Many health advisors urge their patients to choose water over orange juice due to the high concentration of sugar in the beverage, but new research suggests this may not necessarily be the best advice.

New findings suggest certain nutrients could be easier for the body to absorb when consumed in juice form as opposed to as whole fruit, the American Chemical Society reported.

Oranges are packed full of nutrients such as carotenoids and flavonoids, which can lower one's risk of diseases such as certain cancers and heart conditions, but many people would be more likely to drink a cold glass of orange juice than peel and eat the fruit itself.

 "Sugar content aside, are they getting the same nutritional benefits?" The researchers asked.To make their findings the team looked at how the body processed nutrients in different forms. 

"Lutein and β-cryptoxanthin were slightly degraded during dejuicing, whereas β-carotene levels were retained. Vitamin C levels remained unaffected, whereas flavonoid levels decreased 8-fold upon juice extraction, most likely due to the removal of flavonoid-rich albedo and juice vesicles. Likewise, the presence of such fibrous matrix compounds during in vitro digestion was assumed to significantly lower the total bioaccessibility (BA) of all carotenoids from fresh fruit segments (12 [percent]) as compared to juices (29 to 30 [percent])," the researchers wrote in their study abstract.

The team found the production of pasteurized orange juice did slightly lower level of carotenoids and vitamin C.  Despite these consequences, the process was found to improve the amount of carotenoid and vitamin C that could be absorbed by the body. To their surprise, they also found that although juicing oranges dramatically cut flavonoid levels, the ones that were spared were much more easily absorbed than those found in whole fruit.

The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.