The 9 Best Juices, According to a Dietitian

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Juices are not as simple as they used to be. Long gone are the days of juice being a beverage just for kids. Walk down any supermarket aisle, and you will see raw, cold-pressed green juices, juices labeled as “from concentrate,” conventional juices targeted for kids, and even juices marketed to adults for recovery and healing. Fresh, cold-pressed juices can be an incredible way to consume a potent dose of nutrients when on the go or when without access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

The main issue with juice is that there can be a lot of sugar in one serving. Excluding beverages that add sugar to their products, it is natural for there to be sugar in juice as sugar naturally occurs in fruits and vegetables. Because the fiber naturally found in these plants is removed in the juicing process, juice has the ability to spike your blood sugar way more than a whole piece of produce. In addition, it takes more than one piece of fruit to make orange juice, for example, so you end up consuming the equivalent amount of sugar as three or four oranges.

When shopping for juice, be mindful of the amount of sugar in one serving and avoid juices that contain added sugars. It is best to meet your hydration through water, but the occasional juice can be enjoyed from time to time.

Here, the best juices:

In This Article

Our Picks
What to Look for
FAQs
What Experts Say
Why Trust Verywell Fit?

Suja’s Uber Greens juice is our top pick for best overall juice thanks to its national availability, high-quality ingredients, and low sugar content. The 12-ounce size of juice has only six grams of naturally occurring sugar and packs a nutrient punch with 30 percent of the recommended intake of vitamin C.

Suja’s juices are organic, non-GMO verified, certified kosher, vegan, and free of gluten, soy, and dairy. This specific juice flavor bottles up cucumber, celery, grapefruit, green chard, green leaf lettuce, lemon, kale, spinach, parsley, peppermint tea, and spearmint tea.

Suja uses cold-pressing to make their juice, which helps to preserve the nutrients. When it comes to ensuring top food safety, they use High-Pressure Processing, a method of preserving packaged food products using extremely high pressure instead of high heat, which also preserves nutrients. As an added bonus, Suja has a focus on sustainability by sourcing from local farms, bottling juices in PETE #1 recyclable and BPA-free bottles.

The original vegetable juice drink, V8, is the top pick for best budget juice. Buying a bulk 48-pack of V8 cans allows each can to cost less than $2, a steal compared to some other vegetable juices on the market. One can is only 30 calories and has only five grams of sugar.

Enjoy a can of V8 as a way to replenish nutrients after an intense workout or when traveling. These drinks are shelf-stable, making them a good choice for when your vegetable drawer is running low.

V8 alone is a great option for a bloody mary mocktail, or use it in place of other bloody mary mixes that are packed with tons of sodium and artificial flavors. This juice is also free of artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, gluten and is Non-GMO.

Orange juice is a staple at breakfast for many households. Though delicious and full of vitamin C, one eight-ounce glass of orange juice can contain three times the amount of naturally occurring sugar compared to one small orange, so be mindful when pouring your morning cup of OJ.

When it comes to orange juice, not all brands are created equal. Natalie's Fresh Organic Juice is made with 100 percent organic oranges, and nothing else. This juice is free of preservatives, artificial ingredients, added sugar, and GMOs.

Unlike other orange juices, Natalie’s juices are gourmet pasteurized at the minimum temperature for the minimum amount of time to retain quality and nutrition, ensuring that the nutrients are still present in the juice. (Note that this juice will have a short shelf life.) One serving of this orange juice is high in vitamin C, which is known to support immune function and prevent cell damage, and when paired with eggs, can boost the body’s absorption of iron.

Evolution Fresh Organic Essential Greens

Green juices can be an excellent source of vitamins and minerals when whole fruits and vegetables are not available. When choosing a green juice, look for one with mostly vegetables. This will ensure that the overall sugar content is low.

Evolution’s Organic Essential Greens is packed with green vegetables (leafy greens, celery, cucumber) and a hint of lime. One eight-ounce serving of this juice packs a pretty potent nutritional punch containing 25 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin K, 15 percent of potassium, 6 percent of calcium, and 4 percent of vitamin C and A. One serving contains only 6 grams of sugar and even provides 2 grams of protein, making this an excellent addition to any meal or snack.

We love that this juice is organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, and Kosher Certified. In order to maintain nutritional integrity, Evolution Fresh cold-presses their juice, and 82 percent of their produce is grown within 400 miles of the juicery, a win for the environment.

Breville BJE200XL Compact Juice Fountain 700-Watt Juice Extractor

4.7

Buying bottled juices can be expensive and a source of extra waste. For those looking to save money and lower their carbon footprint, investing in a juicer will add dollars back to your wallet, reduce your plastic consumption, and may even mean juice with more nutrients. Once fruits and vegetables are picked from the tree or soil, their vitamins and minerals begin to degrade over time which is why fresh produce and freshly pressed juice are ideal for optimal nutrient consumption.

In order to get juices that are similar to your favorite juice shop's, you will need a powerful juicer. The Breville Juice Fountain Compact is small, making it great for counter space, but it is packed with power. The wide chute allows you to juice whole fruits and vegetables and conveniently collects pulp within the footprint of the unit to conserve counter space.

Garden of Life Raw Organic Perfect Food Green Superfood Juiced Greens Powder

On the go or traveling with no refrigerator around? Green powders are a great option for those on the run with no supermarkets or juice spots in sight who still want to get a nice dose of vitamins and minerals. Nobody said green powders taste yummy, which is why many brands add Stevia to their powder to increase palatability.

