Q. I am wondering if it is OK to drink tomato juice. I know many juices are high in sugar.
A. Tomato juice is great to drink, as it is much lower in sugar than fruit juice or other vegetable juices such as carrot juice, and it has very few calories, only about 60 calories per eight-ounce serving. Tomato juice is packed with vitamins and prostate-protecting lycopenes, and it has the added bonus of being filling without having a lot of calories. I think tomato juice is a good thing to order in a restaurant, on a plane, at a bar or at a cocktail party. It will help fill you up so that you don’t load up on bread, hors d’oeuvres or salty, fried snacks. The only possible negative element here is that some tomato juice brands have a fair amount of sodium – so watch for that on the label.
Q. With summer approaching, I love berries, cherries, grapes and similar fruit, but I am never sure what a proper serving size is of these fruits?
A. Most people are surprised to learn how small a serving of these kinds of fruit are: one serving of grapes or cherries is about 10, a serving of strawberries is 1 cup, and for other berries, it is 1/2 cup. Don’t shy away from these very nutritious little gems – blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries and the like are all full of fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. So enjoy!
Q. I have heard a lot about probiotics, and now I am seeing the word prebiotics. Are they the same thing?
A. Prebiotics are basically the tools for your body to create or grow or retain probiotics – the good bacteria that live in our gut and that we want living in our intestinal tract. Prebiotics typically come from inulin, a type of fibre found in some whole grain breads and cereals. Prebiotics help to feed the good bacteria so that they multiply and flourish and thus improve our digestive health. Both are very worthwhile as part of a balanced healthy diet.
Lisa Weinberg is a registered dietitian/nutritionist in Toronto, in private practice and at the Genesis Professional Group. If you have any nutrition questions, please send them to The CJN.