Raw or Pasteurized: How Should You Have Your Juice?
In the battle of the juices, the benefits of raw vs. pasteurized juice have come into question. While on the surface both juices are chock-full of vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function properly and thrive, many people still have a preference of one type of juice over the other. Either way, it’s important to know the differences between them to decide which one is right for you. Here is everything that you need to know about raw and unpasteurized juice.
What’s the Difference Between Raw and Pasteurized Juice?
Louis Pasteur developed a method to destroy and kill all of the harmful bacteria found in milk, thus making it significantly safer for the general public to consume. He found that heating milk to a certain temperature for a very short amount of time was enough to get rid of bacteria which caused disease when consumed.
His method was commercialized and coined “pasteurization” after him. Today, the FDA has adopted pasteurized products as a standard of food safety, drinks must indicate whether or not they have gone through the process of pasteurization in order to inform consumers. The warning on unpasteurized products reads:
“WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and therefore may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems.”
What does this have to do with juice?
The process of creating juice includes using raw fruits and vegetables. There is some debate about the safety of using these products. One of the main concerns is that fruits and vegetables can carry harmful contaminates that they pick up when being handled by workers.
There is a fear that the pathogens can contaminate a raw juice drink and cause consumers to get sick. Commercial juicers have the option of running their juice through a pasteurization process to ensure that their drinks are 100% safe. However, many have decided against it.
What Are The Benefits of Raw and Unpasteurized Juice?
There are several reasons why manufacturers of raw juice decide against pasteurization. However, one of the main reasons is due to the low risk to consumers’ health when drinking an unpasteurized product.
You may have noticed, the risk of unpasteurized juice is only slightly higher for those with a compromised immune system. This includes children, pregnant women, and the elderly. If you do not fall into any of these categories and do not have a compromised immune system, drinking unpasteurized juice is not likely to harm you in any way.
It’s important to do research on the topic if you’re on the fence about whether or not raw juice is for you. There are some significant benefits to consuming raw juice over pasteurized juice. Here are some of the benefits of unpasteurized juice:
Vitamin C
As one of the most popular methods of pasteurization includes heating drinks to a specific temperature, it’s important to note what that does to some of the vitamins that are found in the drinks. Heating vitamin C causes it to breakdown.
As one of the main reasons that consumers turn to juicing is to increase their intake of minerals and nutrients, it is important to know that pasteurization decreases the amount of vitamin C in juice.
Vitamin C is one of the most important nutrients in the body. It is an antioxidant that plays an integral role in eliminating toxins from the body. It helps the immune system to function more efficiently and is needed by the body to produce collagen. Overall, it is not a vitamin one should skip out on.
Folate
While folate isn’t on the top of most people’s list of necessary vitamins, it does play a vital role in the body. Our bodies need folate in order to synthesize DNA and our genetic material. It’s also necessary for cells to divide.
Accessibility
There is a reason that juice shops have been popping up everywhere and why you can find entire aisles in the grocery store dedicated to the stuff. Juice is popular because it works as a convenient way to increase one’s vitamin and mineral consumption. You can even make it at home if you have a juice machine.
Raw and unpasteurized juice is the same juice that millions of people make at home every day. The ability to pick up juice from a store or shop on your way to work or to make at home is one of the biggest benefits of raw and unpasteurized juice.
Conclusion
Pasteurized or unpasteurized, drinking the juice of fruits and vegetables is guaranteed to serve up some serious health benefits. It’s important to do research on the benefits of raw juice before deciding whether or not it is for you.
What you’ll come across in your research is that raw juice is one of the best ways to increase your vitamin and mineral intake from raw fruits and vegetables. The health benefits of unpasteurized juice alone should have you running to the nearest grocery store to try a glass!