Store-bought Juice

Be very clear that no packaged juice can come even remotely close to the quality of fresh squeezed juice. All canned, bottled, boxed or other processed juices are pasteurized and therefore do not contain any of the live enzymes your body needs for proper nourishment. Don't be fooled by the different and newer names and types of pasteurization, they are all destroying valuable nutrients and altering the structure of the juice, making it hard for your body to any longer recognize it as food.

Pasteurization is the process of heating food or juice for the purpose of killing harmful organisms. This process kills the beneficial live nutrients as well.

Flash Pasteurization is a newer method being used. It is also a method of heat pasteurization but it is done prior to being packaged. High heat is applied for a shorter period of time to the juice as it flows through a long tube, but it is still enough to kill the organisms.

Cold Pasteurization is a term that is sometimes used for ionizing radiation. This is the process of exposing food to radiation in order to disinfect, sterilize ad preserve food. It is the subject of controversy regarding its safety.

Another thing to be aware of is juice terminology. Juice drinks or beverages have a small fraction of actual juice, usually 10-20 percent, or it is often listed on the package. Fruit "ades" such as lemonade contain less than that, often under 10 percent juice mixed with sugar and water. Fruit punch has token juice, over 1 percent and natural flavours can have the same moderate amount of actual juice.

A 'not from concentrate' product means that the juice is squeezed and then it is irradiated or pasteurized and packaged. A concentrated juice is one in which the juice is squeezed and then the water is taken out. Later the water is added back in, or left concentrated, and then it is pasteurized and packaged. The main thing to remember with all these procedures and labeling is that, while some of these products are better than others, almost all of the nutrients from the original produce are long gone.