Smoothie Makers and Juicers - make your own delicious, healthy drinks.

03/08/2006

Juice and Smoothies – Healthy Drinks to Start Your Day

A glass of fresh fruit or vegetable juice, or a refreshing smoothie can be a great way to start the day, as not only will it taste great, it will also help to stay healthy.

Fruit and vegetables are a vital part of a balanced diet, and are packed with vitamins and minerals that can help your body to function at its optimum level.

Most people know that fruit and vegetables contain Vitamin C. This vitamin helps your body’s immune system to stay strong, so you’ll be more resistant to infections. It also helps to heal wounds and damage to your bones.

However, fruit and vegetables are also great sources of many other vitamins and minerals such as:

Vitamin A: This vitamin helps you to maintain good eyesight and, as with Vitamin C, helps to increase your resistance to infections and helps your body to repair itself. Foods such as spinach, broccoli, turnips, carrots, mangos, apricots and papaya are all great sources of Vitamin A.

Vitamin E: This helps to keep your red blood cells healthy and can be found in green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli or spinach.

Vitamin K: This helps to promote blood clotting, which enables your body to stop bleeding when you have a cut. Again, this can be found in green leafy vegetables.

Vitamin B2: This vitamin helps you to form new red blood cells, helps your blood to clot and helps your body to break down the amino acids that it needs. Vitamin B2 is found in greens.

Folic Acid: This helps your blood cells to form. It’s also important for women intending to get pregnant or that are pregnant to have the recommended amount of folic acid in their diet, as research suggests that it can prevent birth defects in baby’s spine and brain. Good sources of folic acid include green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli and spinach, and orange juice.

Calcium: This mineral is needed by your body so that it can maintain the strength of your bones, teeth and muscles. Green leafy vegetables and orange juice are good sources of calcium.

Magnesium: This mineral helps your body to perform a number of important functions including forming bones, controlling blood pressure and contracting muscles. It can be found in green leafy vegetables, avocados and bananas.

Manganese: This mineral helps your body to form bones. Your body can get manganese from green leafy vegetables.

Potassium: Fruit (particularly bananas), fruit juice and green leafy vegetables are rich in potassium, which helps to maintain your blood pressure, blood cells, muscles and nerves.

The government recommends that we should all eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day, and drinking fruit or vegetable juice or a smoothie can be an easy and tasty way of helping us to do this. According to the government’s “5-a-day” website, a medium sized glass of orange juice can be classed as one portion.

Juices and smoothies from supermarkets can be expensive, and many also contain additives and preservatives that make them less healthy, so if you want to make healthy drinks at a fraction of the cost, it’s a great idea to buy a juicer or smoothie maker.

Further Information

Read our guide to some of the best smoothie makers on the market

To learn more about the health benefits of eating more fresh fruit and vegetables visit the NHS 5 a Day website (opens in new window)

You can find out more about juicers and smoothie makers in our Types of Kitchen Appliance and find hints and tips on how to choose one in our How to Choose and Buy section.

You can also find out about some of the leading brands and models of juicer and smoothie maker in our Brands and Top Models sections.

To find out where you can get great deals on juicers, smoothie makers and other kitchen appliances, visit our Where to Buy section.