The Power Of Fruit Juice

A study this year found no association between childhood obesity and 100 percent fruit juice with no sugar added. “That’s big news, and it’s made a difference in what I tell my patients,” says Rockwell, D.O., assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan Health System.

Other studies, meanwhile, have found that many fruit juices provide powerful health benefits, Rockwell notes. Research in recent years has identified ways that beverages such as pomegranate, orange and cranberry juices can help to prevent or cure diseases.

Juices that provide health benefits:
Orange juice
The iconic breakfast drink may help people prevent recurrences of painful kidney stones. A study has found that a daily glass of orange juice can reduce the incidence of kidney stones better than other citrus drinks, such as lemonade.

Drink Really Good For You?

The multilevel marketing company has built a huge business around its mangosteen-based drink, which it promotes as an immunity booster. The company still hasn't proved its health benefits — which it says could include a stronger immune system and improved joint function — to skeptical experts. Noting the Drink is not meant to treat or prevent disease. A lab test arranged by The Associated Press found its antioxidant power to be on par with other fruit Drinks.

Morton, a 37-year-old triathlete nicknamed Ironman Joe, was on a business trip in Malaysia when he saw mangosteen, a white delicacy wrapped in a blood-red leathery shell, on the dessert menu.

Fruit Drinks Shine In Beverages Market

Still drinks, nectars and packaged water sales are maturing quickly to grab a major share of the Indian beverages market, according to "The 2007 India Soft Drinks Report" by Canadean, the global beverages research company.

Still drinks include ready-to-drink fruit or non-fruit based drinks with a juice content lower than 25 per cent, like mango Frooti and Appy. The category also includes sweetened flavoured waters.

The success of such brands in India (for that matter even outside India) has largely been the result of a slowing demand for carbonated drinks, which declined in 2006 for a second consecutive year.

If the huge loose sales segment (sales from juice vendors and hotels) is taken into account, still drinks replace carbonated beverages as the leading category in 2006.

The shift has been partially because of fears of pesticide contamination in carbonated drinks, the report says. "This pressure on carbonates has given still drinks an opportunity, and with competitive pricing, still drinks have taken full advantage (of the situation)," the report says.

"Demand has been further buoyed by the introduction of new larger 1.2 litre PET family pack formats that provide another option to carbonates.

Fruit Drinks Contribute Most Calories To Teen Diets

Concluded that sweet drinks provide about 13 percent of a teenager's total calories--more than cakes, cookies and other sugary foods. Sodas and fruit drinks are also the single leading source of added sugars in a teen's diet, providing more than half of all added sugars they consume, according to the study.

Analysis of the survey showed that consumption of sodas and fruit drinks increases in a step-wise fashion as U.S children get older, while milk intake declines in a similar way--suggesting that milk is being displaced by soft drinks and juice drinks. By the time a child enters adolescence, he or she is drinking about twice as many sugary sodas and fruit drinks as milk.

"Our study found that milk is a primary source of nutrients in a child's diet, but milk consumption steadily declines as children grow older, which may prevent older children and teenagers from consuming the nutrients they need for growth and development," said lead researcher Mary M. Murphy, of Environ Health Sciences Institute.

A New Twist On Fruit Drinks

Looking for an innovative drink offering that can boost beverage sales? Maybe you should look south of the border. A traditional Mexican offering called agua fresco, (literally "fresh water") may be what you are looking for.

Essentially a water beverage, agua fresca fits nicely into the emerging category of specialty waters-from ionized and ultra purified to "enhanced" and "infused"-that seek to take water from a commodity to a premium product.

Because it uses fresh fruits, herbs and spices-some familiar and some fairly exotic-as key ingredients, agua fresca drinks can also tap into consumer demands for fresh, healthful beverages, and for new flavor sensations.

And, with Hispanics making up an increasing share of the U.S. population, agua frescas Mexican pedigree delivers a significant existing customer base already familiar with the product (agua fresca stands are common in Mexican cities).

In other words, the perfect beverage trend storm?
So, what exactly is agua fresca? Essentially, it's water flavored with fruit. The basic recipe is simple: mk fresh water with an equal amount of cut-up fruit, puree and strain to remove the pulp, producing a pure liquid (an alternative is to puree and strain only the fruit and then mix the liquid with water).

