When shopping for juice, remember not all are created equal. Don’t be fooled by a fancy, colorful label or tricked by words that make it sound like it’s the real thing. Here’s how to find the real juice:
By law, the percent of juice in the product must be listed, so carefully inspect the nutrition facts label. The first ingredient should be “100% juice” or “100% juice from concentrate”.
- 100% juice is basically liquid fruit – there are no added colors, preservatives or sugar.
- 100% juice from concentrate is still real juice – the only difference is how the fruit was processed after it was harvested. If the juice is made from fruit concentrate, water will likely be the first ingredient.
If there is a long list of ingredients, it’s more likely a fruit flavored drink or fruit juice blend – not the real thing.
Juice flavored drinks, fruit juice cocktails and fruit juice blends are NOT real juice. Drinks that have the word “juice” followed by “cocktail”, “beverage”, or “drink” may only have 5-15% juice and are usually loaded with added sugars.