Fruit Juice

Fruit Juice is a rare potion that permanently increases your maximum HP by 5 when used. Crucially, it can be used outside of combat, making it one of the few sources of permanent HP increases available as a consumable. It is obtained through enemy drops, shop purchases, or events.

Fruit Juice provides a permanent benefit that persists for the remainder of the run, not just for a single fight. 5 extra max HP might seem small, but it compounds with other HP-increasing effects and makes every subsequent healing source slightly more effective. It is most valuable when used early in a run to allow the extra HP to contribute to overall durability across many fights. Because it can be used outside of combat, there is no reason to hold it — use it immediately upon acquiring it to start benefiting from the increased HP pool. It is particularly synergistic with relics and effects that scale with max HP, such as Meat on the Bone or Fairy in a Bottle.