By CHRISTINE CHIANG, Special to The Courant - August 6, 2009

JUICE DRINKS from Robeks in West Hartford include apple, beet and carrot (front), and the G-Snap, made with carrot, orange and ginger. Fruit smoothies are also popular with customers. (MICHAEL MCANDREWS, HARTFORD COURANT / August 4, 2009)

It's the end of another long workday, and men and women in business attire hit the bars to grab a quick drink before heading home. But instead of beer and martinis, the happy hour menu features names such as "Antioxidant Açaí" and "Pomegranate Power" and can be ordered with a shot of goji berries.

These days, it's not just kids who drink fruit juices.

"Everyone is so busy today and not able to sit down and get their nutrients," says Kevin Lamb, co-owner of Robeks, a juice bar in West Hartford. "More and more lately, our customers are business people who don't get to eat right during the day and will drink a cup of fresh juice to get the nutrients they need."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that we consume at least two cups of fruit each day. Most people don't, but the USDA approves 100-percent fruit juices as a way to squeeze in some of these servings.

That's good news for juice-bar owners, like Lamb, who have long touted the benefits of drinking juice from freshly squeezed oranges, apples, grapes and other fruits.

At Robeks, a national chain with seven locations in Connecticut, you can grab a freshly squeezed orange juice straight up or make it a mixed smoothie cocktail by adding strawberries, bananas and nonfat yogurt. The juice bar's extensive menu includes many fresh, made-to-order juices, although Lamb says most people like to create their own blends.

"We have our own drink recipes but people tend to do what they like so we make a lot of custom juices," he says. "Plus, you might as well get as many different nutrients and vitamins as you can."

Health Benefits
At Citrus Juice Bar Café in Mystic — which offers a full menu of organic juices and smoothies made from in-season, locally grown fruit — owner Lindsae Gehrlein advocates drinking the juice of fruits rather than eating them whole as a way to help cleanse the body of toxins that can make you feel sick or run down.

"People who eat a standard American diet need help detoxifying and digesting everything," says Gehrlein, who studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York. "If you're eating a piece of fruit or vegetable, you're getting the fiber. With juice, the pulpy part is being taken out and this eases your digestive system and gives your body time to detoxify."

Gehrlein says the nutrients, minerals and vitamins in juices also can build immunity against colds and flu, aid in digestion and even help combat more serious illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Increasingly, health organizations also promote daily consumption of fruit juice. The American Heart Association recently declared that orange juice may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Studies detailed in the American Journal of Medicine show drinking fruit and/or vegetable juice at least three times a week could reduce chances of developing Alzheimer's. The USDA publishes a list of foods highest in antioxidants — molecules that fight cell damage within our bodies and prevent illnesses — and the top 20 include fruits such as cherries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries and apples, all of which are popular fruit drinks.

Mary Noon, a dietitian at Hartford Hospital, says juice has advantages as long as it's consumed in moderation.

"It's a very convenient way to get some fruit in you, but I recommend that most people eat more whole fruit than drink juice since whole fruit has less calories and more fiber," Noon says.

She notes that adding vegetable juices to a fruity drink is a good way to keep the calorie count down. She also suggests keeping the pulp in the juice or setting it aside to add to a soup or dessert.

Noon says fruits such as pomegranate, grape, orange and cranberry have known health benefits, but she adds that juice alone can't take the place of a healthy diet and is not a replacement for medication to treat serious illnesses.

She also points out that certain fruits such as cherries and pomegranates are expensive to juice, so packaged versions sold in grocery stores can be a good choice, as long as they contain 100 percent fruit juice.

Superfruits
Recently, many people have developed a taste for "superfruits," those more exotic fruits that are rich in nutrients and antioxidants and said to offer significant health benefits. The juices of superfruits such as açaí (from the açaí palm in Central and South America) and noni (from the fruit of the noni tree indigenous to Southeast Asia) allegedly have healing powers and are served in many juice bars.

At Alchemy Juice Bar in Hartford, you can add a shot of goji, one of these superfruits, to your drink. Goji berries, which are native to southeastern Europe and Asia, are supposedly full of antioxidants, anti-aging phytonutrients, vitamin A, complex B vitamins and contain 500 times more vitamin C than oranges. Alchemy's menu declares it one of "the most nutritious foods on the planet."

In addition to fruit juices, Alchemy Juice Bar offers a bevy of green and vegetable juices, including shots of freshly juiced sunflower and pea-shoot sprouts, which can be added to a drink for more protein.

"Sprouts equal protein — they have more protein than anything else on the planet. It's so amazing," says Imani Zito, who owns the juice bar with her husband, John.

Feeling The Bite
Lamb says that drinking just-squeezed juice is better for you, because once fruit has been juiced, oxidation sets in and the nutrients start to disintegrate.

But being healthy does not always come cheap; fresh-squeezed juice at a juice bar can run $5 to $12 a cup.

"People feel that they can't afford organic food, but it's crucial for preventative care," Gehrlein says. "If you don't spend the money now on great food, you'll be spending money down the line on pharmaceuticals. What you put in your mouth is the No. 1 thing that affects how you feel; it has the most impact."

One way to cut down on the cost of drinking fresh juice is to purchase a juicer and make your own. Juicers can cost from $20 for a simple citrus juicer to more than $1,000 for commercial-grade. About $400 can buy a powerful stainless-steel juicer that can juice just about any fruit or vegetable whole.

Zito suggests planting sprouts at home as another way to cut costs.

"Sprouts are cheap to grow but not cheap to buy," she says. "It's a nutritious food and can be grown on your kitchen counter."
Copyright © 2009, The Hartford Courant