The acclaimed Dietitian – Nutritionist Evangelos Zoumpaneas speaks to travelgo, on the occasion of the European program REA's Garden, about the role of natural juices in our diet, hydration and well-being on hot summer days.
When the temperature rises, proper hydration is the most decisive factor for our everyday well-being, energy, and stamina. In modern daily life, fresh juices aren't just a delightful habit, but a valuable ally for hydrating and nourishing the body. In this context, REA's Garden stands out as a pan-European quality assurance standard, which follows the strictest specifications to guarantee the exceptional quality and safety of juices from the initial stage of production to the final stage of consumption.
To understand their nutritional value and how they fit properly into a balanced lifestyle, we turned to the expert. The renowned Dietitian - Nutritionist Evangelos Zoumpaneas speaks to travelgo and explains how juices complement whole fruit, how they can be turned into the ideal homemade sports drink, and why the REA's Garden's quality seal makes a difference at our everyday table.
How important are fruit juices, after all, in a balanced diet?
A balanced diet is defined by sound choices. Among the choices we make for proper nutrition, juices play an important role. In my personal view, I wouldn't say that juices are the most essential part of nourishment in terms of the nutrients we get from food, but mainly because of their important contribution to hydration.
How does a juice complement whole fruit throughout our day?
Along with the water we need to drink during the day, the addition of juices to the daily diet can contribute to a very significant degree to better hydration and better function of every body. Juice can't replace fruit, but it can help hydrate many people who work or exercise.
Today we know that in food service alone, more than half a million people are at work on a daily basis. If we add to all this the people involved in sports and road workers, all these people, with the help of juice as a complement to hydration, can be supported to carry out all the important things they have to do during their day with comfort and safety, and with a very significant contribution to their nutritional recovery.
What are the best times of day to enjoy a juice?
The best times of day to enjoy a juice are between meals. Along with water, you can also pair it with your breakfast, your lunch; instead of alcohol or any other carbonated drink, you can have juice, which can also be diluted with a little cold water or a few ice cubes, and it will accompany your meals wonderfully.
Can juices also help us during training?
Consuming juices during any athletic activity is almost as important as the training itself, because during training the body's strain, as well as the depletion of muscle glycogen, have significant effects on athletic performance.
Is there a way to make a homemade sports drink?
An ideal sports drink we can make ourselves is to dilute in a bottle, for example half a liter, about 40% juice and 60% water. If it's hot and there's increased sweating, add about an uncooked lentil's worth of fleur de sel, and in this way we can have a fantastic sports drink to accompany us during exercise.
What should we look for regarding quality and origin when choosing a juice?
Knowing where a juice is produced is an essential criterion for how to choose which juice to consume. For example, in the European Union, where there are strict standards and recommendations during production, this alone is an important factor in choosing a juice that has all the quality characteristics needed for consumer safety.
European standards are an important and decisive factor for ensuring the quality of juices, just like the REA's Garden program, which ensures quality, country of origin, and all the other specifications that are important for consumer safety.
What exactly is REA's Garden?
REA's Garden is a pan-European standard for ensuring the quality of juices, as it has all the specifications that will ensure excellent quality from the initial stage of production to the final stage of consumption by the European citizen and every other citizen of the world.
How does enjoying a juice fit with the Mediterranean diet, which avoids deprivation?
The Mediterranean diet has a true history of more than 5,000 years. Since the time of the Minoan civilization, fresh fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fish, and seafood have been a vital part of Mediterranean eating.
Juices can also be an equally important part of a balanced diet, as long as they're consumed at the right time, in the right amount, and mainly by the greater part of the population that can consume them.
The Mediterranean diet can be applied to everyone's everyday life because it offers a tremendous wealth of many different nutrients. The variety of foods and the combinations among them can provide adequacy in all the basic building nutrients such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients, which have been proven to ensure a better quality of life and certainly a longer life.
What's the most important takeaway we should keep about juices on our everyday table?
The most important message to keep is that, within the framework of proper hydration, it's absolutely essential — especially for the groups that need it in their daily lives, such as teenagers, children, and athletes — always with the proper guidance of a professional nutritionist.
Dietitian – Nutritionist – Author
Director Self Nutritionist Academy
Info: zoumbaneas.gr
Scientific Director Diatrofi.gr
