Vegetable juice is a juice drink made primarily of blended vegetables and also available in the form of powders. Vegetable juice is often mixed with fruits such as apples or grapes to improve flavor. Making vegetable juice at home is an alternative to buying commercial juices, and vegetable juice augment diets low in vegetables and fruits. The juicer separates juice from pulp fibers.
Masticating juicers employ a slow-geared grinding mechanism. Commercial vegetable juices are commonly made from varying combinations of carrots, beets, pumpkin, and tomatoes. The latter two, although not technically vegetables, are commonly used to increase palatability. Other common juices include carrot juice, tomato juice, and turnip juice.
They are used quite sparingly, however, for many Chinese consider it to be a medicine rather than a vegetable. Kale juice marketed as Aojiru in Japan has become well known for its purported health benefits and bitter taste. Japan also markets several kinds of vegetable juices which, unlike Western juices, usually depend on carrots and fruits instead of large amounts of tomato juice for their flavor. In general, vegetable juices are recommended as supplements to whole vegetables, rather than as a replacement. However, the actual nutritional value of juices versus whole vegetables is still contested. However, the British Nutrition Foundation holds that although vegetable juice counts as a serving, it can only count as one serving, regardless of the amount of juice drunk. Many popular vegetable juices, particularly ones with high tomato content, are high in sodium, and therefore consumption of them for health must be carefully considered.
Some vegetables such as beets also contain large amounts of sugar, so care must be taken when adding these to juices. Although the actual nutritional benefits of vegetable juice are contested, a 2008 UC Davis study found that drinking vegetable juice daily significantly increased drinkers’ chances of meeting the daily recommended number of vegetable servings. Having an easy source of vegetables encouraged drinkers to incorporate more vegetables into their diets. Can pure fruit and vegetable juices protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease too? Fruit and Vegetable Juices and Alzheimer’s Disease: The Kame Project”. The oxalate content of fruit and vegetable juices, nectars and drinks”. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis.
