Fruit juice always played an important role in human nutrition. They are refreshing and sweet; accessible and affordable; more healthful than soft drinks; and provide energy, water and selected minerals and vitamins. Their caloric content is derived almost exclusively from simple sugars.
However, before the 20th century, drinking squeezed fruit juice was the privilege of a few.
Dr. Thomas B. Welch, a New Jersey dentist was the first to preserve grape juice with heat treatment in America in 1869, followed by Muller-Thurgan in Switzerland in 1896.
Thus began the production of preserved fruit juices, which was followed by a huge development in the 20th century.
Common juices include apple, carrot, cranberry, grapefruit, grape, mango, orange, pineapple, pomegranate, and tomato.
Juice blends such as cranberry-apple, and apple-grapefruit are increasingly popular for their taste and potential health-enhancing properties.
The role of vitamins and minerals in the human body was discovered at that time, which triggered substantial changes in eating habits. Vitamin C –enriched fruit drinks consumed with food may be useful to aid the absorption of iron from a meal.
Orange juice is high in antioxidant vitamins A and C and folic acid, which helps prevent neural tube defects during pregnancy.
Cranberry juice helps to keep the urinary tract healthy. Cranberry juice also contains the phytochemical polyphenol, which is believed to protect against heart disease and cancer.
Nutrition of fruit juice
