"It is recommended to consume a variety of different fruits and vegetables each day. Including a fruit serving as juice is one way to increase the variety of different fruits that are eaten each day."

- Produce for Better Health Foundation

Commonly asked questions about 100% juice

What is 100% juice?
100% juice is the liquid obtained from a fruit or vegetable.

How can you tell if a product is 100% fruit juice?
All juice products are required under the law to list the total percent juice content on the product's information panel.

How does 100% juice fit into a healthy diet?
Great tasting 100% juices are a smart addition to any diet, providing a variety of important nutrients that are found naturally in fruits and vegetables. In addition to providing nutrients like vitamin C, folate and potassium, 100% fruit juices also contain many naturally occurring phytonutrients, which have disease-preventative and health promoting potential. Fruit juices are a convenient way for adults and children to help meet the recommended daily number of servings of fruits and vegetables; a half-cup portion of 100% juice equals a serving of fruit.

Are whole fruits a better source of nutrients than 100% juice?
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that a majority of our daily fruit servings come from whole fruit. But most Americans are not meeting current recommendation for fruit and vegetable consumption and are missing out on valuable nutrients. For many people, drinking a glass of 100% juice is an easy and convenient way to help reach those goals, with just a half-cup serving of juice providing the equivalent of a full serving of fruit.

Does fruit juice have a lot of sugar and calories?
There are no added sugars in 100 percent juice - just the natural sugars found in whole fruit. In addition, fruit juice is considered a "nutrient dense" beverage, meaning that, per calorie, it packs more nutritional value than other beverage choices. Because nutrition is more than just calories, it's important to look at the whole picture: 100 percent fruit juice is a valuable source of key nutrients like folate, vitamin C and potassium and supplies a serving of fruit in each half-cup portion.

Does fruit juice make children fat?
The majority of research does not show a relationship between overweight and 100 percent juice consumption in children or teens. While there are some general misconceptions about the appropriateness of 100 percent fruit juices as part of the diet - especially children's diets - the current science strongly maintains the nutritional benefits of fruit juice. According to Dr. Theresa Nicklas of the Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine, a professor of pediatrics who has conducted research on juice consumption, "One hundred percent juice is and always has been a choice you can feel good about serving your family. The research shows there is no link between 100 percent juice intake and overweight."