What Are Health Benefits of Strawberry Juice?

The vibrant hue and naturally sweet flavor of strawberries make them a summertime favorite in many households. The berries also juice well, yielding a beverage packed with beneficial nutrients, including vitamins and minerals. Incorporating strawberry juice into your diet promotes tissue health, and some of the nutrients abundant in strawberry juice also prevent chronic disease.

Fight Cancer

Some of the nutrients in strawberry juice -- namely vitamin C and folate -- promote long-term health by fighting cancer development. Folate helps your body metabolize nucleic acids -- the building blocks of DNA -- and regulates gene methylation, a process essential for regulating gene activity. Abnormal gene methylation contributes to cancer development, and a diet rich in folate is associated with a lower risk of some types of cancer, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, a type of chemical that protects your cells from cancer-promoting free radicals; as with folate, a diet rich in vitamin C reduces your cancer risk. Each cup of strawberry juice provides all the vitamin C you need each day, according to the Institute of Medicine, and also provides 16 percent of your recommended daily folate intake.

Strengthen Tissues, Heal Wounds

Adding strawberry juice to your diet promotes tissue strength. Its impressive vitamin C content boosts collagen production, so that your body can make the collagen it needs to hold your tissues together. It also fights the skin tearing, blood vessel rupture and bone weakening that can develop as a symptom of vitamin C deficiency. Manganese also supports collagen production and plays a key role in helping you heal after an injury. A cup of strawberry juice provides 56 percent of the daily recommended manganese intake for women and 43 percent for men, according to the Institute of Medicine.

Boost Your Brain

Strawberry juice supports the health of your nervous system. Each serving contains 13 grams of naturally occurring sugars, a source of fuel that allows your brain cells to function. The juice's vitamin C content also helps you produce norepinephrine -- a neurotransmitter, or chemical involved in nerve communication -- and its copper content aids in the production of other neurotransmitters. Copper also allows your brain to metabolize neurotransmitters and helps you make myelin, a fatty substance needed for nerve function. Each cup of strawberry juice provides 125 micrograms of copper, or 14 percent of your recommended daily intake, according to the Institute of Medicine.

Uses for Strawberry Juice

One thing missing from strawberry juice is beneficial fiber. Although juicers remove fiber from the strawberries during the juicing process, you can still reap the cardiovascular benefits of fiber by using strawberry juice to add flavor to fiber-rich meals. Use it as the base for a smoothie, a mixture of strawberry juice -- mixed frozen berries, Greek yogurt and ground flaxseed makes for a nutritious meal with a vibrant red hue. Alternatively, pair strawberry juice with balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil to make a dressing for spinach or other dark leafy greens.