Juice and health

Fresh juice is packed with nutrients. As fruits and vegetables are juiced, the liquids are separated from the fibre, resulting in a concentrated blend of flavour and colour, as well as phytochemicals (protective compounds) and minerals that “are better absorbed from juice than from food that is raw but not juiced,” says Vancouver-based registered dietitian Vesanto Melina, co-author of raw-food nutrition guidebook Becoming Raw.

Fruit and vegetable juices are so rich in nutrients, in fact, that while they’re no substitute for an overall balanced diet, they can help offset less-healthy diets, or even less healthy days. “When I’ve looked at how important the phytochemicals and vitamins are in protecting from chronic disease and how many people’s diets have little or none of those components, juices could help that way,” says Melina.

The key? Fresh juice is best. Get yours from a juice bar or make it at home, and drink it as soon as possible (best within 15 minutes to an hour), both for nutrition and for flavour. And make sure to get a lot of variety in your juices, including fruits, vegetables, leafy greens and herbs, such as fresh parsley or ginger.