Which is the smarter choice—fruit or juice? Children and adults need 1.5 - 2 cups of fruit a day. What is the smarter choice-fruit or juice? The answer is complicated as it depends on whether

you are just considering nutrition or nutrition and cost.

Why Fruit is Better than Juice for Nutrition

Processing and removal of the skin and peel result in less antioxidants. Whole fruit provides more fiber.

Considering Cost

First, make sure you are comparing "apples to apples" by looking only at containers labeled 100% juice. Drinks, punches, "ades" or low-percent fruit juice products are so low in nutrients that they do not count. Concentrated fruit juice is hard to beat price wise if you are on a tight budget but read the label. Sometimes you can find "not from concentrate" at the same price as concentrate. Fruit can be wasted if it spoils before it gets eaten.

Eight ounces of juice has 100-140 calories while medium size fruit has 70-100 calories. Calories from liquids do not curb your appetite like calories from solid foods. Solid foods require more time to chew. Also will you eat something along with your juice? That will add more calories to your total for the day. Juices sometimes are fortified with a smattering of vitamins and minerals but fruit has small amounts of many nutrients. "Light" juices are usually diluted with water and have a calorie free sweetener added (sometimes with added vitamins). You could stretch your juice at home by mixing it with water.