Why You Should Consider Combining Cranberry And Orange Juice

Orange juice and cranberry juice each have their fans. Although orange juice consumption has dropped significantly since 2008, Americans still drank roughly 497,000 metric tons of OJ in 2020-2021, per Statista. As far as the popularity of cranberry juice, the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center reported that Americans consume roughly 400 million pounds of cranberries, mostly in the form of juice or juice blends, per year.

The orange and the cranberry have very different and fascinating histories. According to Britannica, oranges are believed to have originated in Asia, eventually making their way to Africa and the eastern Mediterranean region via trade routes. Cranberries, on the other hand, are native to North America and were a crucial food source to European colonists, per World Atlas.  

The BBC reported that consuming oranges in processed juice form grew popular only a century ago, prompted by an over-production of oranges and an advertising campaign marketing the fruit's vitamin C benefits. The cranberry industry took note of the rise in orange juice's popularity. In the early 1930s, cranberry juice entered the beverage market with the introduction of the "Cranberry Juice Cocktail," per Ocean Spray.

Orange juice and cranberry juice each offer health benefits. According to the experts at Healthline, orange juice is packed not only with vitamin C, which gives a boost to your immune system, but also contains antioxidants, which are critical in maintaining overall health. Drinking orange juice may also increase good HDL cholesterol and decrease "bad" LDL cholesterol that could lead to chronic disease.

Livestrong suggests combining orange juice with cranberry juice to create a refreshing, blended drink. This way, you will get the additional benefits that cranberry juice provides, such as more antioxidants to fight the dangerous free radicals that can cause cancer, diabetes, and other diseases (via Medical News Today). Research also shows that consuming cranberry juice may promote good bacteria for healthy digestion and also inhibit the growth of certain viruses. Perhaps the most known benefit of consuming cranberry juice is that it might help prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs).

However, try to avoid juice varieties with added sugar or made from concentrate to make sure you get the most health benefits, and keep in mind that juices can interact with certain medications, warns Medical News Today. Avoid drinking more than one liter of cranberry juice per day (per Livestrong).

The next time you have a juice craving, give your taste buds and body a treat and enjoy a blend of orange and cranberry juice. You may discover you don't want to drink them separately again.