Summer is the prime season for a variety of fresh fruits, offering the perfect opportunity to enjoy these juicy delights.

With the growing prevalence of juicers in households, the refreshing sweetness of freshly squeezed fruit juice on a hot day is incomparable to anything else.

Compared to carbonated beverages, people find freshly squeezed fruit juice to be not only flavorful and nutritious but also convenient. But can drinking freshly squeezed fruit juice replace eating whole fruits? Is it truly healthy to consume it regularly? How can one juice fruits in a healthier manner? Let's explore these queries.

Firstly, it's essential to recognize that freshly squeezed fruit juice is not a complete substitute for whole fruits. It not only loses some nutrients in the juicing process but may also contribute to obesity.

Fruits are primarily composed of water, typically ranging from 70% to 90%. They are rich sources of vitamins, such as carotenoids found in red and yellow fruits, and vitamin C abundant in fruits like oranges and strawberries.

Moreover, fruits are packed with minerals and organic acids like citric acid and malic acid, which stimulate digestive gland secretions, promote appetite, aid digestion, and stabilize the vitamin C content.

Furthermore, fruits contain ample dietary fiber, which aids in bowel movement and helps prevent conditions like atherosclerosis by lowering cholesterol levels. Soluble dietary fibers like pectin found abundantly in fruits, bind with harmful substances in the intestines and facilitate their excretion.

Freshly squeezed fruit juice refers to the juice extracted from clean, peeled, and deseeded fruits using a juicer.

However, freshly squeezed fruit juice is not equivalent to whole fruits. Processing fruits through methods like pressing, centrifugation, and extraction leads to the loss of some nutritional components, particularly vitamin C, which oxidizes during juicing. Additionally, dietary fiber and pectin, which are insoluble in water, are lost in the process, while sugar and calories remain concentrated in the juice.

Apart from the loss of fiber and pectin, drinking freshly squeezed fruit juice has its drawbacks. Since most fruits contain high levels of sugar, consuming only fruit juice without balancing it with other foods can cause drastic fluctuations in blood sugar levels, which is detrimental to blood sugar control. For those aiming to lose weight by consuming freshly squeezed fruit juice, juices from high-sugar fruits not only fail to aid weight loss but may lead to obesity.

Claims of "original juice" or "cell-breaking" juicing methods still result in nutrient loss!

Conventional juicers, operating at high speeds, damage the nutritional content of fruits. However, purportedly advanced techniques like "original juice" or "cell-breaking" still pose similar problems. Original juicers use a slower screw-driven method, yet they still disrupt the cellular structure of fruits, resulting in discarded pulp containing various insoluble nutrients.

Similarly, cell-breaking juicers, with their high power and speed, produce finer juice without the need for a filter. However, in the process of breaking down fruit cell walls and extracting juice, nutrients come into contact with oxygen, leading to oxidation and the loss of antioxidant components like vitamin C and polyphenols.

Moreover, during the juicing process, the acidic nature of fruits in contact with metallic equipment may pose food safety risks.

Therefore, when choosing between freshly squeezed fruit juice and whole fruits, it's advisable to prioritize the consumption of whole fruits.