The naked truth about natural juice

Do you drink "Naked"? I know I do.

Protein Zone, Strawberry Kiwi Kick, Green Machine: these strange fruity bottles of bare goodness are found lounging precariously on the edges of too-small desks, poking brightly out of Vera Bradley bags, and replacing the standard orange and apple juices next to the sushi and salads in the cafeteria.

Now the public demands an answer. "Is this drink really good for me?" asked Brittany Keesling, '10. "I need to know. I'm drinking two a day here!"

Those who also fall into the ranks of near-addicts no longer have a reason to fear. An analysis of one particularly popular juice, Berry Blast, offers answers to tough questions for all in the varied line of Naked Juices.

Berry Blast claims to have five blackberries, four raspberries, four strawberries, three and a half apples, and half of a banana, all in a 16 oz. bottle.

Though I was skeptical of the exact proportion of fruit jammed into one plastic container, the makers are truly "baring it all," as they claim.

The smoothie is formed from a proportional puree of each of the fruits, juiced to a consistency that allows one pound of fruit to fit in a small bottled drink.

Interestingly, the drink is often kept in the produce aisle rather than the beverage aisle as the real fruit inside must be kept fresh and consumed by an earlier expiration date.

There are seriously healthy foods jammed into this tasty drink, and the 260 calories found in Berry Blast are the good-guy calories, the kind you need to keep your body running. (Other specific types of Naked Juice have less or more calories, respectively.)

Aside from what is naturally in the fruits, the drinks have no additional sugar and do not use bio-engineered ingredients.

Naked Juice had its beginnings in Santa Monica, Ca. in 1983 out of a one-store smoothie business that grew into a drink empire by reaching out to the health food culture of our country.

One thing to check out in the Energy line of Naked drinks is the added Guarana. This ingredient is a natural caffeine that is becoming increasingly popular with drink manufacturers, including Energy Vitamin Water.

It is pretty potent, however, so I would recommend being aware that your Naked Energy Drink is equivalent to, if not surpassing, the caffeine in a few cups of coffee.

The closest thing to unnatural interference is that the drinks are gently or "flash pasteurized"-heated and then cooled quickly-in order to kill bacteria and preserve freshness.

But really, who's complaining about that when drinking the daily food pyramid requirements from a tasty smoothie bottle in the cafeteria? Being healthy has never been so easy.