What does "from concentrate" mean and how does it affect the juice's nutrient profile?
"Juice made from concentrate is the same as the original juice" so they say. The only thing missing is most of the water. Extracting water reduces juice volume and weight, making it easier to ship. When water is added back to the concentrate, the product is labeled "reconstituted" or "made from concentrate" and has the same nutrition profile as the original juice. "As long as there has been no change in the juice other than water being removed and put back in, the label can identify the beverage as '100 percent juice from concentrate". Ha!
Why is apple, pear, or grape juice often the first ingredient in juices that aren't apple, pear, or grape?Naturally sweet juices such as apple, pear, and grape help make especially tart or acidic juices more palatable. "It's a way of adding sugar without having to put 'sweetened with added sugar' or other sweeteners on the label,"says Adam Drewnowski, PhD, director of the Center for Public Health and Nutrition at the University of Washington in Seattle. For example, unadulterated cranberry juice is extremely tart and must be sweetened. What makes it tart? Antioxidants. "They are, almost without exception, bitter, acrid, or astringent," Drewnowski says. "The more antioxidants you have in a product, the more bitter it is going to be." The reason: Antioxidants are meant to protect the plant by making it taste bad to predators.
OK, so company's go through all these steps to preserve and make juice more "palatable", but doesn't the nutrient value of juice decrease or even better, disappear after being shipped for days if not months to bottling factories? I mean, if you're fresh-squeezing juice at home or buying in-store fresh-squeezed juice, fresh squeezed from home obviously has to offer a slight nutritional edge. Isn't that what we want?
Think of juice like BLOOD because in a sense, that's what it is. Remember that as soon as the juice is extracted from its source and comes into contact with air, it will start to deteriorate and lose vitamin and mineral content. Just like blood does when it is exposed to oxygen. It's the same logic. The trick that company's do to avoid that problem is called PRESERVATIVES. Food preservatives used during processing; prolong shelf life, improve food taste. Additives, simple substances like salt, sugar, artificial chemicals used as antioxidant, anti-microbial, artificial colors for better eye appeal. Currently there are over 3000 additives used in processing with different functions. Sheesh...3000...when did they even have time to come up with 3000. At any rate, say we consume 100 additives. Can you imagine how long it takes the body to figure out that we are consuming complete garbage. Not to mention that most people eat and drink at the same time. It's not like the preservatives can preserve your colon or your heart or your life. Most preservatives are able to last 7-9 years.
I wonder how long they last in the human body?These substances in foods can affect individuals who are sensitive with some type of allergy, asthma, hay fever, etc. Few of these can affect non-allergic people as well. Some substances can cause more reactions than others can. For example, responses to sulfur dioxide and sodium benzoate occurs more commonly in asthmatics than responses to the color tartrazine.
Some feel these responses are not true allergies as one sees but more as any chemical response. Reactions depend on the types of food preservatives used or additive ingested. These may include vomiting, rashes, hives, tight chest, headaches, worsening of eczema, and many other symptoms. Similar reactions may occur with an allergy to food such as egg, nuts, etc.
Some edibles have natural elements that may affect you too. For example, fish that is not fresh may have high levels or histamine, cheese may have tyramine, and you may react to the histamine in wine and not the sulfur dioxide!
Food preservatives may contain or release formaldehyde which is carcinogenic, neurotoxin, irritant and sensitizer. These include DMDM hydantoin, Imidazolidinyl urea, Diazolidinyl urea, quaternium 15, sodium hydroxymethylglycinate and bronopol (2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol). Other preservatives that may also cause reactions include the parabens, methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone.
Antioxidants stop fats and oils from going rancid; for instance, ascorbic acid in butter. BHA and the related compound butylate hydroxy toluene have been used for years, mostly in products that are high in fats and oils and as an preservative for dry types, such as cereals. They slow the development of off-flavors, odors, and color changes caused by oxidation. Some report problems of rashes, hives, and occasionally tight chests. Studies show this to cause tumors in fish, hamsters, mice and rats.
Artificial colors make food more colorful; two examples are tartrazine and sunset yellow. Tartrazine is dye, so if you react to this, you should avoid all of the dyes. Those that may contain this are fruit juices, soft drinks, sweets, desserts, toppings, syrup, cooking oils, sauces and pickles. Some of the artificial colors are derived from coal tar that causes cancer. They are also used in cosmetics and other personal care products.
Flavor enhancers bring out flavors in; well-known one is monosodium glutamate (MSG). Symptoms include headache, burning sensation along the back of the neck, chest tightness or pain, nausea, sweating, and sensations of facial pressure. Tingling may be experienced in the limbs or face.
The Hard Truth>>>The very act of concentrating anything is to boil it down and evaporate the juice until it reaches a thick, syrupy liquid. The action itself kills any beneficial nutrients because if you heat anything over a certain temperature then the nutrients will start to wane. Heating anything over 120 degrees, what you can typically tolerate sipping, kills the enzymes in the food which are digestible, actually to help itself digest itself and break down. Does that make sense?
I know we get a little anal on this blog but these are things to consider. I wonder sometimes if the water used to "reconstite" the syrupy concentrate is even purified. Things to consider you know? That fact that we consume blindly with the trust of the manufactures is subject for debated. We are consumed by ideas not execution. The idea being the commercials and senseless trickery of major corporations in the food industry. How did we get so far away from the truth and so caught up in "just getting by? I think you know the answer.
Modern civilization doesn't allow time for you to make fresh juice everyday does it? You have no time do you? Or do we make excuses because we don't make time? Who is at fault? Sunkist never said you must drink our products or else. We made the choices that eventually will lead to health problems over time. You have to watch what you consume. There are no excuses now. Take care...Be well>>> Comment if you have any constructive insight>>>
Sources for this article>>>
HERE
Posts
