Fruit Drinks

Fruits are often regarded as a healthy part of one’s diet. Numerous research studies have found that eating a healthy diet with large portions of whole fruit could significantly help decrease the risk of one developing chronic illnesses including some forms of diabetes, cancer and well as heart disease. Moreover, fruit drinks have also been pitched as effective replacements for whole fruits. However, a large number of researchers believe that the effectiveness of drinking fruit juice or smoothies on one’s health depends on the actual amount and type of fruit consumed.

Parents concerned with their child’s diet and whether or not fruit juice will affect their child’s weight should be aware that consumption of moderate amounts of fruit drinks has been shown not to affect a child’s weight. It should be noted, however, that fruit, just like any other food source contain calories. Too many fruit liquids will result in weight gain. As such, one should moderate the amount of drinks they or their child consumes. However, remember that fruit juice is natural and much better for your health than sodas or milk shakes.

A number of considerations need to be taken when deciding which kind of fruit drinks to prepare or buy for your family. While sweetened fruit juices and cocktails are rather popular, the healthier option has been shown to be fruit drinks that are made solely from fruit juice i.e. 100% fruit juice. Though sweetened fruit juices and 100% fruit juice drinks may have the close to the same amount calories, the latter has significantly more vitamins and less additives.

As previously mentioned, the health benefits derived from fruit drinks depend on the type of fruit juice the drink is made from. Pomegranates, for instance, are known to be rich sources of antioxidants which are known to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Another health benefit associated with pomegranate fruit involves reducing/controlling the growth of prostate cancer, where the juice has been known to stabilize the Prostate Significant Antigen (PSA) levels in men. This antigen is typically measured to gauge the progression of prostate cancer in the individual. Moreover, pomegranate juice has also been shown to improve blood flow in patients with ischemic coronary heart disease.

Other fruit drinks that you might want to consider adding to your daily diet include orange juice, cranberry juice and blueberry juice. Orange juice has been known to prevent the recurrence of kidney stones while juices that contain cranberry juice have long been used as an effective remedy for urinary tract infections. Recent studies have also shown that many fruit juices may be helpful in preventing the onset of infections. Blueberries and blueberry juice have similar properties to cranberry fruit and are, therefore useful in treating and preventing UTIs. Moreover, moderate consumption of fruit drinks made from blueberries may help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.