Health Benefits of Apple Juice: Improve Memory, Lower Cholesterol and Sharpen your Mind

Photo By Fimb

Drink Apples: Get Your Juice On!

Need a quick energy boost? Drink apple juice. Having a problem with high cholesterol? Drink apple juice. Does your brain need nourishing? Drink apple juice. Apple juice is not just for babies! Use it for drinking, use it in cooking and keep an extra bottle in the pantry. If you are currently without this indispensable beverage, do yourself a favor, get thee to the grocery store, pick up a bottle of 100% pure apple juice and get your juice on!

 
Feed your Brain and Help your Heart

 
The health benefits of most beverages pale in comparison to those of apple juice High amounts of free radical "scavengers", or antioxidants, enable apple juice to play a part in the prevention of various types of cancer, help protect against heart disease and assist in lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.

Antioxidant scavengers found in apple juice also assist in the improvement of brain function, may help fight Alzheimer’s disease and improve cognition, or the psychological result of perception, learning and reasoning. Also included in its chemical makeup are flavonoids, thought to play a role in the ability of apples and apple juice to support lung health. Finally, apple juice contains iron and can therefore help protect against anemia.

Clear vs. Cloudy  Apple Juice

 
Apple juice is available in two varieties: clear and cloudy (non-clarified). While both are great choices, the cloudy variety contains more apple pulp than clear, is higher in antioxidants and is four times healthier. It also tastes better. Despite this, it is more difficult to find the cloudy version on grocery store shelves, due in part to the consumer perception that “clear = pure = more healthy” and also because, due to additional processing, the clear version has a longer grocery store shelf life. If you have never tried the cloudy variety, do some digging and try it!

 The Real Thing...100% Pure Apple Juice

 
Be aware that not every amber colored bottle with an apple on the label is actually “apple juice.” Look carefully at the ingredient label on the bottle to ensure you are getting the "real thing". Any beverage (not just apple juice) has to declare the percentage of actual juice it contains and not surprisingly, amounts vary widely.

 
• Apple Juice must contain 100% juice and be made directly from apples or apple juice concentrate that has had the water put back in it

 
• If the product name specifies "drink", "cocktail", or "beverage" it often contains as little as 10% juice. It will lack many of the health benefits found in 100% pure juice and will contain added sugar or other sweeteners

 
 Get Juiced

 
Besides pouring it into a glass and drinking your juice (or chugging it straight from the bottle), what else can you do with it? The possibilities are really quite endless but here are a few suggestions:

 
• Mix it with sparkling water to make a fun, fizzy drink

 
• Fill up an ice cube tray and make apple ice cubes

 
• Make freezer pops

 
• Substitute apple juice for the water called for with any flavor of Jello

 
• Cook with it! Substitute apple juice for water in your favorite recipes and watch the “yum factor” rise.

 
Whether you drink it, freeze it, or cook with it; whether your motives are just because it tastes good or because it is good for you; whether your preference is clear or cloudy, get a bottle and your juice on.  Both your body and your taste buds will thank you!