Orange juice (OJ) may not be your juice of choice for breakfast anymore if you listen to a new study by University of Glasgow researchers and published in a recent edition of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.

The new study suggests that consumer pass on the orange juice (OJ) and instead choose grape juice, apple juice, or even cranbery juice if they are interested in improving and protecting their health. 

According the study grape juice is better than orange juice (OJ) juice to drink, offering far more health benefits in the areas of  disease prevention.The researchers found that grape juice had the highest concentration of antioxidants - chemicals which help to neutralize unstable oxygen molecules called free radicals. If left unchecked, free radicals can harm cells, prematurely aging cells, and causing a variety of disease diseases and conditions, including heart disease, Alzheimer's disease,  dementia. cancer as well as help delay premature aging.

It has long been known that fruit contains antioxidants called polyphenols, but researchers at the University of Glasgow wanted to see how much remained once fruit had been turned into juice.

In the University of Glasgow study 13  juices were from a supermarket, including those made from pomegranates, oranges, grapes, grapefruit, apples, pineapples and tomatoes were tested for antioxidants content. They were a mixture of 'not from concentrate' and 'concentrated' varieties.

According to Alan Crozier, a professor of both human nutrition and plant biochemistry who led the study, "Purple grape juice made with Concord grapes contains the highest and broadest range of polyphenols as well as having the highest antioxidant capacity. Other high-ranking products include cloudy apple juice and cranberry juice drink." 

The juices contained as many antioxidants as Beaujolais red wine.The next best drink was Copella's cloudy apple juice.

The winning juice, Welch's Purple Grape, was made from a variety of grapes known as Concord which are native to North America. The next best drink was Copella's cloudy apple juice. Like grape juice both apple juice, which is good for a source of fiber, and cranberry juice, which promotes a healthy urinary tract functioning, contained a higher antioxidant activity than orange juice.

The Darker the Berry the Sweeter the Health Benefits

Generally the darker juices were best, with purple grapes having the highest levels of polyphenols, according to the study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.The researchers said that it might not just be the amount of antioxidants, but also the type contained in a juice, that determine its potential health benefits.

Professor Alan Crozier, who led the study, said: "Previous research has shown that the antioxidant action of polyphenols contained in drinks like red wine and tea may help to protect against chronic diseases, by mopping up free radicals which can cause damage to cells. "Yet the research highlights that not all drinks are created equal when it comes to polyphenols. "It's therefore important to consider the individual type of the compounds that you are consuming, because each has different health benefits."

There is no doubt that fruit juices in general are recommended as healthy beverages. In one study, researchers followed almost 2,000 men and women for up to 10 years. From this study they concluded that drinking fruit juices three times a week lowered the risk for Alzheimer's disease, by 76 percent. As opposed to drinking fruit juices less than once a week. Professor Crozier was also quoted saying "Supplementing a healthy diet with a regular intake of a variety of fruit juices such as purple grape juice, grapefruit juice, cloudy apple juice and cranberry juice, will increase the consumer's intake of phenolic antioxidants."

So it is definitely a good idea to drink fruit juices, and according to this study it is a good idea to drink grape juice, cloudy apple juice and cranberry juice.

"Using these study findings makes upping your fruit and antioxidant intake easy - just one glass of something like Concord purple grape juice counts as one of your five a day," according to Nutritionist Nigel Denby.

The bottom line is that it is a good idea for consumers to get a broad spectrum of antioxidants in their diet. This can be done by consuming five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. The best approach would be to consume a variety of both fruits and vegetables, with the darker varieties being the best, since they tend to contain the highest levels of anti-oxidants (polyphenols).