Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsJuicing and Blood SugarPairing With Fiber and ProteinPrecautions With DiabetesHow Does Juicing Work?Health BenefitsStrategies
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Juicing and Blood Sugar
Pairing With Fiber and Protein
Precautions With Diabetes
How Does Juicing Work?
Health Benefits
Strategies
Juicing has been a trending health and wellness topic. Advocates for juicing highlight benefits like weight loss, increased nutrient intake, easier digestion and absorption of nutrients, and detox cleanses. However, drinking juice is not always safe for people with diabetes.
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Why Juicing Can Raise Blood Sugar
While juice can be an option to consume beneficial nutrients fromfruitsand vegetables, it also contains sugars, which are forms of carbohydrates. While 100% fruit juice has not been linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes,it may not be ideal for people who already have diabetes.
During the juicing process, much of thefiberfound in the fruit is removed or discarded. Without fiber, the sugars in the juice are absorbed more rapidly, leading to blood sugar spikes.
Additionally, it often takes more than one serving of fruit to make one serving of juice. For example, it generally takes about three medium apples to make 1 cup of apple juice, thus making juice a more concentrated form of sugars.
Even though 100% juice contains all naturally occurring sugars (not added sugar), it can still affect blood glucose (sugar) levels due to its carbohydrate content. This is why juice is often recommended as a treatment forlow blood glucose levels.
What About Pairing Juice With Fiber and Protein Foods?
Juice is often high in simple sugars while being low in fiber andprotein. Both fiber and protein can help slow the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream, thus reducing blood sugar spikes.
Protein and fiber have also been found to enhancesatiety, helping you feel full longer after eating.Because of this, it is often recommended to pair carbohydrates with protein and/or fiber in the same meal or snack.
If you have diabetes and want to drink some juice, try including a source of protein and/or fiber on the side, such as a serving of nuts. This may help prevent a blood sugar spike, leading to a more gradual rise and fall in blood glucose levels.
Should You Start Juicing If You Have Diabetes?
Deciding whether to start juicing depends on the individual with diabetes. You must consider how well your blood glucose levels are managed, how sensitive your body is to various sources and amounts of carbohydrates, and other factors.
If you have diabetes, it’s best to talk with a healthcare provider before starting a new diet or changing your usual dietary patterns, especially if it has the potential to affect your blood glucose levels.
If your blood glucose levels are well managed, it may be fine to include a small serving of juice in your diet every so often. Be sure to monitor your blood glucose levels as you introduce juice into your diet and watch for any shifts or changes in your blood glucose trends.
If your blood glucose levels are not controlled well, it may not be the right time to start juicing. Instead, consuming whole fruits and vegetables might be a better option for the time being.
People with diabetes should generally avoid doing juice cleanses or detoxes.They may lead to dramatic and sometimes dangerous swings in blood glucose levels.
The juice retains many of the fruit or vegetable’s vitamins, minerals, and plant nutrients. However, little fiber remains.
You can also buy juice at grocery stores or specialty juice shops. Some people prefer to make their own at home, often citing reasons such as a fresher flavor and the ability to control what is added to the juice.
Potential Health Benefits
Juicing can be a good way to get vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and polyphenols (beneficial plant compounds) from fruits and vegetables into your diet.Juicing may be a good way to get these nutrients in, particularly if you’re a picky eater or if you don’t usually eat a lot of whole fruits and vegetables.
Drinking juice may be a potential way to improveheart health, as it may lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels.
Some research suggests that adults who drink 100% juice tend to weigh less, have a lowerbody mass index (BMI), are 22% less likely to be overweight or have obesity, and have a 27% lower risk ofmetabolic syndrome(a group of conditions that occur together and increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes) compared to people who do not drink juice.
Additional research showed that people who drink juice are likelier to eat more whole fruits and vegetables.
While there are potential benefits to drinking juice, remember that there is insufficient evidence to suggest that drinking fruit juice and vegetable juice is more beneficial than eating whole fruits and vegetables.
Strategies for Safe, Diabetes-Friendly Juicing
Choosing juices that are lower on theglycemic index (GI)may be a better option for people with diabetes.The GI measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar levels after consumption, with scores ranging from 0 to 100. Based on their GI score, food and beverages are categorized as low, medium, or high.
As mentioned, pairing juices with a source of protein or fiber may also help prevent spikes in blood glucose levels.
Starting your day with juice alone may not be a good option for people with diabetes. Water is thebest beverageto have first thing in the morning.
Select Lower-Carb Juices
Choosing juices with lower carbohydrates or a lower glycemic index can help prevent blood sugar levels from spiking. Juices made from vegetables, such as tomato juice, carrot juice,beet juice, or celery juice—or a combination of these—tend to be good options.
Grapefruitjuice (unsweetened) has a GI of around 47, which puts it in the low GI category, making it a better choice for people with diabetes.Pomegranateandtart cherry juiceare also considered low glycemic juices.
Prune juiceis a good source of fiber, making it a low glycemic juice. However, these juices still contain carbohydrates, so pairing them with a source of protein at meals or snacks is preferred to keep blood glucose levels from rising too quickly.
