Why Juice Is Actually Bad For You

First of all, unless you have some sort of health complication, your liver and kidneys are literally built to regulate and detoxify your body on their own. They don’t need your juice - in fact, all the extra fructose will just slow the detox process down. As for the assumption that juicing is a fast way to absorb more vitamins, it’s definitely not.

Even if the juicing process didn't inherently remove most of the vitamins from fruit, there is still the fact that your body simply won’t absorb them after a certain point. Vitamin C is great for you, but excessive amounts of orange juice and even whole oranges aren't going to do anything. Your body will take what it needs and then boot out the rest. Eating tons of fruit, taking extra multivitamins, and gulping down juices is really just giving you super expensive urine.

There are some really magical food combinations out there that actually help your body absorb the vitamins it needs - like how eating tangerines can help you absorb the iron in spinach. Or how eating tomatoes with an avocado helps your body absorb four times more lycopene than it would with just tomatoes alone. Some vitamins are even fat-soluble - vitamins A, D, K, and E all require fats in order to be absorbed. Juice cleanses interfere with this not only because of the lack of fats, but also because the very integrity of the fruit is compromised during the juicing process.

You wouldn't think that juice could have an effect on your dental health, but apparently it does. The high concentrations of sugar and acidity found in most fruit juices are actually comparable to soft drinks, so frequent consumption of these types of beverages can ruin tooth enamel and lead to cavities. Overtime, the damage can even become significant enough to start eating away at any bonds or crowns you may have as well.

While it's a pretty well-known fact that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and lean protein sources can lower the risk of heart disease and stroke, drinking too much juice can completely throw your body for a loop. According to one study, daily consumption of sugary drinks like fruit juice can actually increase blood pressure and the risk of heart disease. Besides, the benefits of fruit come from their fibers combined with their juices - you can’t just remove all the nature from nature’s candy and expect it to still be healthy.

Liquid lunch, whether it's Slim Fast or a bottle from your latest juice cleanse, is not going to fill you up. When you drink your calories instead of chewing them, your brain doesn't receive the “I’m full” signal it needs to stop you. So, instead you’ll end up feeling hungry again a lot sooner than you should, and then you’ll end up over-consuming food. Your brain wants solid food just as much of the rest of you does, so give it what it wants. Chew the apple, don’t drink it.

Studies have found that diets including the high consumption of fruit juice are linked to increased insulin resistance. The big problem with juice is that it's actually leaving out the skins, seeds, and membranes of the fruit - which is where all of the antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals are found in the first place. The fruit's fiber is what actually helps slow the absorption of sugars down, so without it insulin spikes even higher and at a certain point your body just can't keep up with your insulin needs and type 2 diabetes can develop.