Fruit Punch

Pick up a menu from almost any American-style restaurant, and chances are you'll find a fruit dessert on the list. What could be more traditional than apple pie or strawberry shortcake? It's less common to find fruit in the appetizer or entree sections -- unless you're dining in a Latin or Asian type of place. But the growing popularity of these two cuisines -- along with the greater availability of
fresh, dried, and top-quality processed fruit has enlightened diners to the pleasures of pairing fruit with poultry, seafood, meats, cheeses, and other ingredients. In response, a number of mid-priced chains are working fruit into savory applications and more fine-dining chefs are searching out exotic varieties to pump up and differentiate their menus.

Statistics from the Wheaton, IL-based Chain Account Menu Survey (CAMS) support this trend. Between 2000 and 2002 in the top 200 chain restaurants, there was a 21% surge in appetizers featuring fruit; a 30% increase in fruit-enhanced chicken, fish, and shellfish entrees; and a 22% rise in fruity main-course salads.

Sauces Are A Terrific Way To Feature Fruit

"Sauces are a terrific way to feature fruit," feels Schiff. "They're flavorful, colorful, and tie into the fast-growing Caribbean and Asian categories." Schiff predicts that fruit will continue to infiltrate the savory side of his menu. "Our customers look at fruit as a positive ingredient," he says.

While tropical-themed dishes come as kind of a surprise on 99's menu, diners in Miami Beach expect to find mangos, pineapple, papayas, coconut, and oranges in beef, fish, and poultry preps. JD Harris, executive chef at the 100-seat Rumi, doesn't disappoint. But, he points out, "I try to break out of the Caribbean mold." Although he uses fruit prolifically, he doesn't focus on local citrus and tropical varieties; peaches, melons, and apples are other favorites. "I like undercutting savory dishes with something light and refreshing," Harris says. "Fruit balances dominant flavors.

Healthy Alternatives To Both Sweetened Drinks

"These drinks contribute high amounts of energy to kids' diets', yet they don't make them feel full."

Dr Sanigorski said the study had also shown that children ate high amounts of snack food. "Although the study did not demonstrate any link to weight gain with these foods, these snacks often contain high amounts of fat, salt and sugar, and their consumption may displace other more nutritious food in the diet," she said.

"These snacks are conveniently designed to fit into lunch boxes and easily carried to school and consumed by children.

Healthier alternative
"Parents need to consider more healthy alternatives to both sweetened drinks and snack foods, and children's environments, such as preschools and schools, need to be supportive also.

"One such alternative could be as simple as a piece of fruit. Not only is it nutrient rich, but it provides fibre and can keep children fuller for longer."

Dr Sanigorski said the study had underlined the importance of the evening meal in relation to children's intake of vegetables.

"One in five children ate no vegetables at all on the day in question. Previous studies have shown that vegetable consumption occurs outside of school, mainly at home. "We need to try to get vegetables into children's diets throughout the day. Current recommendations for changes to school canteens are great because they try to increase vegetables eaten at school through wraps and the like. Otherwise there is a heavy reliance on the evening meal to provide the recommended number of vegetables in the children's diet.

Study Shows Fruit Juice/Drink Link To Children's Weight Gain

Schoolchildren who drink fruit juices and fruit drinks are more likely to be overweight or obese than those who don't, Deakin researchers have found.

In a study of children aged four to 12 years from the Barwon South Western region researchers Andrea Sanigorski, Colin Bell and Boyd Swinburn from the University's Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Sciences found that children who had drank more than two glasses (500ml) of fruit juice/drink per day were more likely to be overweight or obese.

"These odds increased as the amounts of fruit juice/drink consumed increased," Dr Sanigorski said.

"Children who drank more than three glasses of soft drink (three quarters of a litre/750ml) or 4 glasses of fruit juice/drinks (1 litre) on the day in question were more than twice as likely to be overweight or obese compared with children who did not drink these drinks."

Dr Sanigorski said the study's findings were consistent with those found in children in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Regular Health Drink

Parents unaware
"Soft drink in this study was not the biggest issue," she said. "The data would appear to show primary school children do not regularly drink a lot of soft drink, however parents may not be aware that regular and large amounts of fruit drinks, fruit juices and fruit cordials can also be bad for children's long term health.

"These drinks contribute high amounts of energy to kids' diets', yet they don't make them feel full."

Dr Sanigorski said the study had also shown that children ate high amounts of snack food. "Although the study did not demonstrate any link to weight gain with these foods, these snacks often contain high amounts of fat, salt and sugar, and their consumption may displace other more nutritious food in the diet," she said.

"These snacks are conveniently designed to fit into lunch boxes and easily carried to school and consumed by children.