In this article:
Recipe: Grape-Cherry Cooler
Recipe: Tropical Cooler
Juice tips
Questions about juices
Sources for this article

A cool, juicy summer

Fruit juice packs a nutrition wallop.
2 recipes help you enjoy your vitamins.

uices are a cool remedy for fruit-deficient Americans. Only 23% of us eat the recommended two to four servings daily, so we miss out on nutrients and disease-fighting antioxidants. But there's an easy way to make it up: 3/4 cup of fruit juice counts as a piece of fruit. The latest on benefits:

Purple grape juice is an antioxidant powerhouse that helps fight heart disease. Labels should say "100% juice made with Concord grapes" (white and red grape juice have less antioxidant activity). Tufts University tests show purple grape juice has four to five times more antioxidant activity than orange, grapefruit, tomato or apple juice. Recent research finds that drinking 1 or 2 cups of purple grape juice daily for a week reduces clot-promoting blood "stickiness" by 77%. It also promotes elasticity of arteries and better blood flow, and helps control bad-type LDL cholesterol. Drawbacks: high in sugar, calories.

Orange juice. It's full of vitamin C, potassium and folic acid. And a surprise: Canadian research shows good-type HDL cholesterol rose 21% in people drinking up to three glasses of OJ daily for a month. Research at Harvard found that high consumption of citrus juice reduced the risk of a blood-clot stroke by 25%. Orange juice also has anti-cancer powers, research says: Animals fed orange juice are less likely to develop early colon and breast cancer. Drawbacks: less fiber and a third more calories in 3/4 cup juice (84 calories) than in one whole orange (62 calories).

Cranberry juice. As folklore claims, it fights urinary tract infections. One Harvard study found that drinking 11/4 cups of cranberry juice cocktail every day cut the risk of urinary tract infections in older women 50% and appeared to help clear existing infection. In other recent research, cranberry juice inhibited E. coli and other bacteria, showed anti-cholesterol activity and slowed the growth of breast cancers in animals. Drawback: A cup of regular cranberry juice cocktail has 3 tablespoons of sugar. Get low-cal.

Grapefruit juice. A cup packs 150% of the RDA of vitamin C. It contains citrus antioxidants, so it is presumed to work against cancer and for the heart. Drawbacks: A unique chemical affects the metabolism of some drugs. In a recent test, it increased blood levels of cholesterol-lowering statins, such as Mevacor and Lipitor, 12 times, a potential danger. Other drugs that interact: calcium channel blockers, benzodiazepine tranquilizers and antihistamines. Also, grapefruit juice dramatically increases the risk of kidney stones.

Apple juice: A potential cause of gastrointestinal upset in infants and young children. In adults, it may help block changes in LDL cholesterol that lead to heart disease, say researchers at the University of California at Davis.

Prune juice: Tufts analyses pronounced prunes the richest source of antioxidants -- higher than any other fruit or vegetable -- and that carries over into the juice.

Pineapple juice: Very high in manganese, needed for protecting bones from osteoporosis. Drinking pineapple juice is an excellent way to raise levels of manganese, say University of Texas researchers.

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Grape-Cherry Cooler

2 cups 100% grape juice from Concord grapes (bottled or frozen reconstituted)
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 cup frozen dark sweet pitted cherries
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Optional: 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt

Process all in blender until smooth. Pour over crushed ice.
(Note: Lemon juice and yogurt help lower the "glycemic index" of the grape juice, reducing its ability to spike blood sugar. Cinnamon boosts insulin activity to help process the sugar.)
Serves: 4.
Per serving: 108 calories, 0.5g protein, 0.4g fat, 27g carbohydrates, 0.6g fiber, 2mg sodium.

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Tropical Cooler

2 cups orange juice (from carton, or frozen reconstituted)
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple in juice (or 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks)

Process all in blender until smooth. If too thick, add carbonated water to taste. Pour over crushed ice; garnish with mint sprigs and strawberries.
Serves: 4.
Per serving: 101 calories, 1g protein, 0.3g fat, 25g carbohydrates, 1.6g fiber, 2mg sodium.

Noted health journalist Jean Carper is the author of 21 books. The latest: Your Miracle Brain (HarperCollins, $26).

Photo Credit: BRIAN LEATART for USAWEEKEND

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Juice tips

Buying Juices:
Except for cranberry juice cocktail, be sure the label says "100%" juice. Fruit "drinks, beverages, ades, blends, and most cocktails" are lower in juice content, nutritional quality and disease-fighting antioxidants, and often high in sugar.

Making your own juices:
Not recommended: whole fruit juicing where the pulp or fiber is discarded.
Recommended: juicing in a powerful blender that liquifies the entire peeled fruit.

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Questions:

Aren't fruit juices bad for blood sugar?
No. It's a misconception that common fruit juices hype blood sugar and are thus "high glycemic foods." In tests, orange, grapefruit, apple and pineapple juice all were low glycemic index beverages, not apt to spike blood sugar. High acidic citrus juices, in fact, tend to suppress blood sugar rises when eaten with high glycemic foods.

Does fruit juice have fiber?
Not much compared with the fiber in whole fruits. One way to buck up fiber in commercial fruit juices is to add fresh or canned fruit, then process in a blender. Beware of juice extractors that discard a fruit's fiber.

What's the best juice for babies?
White grape juice is easiest for babies to digest, says leading researcher Fima Lifshitz, M.D., Miami Children's Hospital. Certain juices can cause diarrhea, even restlessness and irritability in infants and young children who cannot properly digest absorb juices' carbohydrates, mainly sorbitol. Worst culprits: pear and apple juice. Dr. Lifshitz advises introducing juice at 6 to 9 months of age. He also recommends limiting juice to no more than 4 ounces a day under age 2 and no more than 8 ounces a day between ages 2 and 4. The concern: Excessive juice may promote obesity and growth problems.

Are juices high in calories?
Juices can be a concentrated source of calories. However, one Yale University study suggested that fructose, a sugar in fruit, actually stifled appetite, more than compensating for increased calories in fruit juice. But other research finds that eating an orange suppresses hunger better than drinking orange juice.

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SOURCES FOR THIS WEEK'S COLUMN

Purple Grape Juice:
Keevil, Folts, Journal of Nutrition, 2000; 130 (1):53-56
and
Stein, James H., et al. Circulation 100, 1050-1055, 1999

Orange Juice
Elzbieta Kurowska, Nov, 1999 meeting American Heart Association, Atlanta
and
Joshipura KJ. Fruit and vegetable intake in relation to risk of ischemic stroke. JAMA 1999 oct 6, 282(13): 1233-9
and
Inhibition of mammary cancer by citrus flavonoids. Gurthrie, N. Adv Exp Med Biol 1998:439:227-36

Cranberry juice
Journal of American Medical Association, 1994
and
Allison, d.G., et al. J Basic Microbiol 2000; 40(1): 3-6
and
Najla Guthrie, U of Western Ontario--cancer, and Wilson, T. Life Sci, 1998:62(24): PL381-6 LDl oxidation.)

Pineapple juice
Jeanne Freeland-Graves. p. 128 Food Ph guide to good eating.

Juice and infants
Cole, C.R. Consequences of incomplete carbohydrat--absorption from fruit juice consumption in infants. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 153: 1098-1102, Oct. 1999
and
Nobigrot T., Carbohydrate absorption from one serving of fruit juice in young children: age and carbohydrate composition effects, J Am Coll Nutr 1997 Apr: 16(2):152-8

Orange vs. orange juice as hunger suppressant
Bolton, R.P. Am J Clin Nutr 1981 Feb; 34(2): 211-7

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Leatart for USA WEEKEND