Cranberry Juice & Fiber

Dietary fiber refers to the portions of fruits, vegetables and grains that your body can't digest. Cranberries, for example, contain both skins and seeds that pass undigested through your stomach and intestines. When cranberries are made into juice or cranberry cocktail, however, the seeds and skins are removed. Cranberry juice has little or no fiber, depending on the brand and the processing method.

Fiber Content

With only 0.3 g of fiber in an 8-oz. serving, unsweetened cranberry juice is considered a low-fiber beverage. Bottled or reconstituted frozen cranberry juice cocktail has no measurable fiber. When cranberry juice is combined with other fruit juices, the fiber content can vary. Cranberry-apple juice drink, for example, is fiber free. Both cranberry-apricot juice and cranberry-grape juice have 0.2 g of fiber in a 1-cup serving.

Advantages

Clear, low-fiber juices such as cranberry are an important part of a clear liquid diet that leaves little residue for your intestinal tract to manage. Your doctor may recommend a clear liquid diet to prepare you for bowel procedures or surgery, when you're recovering from surgery or when you have mild nausea or vomiting. If you have an acute digestive disorder called diverticulitis, your physician may tell you to stick with clear liquids for two to three days to give your colon a rest.

Disadvantages

The average American ingests only about 14 g of fiber a day even though recommendations range from 21 g for postmenopausal women to 38 g for men younger than 50 years of age. Children need 10 g of fiber a day plus an additional gram for each year of age. When you drink a cup of cranberry juice cocktail, you get no fiber. but you add 137 calories and 30 g of sugar to your diet. A medium apple with skin intact is a better nutritional alternative, delivering 4.4 g of fiber in only 95 calories. If you have a chronic gastrointestinal disorder known as diverticulosis, your doctor will recommend a high-fiber diet with plenty of fresh fruit to keep your disease under control.

Considerations

When you eat a high-fiber diet, you feel full sooner and stay full longer. Fiber helps you maintain a healthy weight, makes it easier to control the amount of cholesterol and glucose in your blood and keeps your bowel movements regular. A diet high in fiber reduces your risk of developing coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke. Although cranberry juice does deliver some essential vitamins and minerals, its high sugar content and lack of fiber make it a poor choice for a heart-healthy diet.