Juice Nutrition: From Concentrate Vs. Not From Concentrate

Thanks to commercial jingles sung by Bing Crosby, juice from concentrate became popular in the 1940s. Tropicana introduced not-from-concentrate orange juice, also called NFC, in the 1960s. Not knowing that this product could be stored in vats for more than a year, people willingly paid more. Comparing the nutrients found in orange juice made from concentrate to those in NFC is a good way to get past the marketing for a proper comparison.

Processing

In "Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice," Alissa Hamilton explains that NFC orange juice is a highly processed food. Vitamins are lost during pasteurization and storage. Flavorings are added to give NFC juice a freshly squeezed taste. Juice from concentrate has more nutrients because it is not subject to this processing.

Calories and Fat

One cup of reconstituted orange juice, made from one part frozen concentrate to three parts water, has 112 calories. This is not significantly different from NFC orange juice, which has 110 calories per cup. Neither product contains fat or cholesterol. Juice of either type has a lot of sugar. Orange juice from concentrate, with 20.9 g of sugar, contains slightly less sugar than NFC varieties, which have 22 g.

Vitamins

Both types of orange juice provide more than 100 percent of the daily value of vitamin C. NFC orange juice provides no vitamin A, but orange juice from concentrate provides 11 percent of the daily value of this vitamin. Orange juice prepared from concentrate also supplies 17 percent of thiamin, 4 percent of riboflavin and 3 percent of niacin. NFC orange juice supplies comparable amounts of iron and niacin but provides only 10 percent of thiamin. Orange juice from concentrate is healthier than NFC orange juice because it has more vitamin A and thiamin.

Minerals

There is no significant difference in mineral content between orange juice made from concentrate and NFC orange juice. Both have 2 percent of the daily value of calcium, which is why manufacturers often fortify these products with additional calcium. Likewise, only a trace of iron can be found in either product. This lack of minerals is not altogether bad; both products contain only a trivial amount of sodium, making them heart-healthy foods.

Warning

A person with advanced kidney disease should consult his dietitian or nephrologist before drinking any kind of orange juice. Both types of juice have more than 450 mg of potassium. While this is not a problem for healthy people, the potassium content can be very dangerous for people who already have elevated potassium levels.