Juice Up Your Diet

Fruit and vegetable juices are excellent natural sources of vitamins and minerals and, in moderation, can be part of a healthy diet.

Eating fruits and vegetables helps keep you healthy and protects against disease, but it’s not always easy to consume as much produce as experts advice.

Fortunately, juices can be a convenient way to squeeze in extra servings.

Six ounces — just 3/4 cup of juice — counts as one serving of a fruit or vegetable.

Many fruit juices contain potassium, which helps balance sodium in the diet and lowers blood pressure[Lower blood pressure]. Vitamin C in some fruit juices helps heal cuts and bruises, prevents infection, and aids in the absorption of iron (helping our bodies use the iron we get from foods), and vitamin A benefits eye and skin health.

Carbohydrates from natural sugars in 100 percent juice provide energy, and the water content in juice helps meet fluid requirements. The increase in calories is due to the increased percentage of sugar as a proportion of the juice.

Grapefruit juice can interfere with the metabolism of a number of prescription drugs, including certain cholesterol-lowering statins, antidepressants, and even Viagra. Grapefruit contains a natural substance that inhibits the liver’s ability to metabolize (break down so the body can utilize) certain drugs.

For more information, visit: CNN