1. How to ensure that the nutrients in fruit and vegetable juice are not lost?
Fresh fruit and vegetable juices are rich in vitamins. If left for too long, the vitamins' effectiveness will be destroyed by light and temperature, reducing their nutritional value. Therefore, it is best to "make and drink immediately" to achieve maximum effect, and it should be consumed within 20 minutes at most. If you are not drinking it right away, store it in the refrigerator. 2. If you are worried that the fruit and vegetable juice is too cold and might be harmful to your health, how should you drink it?
There are two secrets to drinking fruit and vegetable juice that is not harmful to your constitution and can even help improve it: First, you can add root vegetables or grains like five-grain powder or brown rice to the juice, which makes it less cold. Second, since different fruits and vegetables have different nutrients, you should eat a variety of colors and not be picky. Otherwise, it will still lead to a nutritional imbalance. 3. What is the best time to make fruit and vegetable juice?
For the ingredients of fruit and vegetable juice, it is best to choose fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables. Frozen fruits and vegetables have a reduced vitamin content due to long storage, so their benefits to the body are also relatively reduced. Additionally, it is better to choose organic products or grow them yourself to avoid pesticide contamination. 4. Can any fruits and vegetables be mixed to make juice?
Some fruits and vegetables contain an enzyme that destroys vitamin C, such as carrots, pumpkins, cucumbers, and cantaloupes. If mixed with other fruits and vegetables, it will destroy the vitamin C in them. However, this enzyme is easily destroyed by heat and acid. Therefore, when making fresh fruit and vegetable juice at home, you can add a more acidic fruit like lemon to prevent the vitamin C in the other ingredients from being destroyed.
5. Do the peels of fruits and vegetables also contain nutrients?
The peels of fruits and vegetables also contain nutrients. For example, apple peels contain fiber, which aids intestinal motility and promotes bowel movements, while grape peels contain polyphenols, which have antioxidant properties. Therefore, fruits like apples and grapes can be eaten with their peels on. Of course, the fruits and vegetables must be thoroughly washed to avoid consuming residual insect eggs and pesticides. 6. How should fruit and vegetable juice be consumed?
It is best to drink it slowly, sip by sip. When drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juice, avoid gulping it down. Drink it sip by sip, savoring the flavor. This allows for better absorption in the body. If you drink it quickly, the sugar in the juice will quickly enter the bloodstream, causing a rapid spike in blood sugar.
Additionally, it is best to drink it in the morning or 2 hours after a meal. Drinking it in the morning is ideal. However, if you replace your entire breakfast with just one glass of juice, it is too insufficient because the carbohydrate content in juice is not enough to be the sole energy source for the whole morning. Furthermore, low blood sugar is not conducive to brain function and can easily lead to irritability.
Drinking it 2 hours after a meal follows the same principle as eating fruit. Because fruit is easier to digest than other foods, drinking it 2 hours after a meal is more appropriate so as not to interfere with the digestion of the main meal in the stomach and intestines.
Also, avoid drinking it before going to sleep at night, as consuming water at night increases the burden on the kidneys and can easily lead to swelling in the body.
Some people like to add sugar to improve the taste of the juice. However, when sugar is broken down, it increases the loss of B vitamins and the depletion of calcium and magnesium, thereby reducing its nutritional value. If the freshly made juice does not taste good, you can use sweeter fruits like cantaloupe or pineapple as ingredients, or add a small amount of honey to increase your intake of vitamin B6. 7. Are there people who should not drink fruit and vegetable juice?
Not everyone is suitable for drinking fruit and vegetable juice. Because vegetables contain a large amount of potassium, kidney patients may not be able to expel excess potassium from their bodies. Drinking fruit and vegetable juice could lead to hyperkalemia. Additionally, diabetics need to control their blood sugar levels long-term and must calculate the carbohydrate content in any juice they drink and include it in their diet plan. It is not a case of "the more you drink, the healthier you get." 8. Are the fruit and vegetable drinks sold in stores really healthy?
The fruit and vegetable juices sold in stores have had their fiber filtered out and have a lot of sugar added. What you are drinking is not beneficial to your health. Therefore, when drinking fruit and vegetable juice, it is best to choose fresh, freshly made, and unfiltered juice.