Of all the juices in the market, the pink grapefruit juice is the one that provides the most nutrients per calorie, a new study has found.

Author Gail Rampersaud, a researcher at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida, who conducted the study found that pink grapefruit juice not only has a high vitamin C content, but it is in fact better than orange, white grapefruit, pineapple, prune, grape and apple juices.

And, to top it all, pink grapefruit juice also provides potassium, folate, thiamin and magnesium.

"(It) is an excellent source of vitamin C. It also provides potassium, folate, thiamin and magnesium, as well as certain carotenoids that can be converted into vitamin A in the body. Pigmented grapefruit juices, such as pink or ruby, also contain lycopene, a carotenoid that gives pigmented grapefruit its rich color," Discovery News quoted Rampersaud, as saying.

As a part of her research, Rampersaud focused only on common 100 percent fruit juices, and used six different methods to calculate each juice's nutrient density.

Nutrient density was defined as either nutrients provided per calorie, or the ratio of the amount of a nutrient in foods to the energy provided by these same foods.

Nutrients included proteins, fats, sugars, numerous vitamins and minerals and other components.

According to Rampersaud, citrus juices rank high "because they generally have higher amounts of a wider variety of nutrients compared to the other juices included in the analysis, coupled with the fact that the citrus juices are lower in calories."

She found that pink grapefruit juice provided an entire day's recommended vitamin C amount in a single 8-ounce glass.

The findings are published in the current issue of the Journal of Food Science.

(ANI via chinadaily.com.cn June 1, 2007)