Juices That Meet Daily Fruit Requirements

Your daily fruit requirement varies depending on your age, gender and physical activity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a calculator to determine a personalized recommendation for the amount of fruit to include in your diet every day. For example, if you are a 32-year-old woman exercising for 30 minutes each day, include 2 cups of fruit in your daily nutrition plan. Certain fruit juices may substitute for whole fruits, depending on their preparation. For optimal nutrition, select a variety of juices every day.

Orange Juice

Orange juice is a healthy choice, as an 8-oz. serving contains nearly all the vitamin C you need in a day as well as lesser amounts of some B-vitamins. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 cup of 100 percent juice is equivalent to 1 cup of whole fruit. Select juice that retains as much pulp as possible to benefit from the dietary fiber contained in the pulp.

Cranberry Juice

Cranberry juice is also rich in vitamin C. Additionally, reports the University of Maryland Medical Center, cranberry juice helps ward off urinary tract infections by preventing bacteria from adhering to your urinary tract walls. A missing nutrient in cranberry juice compared to the whole fruit is dietary fiber. For this reason, meeting your daily fruit requirements with all juice may not supply you with enough daily fiber.

Pomegranate Juice

Juice made from pomegranates supplies you with vitamin K, folate, potassium and manganese. Harvard Health Publications reports it may also help delay the progression of prostate cancer and help prevent heart disease. However, pomegranate juice contains little fiber and may interfere with the effect of some medications.

Grape Juice

Grape juice is relatively low in vitamins but contains significant manganese. Martha Grogan, M.D., of Mayo Clinic, says that grape juice may also offer the same heart-healthy benefits of red wine. Grape juice, particularly juice from dark red and purple grapes, provides antioxidants including resveratrol. Grogan says these antioxidants may reduce bad cholesterol and help maintain optimal blood pressure.

Fruit Smoothies

A leading benefit of meeting your daily fruit requirements with whole fruits rather than fruit juice is the dietary fiber whole fruits contain. Many fruit-juice processors filter their juices to remove fiber. An alternative to selecting preprocessed fruit juices that may lack fiber is to make your own fruit smoothies with whole fresh fruits. This method allows you to consume fruit in the form of a liquid without sacrificing any of the benefits of eating whole fresh fruits. You can prepare fruit smoothies with any variety of fruits you like, and you may even boost their nutritional content by adding yogurt, peanut butter or powdered milk.