Remember Portion Control
Drinking a lot of juice in a single sitting can be easy, and you may drink even more throughout the day. It’s important to consider portion sizes, especially for people with diabetes.
A good rule of thumb is to limit your juice intake to 4 to 8 ounces daily. If you have difficulty keeping your blood sugar levels within preferred ranges, stick to the smaller portion of no more than 4 ounces daily.
If you have questions about how much juice you can or should consume, talk with a healthcare provider or registered dietitian.
Maintain a Nutritional Balance
Juices alone typically do not provide all the nutrients your body needs, as they usually do not contain fiber, protein, and fat. Including juice as part of an overall balanced diet that includes a variety of foods will provide you with the nutrients your body needs to function properly day in and day out.
One way to include more fruits and vegetables while still getting the fiber is to blend them instead of juicing them. Adding fruits and vegetables to smoothies allows you to still consume and reap the benefits of their fiber.
You can also add additional nutrient-dense foods to yoursmoothiesto help balance them out, such asprotein powders, flaxseed, chia seeds, nuts or nut butters, avocados, plain Greek yogurt, and more.
Summary
Juicing is a popular health trend, but it may not be the best option for people with diabetes. Juice can raise blood glucose levels due to its high carbohydrate content and low fiber compared to whole fruits and vegetables. Pairing juice with a source of fiber or protein may help prevent spikes in blood glucose levels.
Potential health benefits of juicing include increased nutrient intake, as well as increased overall fruit and vegetable intake. Other potential benefits include better heart health, maintenance of a healthy weight, and lower risk of metabolic syndrome.
If you have diabetes, whether or not to start juicing can depend on several factors, such as your overall diabetes management and how your body responds to different foods and beverages. Always consult a healthcare provider before making dietary changes that may affect your blood glucose levels. It is typically not recommended for people with diabetes to do juice cleanses or detoxes.
Tips for people with diabetes for including juices in their diet include choosing lower carbohydrate or lower glycemic index juices, pairing juice with a source of fiber, fat, and/or protein, watching portion sizes, and maintaining an overall nutritionally balanced diet.
13 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Murphy MM, Barrett EC, Bresnahan KA, Barraj LM.100 % fruit juice and measures of glucose control and insulin sensitivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.J Nutr Sci. 2017;6:e59. doi:10.1017/jns.2017.63Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).Shibib L, Al-Qaisi M, Guess N, et al.Manipulation of post-prandial hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes: an update for practitioners.Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2024;17:3111-3130. doi:10.2147/DMSO.S458894Njike VY, Smith TM, Shuval O, et al.Snack food, satiety, and weight.Adv Nutr. 2016;7(5):866-878. doi:10.3945/an.115.009340National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.“Detoxes” and “cleanses”: what you need to know.Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.Juice cleanses: what you should really know.Ho KKHY, Ferruzzi MG, Wightman JD.Potential health benefits of (poly)phenols derived from fruit and 100% fruit juice.Nutr Rev. 2020;78(2):145-174. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuz041Zheng J, Zhou Y, Li S, et al.Effects and mechanisms of fruit and vegetable juices on cardiovascular diseases.Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(3):555. doi:10.3390/ijms18030555Agarwal S, Fulgoni Iii VL, Welland D.Intake of 100% fruit juice is associated with improved diet quality of adults: NHANES 2013-2016 analysis.Nutrients. 2019;11(10):2513. doi:10.3390/nu11102513Bellisle F, Hébel P, Fourniret A, Sauvage E.Consumption of 100% pure fruit juice and dietary quality in french adults: analysis of a nationally representative survey in the context of the WHO recommended limitation of free sugars.Nutrients. 2018;10(4):459. doi:10.3390/nu10040459Dreher ML.Whole fruits and fruit fiber emerging health effects.Nutrients. 2018;10(12):1833. doi:10.3390/nu10121833Ojo O, Ojo OO, Adebowale F, Wang XH.The effect of dietary glycaemic index on glycaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Nutrients. 2018;10(3):373. doi:10.3390/nu10030373American Diabetes Association.Why you should drink more water.
