Get the skinny on the eight healthiest fruit juices

Ever wondered which fruit juices are the healthiest?

No, it hasn’t exactly kept us awake at night either. But, conveniently, researchers at UCLA have given it some thought, and have come up with the eight best ones to get next time you are in a supermarket or cafe.

Most of us usually go for apple or orange, but have you ever considered pomegranate? Again, neither did we.

But maybe we, like you, should start adding it to our basket, especially after reading this list.

The much-overlooked fruit leads the way when it comes to healthy benefits, with orange and apple back in seventh and eighth respectively.

Now, you may be asking just how did they managed to rank them in order. I mean ‘healthiest’ can’t be the easiest thing to assess, as there are so many different health benefits to fruit juice.

Well, a lot of their finding are based on antioxidants – who when it comes to fighting preventing illnesses and the effects of age really are the superheroes.

Ok, so what are they, you may ask?

Well, I’ll let Health magazine contributor and clinical nutritionist Samantha Heller explain.

She said: “Oxidants are naturally-occurring substances that derive from oxygen. Chemically speaking, oxygen always wants to ‘mate’, and if it can’t find a mate, it will latch onto anything. As it’s latching onto substances in our body, it can overwhelm them, and cause disease.

“Antioxidants, on the other hand, voluntarily bond with molecules of oxygen, preventing them from glomming onto any other substance in our body, and that helps keep us healthy.”

Clear? Basically, antioxidants are pretty good for you and help stop the build-up of free radicals, thereby preventing cancer and heart disease.

Anyway, let’s get on with the list.

1. Pomegranate Juice

So why is it the healthiest of them all? Because it contains the most of very type of antioxidant. It is also very good at protecting you against some cancers and gives you a healthy heart. Not bad for a fruit a lot of people ignore.

2. Concord grape juice

Good for your heart and can help reduce blood pressure. They are also high in fibre. However, the healthiest thing about grapes are the seeds, so unless you can get the juice seeded, maybe you should consider just eating grapes instead.

3. Blueberry juice

Packed with antioxidants, vitamin C and fibre, it is also extremely low in calories.

4. Black cherry juice

Not only full of nice antioxidants, it apparently can help reduce the risk of injuring your muscles while exercising. Pretty impressive.

5. Açaí juice

What do you mean you never heard of açaí berries? No neither had we, but apparently they are Brazilian and is very similar to a grape in its look and feel. It’s also very high in antioxidants, making it very good at fighting and preventing nasty diseases.

6. Cranberry juice

OK, so we know it’s full of antioxidants, but it’s also very high in vitamin C. Plus it can help prevent the build-up of bacteria and infections in your urinary tract.

7. Orange juice

Good old OJ not only has loads of antioxidants, but it is also packed with vitamin C, which is good for your ligaments, tendons, skin, blood vessels and bones. One 225ml glass of OJ also contains 500mg of potassium, which, of course, we all know, is god for maintaining your body’s water and acid balance

8. Apple juice

Scientists are only beginning to understand just how good apple juice is. In fact, recent research suggested a glass of apple juice a day would keep the heart doctor away due to its high concentration of phytonutrients – which delay the break down of LDL or “bad” cholesterol. Apparently, the cloudier the better. It’s also good for fibre and vitamin C.

OK, so we have our magnificent, errrr, eight. However, Samantha Heller is not finised just yet.

She said: “Eat the fruit itself if you can, rather than drinking the juice. The fruit has far fewer calories. Remember: It takes ten oranges to make a glass of orange juice, but one orange will be relatively low in calories.

“Also, the fruit will give you the fibre you need, but the juice won’t. So the fruit is always a better choice than the juice.”

Pictures: Morguefile

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