Cloudy apple juice better for health

Cloudy apple juice is four times better than the clear variety at cutting cancer and heart disease, say scientists.

Most consumers prefer clear juice as they think it is purer and therefore healthier. But research has found that juice with lots of pulp contain more of the chemicals thought to lower the risk of cancer.

Fruit contains polyphenols antioxidants which help mop up (wipe) chemicals known to damage cells in the body. For this reason, they are thought to help lower the risk of some cancers as well as heart disease. Scientists looked at levels of polyphenols in different types of apple juice to see how much finds its way into the final product.

They found that cloudy juice, containing lots of the pulp from the fruit, contains four times the amount of these beneficial substances.

The study at the Agricultural University of Wroclaw in Poland found that the processes used to make the juice clear strip out beneficial antioxidants called procyanidins. They blamed it on an enzyme used to treat pressed apples to make the juice clear and the centrifugation (separation) techniques which remove pulp.

Writing in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, they concluded: 'Cloudy and clear apple juices differed markedly in their content of procyanidins, which is reflected in their anti-oxidant capacity'.

The study analysed only apple juice. It is therefore not clear whether the findings would also apply to other types of fruit juices where the pulp is removed to make them clear. Lucy Ede, head of products at a juice company, said: "Cloudy juices taste better and have amazing body".

"The fact that they have more health benefits definitely encourages us to use them." Last year, a study found that drinking fruit and vegetable juices more than three times a week can dramatically (vastly) cut the chances of developing Alzeimer's disease.

Canadian researchers have also suggested that a glass of cranberry juice a day could help stave (ward) off heart attacks as it raises levels of 'good cholesterol' in the blood by eight per cent.

Daily Mail