Chugging Juice? Pasteurization.

Familiar with the Tropicana Strawberry Orange Banana juice? .... so tropical and amazing!  I used to greedily chug that juice as swiftly as I could, as if I was unable to get it into my body quickly enough!

Do you find yourself chugging OJ from the carton as quick as one would a soft drink?

What makes orange juice, or rather any juice, seem so satiating?

We sure do get our sugar fix, the immediate satisfaction from downing cup after cup of juice.  But let us go beyond taste, and examine the process of creating commercial, fruit juices.

PASTEURIZATION, the process of killing bacteria through heating, destroying enzymes and a significant amount of nutrition.

Look at the label of any popular juice brand, and most likely you will see ASCORBIC ACID (Vitamin C) listed in the ingredients.  Why?  Well depending on the level of pasteurization, the natural Vitamin C from the fruit juice has been destroyed.  How unappealing would it be to look at the label and notice absolutely no nutrition left in the product, so why not insert synthetic "nutrition" back into it!

Same goes for milk.  I still question organic milk.  I have seen organic milk labeled as ULTRA-PASTEURIZED.  Frighteningly, why does organic milk need to go through extreme pasteurization?  Once again, destroying the nutrients and enzymes makes a recipe for indigestible "food."

Heating food will be another topic ... but I will say that heating changes the nature and chemistry of the "food."  Thus the altered fruit sugars, along with the removal of the fruit's fibers, may find oneself dealing with blood sugar related discomfort.

So instead of consuming processed juice, it takes an ounce of effort to make your own fruit juice/ smoothie!  No worries about additives, heating, or quality of produce, because it is all under your own discretion.

Try it:

Blend baby carrots, bananas, strawberries, and oranges into a smoothie consistency!

Finito!

Your body will assimilate the unaltered sugars from the WHOLE FRUIT much better than pasteurized juice, and the included fiber will help regulate the rate of sugar absorption.

Preparing a smoothie, or whatever yummy creation it may be, nurtures my soul.  It does something to me.  I suppose taking care of myself in this way, nurturing myself, is love, and I'm consuming it, expressing it, and feeling alive!

Besides, I like to be the only one in class, drinking a green smoothie.  It darts curious eyes and questions, and amuses me.

;)