Is 100 Percent Juice Good For You?

by Lola
(Beverly Hills, California, USA)

Is 100% juice good for you? Tropicana orange juice claims that it is high in calcium and in vitamin D. When I went to the list of unhealthy foods, it said to avoid all juice. Does this include 100% juice also?

Michelle says: Great question Lola. I would put 100% juice that you juice or squeeze yourself in a different category from juice that comes prepackaged. Juice from your own juicer is much healthier than anything you can buy in the store.

When you juice fruits or vegetables yourself to make juice, you get all the benefits of the juice, especially when you drink it right away.

Bottled, canned, or packaged juice is not as healthy because it is first heat treated (pasteurized) before it is packaged. That heating process causes it to lose some nutrients and also destroys the enzymes in the process.

If you can, make your own juice. If you must drink pre-made juice, always try to read the ingredients list first to make sure it really is 100% juice. In some cases, you will find that the manufacturers have added "natural flavors".

Natural flavors could mean anything. It doesn't tell you much about what additional ingredients are in the juice. In some cases, the term "natural flavors" is used to hide unwanted ingredients such as msg (monosodium glutamate).

Hope that answers your question.

Michelle