For years, V8 was a quirky vegetable drink sold by the Campbell soup company. But in the past few years, the brand has greatly expanded its offering, and now even includes a tea blend. Today we’ll take a look at the V8 Fusion line, which combines the perceived health of veggies with the sweetness found only in fruit.

The very colorful bottles promise a full serving of veggies and a full serving of fruit in every cup. Indeed?

What you need to know:

We picked up a bottle of V8 Fusion, Strawberry-Banana. Each serving (8 oz cup) has 120 calories, virtually all from carbs. It’s very high in Vitamin A – 70% of the daily value. It’s also got 100% of your vitamin C requirement, but added on as ascorbic acid in ingredient list.

Here is the full ingredient list:

Reconstituted Vegetable Juice Blend (Water and Concentrate Juices of Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Tomatoes, Beets), Reconstituted Fruit Juice Blend (Water and Concentrated Juices of White Grapes, Oranges, Apples, Strawberries and Clarified Bananas), Contains Less than 2% of the Following Ingredients: Natural Flavoring, Banana Puree, Malic Acid, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Citric Acid, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate).

Look ma, no added sugar!

Indeed no added sugars. However – there are still 25 grams of sugar in every cup you drink. That’s about 6 teaspoons full. Although this is naturally occurring sugar, your body is getting it in a concentrated lightning bolt instead of a much more civilized pace were you to chew on the oranges, bananas, and strawberries that comprise the juice.

By drinking your fruit and veggies instead of eating them, you are also losing out on the fiber that gets filtered in juicing. There are ZERO grams of fiber in this drink, compared to 5 you’d get by eating the produce.

Lastly, you’re not benefiting from the phytonutrients and antioxidants that are unfortunately lost in the juicing process too.

So how does V8 get away with the “full serving of fruit and vegetable” crap? Unfortunately, quite a few years ago someone at the FDA was convinced by the food industry lobbies that a “fruit juice” should be considered just as nutritious as the fruit itself. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Bottom line: While this drink is certainly not a fizzy pop, it should be treated as an occasional snack, not a part of daily health routine.

What to do at the supermarket:

Get your fruit and veggies from the product section, and your hydration from the tap!

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