozen juice concentrates are made from pasteurized juice from which the water has been extracted before freezing the solid, concentrated portion. Reconstituted juices, made from juice concentrates that have been pasteurized, must be labeled “from concentrates.” One-hundred percent, canned or bottled juices may be made from a single fruit or from a blend of fruits to create a certain flavor and level of sweetness. Those made from a single fruit may be sweetened with grape juice. Like their frozen counterparts, canned concentrates made from evaporated pasteurized juices do not require refrigeration until they are reconstituted.

Fruit beverages or drinks may contain only a small amount of real juice and may contain sugar and artificial flavors and colors. These shouldn’t be counted as a fruit serving.

Juice may be pasteurized or non-pasteurized. Pasteurization destroys many vitamins and minerals, but it also kills microbes and bacteria that cause spoilage and potential infection.