Pomegranate Ranked Healthiest Fruit Juice

UCLA Study Lists Top Ten; Health Magazine Contributor Samantha Heller Discusses Them; All High In Antioxidants

(CBS)  Most of us know juice is a healthier drink than sugary soda.

But not all juices are created equal.

Health magazine is reporting on a UCLA study listing the ten healthiest fruit juices. [To see the list, click here.]

On The Early Show Saturday, Health magazine contributor and clinical nutritionist Samantha Heller talked about what makes the juices healthy.

The study took into account the antioxidant levels of the juices.

Basically, Heller says, anything with a vivid color, like most berries, will be high in antioxidants, so it's no surprise berry juices landed in most of the top 10 slots.

Oxidants, she explains, 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.

And these juices have high levels of antioxidants.

Still, Heller cautions that doesn't mean you should go overboard with any of them.

There's always the danger, she points out, that when we tell people something is healthy for them, they'll go out and drink it by the gallon.

The truth is, you consume a lot of calories with juice. No-sugar-added doesn't necessarily mean no sugar at all. And sugar, even though it's naturally-occurring sugar, can really pack on the pounds if you consume too much.

Also, bear in mind that juices sometimes interact with medications in an undesirable way. For example, grapefruit juice interacts with some medications, so you have to be careful.

Another Heller suggestion: 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 fiber you need, but the juice won't. So the fruit is always a better choice than the juice.

If you're a big juice-lover, and you're not much of a fruit-eater, Heller says it would be better to get the nutrients the juice has to offer. But to avoid calorie overload, mix it with club soda. You'll get the taste, with half the calories.

Among the top ten juices:

Pomegranate Juice

Pomegranate is the healthiest of them all because it contains the most of every type of antioxidant. It wins in all categories. And it's thought that it might do some very good things; it may protect against some cancers, such as prostate cancer. It might also modify heart disease risk factors, and it could be healthy for your heart. So pomegranate was the clear winner.

Concord Grape Juice

Concord grape juice is a source of very potent antioxidants. And there's some research indicating it may be good for our hearts and also help reduce blood pressure. Grapes are also high in fiber, but much of their goodness is in the seed, so you need to consider whether grape juice is the way to go.

Blueberry Juice

The color alone indicates a lot of antioxidants. But blueberry juice also contains tons of fiber, and is also very high in Vitamin C. One of the qualities of antioxidants is that they can lower inflammation, and so there's some indication that blueberries may have some effect on age-related cognitive abilities. And don't forget that blueberries are very low in calories.

Black Cherry Juice

This one actually has scientists a bit excited. Not only is it high in antioxidants, but there is evidence that black cherry juice can actually diminish exercise-induced muscle injuries.

Cranberry Juice

Like all of these juices, it's high in antioxidants. But cranberry juice is also high in Vitamin C. And there's always been a sort of wives' tale that cranberry juice helps prevent urinary tract infections. Well, it turns out researchers are finding evidence that it actually can decrease the number of urinary tract infections. The thinking is, it helps stop bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall, protecting against infections.

[lexlis]

They totally skewed the results of the UCLA study. It was a study of the impacy of fruit juice on the progression of PSA in men after prostate surgery! The study is also 3 yrs old and new studies have come out on antioxidants and the value of specific berries such as the Acai berry(properly processed as in MonaVie). See www.thegreatproduct.com/lisalove to get the facts!

[mdahne]

I was also surprised acai wasn't on the list. http://joyousjuicer.com/blog

[thinking12]

This is garbage media reporting on garbage science, and it''s because our universities are relying on private rather than public funding to conduct research.

"POM Wonderful devoted more than $10 million funding medical research that shows how pomegranate juice is good for the heart. It''s also committed another $5 million for continuing research into cardio-vascular and circulation benefits, and some cancer studies."

What does privately funded research get us?

From http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2007/may/30/labs_scramble_funds_grants_dry/:
"A 2003 study at UCLA that found secondhand smoke did not cause lung cancer used funds from the tobacco industry to fund its research according to doctors like UC San Francisco professor of medicine Stanton Glantz, who have urged the University of California Board of Regents to stop such funding."

