Nutritious or Fictitious Drinks

17/05/06 The label may show a beautiful array of fruits and vegetables, but take a closer look at the ingredient list on that juice bottle and you may find that water and some form of sugar -- sucrose, fructose, glucose or sorbitol -- are at the top of the list.

With little or no fruit or vegetable juice in the bottle, many juice drinks are no more nutritious than carbonated soft drinks. The "sugar water" can contribute to obesity, malnourishment and early tooth decay in children.

But do children like the taste of natural vegetable and fruit juice without the added sugar?

One company has taken on the challenge to make a juice that is not only 100-percent fruit and vegetable but also 100-percent tasty. Two years ago, the Japanese company Kagome launched a 100-percent juice line with a precise mix of 50-percent vegetable and 50-percent fruit juice in three different varieties: Autumn Reds, Purple Roots & Fruits and Orange Carrot Blossom. So far, the juices have received rave reviews from Kagome's half-pint critics and their moms.

This year Kagome will add two more flavors: Golden Peach Garden and Burgundy Berry Blossom.

Golden Peach Garden combines eight vegetables and four fruits including peaches, carrots, apples, beets and oranges for a lively fresh taste. Providing beta-carotene and other antioxidants associated with eye health and immune system support.

Burgundy Berry Blossom has a bold and flavorful taste, combining eight vegetables and five fruits including strawberries, exotic purple carrots, raspberries, blueberries and beets. It provides the phytonutrient anthocyanin and other antioxidants associated with longevity and memory.

Kagome juices can be found in natural food stores nationwide (11.5-oz bottle $1.99 / 30-oz bottle $3.59). Each 8-oz. glass provides a full serving of vegetables and a full serving of fruits.

Kagome was awarded the Produce for Better Health Foundation's 2005 National 5 A Day Excellence Award for outstanding commitment to increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. Learn more about the specific health benefits from fruits and vegetables with Nature's Color Wheel at http://www.kagome.us, and sign-up for free bracelets, magnets and mouse pads that will help remind you to drink a wide variety of fruit and vegetable colors throughout the day.