How juicing could be bad for your health

[AussieNeil]

Many of us have shared how juicing has become an important part of our diet, with a few voicing concerns about whether this unnatural way of obtaining nutrients is as good as is commonly portrayed to be the case. So it was with interest that I read this article referred to me by someone very dear to me:

healthunlocked.com/wecudos/...

This article was posted a couple of years ago by a professional nutritionist contributor to HealthUnlocked's Ask the Wellness Expert community. Points of concern are covered under the following headings:

* The sluggish gut effect

* Bye-bye valuable fibre

* No sense of portion control

* Get hungrier sooner

* The juice-induced sugar cycle

There's no doubt that juicing can be an important means of boosting our intake of essential nutrients in which we may be deficient. Perhaps more importantly, as the article notes, juicing can be a very good way of changing our palette so that we do eat more fruit and vegetables without first juicing them (given eating sufficient fruit and vegetables is a common failing of many of us).

Added February 2025: 3-day juice cleanse spikes bad bacteria levels in gut & mouth

newatlas.com/health-wellbei...

“The nutritional composition of juice diets – specifically their sugar and carbohydrate levels – plays a key role in shaping microbial dynamics in both the gut and oral cavity and should be carefully assessed,” said the study’s lead and co-corresponding author, Maria Luisa Savo Sardaro, a research associate at Northwestern’s Department of Anthropology and a professor of food microbiology at San Raffaele University in Rome, Italy.

The study’s small sample size and the short length of dietary interventions limited the researcher’s ability to discriminate the bacterial species and strains involved and affected the overall accuracy of the findings. Future studies should recruit more participants and extend dietary interventions to observe what happens to gut and oral microbiome over a longer period. The findings still offer valuable insights, regardless of the limitations.

The researchers recommend that those who enjoy drinking their fruits and veggies opt for blending over juicing because it retains fiber and essential nutrients that would otherwise be lost.

“If you love juicing, consider blending instead to keep the fiber intact, or pair juices with whole foods to balance the impact on your microbiome,” said Ring. (My emphasis)

The study: Effects of Vegetable and Fruit Juicing on Gut and Oral Microbiome Composition

mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/3/458

Neil

Photo: Barley sprouting from a fallen barley head after an uncharacteristic very wet few days in the middle of summer.

[JR1964]

Neil, I know a lot of folks do juice and on a regular basis. I have thought about it but dealing with going through the process of it all, I rather just stick to the old-fashioned way of eating the fruits as they are and vegetables raw or slightly cook. Cooking to much as we know loses the nutritional value. So I try to keep to the natural form as much as possible- from a tree or from the ground. Interesting article and thanks for passing it on. Eat those beans!! STAY STRONG J.R

[Eric_68]

Agree when it comes to Fruit, cut out all the good stuff and left with sugar!

However Vegetables have no to little sugar and are ok to Juice.

My preference is always to utilize the whole fruit or Veg as our ancestry always did.

[Stretch1]

Actually I eat normally and I juice so many of the hazards listened for juicing (sluggish gut etc) don’t apply. It does not make me hungry if anything it suppresses my appetite - glucose overload? I don’t think so - I drink it morning and evening - about 4 oz each time. I feel a lot better with it than without it and I know many people do - so I’ll stick with it -

[Dell49]

Hi Neal

I read this with interest as unfortunately I behave like a fussy toddler when it comes to fruit and veg, a real salad dodger!

Maria knew this had to change and invested in a nutribullet. She makes me have (yes makes) a smoothie consisting of 60% veg 40% fruits with added water only. Once a day sometimes twice. This is my only way of getting the good stuff as left to me ketchup would be one of my five a day.

Everything is thrown in blended so hopefully I still get the benefit of some of the fibre as well, as I believe juicers literally only removes the juice and discard pulp.

Hopefully this could be an alternative to juicing for all the grown up toddlers out there. Would value your thoughts.

Dell

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator in reply to Dell49]

Hi Dell,

As I interpret the article, juicing (or in your case blending), at least provides those that don't like fruit and vegetables in the more traditional presentation with some of the nutrition that would otherwise be missed from their diet. Just be aware of the additional benefits missed by juicing/blending as well as the potential health downside of having a machine do what your body normally benefits from doing. It's a bit like going for a drive in a car or on a motorbike to benefit from fresh air - and missing out on the exercise from walking/running/cycling...

[Dell49 in reply to AussieNeil]

Thanks Neil

I do also eat beans and pulses like chickpeas which Maria hides in her cooking 😎 but I know I now have to start eating a lot better.

Time to man up I think.

Dell

[gardening-girl in reply to Dell49]

Dell, I'd say that your blending avoids ALL of the potential problems with juicing. You get ALL of the fiber when you blend, you get the exact same proportions of nutrients, sugar, etc. as when you eat raw fruits and veggies, you have the same portion control, etc. The only reason that I can think of for someone to to juice instead of blend is if they are on a fiber-restricted diet!

gardening-girl (and serious blender)

[Sushibruno in reply to Dell49]

I have a nutrabullet nothing goes in the garbage, ever since i started this my energy is sky high, my appetite is much less, and i lost 30 pds. I've been doing this for 3 plus months and plan keeping it like that i absolutely love it!!☺☺☺

[Newdawn Administrator]

I have a husband who physically wretches at the sight of smoothies I’m afraid...he can’t abide the sludge like consistency. As a result we don’t make them but in any case I prefer my vegetables whole and being diabetic, couldn’t risk the hyperglaecemic effect of so many fruits at one go. Unfortunately the body doesn’t really distinguish between natural sugar and processed so will give a glucose rush and spiked levels in the same way as eating sweets and chocolates (though obviously the former are more nutritional).

