There is relatively low consumption of fruit juices as well as awareness about the positive implication of its consumption in Nigeria. Experts say daily consumption of fruit juices lowers the risk of serious health problems. CHI Limited is advancing this conversation through this year’s Chivita World Juice Day by urging consumers to take control with daily nutrition that includes the consumption of fruit juices for wellness. Daniel Obi captures expert discussions at this year’s event.
Poor intake of fruits and vegetables is common among Nigerians. An average Nigerian will likely end a day without taking fruit juice, and this will go on for days. This account was validated by a published research conducted between January 2019 and March 2020 by WellNewMe, a health technology company, in collaboration with Dennis Ashley Medical Clinic, a medical facility based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Only 30 per cent of the population between 20- 60 years old are eating fruits, and 19 percent are eating vegetables daily, according to the research as published in the Punch Healthwise.
Further results of a study carried out in 2018, showed that the average fruit juice consumption in Nigeria is significantly lower than that of many other African countries and the rest of the world.
Recently, CHI Limited, maker of Chivita Fruit juices, took this campaign further to create more health consciousness about intake of fruit juices when it assembled health, nutrition and wellness professionals to discuss the benefits of taking fruit juice at this year’s Chivita World Juice Day marked on October 17, 2021.
This year’s edition of the annual event provided the platform to once again educate and encourage consumers to be focused in taking control of their own well-being with fruit juices as part of their daily nutrition for wellness because of the health benefits of taking fruit juice.
The theme for this year’s edition of the Chivita World Juice Day, “Fruit Juice: Powering my Health My Way”, calls on consumers to step forward and be involved in taking practical steps in lifestyle modifications, self-awareness and choosing to consume food and drinks that enhance daily nutrition by actively including fruit juices to boost their health and well-being, but most importantly, achieving this on their own terms.
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In her presentation, Amaka Okwesilieze Nwaora, Nutrition Consultant/Public Health expert and a council member of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, said being healthy is a way of life, and not a goal. She therefore said effective management of food intake and healthy nutrition are both key to good health.
Admonishing consumers, Amaka emphasized that everything people eat becomes a part of not only their inner being, but the outer fabric of their body as well. She said the healthier the foods one consumes, the healthier they are and their skin will look. Amaka therefore recommended fruits and vegetables as very important component of a healthy diet.
According to her, studies reveal that people who consume fruit juice tend to have healthier overall dietary habits than those who do not. Research has also revealed that consumers who consumed more than three servings of fruit and vegetables per day had a 42% reduction in stroke mortality and a 27% reduction in risk of cardio-vascular disease mortality compared to those who consumed less than one serving per day.
“Furthermore, the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research expert report on diet and cancer concluded that vegetables and fruits may protect against a range of cancers including mouth, stomach and bowel cancer, leading the report to recommend that people should try to eat more fruits,” she said.
In this challenging times, she encouraged consumers to take responsibility to eat healthy, drink healthy and maintain good health by including fruit juices in their daily nutrition. For busy people who want to eat more fruits and vegetables but don’t have much time, Amaka told them that fruit Juices are available in packs for them.
The initiative by CHI Limited of making people know about the importance of taking fruit juice is commended as knowledge is power. When consumers are informed, they will take care of their body, and this will reduce the load and burden of being patients in hospitals and spending money on medical bills.
Taking the discussion further, an event speaker, Patience Chimah, who is also the Chief Dietitian, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital describes fruits and vegetables as power houses of essential vitamins and minerals which help boost immune defences as well as strengthen health. “This had led to the World Health Organization recommendation of the 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day to lower the risk of serious health problems,” she said.
Describing fruit juice as the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruits and vegetables, she stressed that fruit Juices contain a wide range of vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds such as phytochemicals that are important for good health. Fruit juice strengthens the immune system, supports digestion, weight loss and averts allergies, and it detoxifies the body and naturally flushes out the toxins from the body.
This has become important in this time of COVID-19 when a strong immune system is required to fight the virus and other illnesses. Fruit juices are powerhouses of vitamins and minerals required for daily nutrition to promote health.
“Lifestyle changes that require the increased consumption of fruit juice as part of an overall healthy diet is essential for wellness,” Chimah said.
Obatomi Alalade, event panelist and Financial Secretary of Nigerian Medical Association, Lagos Zone reeled out the advantages of taking fruit juice. He enlightened consumers that fruit juice is a very important component of meals and “it is something we should take regularly as it helps our body generally starting from the brain down to any other system in the body.”
“Fruit juice helps the cardiovascular system, especially in prevention of some diseases. For instance, we talk of predisposition to heart attack or stroke.
This is due to what is called atherosclerosis, but with fruit juice, it alters atherosclerosis, thereby helping the individual.”
“Another thing that fruit juice does is that it has some anti-inflammatory functions, anti-oxidant functions, and it has collagens that help in skin elasticity.” Alalade added that fruit juice also helps the digestive system.
“When Nigerians take it, they save themselves a lot of medical cost. When one breaks down with some disease, he/she is likely to spend more money going to hospital and a lot of productive hours are wasted. But taking fruit juice helps the body fight some illnesses, boosts the immune system which assists to prevent diseases,” he noted.
The medical practitioner demystified the notion that manufactured fruit juice contains less nutrient but he said “approved fruit juice, whether manufactured or raw, contains the same constituent, but the only difference is that one is for drinking while the other is chewed.”
It is said that drinking 100% fruit juice is equally as good and healthy as eating fruits, but the body absorbs the liquid fruit juice faster and helps the digestive system.
Toyin Nnodi, CHI Limited Marketing Director, said this year’s edition of the event, being the third in the series, was very significant. She recognised that it took place at a time when health and wellbeing are in focus, and with humanity adjusting to the ‘new normal’ as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that changed the way people live.
In this light, adapting to the new normal has meant embracing proactive wellness practices to stay healthy, but more importantly, it has become imperative for consumers to take control of their overall well-being more than ever before.
Toyin therefore said this year’s Chivita World Juice Day with the theme beckons on consumers to step forward and be involved in taking practical steps in lifestyle modifications, self-awareness and choosing to consume food and drinks that enhance daily nutrition by actively including fruit juices to boost their health and well-being, but most importantly, achieving this on their own terms.
This year’s Chivita World Juice Day also provided a platform to encourage creativity with Fruit Juices – Chivita 100% Fruit Juice, Chi Exotic Fruit Nectar, Chivita Active Fruit Juice and Vegetable Blends, Happy Hour Fruit Drinks and more – providing discerning consumers the creative license to create their own fruit juice combo, mixtures, fruit juice mock tails, fruit juice smoothies, Exotic fruit juice blends, Veggie Juices blends, fruit juice popsicles, or just straight-up consumption.
Highlight of the event were cues through videos by mixologists demonstrating to consumers on how to use Chivita Fruit Juices in creating amazing, nutritious drinks. The idea is to showcase fruit juices as an easy convenient way for consumers to include quality nutrition in their day-to-day lives, and thus, bridge the nutritional gaps in urban lifestyles.
Chivita World Juice Day, marked annually, is a public interest initiative to deepen the conversation on consumption of fruit juice thus enabling a healthy and happy life for every Nigerian.
Fruits, as emphasised, are loaded with the right amounts of essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients the body needs to perform all its required functions and keep us healthy.
As an alternative to eating fresh fruits and vegetables, regular intake of 100% fruit juices is an excellent way to achieve the recommended daily amount of required nutrients the body needs to maintain optimal health. Nutrition experts recommend that fruit juice is an essential component of the healthy living equation.
