Juicing and drinking fruit juices are a superb way to get your daily allowances of fruit and vegetables. They are becoming more and more popular as part of health and fitness regimes. A particularly common and nutritious fruit to juice are apples. There are many tasty varieties of apples which can produce as many different blends of juice.
Apple juice is excellent in helping the function of the digestive system and for aiding the function of the kidneys. It is in the digestive tract that its cleansing properties makes apple juice a very popular drink. However, apple juice is also capable of purifying the blood and is very useful as a general tonic for the liver and skin.
There are about 16 calories per ounce of apple and they contain large amounts of vitamins such as thiamine, vitamin B6, carotene and riboflavin. It is a common myth that apples contain high quantities of vitamin C. Although it does contain some of this vitamin it is not found in high concentrations.
The levels of vitamin C can vary quite a bit from apple to apple, and range from about 2mg to 35mg per hundred ounces. The types of apples that contain the highest levels of this vitamin are, Golden Noble, Ontario and Bramleys.
Fruits like oranges and lemons are the most vitamin C rich fruits commonly available. However, apples contain more minerals and antioxidants, like tannic acid.
When freshly made, apple has a tendency to oxidize very quickly and become discolored. This can be prevented or reduced by adding some freshly squeezed lemon juice to the drink and refrigerating. The lemon also adds extra taste to the juice.
Polyphenols are another chemical that are found naturally in apples. Ongoing researching is pointing to the fact that these chemicals may help in the prevention of the dementia causing illness, Alzheimers disease. It has also been suggested that apples could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease as they contain chemicals similar to those in red wine and tea which help in the breakdown of bad cholesterol.
As this article shows, not only are apples a tasty, healthy snack, but drinking them as a juice can be an important source of vitamins and nutrients that can help keep you healthy.