 Enquiring Minds Want To Know...
Two Of My Favorite Ladies Are
Delighted With Their Diets
Bush
Sets Fast Pace For U.S. Fitness
"Orange"
You Glad You Checked The Expiration Date?
Membership Musings
Spiffy New Equipment
Rewards
Come With Diligent Effort
Local-Youth Win Big In World Hip-Hop
Osteoarthritis
"ORANGE" YOU GLAD YOU
CHECKED
THE EXPIRATION DATE?
By The American Dietetic Association
 Study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association says
for the most vitamin C, drink your orange juice soon after purchase
CHICAGO -- The vitamin C content of increasingly popular
ready-to-drink brands of orange juice can drop from 45 milligrams per cup to zero within
four weeks after opening, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal
of the American Dietetic Association.
The study, led by registered dietitian and professor of nutrition at
ASU Carol Johnston, also found frozen reconstituted orange juice contains more vitamin C
than ready-to-drink juice, although the exact amounts depend on when the juice is consumed
following purchase.
Johnston and her co-author Dusti Bowling, a former undergraduate
student of Johnston, recommend that ready-to-drink orange juice should be purchased three
to four weeks prior to the expiration date and consumed within one week of opening.
"We don't want people to stop drinking orange juice for any
reason at all," Johnston said. "We just want them to know that the frozen
concentrate orange juice contains more vitamin C and may be a better nutritional choice.
People don't eat broccoli, spinach or red peppers daily, and the thing that's great about
orange juice is Americans consume it regularly."
"Orange juice is one of the best sources of
vitamin C, folic acid and soluble fiber," said Los Angeles-based registered dietitian
and ADA spokesperson Gail Frank. "When you buy orange juice, drink it as soon as
possible. This will allow you to get the most bang for your buck."
The researchers analyzed two brands of frozen juice and two brands
of ready-to-drink juice and found orange juice from concentrate contains 86 milligrams of
vitamin C per fluid cup when first prepared, dropping to 39 to 46 milligrams after four
weeks of storage. The study did not offer a recommendation whether consumers should choose
frozen or ready-to-drink juice.
Ready-to-drink juices, on the other hand, start with
"significantly lower" amounts of vitamin C than frozen, according to the study
-- 27 to 65 milligrams per cup when the container is opened, and zero to 25 milligrams
four weeks later.
Oxygen in the air is responsible for most vitamin C loss in packaged
orange juice, meaning routine handling during the production process as well as storage in
non-airtight containers after opening can reduce the amounts of vitamin C both before and
after purchase.
"While the average person needs only about six milligrams per
day of vitamin C to avoid health problems like scurvy, low intake of vitamin C can lead to
fatigue, feelings of listlessness and may lead to more serious complications,"
Johnston said.
Johnston said previous studies have shown vitamin C deficiencies
among U.S. adults have risen from five percent to 16 percent in the past 20 years, and the
amount of vitamin C consumed by Americans has dropped 20 percent since the mid-1970s.
During roughly the same period, Johnston noted, "increasing
sales of pasteurized, ready-to-drink orange juice resulted in a marked shift in the
industry" -- the number of factories producing concentrates decreased and the number
producing ready-to-drink juice increased.
According to the study, the vitamin C content of orange juice is
"highly variable and dependent on, for example, the variety and maturity of the
oranges, fresh fruit handling, processing factors and packaging. Pasteurized, ready to
serve orange juice typically contains 25 percent less vitamin C per serving than frozen
concentrates, a result in part of heat destroying the vitamin C."
Top of Page
Back to Home Page
|
