The best fruit juice for you

The best fruit juice for you
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Are there differences between nectars, juices and those made from concentrate? Which fruit juices have more calories? Is sugar always added? Doctissimo quenches your thirst for answers...

Fruit juice, nectar or drink?

First, it should be pointed out that fruit juice comes in three different types: Fruit Juice, Fruit Nectar and Fruit Drink.  The first two categories are quite strictly regulated and controlled in the UK

• Fruit juices come directly from the squeezed fruit. This also forms the basis of concentrated juice which is partially dehydrated in order for the product to be transported then reconstituted with the same quantity of water. Regulation was amended in 2011 to fix maximum sugar levels in fruit juices, fruit-by-fruit.

• Fruit nectars are made from the juice, puree or pulp of a fruit to which water and sugar are added, but with a fixed minimum fruit content to be accepted in the Nectar category.

• Fruit drinks are of more obscure origin and their composition isn’t regulated in the UK. In this category are the squash and cordial type drinks, which may have minimal juice content, relying more on flavours, aromas and sugars to constitute fruity flavours.

* Once opened, all juices can be kept for only a few days in the refrigerator

Source: http://www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/food/standards/

How are fruit juices manufactured?

Generally the extraction of juice is carried out shortly after the fruit has been picked, so as to retain as many of the natural qualities as possible. This is preceded by a stage of sorting and washing.

Once the fruit has been squeezed, there are two different scenarios:

The juice might be sterilised by pasteurisation and then stored in some way (possibly frozen), resulting in a product that is fresh juice.  Alternatively, it might be concentrated (the water will be evaporated) and pasteurised, so that transport is possible (juice in the form of concentrate). It will then be reconstituted with the same volume of water. This juice made from concentrate is sometimes cooled to -10°C in order to be transported in tanks, or frozen at -18°C and transported in barrels weighing 250kg.

In both cases, pasteurisation means preservatives and other additives are not usually required. There are however some exceptions, such as grape juice in which a preservative is added.

Calories in fruit juice

Fruit juices with no added sugar are relatively low calorie – but only if consumed in moderation. Guzzling loads of fruit juice will see you taking in larger quantities of calories than you intended. It’s easy to drink these delicious natural juices without noticing, especially in summer and a litre of orange juice will provide you with almost 400Kcal! So why not have a glass before a meal as a healthy starter, but don’t carry on drinking once you’ve sat down to eat.

Calories per 200ml glass of:

• Carrot juice – 62 Cal
• Grapefruit juice – 77 Cal
• Orange juice – 88 Cal
• Apple juice – 97 Cal
• Pomegranate juice  – 100 Cal
• Guava-Pineapple nectar – 106 Cal
• BritVic orange drink – 108 Cal
• Mango fruit drink – 120 Cal
• Grape juice – 120 Cal
• Cranberry/Raspberry drink (27% juice) – 130 Cal

Choosing your "best" fruit juice

Finding the “best” juice depends on what you are looking for.

• If you want one that’s rich in vitamins and minerals, there are juices with guaranteed content of different nutrients, such as vitamin C.
• If you are more into pure and natural products, there are many ranges of organic fruit juice too.
• If you’re watching your weight, you need to pay attention to only drinking fruit juices with no added sugar, taking note of the higher calorie count in some fruits.
• For children, try in general to avoid Fruit Drink categories as they contain a lot of added sugar; Nectars contain more real fruit so will provide more vitamins and nutrients.

Thanks to European and UK rules and regulations, you can find all you need to know on your juice carton’s label. In all cases, it is for you to judge which is the best fruit juice for you, according to your tastes and by reading the labelling carefully. And of course, always respect the use-by dates.

Alain Sousa, Jane Banham

More information:
Fruits for health
What is in fruits?
Nutrition discussions