Is juicing healthier than eating whole fruits or vegetables?

Answer From Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.

Juicing is no healthier than eating whole fruits and vegetables.

Juicing extracts the juice from fresh fruits or vegetables. The liquid contains most of the vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals (phytonutrients) found in the fruit. However, whole fruits and vegetables also have healthy fiber, which is lost during most juicing.

Some believe that juicing is better than eating whole fruits and vegetables because your body can absorb the nutrients better and it gives your digestive system a rest from digesting fiber. They say juicing can reduce your risk of cancer, boost your immune system, remove toxins from your body, aid digestion and help you lose weight.

However, there's no scientific evidence that extracted juices are healthier than the juice you get by eating the fruit or vegetable itself.

But if you don't enjoy eating fruits and vegetables, juicing may be a way to add them to your diet or to try fruits and vegetables you might not eat.

Consider blending instead of juicing. Blending the edible parts of fruits and vegetables produces a drink that contains more healthy phytonutrients and fiber. Fiber can help you feel full.

If you try juicing, make only as much juice as you can drink at once; harmful bacteria can grow quickly in freshly squeezed juice. If you buy commercially produced fresh juice, select a pasteurized product.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free, and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID-19, plus expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

Oct. 09, 2021 See more Expert Answers

See also

  1. Alcohol use
  2. Alkaline water
  3. Are energy drinks bull?
  4. Artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes
  5. Autism spectrum disorder and digestive symptoms
  6. Bad food habits at work? Get back on track in 5 steps
  7. Best oil for cooking?
  8. Breastfeeding nutrition: Tips for moms
  9. Caffeine: How much is too much?
  10. Is caffeine dehydrating?
  11. Calorie calculator
  12. Can whole-grain foods lower blood pressure?
  13. Carbohydrates
  14. Chart of high-fiber foods
  15. Cholesterol: Top foods to improve your numbers
  16. Coconut water: Is it super hydrating?
  17. Coffee and health
  18. Diet soda: How much is too much?
  19. Dietary fats
  20. Dietary fiber
  21. Prickly pear cactus
  22. Does soy really affect breast cancer risk?
  23. Don't get tricked by these 3 heart-health myths
  24. Don't go cuckoo for coconut water
  25. Eat more of these key nutrients
  26. Eggs: Bad for cholesterol?
  27. Fiber: Soluble or insoluble?
  28. Fit more fiber into your diet
  29. Healthy-eating tip: Don't forget fiber
  30. Hidden sources of sodium
  31. High-protein diets
  32. How to track saturated fat
  33. Is there more to hydration than water?
  34. Juicing is no substitute for whole foods
  35. Limit bad fats, one step at a time
  36. Make food labels required reading
  37. Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
  38. Need a snack? Go nuts!
  39. Need more fiber? Take 3 steps
  40. Nutrition rules that will fuel your workout
  41. Nuts and your heart: Eating nuts for heart health
  42. Omega-3 in fish
  43. Omega-6 fatty acids
  44. Phenylalanine
  45. Protein: Heart-healthy sources
  46. Health foods
  47. Portion control
  48. Planning healthy meals
  49. High-fiber diet
  50. Sodium
  51. Step away from the saltshaker
  52. Taurine in energy drinks
  53. Time to cut back on caffeine?
  54. Trans fat
  55. Underweight: Add pounds healthfully
  56. Daily water requirement
  57. What's considered moderate alcohol use?
  58. What's the difference between juicing and blending?
  59. Working out? Remember to drink up
  60. Yerba mate