What is Clamato Juice?
Clamato Juice is a mixture of tomato and clam juice with spices added for flavor. According to Clamato's official website, this salty juice was developed in the late 1960s as a refreshing drink loved by California farmers.
Although Clamato originated in the United States, it isn't too popular in the United States, but Mexicans and Canadians love to mix the juice with delicious cocktails.
In addition to original flavor, you can also find Clamato juice in Picante, Limon and Preparado flavors. Since Clamato contains clams or broth, you may want to ask for a different vegetable juice to make the Michelado if you follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.
What's in Clamato Juice?
If you're watching your added sugar intake, or you can't tolerate monosodium glutamate (MSG), you may want to take a closer look at the Clamato ingredient list before whipping up a batch of Bloody Caesar, the Bloody Caesar's Clamato version of Mary.
In the order shown on the label, the original Clamato drink contains:
- water
- tomato concentrate
- high fructose corn syrup
- MSG
- Salt
- citric acid
- spices
- onion and garlic powder
- ascorbic acid
- Clam soup
- vinegar
- natural flavors
- Red 40
- Red chili
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires ingredients on food labels to be listed in primary order. This means that in addition to water and tomato juice, Clamato also contains a lot of added sugar in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, which may come as a bit of a surprise to you considering how salty the drink is.
According to a 2013 review published in Advances in Nutrition, Americans' sugar intake has increased 40-fold since the American Revolution, and has increased significantly over the past 50-plus years due to increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.
Many studies have found a correlation between the obesity epidemic and the rise in sugary drinks, more specifically those sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. According to the authors of this review, high fructose corn syrup increases the production of body fat.
Clamato Nutritional Facts
Although Clamato drinks are a source of added sugar, are low in calories and contain no fat, they are not a good source of protein or any vitamins or minerals. Nutritional facts for 8 oz of Clamato in any flavor include:
- 60 calories
- zero fat
- 790 to 820 mg sodium
- 12 to 13 grams of carbohydrates
- 11 grams sugar
- 1 gram protein
- Vitamin A 4% to 8% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin C 4% daily value
The Preparado flavor also provides 2% of the daily value of iron, while the Picante flavor contains 1 gram of fiber.
some vitamins A and C
Although Clamato drink is not a great source of vitamin A or C, it can help you get closer to your daily needs.
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for reproduction, immune health, and cell-to-cell communication. It's also crucial for vision because without it, you can't produce rhodopsin, the protein responsible for absorbing light in the eye. The daily intake of vitamin A is 5,000 international units (IU) per day. To put things into perspective, an 8-ounce cup of canned tomato juice provides more than 20 percent of your daily value, while the same serving of Clamato provides less than 10 percent of your daily value.
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which means you need to supplement it regularly every day because your body cannot store it. This essential nutrient helps your body produce collagen, neurotransmitters, and L-carnitine. It also acts as an antioxidant, protecting cells from free radical damage and may help prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. The daily value of vitamin C is 60 mg, and an 8-ounce serving of Clamato provides less than 3 mg.
Watch out for sodium
Clamato contains approximately 800 milligrams of sodium per serving, making it a high-sodium drink. Americans already consume too much sodium, averaging about 3,400 milligrams per day, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Consuming large amounts of sodium can increase your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
For better health, the AHA recommends limiting your daily sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams. One Clamato drink consumes more than half of the recommended daily amount. Unlike V8 juice, Clamato does not have a low-sodium version.
Clamato Juice vs. V8 Juice
If you are looking for a healthy vegetable juice, V8 Vegetable Juice is a better choice than Clamato Juice. Unlike Clamato, V8 Vegetable Juice contains no added sugar and consists of reconstituted juices of tomatoes, carrots, celery, beets, parsley and other healthy vegetables.
The benefits of V8 juice are also reflected in its micronutrient content. A cup of original V8 can meet 20% of the daily intake of vitamin A and 80% of the daily intake of vitamin C. However, V8 vegetable juice is a source of sodium, which isn't as bad as Clamato, although it contains 640 milligrams per serving. But Low Sodium V8 contains only 140 milligrams of sodium per 8 ounces.
Beware of MSG
MSG is a flavor enhancer added to many foods and is generally considered safe, according to the FDA. However, some people claim to experience adverse reactions when eating foods containing MSG.
These symptoms include:
- Headache
- nausea or vomiting
- Flushing
- sweat
- chest pain
Although there are many anecdotal reports about MSG reactions, researchers have not been able to find a direct link between MSG and various symptoms.
That said, if you think you have a tolerance issue with MSG, you may want to stay away from klamato juice to prevent a reaction. MSG is the fourth ingredient listed on the label, below high-fructose corn syrup.
