Is your orange juice losing vitamins? Grocery tips for juice!

As a pole, running, and flexibility addict eating right is becoming increasingly important to me. It sounds so simple--just pick healthy foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, and avoid excess. Choosing healthy options can still mean you aren't getting the nutrients you think you are.

Orange juice in a gable top container

Did you know your orange juice loses vitamin C daily?

I read this in my nutrition class and was shocked! It turns out that by the expiration date orange juice in gable-top containers (see image) has lost most of its vitamin C content. How frustrating, isn't the point of drinking orange juice to mostly to get vitamin C? One simple choice can make a difference, though. For
those of us who don't have time to make it fresh squeezed, we can opt for a plastic jug which loses only 2% daily. Also, check the expiration date and choose the container with the furthest date for the freshest juice.


More juice shopping tips:

• For the most part the more colorful or darker the fruit juice, the more healthy it is. (Pink grapefruit juice, for example, has two antioxidants plus phytochemicals regular grapefruit juice lacks.)
• Choose citrus: they are high in potassium + low in sodium = heart healthy.
• Tomato juice is packed with nutrients and lycopene which is linked to lower cancer risk.
• Juices can add extra calories that are easy to overlook, don't forget to keep them in mind!

Next time you want to indulge you might try preparing fresh-squeezed orange juice or another fresh fruit juice. They'll be more nutritious then their store-bought counterparts and you'll pamper yourself with a drink that takes a little extra time and thought to prepare.

Source: Boyle, Maria, and Sara Long. Personal Nutrition. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 264. Print.