According to the abstract of a study published in a December issue of the International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition:

Are the protective benefits of [fruit and vegetables (F&V)] dependent upon constituents lacking in [pure fruit and vegetable (PFV)] juices (e.g. fibre)? Do PFV juices impact on disease risk when considered separately from F&V? Studies comparing the effects of fibre and antioxidants were reviewed, yielding the finding that the impact of F&V may relate more strongly to antioxidants, than to fibre. For the second question, high-quality published studies that considered PFV juices were reviewed. The impact of PFV juices on cancer risk was weakly positive, although a lack of human data and contradictory findings hampered conclusions. For CVD, there was convincing evidence from epidemiological and clinical studies that PFV juices reduced risk via a number of probable mechanisms. It was concluded that the view that PFV juices are nutritionally inferior to F&V, in relation to chronic disease risk reduction, is unjustified.

Most likely, it depends on the fruit, where it is most concentrated, and what health benefits are being referred to. In apples, for example, it is believed that apples themselves contain more antioxidants than the juice, and that processing such as clarifying reduces the antioxidant content even further.
At the end of the day, I think it still all boils down to consuming a healthy, well-balanced, well-varied diet. Besides, wouldn’t it be more enjoyable, and thus will likely increase your consumption if you have a wider choice of nutrient source?

Post from: Blisstree

Eat the Fruit, or Drink the Juice?

My son and I have already baked two cakes, but we’ve still got kilos to “get rid of”. I’m cleaning up my jars to make plum marmelades and jams, but aside from that, can you recommend any other recipes or dishes I can use these fruits on? Or do you maybe know a good jam combo? Unfortunately, these fruits are still hard and a bit unripe, or I could have juiced them.

Post from: Blisstree

Picking Autumn Fruits, Call for Recipes

76% risk reduction! Imagine that! And just by regularly drinking juice!

Although such neuroprotective effects are often attributed to antioxidant vitamins (Vitamin C, E and ß-carotene), the authors of this particular study believe it is more likely due to another class of antioxidants called polyphenols.

Dai began to suspect that another class of antioxidant chemicals, known as polyphenols, could play a role. Polyphenols are non-vitamin antioxidants common in the diet and particularly abundant in teas, juices and wines. Most polyphenols exist primarily in the skins and peels of fruits and vegetables. Recent studies have shown that polyphenols (like resveratrol in wine) extend maximum lifespan by 59 percent and delay age-dependent decay of cognitive performance in animal models.

“Also, animal studies and cell culture studies confirmed that some polyphenols from juices showed a stronger neuroprotective effect than antioxidant vitamins. So we are now looking at polyphenols,” Dai said.

The authors would like to confirm these by determining the polyphenol level in the subjects blood samples, and to possibly identify which particular juices have maximum benefits.

Am betting on apple juice. What do you think?

Should you want further reading, the results of the abovementioned study has been published in The Journal of American Medicine (abstract available, but requires subscription to access whole text). For lighter reading and fruit juice recipes, here’s a book that got quite good reviews in Amazon: Power Juices Super Drinks: Quick, Delicious Recipes to Prevent & Reverse Disease.

Post from: Blisstree

Drinking Fruit Juices May Reduce Alzheimer Risk