Newdawn

[BellaBee10]

I'd much rather eat my food than drink it.

[Dell49 in reply to BellaBee10]

Who asked you 😂

[BellaBee10 in reply to Dell49]

Stand still Del, I've got a rough end of a pineapple that needs bulleting.

[cllady01 Former Volunteer]

The article is a good assessment, to my mind. We humans tend to go whole hog on the next craze with little thought to consequences.

Moderation and intentional use of juicing makes sense.

[BeckyLUSA]

Thanks for this reminder. I, personally, get tired of all the bandwagon jumping for every new trend that comes along. I think it is great if juicing works for anyone, by all means do it. If it makes you feel better, physically or mentally.

The same is true for different types of diets and other various supplements. I have a very close friend that is convinced that if I had been taking a specific supplement since she first started recommending 10 years ago that I would not have CLL right now. (Bovine Colostrum). Hogwash ( or in this case, Cow wash). I have CLL. I can’t undo it. I doubt Bovine Colostrum would have prevented it.

I wish people would be cognizant of the fact that hardly anything out there works for everyone. When people first find out about their cancer diagnosis, many are shell shocked. They will grab any information out there because they are so scared. We need to be careful that we don’t come across as saying this works for me so you should do it and it will work for you. That is not always true. Tell us the story of what works for you. If we try it and it works, great. But if we try it and it doesn’t work, then sometimes we feel we have done something wrong, and feel worse about ourselves.

I try to eat a well-rounded healthy diet with lots of vegetables and fruits, lean proteins, healthy grains, appropriate fats, and drink plenty of water and exercise as often as possible. As few processed foods as possible. I limit sweets and alcohol (no alcohol right now due to treatment versus liver issues). I drink some green tea because I like it. I will have a glass of wine to celebrate when I stop treatment! Moderation in all things is good.

People need to be cognizant of how their words can affect others, for good or bad, even when their motivation is to help people for the better.

I hope this doesn’t offend anyone. I love reading everyone’s take on nutrition and supplements etc. You never know if something will work for you. We just need to be careful how we come across.

[LIvingWell in reply to BeckyLUSA]

I like your way of thinking Becky-Live and Let Live.

[Emerfly]

Interesting article AussieNeil and makes total sense . Lovely photo also. Thank you. Emer

[Ohannie236]

Thanks for this! Very sensible and helpful. Eating a (whole) cutie right now to celebrate release from not-juicing guilt. (-:

[richutchens]

I have been juicing for many years and have had several juice fasts including the 30 day I’m on right now. To each is own, but for me it works.

[Hidden]

I haven't tried juicing, but I do buy as many fruits and vegetables as I can that are fresh. Not so easy to do in the winter. A lot of what I buy I throw out when I get it home, some say organic, but I'm not sure if it is or not. Can't wait until spring when we can start planting a garden and some of the locally grown fruits and veggies will be at the farmer's markets. So hard to know what to buy in winter when everything is out of season and is so dried out or almost rotten.

[calvinbebb]

It’s interesting reading. Something else to through into the mix is that as well as losing fibre you loose most of the goodness. For example the pith of oranges contains so much more vitamin c than the juice. As do skins of fruit. Some processes are good though. Chopping vegetables encourages the plant to produce polyphenols as it defends itself, the great antioxidants we love. Even microwaving is better than normal cooking for this, without destroying nutrients.

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

Effects of Vegetable and Fruit Juicing on Gut and Oral Microbiome Composition

Conclusions: These findings suggest that short-term juice consumption may negatively affect the microbiota.

mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/3/458

With my emphasis;

Background: In recent years, juicing has often been promoted as a convenient way to increase fruit and vegetable intake, with juice-only diets marketed for digestive cleansing and overall health improvement. However, juicing removes most insoluble fiber, which may diminish the health benefits of whole fruits and vegetables. Lower fiber intake can alter the microbiota, affecting metabolism, immunity, and mental health, though little is known about juicing’s specific effects on the microbiota. This study addresses this gap by exploring how juicing impacts gut and oral microbiome composition in an intervention study. Methods: Fourteen participants followed one of three diets—exclusive juice, juice plus food, or plant-based food—for three days. Microbiota samples (stool, saliva, and inner cheek swabs) were collected at baseline, after a pre-intervention elimination diet, immediately after juice intervention, and 14 days after intervention. Moreover, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was used to analyze microbiota taxonomic composition. Results: The saliva microbiome differed significantly in response to the elimination diet (unweighted UniFrac: F = 1.72, R = 0.06, p < 0.005; weighted UniFrac: F = 7.62, R = 0.23, p-value = 0.0025) with a significant reduction in Firmicutes (p = 0.004) and a significant increase in Proteobacteria (p = 0.005). The juice intervention diets were also associated with changes in the saliva and cheek microbiota, particularly in the relative abundances of pro-inflammatory bacterial families, potentially due to the high sugar and low fiber intake of the juice-related products. Although no significant shifts in overall gut microbiota composition were observed, with either the elimination diet or the juice intervention diets, bacterial taxa associated with gut permeability, inflammation, and cognitive decline increased in relative abundance.

Neil