Cranberry juice is the liquid juice from cranberries. Cranberry juice sold in stores usually has sugar and water added. Some has other fruit juices.
The terms cranberry juice cocktail and cranberry juice blend mean products have between 25% and 49% cranberry juice. The rest comes from different fruit juice concentrate (usually peach, grape or raspberry), also having added sugar to improve taste. Low-calorie cranberry juice products contain artificial sweeteners. Cranberry juice is tart due to its mixed content of polyphenols. Those include flavonoids, phenolic acids and anthocyanins.
Although many people believe that cranberry juice helps prevent urinary tract infections, it has no such proven effect. This was determined by the Cochrane review during completed clinical research. The scientific panel of the European Food Safety Authority said a cause-and-effect relationship could not be established between cranberry juice and urinary tract infections.
Consuming cranberry juice and nutrition
Cranberry juice is 86% water, 26% carbohydrates, and less than 1% fat or protein. A cup of regular (fortified) cranberry juice (248 grams or 8 ounces) has 107 calories. It has vitamin C as an ingredient to preserve freshness. Other micronutrients may be added during manufacturing. Other than vitamin C and folate having more than 10% of the Daily Value, a typical serving of cranberry juice has no micronutrients in significant content.
One half cup of cranberry juice has 60 calories, 20% of the Daily Value for vitamin C. That counts as one-half of a fruit serving toward the United States MyPlate daily nutrition guide.
Effect on health
Cranberry juice is an acidic drink with a pH of about 2.6. Some cranberry juice products have large amounts of sugar used in manufacturing. This makes the drink taste better. Drinking cranberry juice may increase the risk of hyperglycemia and reduced control of blood glucose in people with diabetes or glucose intolerance.
