Fresh Organic Juice vs. Store Packaged Juice

Understanding that it is important to intake juice is nothing new for humans. Our generation (millennials) have heard since birth, from doctors and parents, that it is important to drink juice daily because of calcium, potassium, vitamins, and other nutrients. I am pretty sure our parent’s generation heard the same speech. If you were like most millennials, then you were told to make sure that you consume daily juice, which was more than likely purchased from your supermarkets. We are not doctors here at Roots and Crops; however, we do understand how important it is to consume many nutrients that fruit and vegetable juice provide. During this post we would like to talk about the difference between freshly squeezed organic juice and store packaged juice.

Fresh Organic Juice

We have discussed in previous post the importance of fresh organic juicing. Just to recap, here is a look at why juicing is important based on research conducted:

• Increases energy

• Reduces the risk of various diseases

• Provides skin therapy & rehydration

• Strengthens the immune system

• Juicing is a fun-filled approach towards healthy eating habits

When you squeeze fresh organic whole fruits and vegetables, you are extracting the juice from its raw form and consuming it without any added preservatives. When considering fresh squeezed organic juice versus store packaged juice, this is the most efficient way to consume the nutrients from your produce. There are several methods you can use to squeeze your whole fruits & vegetables:

• Slow masticating (Cold-pressed juices)

• Blender (Smoothies)

• HPP (Store packaged Cold-pressed juices and mass produced juices)

Difference Between Store Packaged Juice

Slow masticating and blending methods will allow you to consume your juice in its most natural form; however, HPP does not. HPP is a pasteurization process that uses high pressure to reduce the microbial content. In other words, the juice is manipulated in order to obtain a higher shelf life. This process is required for ALL store packaged juices (even cold-pressed); therefore, companies that DO NOT sell their juices in supermarkets and grocery stores (such as Roots and Crops) are not required to use this process. Just to be clear one more time, WE DO NOT USE THE HPP PROCESS. With that being said, the HPP process allows for increased shelf life, but decreases the amount of nutrients in each juice.

Before cold-pressed juices and smoothies became popular in supermarkets, the only options that mostpeople had for juice was to choose a mass produced packaged juice. Typically, your large CPG companies would manufacture these juices. Please do not get confused or fooled by the word “juice”. CPG mass produced juice is not the same quality as freshly squeezed juice. Contrast to our juicing method of slowly pressing our produce to extract the juice and serve to you in its most natural and efficient form, large manufacturers do the following:

• Add chemicals

• Add preservatives

• Suck the oxygen out of the juice

• Add artificial flavors

• Add additional sugar to provide a sweeter flavor

• Pasteurize with high heat

This entire process is done in order to increase shelf life for months (sometimes up to a year) and to enhance the flavor of the “juice”. As you can read, there are many differences between freshly squeezed organic juice and store packaged juice.

Freshly Squeezed Organic Juice > Store Packaged Juice

Once again, Roots and Crops does not use the HPP nor add any additional preservatives and artificial flavors to our juices. We only provide 100% Raw Organic squeezed juice. Thanks for tuning in this week and look forward to our post next week.

Disclaimer

This post is for enlightenment purposes only and should not be used as a replacement for professional evaluations and treatments. Remember to always consult your doctor or healthcare provider before making any health-related decisions

References

Crocker, Pat, 2015. Juicing and Smoothies For Dummies