You deserve praise when you choose 100 percent fruit juice over sugary "juice drinks." Your choice shows that you are aware that juice drinks are loaded with refined sugars and artificial flavorings and amount to empty calories. Fruit juice, however, has some shortcomings in delivering the nutrients you need.

Coming Up Short

Food experts say that 100 percent fruit juice has vitamin C and perhaps vitamin A, potassium and calcium, depending on the brand and product. For the full benefits of nutrition in fruit, though, you need fresh fruit rather than fruit juice.

• Fiber: The body needs fiber to function well. Drinking fruit juice instead of eating fresh fruit may deprive you of enough fiber in your diet. Fiber is important if you are making efforts to stay fit and avoid excess weight. Fiber is what enables you to digest food slowly. Eating a crispy Granny Smith apple satisfies your desire to snack better than do a few gulps of apple juice; the apple is also more filling so that you don't feel hungry seconds later.
• Pulp: When you "juice" fresh fruit, you remove the pulp, which is valuable because of its flavonoids. Researchers find that flavonoids may decrease your risk of cancer.
• Skin: Nutrition in fruit resides not only in the flesh but in the skin. Grapes, apples and pears are good examples of fruit with health-bearing skins. The skin of grapes has properties, for example, that reduce your risk of cancer. You lose out on the full nutrition value of pears if you replace that fruit with pear juice, because pear skin has vitamin C.

Making Juice Work

Drinking 100 percent fruit juice as part of your diet is still a good idea, as long as you do not overdo your daily intake. Your choice of juice over sugary soda, for example, is wise as long as your juice intake is moderate. Nutritionists advise not to sip juice throughout the day, because natural fruit juice has a high sugar content. One eight-ounce glass of orange juice may have twice the sugar of a fresh orange plus more calories, for example. A glass of fruit juice is a great way to start the day. After that, go for fresh fruit instead.