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While it is widely accepted that fruit and vegetables (F&V) lower the risk of cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD), the role of pure fruit and vegetable (PFV) juices is often downplayed. 

This review poses two questions: (1) are the protective benefits of F&V dependent upon constituents lacking in PFV juices e.g. fibre? (2) Do PFV juices impact on disease risk when considered separately from F&V? 

Studies comparing the effects of fibre and antioxidants were reviewed, yielding the finding that the impact of F&V may relate more strongly to antioxidants, than to fibre. For question 2, high quality published studies that considered PFV juices were reviewed. 

The impact of PFV juices on cancer risk was weakly positive, although a lack of human data and contradictory findings hampered conclusions. For CVD, there was convincing evidence from epidemiological and clinical studies that PFV juices reduced risk via a number of likely mechanisms. 

It was concluded that the view that PFV juices are nutritionally inferior to F&V, in relation to chronic disease risk reduction, is unjustified.


Click here to read the full paper