Which is more nutritious, NFC juice or fresh fruit?

Even though NFC juices are the closest to natural fruits, they are still inferior to natural fruits in terms of nutritional value. Let's use apples as an example.

Nutrition in fresh apple fruit

Productive nutrients: glucose, fructose, sucrose, starch, protein; dietary fiber: pectin, hemicellulose, etc.; vitamins: vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin A, carotene, vitamin K, choline, etc.; minerals: potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, selenium, etc.; biologically active ingredients: lutein, zeaxanthin, flavonoids quercetin, catechins, anthocyanins, etc.; organic acids : malic acid, sorbic acid, succinic acid, etc.

Nutrition in NFC Apple Juice

Insoluble dietary fiber, carotenoids (lutein, zeaxanthin) and minerals such as calcium, which are filtered out during production. (If you buy the kind of juice that contains a certain amount of pulp, less of these nutrients are lost.)

Some of the nutrients that are soluble in water (such as vitamin C, quercetin, catechins, anthocyanins, etc.) tend to be oxidized and broken down by direct contact with oxygen and the enzymes in the pulp itself while the cell walls of the apple are being destroyed. As you can see, water-soluble vitamins are similarly destroyed.

The advantage of NFC juice is that there is no concentration and blending process, reducing the loss of these two processes, but unfortunately, the juice needs to be sterilized before canning, usually using thermal sterilization technology, high temperature will lead to a large number of water-soluble vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2) decomposition.

So even with NFC juices, the nutrients are still much less than fresh fruit and the calorie and sugar intake is not the same, so juices are not a substitute for fruit, but a supplement.