Orange juice: caloric content, composition, benefits, cooking

Orange juice, the caloricity of which is low, is one of the most common drinks these days. It is drunk by adults and children, it is an ingredient in the preparation of various dishes and for many - an integral part of the daily diet. So what really is orange juice? Caloric content, composition, benefits and harm, as well as methods of cooking - the article will tell about all this.

What it is

. This is, first of all, a product obtained from oranges by pressing them. There are several types of orange juice: natural and reconstituted. And they have quite a lot of differences. Natural orange juice is a drink obtained directly from fresh oranges and not subjected to any kind of conservation.

Of course, the shelf life of such juices is much shorter than their canned cousins and usually does not exceed several days, but the health benefits are also much higher due to the preservation of all those vitamins and trace elements found in fresh citrus fruits. The restored juice from oranges is called, when it was obtained by diluting the concentrated composition. This species can be stored for a long time even at room temperature, since it has undergone the canning process.

Preservation of juice - what does it influence?

When it comes to juices, the canning process always goes through standard heat treatment - pasteurization, so reconstituted juice is also often called pasteurized juice. There are much fewer useful substances in them than in a natural product - fresher, but, properly, they are cheaper and more affordable for the consumer. Next, we will talk about all the properties of juice, meaning exactly the natural juice from oranges (fresh), as the composition and benefits of canned drinks may differ from each other depending on specific manufacturers.

Orange juice: caloric content

What is the use of this drink for the figure? Can I drink juice daily liters instead of water and hope to lose weight? Of course not. It must always be remembered that drinks also have a calorie content and are often quite high. Orange juice contains an average of 55 kcal per 100 grams of product. If to compare with other juices, then this is about the same amount of calories that is contained in grape or pear juice, but, for example, grapefruit or carrot contains only about 30 kcal per 100 g of product.

As a conclusion: orange juice, the calorie content of which is about 55-60 kcal per 100 grams of the drink, during the diet can not be used in place of water. A day is allowed to consume no more than one glass of fresh juice.

Orange chemistry

Now let's talk about such an important point as the composition of orange juice. Everyone who follows what they eat, tries to study the composition of the products before buying them. But we rarely think about the "chemistry" of basic, everyday products. But in vain. Take, for example, orange juice. Its composition is very rich: almost complete set of vitamins - A, C, B, E, and also a rare vitamin K, a huge amount of minerals - phosphorus, copper, magnesium, zinc, potassium, calcium and iron.

We will talk about the benefits of all these elements a little later. Also in orange juice, you can find amino acids that the human body is not able to synthesize on its own, and therefore it is necessary to consume them with food. In addition, orange fresh has a fairly high content of pectin substances.

Beneficial features

Thanks to such a rich composition orange juice has a huge number of useful properties.

Firstly, so many macronutrients, in particular magnesium and potassium, give orange juice the right to be called one of the most effective preventive drugs against strokes and heart attacks. It also helps strengthen the blood vessels, which helps prevent a number of diseases. Iron in the composition has a beneficial effect on the condition of people with anemia. Carotene, tocopherol together with ascorbic acid are strong antioxidants and excellent helpers in the fight against high cholesterol in the blood. Thanks to the complex effect of macro elements on the cells of the body, a rejuvenating effect is achieved. According to research, a glass of orange juice, consumed daily, serves as a preventative against cancer.

Secondly, it is, of course, the benefit of such an indispensable vitamin, as ascorbic acid. With flu and respiratory viral infections, a tasty drink helps in maintaining and restoring immunity, and in combination with some other products, such as honey or ginger, can even be an independent drug. Pectin substances in the composition contribute to the cleansing of the intestines and getting rid of toxins and toxins.

Potential damage

Orange juice has a fairly high biological activity, and therefore, with excessive consumption or the presence of certain diseases and predispositions, it is able to do harm instead of good. So for whom this drink can be not only not useful, but also dangerous? With caution, it should be used by people who suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, stomach or duodenum. With increased acidity of gastric juice, the use of citrus juices is also not recommended, since they can increase it even more. The content of glucose and fructose contributes to increased blood sugar and makes the drink harmful to diabetics. If you avoid these contraindications and carefully monitor your health, then orange juice will be your indispensable assistant in maintaining the daily tone.

Preparation of orange juice

With proper use, a daily glass of natural juice will give you a charge of energy and vivacity for the whole day. Cooking juice is recommended immediately before you want to drink it, because some vitamins come in time with the reaction with oxygen and are destroyed, which reduces the juice benefits.

The easiest way to make juice from oranges:

• Wash the fruit, cut in half, using a handmade soddenizer for citrus fruits to extract the juice;
• Clean several fruits from the skin and pass through an electric juicer.

Pure orange juice can be diluted with water in a proportion of 2: 1 and add sugar to taste, as well as the juice of one lemon. Such a drink will be not only tasty, but also useful.