Posted on Tue, Jul. 22, 2008

Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw used her oven for storage, and the Sleuth suspects that plenty of you could say the same about your vegetable crisper. So can the crop of new fruit-plus-veggie juices let you drink your five to nine servings a day?

Sorry, but no, say scientists. Those government guidelines say whole fruits are best because they contain fiber, most of which is lost when they're turned into juice. As for all those healthful phytochemicals, at least half of the ''bioactive compounds'' in fruit are lost in juicing, Luke Howard, a University of Arkansas food expert, told The Center for Science in the Public Interest in a December newsletter.

But the juices are a good source of Vitamins A and C. So if you're determined to sneak some veggies into your drinking glass (or your kids'), here are our tasters' comments on three blends.

Juicy Juice Harvest Surprise Orange Mango

Cost: $3.29 per 46 ounces

The label says: No sugar added; all natural ingredients; 120 percent Vitamin C; a good source of beta carotene. ``Shhh . . . The Surprise is . . . There are Vegetables Inside!''

Nutrition per 8-ounce serving: 130 calories; 27 g sugars; 70 percent Daily Value Vitamin A; 120 percent Daily Value Vitamin C.

The verdict: The surprise to us was that our kid tasters liked it better than the adults. The kids thought it was great; one adult taster said ''something about it reminded me of Gatorade'' while another adult said she could taste the vegetables (in this case, carrot juice and sweet-potato purée).

Grade: A-

R.W. Knudsen Very Veggie Untomato

Cost: $4.17 for 32 ounces

The label says: 100% juice; no sugar added. High in Antioxidants Vitamin A & C.

Nutrition per 8-ounce serving: 70 calories; 12 g sugars; 160 percent Daily Value Vitamin A; 100 percent Daily Value Vitamin C.

The verdict: This brand probably was at a disadvantage because it was mostly vegetable with some grape juice, instead of a fruit-vegetable blend. (It also had far fewer sugars.) But we wanted to see if it lived up to its ''untomato'' label, with carrot, beet and spinach juice added, and it was a tempting, lovely magenta. Unfortunately, most of our six tasters hated it, even the one who was a fan of regular V-8 juice. It did get one A and a B, bringing the average to a C-.

Grade: C-

V-8 Fusion

Strawberry Banana

Cost: $3.99 per 46 ounces

The label says: Full Serving Vegetables; Full Serving Fruits per 8 ounce glass. Meets American Heart Association food criteria for saturated fat and cholesterol.

Nutrition per 8-ounce serving: 120 calories; 25 g sugars; 70 percent Daily Value Vitamin A; 100 percent Daily Value Vitamin C; 10 percent Daily Value Vitamin E.

The verdict: This was the crowd favorite, with four of six tasters giving it an A. The strawberry flavor predominates, but sweet potatoes, carrots, tomato and beet juices are listed first on the label. About that label, though: It bears an American Heart Association seal, but only because it meets the organization's criteria for saturated fat and cholesterol content -- not usually big problems on the fruit-juice aisle.

Grade: A-

The bottom line: You'll get lots of Vitamin A and C from these juices, but you're better off chewing your veggies instead of sipping them.

Have a product you want tested? E-mail glehman@MiamiHerald.com.