13 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Murphy MM, Barrett EC, Bresnahan KA, Barraj LM.100 % fruit juice and measures of glucose control and insulin sensitivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.J Nutr Sci. 2017;6:e59. doi:10.1017/jns.2017.63Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).Shibib L, Al-Qaisi M, Guess N, et al.Manipulation of post-prandial hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes: an update for practitioners.Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2024;17:3111-3130. doi:10.2147/DMSO.S458894Njike VY, Smith TM, Shuval O, et al.Snack food, satiety, and weight.Adv Nutr. 2016;7(5):866-878. doi:10.3945/an.115.009340National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.“Detoxes” and “cleanses”: what you need to know.Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.Juice cleanses: what you should really know.Ho KKHY, Ferruzzi MG, Wightman JD.Potential health benefits of (poly)phenols derived from fruit and 100% fruit juice.Nutr Rev. 2020;78(2):145-174. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuz041Zheng J, Zhou Y, Li S, et al.Effects and mechanisms of fruit and vegetable juices on cardiovascular diseases.Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(3):555. doi:10.3390/ijms18030555Agarwal S, Fulgoni Iii VL, Welland D.Intake of 100% fruit juice is associated with improved diet quality of adults: NHANES 2013-2016 analysis.Nutrients. 2019;11(10):2513. doi:10.3390/nu11102513Bellisle F, Hébel P, Fourniret A, Sauvage E.Consumption of 100% pure fruit juice and dietary quality in french adults: analysis of a nationally representative survey in the context of the WHO recommended limitation of free sugars.Nutrients. 2018;10(4):459. doi:10.3390/nu10040459Dreher ML.Whole fruits and fruit fiber emerging health effects.Nutrients. 2018;10(12):1833. doi:10.3390/nu10121833Ojo O, Ojo OO, Adebowale F, Wang XH.The effect of dietary glycaemic index on glycaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Nutrients. 2018;10(3):373. doi:10.3390/nu10030373American Diabetes Association.Why you should drink more water.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Murphy MM, Barrett EC, Bresnahan KA, Barraj LM.100 % fruit juice and measures of glucose control and insulin sensitivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.J Nutr Sci. 2017;6:e59. doi:10.1017/jns.2017.63Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).Shibib L, Al-Qaisi M, Guess N, et al.Manipulation of post-prandial hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes: an update for practitioners.Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2024;17:3111-3130. doi:10.2147/DMSO.S458894Njike VY, Smith TM, Shuval O, et al.Snack food, satiety, and weight.Adv Nutr. 2016;7(5):866-878. doi:10.3945/an.115.009340National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.“Detoxes” and “cleanses”: what you need to know.Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.Juice cleanses: what you should really know.Ho KKHY, Ferruzzi MG, Wightman JD.Potential health benefits of (poly)phenols derived from fruit and 100% fruit juice.Nutr Rev. 2020;78(2):145-174. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuz041Zheng J, Zhou Y, Li S, et al.Effects and mechanisms of fruit and vegetable juices on cardiovascular diseases.Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(3):555. doi:10.3390/ijms18030555Agarwal S, Fulgoni Iii VL, Welland D.Intake of 100% fruit juice is associated with improved diet quality of adults: NHANES 2013-2016 analysis.Nutrients. 2019;11(10):2513. doi:10.3390/nu11102513Bellisle F, Hébel P, Fourniret A, Sauvage E.Consumption of 100% pure fruit juice and dietary quality in french adults: analysis of a nationally representative survey in the context of the WHO recommended limitation of free sugars.Nutrients. 2018;10(4):459. doi:10.3390/nu10040459Dreher ML.Whole fruits and fruit fiber emerging health effects.Nutrients. 2018;10(12):1833. doi:10.3390/nu10121833Ojo O, Ojo OO, Adebowale F, Wang XH.The effect of dietary glycaemic index on glycaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Nutrients. 2018;10(3):373. doi:10.3390/nu10030373American Diabetes Association.Why you should drink more water.
Murphy MM, Barrett EC, Bresnahan KA, Barraj LM.100 % fruit juice and measures of glucose control and insulin sensitivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.J Nutr Sci. 2017;6:e59. doi:10.1017/jns.2017.63
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
Shibib L, Al-Qaisi M, Guess N, et al.Manipulation of post-prandial hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes: an update for practitioners.Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2024;17:3111-3130. doi:10.2147/DMSO.S458894
Njike VY, Smith TM, Shuval O, et al.Snack food, satiety, and weight.Adv Nutr. 2016;7(5):866-878. doi:10.3945/an.115.009340
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.“Detoxes” and “cleanses”: what you need to know.
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.Juice cleanses: what you should really know.
Ho KKHY, Ferruzzi MG, Wightman JD.Potential health benefits of (poly)phenols derived from fruit and 100% fruit juice.Nutr Rev. 2020;78(2):145-174. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuz041
Zheng J, Zhou Y, Li S, et al.Effects and mechanisms of fruit and vegetable juices on cardiovascular diseases.Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(3):555. doi:10.3390/ijms18030555
Agarwal S, Fulgoni Iii VL, Welland D.Intake of 100% fruit juice is associated with improved diet quality of adults: NHANES 2013-2016 analysis.Nutrients. 2019;11(10):2513. doi:10.3390/nu11102513
Bellisle F, Hébel P, Fourniret A, Sauvage E.Consumption of 100% pure fruit juice and dietary quality in french adults: analysis of a nationally representative survey in the context of the WHO recommended limitation of free sugars.Nutrients. 2018;10(4):459. doi:10.3390/nu10040459
Dreher ML.Whole fruits and fruit fiber emerging health effects.Nutrients. 2018;10(12):1833. doi:10.3390/nu10121833
Ojo O, Ojo OO, Adebowale F, Wang XH.The effect of dietary glycaemic index on glycaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Nutrients. 2018;10(3):373. doi:10.3390/nu10030373
American Diabetes Association.Why you should drink more water.
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