"There are private companies and pharmaceutical companies that contract us to do research for them %u2013 point being that there are people that come to us for a service and then we are paid,%u201D Seeram said.

"One of the nutrition lab%u2019s biggest contractors is POM Wonderful, the brand that popularized pomegranate juice sold in a bubble-shaped bottle."

I think the author has also confused black cherries with red tart cherries. It was Montmorency tart cherries on which the exercise-induced muscle recovery study was done. They are also very high on the ORAC chart. Wonder why they were left off?

[thinking12]

The entire premise of this story is flawed. The study was originated on behalf of PomWonderful, and doesn''t list the "10 healthiest fruit juices." It ranked Pomegranate juice as the healthiest of 10 fruit juices selected for the study. There is a distinct difference between the two.

From the actual study - "The aim of the current study was to compare the antioxidant potency of PJ to other leading brands of RTD polyphenol-rich beverages, available either nationally or regionally."

[cfin5]

I prefer Black Currant juice. It is VERY strong and does need some sugar and water mixed in though.

[oneworldusa]

Pomegranite investors, anyone???

[ausus-2009]

You can always try to grow a pomegranate. They grow in a variety of climates and require little space. I have grown one in two houses.

[xocolate-2009]

I think they have acai too far down on their list. It is the highest of all fruits and second only to raw cacao on the FDA ORAC chart. I like to get my fruit and antioxidants from healthy dark chocolate that is mixed with acai and concord grapes. You can find this chocolate at the myfitchocolate website if you want to.

[barbaraf4]

I just bought two large containers of 100% Pomegranate juice. With the red cap. :)Posted by smurfcrusher
~~~~~~~~~~~
The containers I have seen were pretty expensive. Did you have to take out a loan from China to pay for it?

[prairiefox1]

GRENADINE ANYONE?

[smurfcrusher]

I just bought two large containers of 100% Pomegranate juice. With the red cap. :)

[smurfcrusher]

Unfortunately, "100% fruit juice" typically

"contains a blend of apple, grape, pear, and other fruit juice" usually from concentrate.

[jericho1337]

"for sure check the label. The juice isle is littered with bottles that call themselves "juice" but 15%-25% juice to me is not juice. It ought to be called juice substitute. Always go for 100% juice with no sugar added."

That''s not accurate; in the USA, fruit juice can only legally be used to describe a product which is 100% fruit juice.

[stick1770]

for sure check the label. The juice isle is littered with bottles that call themselves "juice" but 15%-25% juice to me is not juice. It ought to be called juice substitute. Always go for 100% juice with no sugar added.

[amberfoxfour]

Figures. too bad it taste HORRIBLE! Yuk!
www.FireMe.To/udi

[sociald63]

pomegranate juice tastes better w/ vodka

[twohares]

Like Cyberus said,
Affording them is the key. Sounds a little conspiratorial, but isn''t it strange that the healthier the food, the more expensive it is?
As soon as something is labeled ''healthy,'' the money wonks see it as a cash cow and instantly raise the price whether the price increase is valid or not.
Go to the juice aisle at any grocery store. Apple and grape juice are the cheapest.
Then look at ANY juice that is blueberry or pomegranate, and it will usually be more than TWICE the cost.
And then they wonder why lower-income families are all FAT, because all they can afford is macaroni and cheese, potatoes, breads and pastas... all essential foods, but not if they''re your only intake as they''re full of starches. Fresh fruits and vegetables will always be more expensive, as well as lean cuts of meat and fish. Of course that doesn''t excuse the fat arses that simply eat too much, or eat nothing but junk food and swill soda. They''re just fat pigs who won''t put the fork down and the only exercise they get is walking their butt to the fridge.

[smurfcrusher]

"
If research is finding it to be true, then it never was an old wives'''' tale, was it?"

Posted by shippg

Shippg: Some wives tell valid tales. :)

[cyberus-2009]

Hard part about these juices is affording them if you can find them in a form that isn''t a *cocktail* ie mostly apple juice and/or white grape juice and a hefty dose of high fructose corn syrup.

[kevsan1]

Cranberry juice simply works. No wives tale.