Garden of Life’s Raw Organic Perfect Food Green Superfood Juiced Greens Powder is the best overall greens powder because it’s free of Stevia and other sweeteners. In other words, they keep it simple. Featuring 34 raw, organically grown, non-GMO greens, Garden of Life dries their greens at the farm within an hour of harvesting, locking in all of their powerful nutrients.

Introducing whole fruits and vegetables to kids is very important, and though water is undoubtedly the best beverage choice for children, juice boxes in moderation are okay. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children over the age of 2 should have no more than 25 grams (about 6 teaspoons) of added sugar per day.

Many traditional juices targeted at kids contain added sugars. The most important thing to look for on a juice box label is that it should include 0 grams of added sugar. Honest Kids Organic Juice Drink contains no added sugars and less than 10 grams of sugar, almost half the amount of other juice companies. These juices are organic, contain no artificial sweeteners, no GMOs, and are gluten-free.

R.W. Knudsen Organic Just Tart Cherry Juice

Tart cherry juice has gained fame in recent years as a way to help aid muscle recovery after strenuous workouts. The high content of polyphenolic compounds in tart cherry juice has been proposed to lessen muscle damage, reduce levels of pain, and improve recovery in athletes because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

RW Knudsen’s just Tart Cherry Juice is our top pick for best muscle recovery because of its simple ingredients and clean labeling. This juice is made from only filtered water and organic red tart cherry juice from concentrate. One eight-ounce serving of this juice is high in naturally occurring sugar, 21 grams per serving. Use this juice in moderation and as a tool to help recovery after strenuous exercise.

Lakewood Organic keeps their juice simple with one ingredient: organic cranberry juice from fresh-pressed cranberries, not concentrate. Cranberry juice is tasty on its own or mixed with seltzer for a simple mocktail or afternoon pick-me-up.

Cranberry juice is well known for its proposed ability to help prevent urinary tract infections. The data to support this claim is mixed, and it is unclear whether or not cranberry juice can help as well as or more than antibiotics. Like most other juices, it is best to consume cranberry juice in moderation to prevent excess consumption of sugars.

Final Verdict

With a wide national availability, high-quality ingredients, and low sugar content, Suja’s Uber Greens juice (view at Fresh Direct) is our top pick for best overall juice. Low in sugar and high in nutrients, we love that this juice is organic, non-GMO verified, certified kosher, vegan, and free of gluten, soy, and dairy.

What to Look for in a Juice

Sugar:

All juice will have some sugar on the nutrition label simply because sugar is naturally present in fruits and vegetables. Green juices without fruits will be the lowest sugar options, and juices made from concentrate will be higher in sugar. For 100 percent fruit juice, be mindful of the serving size and enjoy in moderation.

Ingredients:

Juices are best when they are kept simple. Ingredient lists should contain nothing more than fruits, vegetables, and possibly water. Avoid products with added sugars, artificial sweeteners, or flavorings.

FAQs

What is cold-pressed juice?

Juice can be extracted from fruits and vegetables using a variety of methods. Cold-pressed juice is made with a hydraulic press that uses pressure to extract the maximum amount of liquid from fresh fruits and vegetables. Unlike other processing methods, no additional heat or oxygen is used in the process.

By keeping the extraction process free of heat, more nutrients are retained. It is important to be mindful and read labels carefully, as raw cold-pressed juice will only remain shelf-stable for a few days. Juices with a longer shelf life typically have undergone a pasteurization process to eliminate potential microbes.

Are juice cleanses healthy?

Though juices may be high in vitamins and minerals, they do not contain an adequate balance of macronutrients (proteins, fats and carbohydrates) which are the building blocks of life and give energy to function during the day.

Juice cleanses are not healthy. They are low in calories, fiber, protein, and healthy fats. In addition, many juices are high in sugar. During cleanses, many people feel hungry, irritable, and weak. Juices should not take the place of a meal, however, they can be enjoyed in addition to a meal or a snack.

What Experts Say

"While it is generally better to drink water rather than juice, fresh vegetable and fruit juice can be part of a healthy diet when used in moderation. I recommend choosing a cold-pressed juice that contains more vegetables than fruit."—Eliza Savage, MS, RD, CDN

Why Trust Verywell Fit?

The products listed in this round-up are items that Sydney Greene would recommend to her clients, friends, and family. Each product has been vetted for quality. She has also read through reviews and product comparisons to choose items that stood out for price and likeability.

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6 Sources

Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Consumer Reports. Forget the juice and eat the whole fruit instead. Updated June 25, 2017.
Carr AC, Maggini S. Vitamin c and immune function. Nutrients. 2017;9(11). doi: 10.3390/nu9111211
Hallberg L, Brune M, Rossander L. The role of vitamin C in iron absorption. Int J Vitam Nutr Res Suppl. 1989;30:103-108.
Korioth T. Added sugar in kids’ diets: How much is too much? AAP News. Published online March 29, 2021.
Vitale KC, Hueglin S, Broad E. Tart cherry juice in athletes: a literature review and commentary. Current Sports Medicine Reports. 2017;16(4):230-239. doi: 10.1249/JSR.0000000000000385.
Jepson RG, Williams G, Craig JC. Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections. Cochrane Kidney and Transplant Group, ed. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Published online October 17, 2012.