Breakfast juice

When I say juice, powdered drinks don’t count. They’re not juices — they’re sugar-laden chemical mixes. “Juice” means the liquid derived from fruits, whether freshly squeezed or bottled.

Having low tolerance for acidic drinks, I have learned to stay away from cirtus fruit juices. Very rarely could I drink pure orange juice and not get stomach pains. So, I learned to like non-citric fruit juices. Apple juice, previously considered by my family as a cure for infant diarrhea, became a favorite.

During the past two years, however, we have been experimenting with mixed juices, the kind that contain both citrus and non-citrus. Some are really delicious. Banana and lemon are a good combination; so are banana, orange and strawberry.

For those who are acidic, it is not necessary to give up citruses.

But don’t give up on citrus completely — it’s possible that the problem involves only juices. Whole fruits can be a whole lot easier to digest. Just because orange juice makes you miserable, doesn’t necessarily mean that oranges will. The acid level found in one orange is much lower than the highly-concentrated juices of several oranges in one glass of OJ. The same can be said for tomatoes and tomato juice… [Everyday Health]

Don’t think, however, that drinking fruit juices is a substitute for eating whole fruits as part of a healthy and balanced diet.

… studies show that most fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants in the skins and peels, which do not make it into juice. For example, one study reports that a whole orange contains up to five times more of one major antioxidant than a glass of orange juice. The antioxidant is found in the white pulp and membranes that separate the orange segments from each other. [MSNBC]

Bottomline — enjoy your juice but don’t forget to eat your fruits.