Fruit and vegetable juices now flood the market, and advertisements for various juice brands have reached every household. With their sweet taste and rich nutritional value, juices are loved by people of all age groups, especially the elderly and infants. Many families have also bought juicers to make drinking juice even more convenient. However, are fruit and vegetable juices really equivalent to whole fruits and vegetables?
Firstly, these juice beverages generally contain various additives, such as colorings and preservatives, and excessive consumption is certainly not beneficial to the body. However, the biggest deficiency of fruit and vegetable juice beverages compared to whole fruits and vegetables lies in their severe lack of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber is called the "seventh nutrient" by the medical community and is a collective term for essential nutrients for the human body. It is divided into two categories: soluble and insoluble. Water-soluble fiber, represented by pectin, has health benefits of preventing and reducing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, is more often used to prevent diseases of the gastrointestinal system.
Insoluble fiber stimulates intestinal peristalsis and promotes bowel movements. If the diet lacks it while the intake of fats and meats is excessive, anaerobic bacteria in the intestine will multiply in large numbers. This dissolves neutral or acidic steroids, especially cholesterol, bile acids, and their metabolites. The increased bile acid metabolites in the stool are then co-carcinogens. Dietary fiber can affect the activity of bacteria in the large intestine, reducing the amount of bile acids produced, diluting toxic substances in the intestine, softening the stool, shortening the time it takes to pass through the intestine, and reducing the contact time between carcinogens and the intestinal lining. Therefore, it can prevent intestinal cancer. This is especially necessary for the elderly. Because gastrointestinal function generally declines in old age, intestinal peristalsis is slow, and the amount of lactic acid bacteria in the intestine is reduced, maintaining a moderate amount of dietary fiber in the diet, especially coarse fiber, is an essential health measure for treating constipation and preventing intestinal diseases.
In addition, dietary fiber can also affect blood sugar levels, reduce the dependence of diabetic patients on medication, and has the effects of preventing excess calories and controlling obesity. It can also prevent gallstones and lower blood lipids. The best way to consume fiber is through a balanced diet, paying attention to a mix of coarse and fine grains and a combination of meat and vegetables. When food is too refined or processed, it is precisely the fiber that is lost. For the elderly, the daily intake of fiber should be 6-10 grams, which is roughly equivalent to half a cup of 30-40g oatmeal, plus 100g of fruit and 300g of vegetables. Here, the fruit and vegetables refer to those high in fiber, and if they are made into liquid juice, their fiber advantage is greatly diminished.
Of course, excessive consumption of dietary fiber is also not advisable. It has been found that high-fiber foods can interfere with the absorption of calcium and zinc by the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, a balanced diet, preventing picky eating and excessive consumption, is very important.