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Unsweetened fruit juice is best, say experts

Filed under: Health

Unsweetened fruit juice is best, say experts

Fruit juices and smoothies may seem to be a healthy choice, but dieticians are warning people not to drink too many.

Figures published this week showed Britain now consumes 2.2 billion litres of juice drinks a year - around 36 litres for every man, woman and child.

But experts from the British Dietetic Association said people should eat a range of fruit and vegetables too.

And they said some drinks, particularly dairy-based smoothies, were high in calories.

It’s fine to have it as one of your portions, but it can’t count as all five - no matter how much you drink

Dr Frankie Phillips, British Dietetic Association

The examination of the fruit juice market by research company Mintel looked at pure fruit juice - both fresh or from a concentrate - and drinks that contain a percentage of juice.

It found orange and apple juice still account for more than 70% of the market in terms of volume but demands are changing.

The market for exotic juices, such as kiwi, passion fruit and berries grew by 133%.

But grapefruit juice dropped 23% and tomato juice by 60% over the past two years.

Mintel predict sales of both fruit juice and juice drinks will continue to rise and expect the figure to reach almost £3 billion by 2009.

James McCoy, senior market analyst at Mintel, said: "Trends towards healthier eating as well as an increasing interest in more natural, organic products, are key reasons for the phenomenal growth we have seen in this market."

‘Moderation the key’

But experts from the British Dietetic Association issued a note of caution.

The BDA’s Ursula Arens said: "Small quantities of fruit juice are a helpful way to get more vitamins, but the British diet is not particularly low in vitamin C.

"If you look at a typical serving size, you are getting a lot of calories very quickly. As being overweight is more of a public health problem than a shortage of vitamin C, people need to view these drinks with caution."

And Dr Frankie Phillips, also of the BDA, added: "It’s the same as for any food - moderation is the key.

"With fruit juice, unsweetened juices such as orange or apple are fine and will count towards having five portions of fruit and vegetable a day."

Dr Phillips said fruit juices only count as one portion a day, no matter how much someone drank, because the aim was to encourage people to eat a variety of fruit and vegetables to get a range of nutrients.

"It’s fine to have it as one of your portions, but it can’t count as all five - no matter how much you drink."

source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4208823.stm

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Apples contain high levels of antioxidants

Filed under: Health

Apples contain high levels of antioxidants

Cloudy apple juice is better for you than clear varieties, say researchers.

Polish scientists found the levels of antioxidants which protect against heart disease and cancer are almost double in cloudy apple juice.

The antioxidants, called polyphenols, are also found in red wine, berries and dark chocolate.

In the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, the researchers said the manufacturing process led to fewer polyphenols in clear apple juice.

The researchers at the Agricultural University of Wroclaw measured the amount of procyanidins, the main compounds containing polyphenols in apples, in two varieties of clear and cloudy apple juices.

If you’re interested in health, you should go for a non-clarified apple juice

Dr Paul Kroon

They also measured the antioxidant activity in the four juices.

Juice made from the Champion variety of apples was found to have higher levels of polyphenols than juice made from Idared apples.

But overall cloudy apple juice, which contains more pulp, was found to have higher concentrations of antioxidants and showed more antioxidant activity in experiments.

There was a four-fold difference in polyphenols between the best and worst juices.

Study leader, Dr Jan Oszmianski, said they had found they same results for clear and pureed or cloudy strawberry juices.

"I recommend cloudy juices as they contain more polyphenols and pectins.

"Health benefits are expected mainly in the case of cloudy apple juice consumption."

Polyphenols

Previous research has shown that polyphenols contained in fruit and vegetables help to protect against diseases such as cancer, by mopping up free radicals which can cause damage to cells.

Apples themselves contain a wide variety of polyphenols but when processed into apple juice some of these may be lost.

The manufacturing process used to make clear apple juice, which include using an enzyme to break down the pectin in apple cell walls and spinning to remove pulp, considerably decreases the levels of polyphenols in the end product, Dr Oszmianski explained.

Dr Paul Kroon, senior research scientist at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich said clear apple juices tended to be more popular and are more stable giving them a longer shelf life.

"A lot of polyphenols are lost when you make a clear juice. It could also be that because you’re retaining that cloudiness and pectin there’s the additional benefit of fibre.

"If you’re interested in health, you should go for a non-clarified apple juice."

However, he pointed out that to get the full benefit of antioxidants, eating an apple would be better than drinking apple juice.

But added that farmers have been growing sweeter less astringent varieties of apples which have fewer polyphenols.

"Before we knew about the them, polyphenols were bred out of apples and now we’re looking at putting them back," he said.

Judy Moore, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association and registered dietitian said: "Almost doubling your intake of apple polyphenols by switching from clear to cloudy juice seems an easy option for apple juice drinkers.

"Don’t forget that eating apples offers more health benefits than drinking apple juice as you also get the fibre in apples."

source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6262473.stm

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