The World Health Organization says everyone over the age of 10 should eat at least 400 grams of fruit and vegetables a day. That’s roughly five handfuls. Some of us know the number. Far fewer of us hit it, week in and week out.
Long workdays, school runs, and meals eaten on the go all chip away at good intentions, but this is unfortunately a part of modern life. So it’s no surprise that people searching for the best supplements are up 20% this year versus the preceding year, according to Google Trends data.
There are many options out there, but the question worth asking is which ones have real science behind them.
We reviewed the research and a few products stand out, including well-studied fruit and vegetable nutritional products made from whole produce.
A quick word on expectations: capsules or powder cannot copy the fiber, variety, and pleasure of a full plate. The best products fill gaps in your diet. They do not replace food.
How We Chose the Top Picks
We looked for three things. First, human studies, ideally randomized controlled trials, where people taking the product are compared with people taking a placebo. Second, clear ingredients from real plants. Third, quality standards a shopper can check, such as independent certification.
That rules out a lot of options. Plenty of products sell a long ingredient list with little published human research behind it. The picks below all have published research you can read for yourself.
Our Top Picks
1. Juice Plus+ Fruit & Vegetable Blend Capsules: Best Whole Food Based Daily Option
If you want one plant-based habit that covers a broad spread of produce, Juice Plus+ is our top pick for fruit and vegetable capsules. It stands out from other nutritional products since it’s made from whole fruit and vegetable juice powders rather than only isolated extracts or synthetic multivitamins, which complements a balanced diet.
Four capsules a day (two Fruit Blend and two Vegetable Blend, taken with a meal) deliver 20 fruits, vegetables, and plant-based vitamins. The line-up includes apple, orange, mango, cranberry, broccoli, spinach, kale, carrot, tomato, garlic, and beet. It’s also the only pick on this list that covers fruit and vegetables together, rather than a single plant.
Produce is grown on small and mid-size farms, harvested at peak ripeness, and transformed into powders, whole wherever possible, with peels, leaves and seeds included. The capsules are vegan, certified gluten-free, certified non-GMO, and certified for quality and safety by NSF.
The research sets it apart, too. Juice Plus+ has invested in 33 human clinical trials, resulting in 48 published papers on these capsules. Studies showed 10 clinically proven benefits, including how they significantly increase blood levels of polyphenols and micronutrients, including vitamins A, C, and E, and folate, within weeks. For busy parents, and for women and men juggling work and family, it’s a daily routine that takes just a few seconds.
2. Beet It Beetroot Juice Shots: Best for Blood Pressure Research
Beetroot is rich in dietary nitrate, which the body converts into nitric oxide, a molecule that helps blood vessels relax. It is also one of the better-studied vegetables in nutrition research.
A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis in Frontiers in Nutrition pooled seven randomized trials involving 218 people with high blood pressure. Beetroot juice lowered systolic blood pressure by about 5 mmHg, though it had no significant effect on diastolic pressure. Daily amounts in the trials ranged from 70 to 250 milliliters of juice.
If you want a specific product, Beet It is certainly a sensible choice. Its beetroot juice was used in a University of Exeter exercise study in 2009, and the company says it has since supported more than 300 medical and sports research projects. Powders vary widely in how much nitrate they contain, so juice shots sit closer to what the trials actually tested. Anyone already taking blood pressure medication should speak to their doctor first.
3. CocoaVia Cocoa Flavanol Extract: Best Large-Scale Trial
Cocoa beans are fruit seeds packed with flavanols, a type of polyphenol known to support heart health. CocoaVia turns them into a daily habit that takes seconds: two capsules once a day with food, delivering 500 mg of cocoa flavanols. No blender, no prep, and a bottle fits in a work bag.
The research is what earns it a place here. CocoaVia says its capsules use the same extract tested in the COSMOS trial, which followed more than 21,000 adults. The main result, a 10% drop in total cardiovascular events, was not statistically significant. However, deaths from cardiovascular disease were 27% lower in the cocoa extract group. A 2025 follow-up in Age and Ageing found that hsCRP, a marker of inflammation, fell by 8.4% a year compared with placebo.
It suits busy adults who want support for heart health without changing what is on the menu. Each serving has about 25 mg of caffeine, so take it earlier in the day. And remember, a chocolate bar is not the same thing and shouldn’t be considered a substitute for cocoa extract.
Our Verdict
For a broad, whole-food base with a deep body of published research, Juice Plus+ Fruit & Vegetable Blend Capsules are the best all-round choice. Beet It beetroot shots and CocoaVia cocoa flavanol extract are useful targeted extras for readers with specific interests, backed by solid human trials. Whichever you choose, pair it with a colorful plate, check with your health professional if you take any medication, and give any new habit a few weeks before judging it.
