Should You Try Juicing? The Health Benefits and Risks You Need to Know (2025)

Juicing, or extracting juice from fresh fruits and vegetables, is a popular wellness trend. Juicing can be a convenient way to increase your intake of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that support healthy aging.

Juices contain nutrients that may help promote heart health, boost brain function, and improve skin appearance. However, no solid evidence suggests that juicing is healthier than whole fruits and vegetables.

Benefits of Juicing

1. Packed With Nutrients

Fruits and vegetables are an important source of vitamins A and C, folate, potassium, and plant compounds that promote good health and protect against age-related chronic diseases.

Cold-pressed juice is made by slowly crushing fruits and vegetables with a hydraulic press. It generates minimal heat, which helps preserve vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and natural flavors. As a result, it's often thought to be a more nutrient-dense option than traditional juicing methods.

2. Easy to Digest

Juicing, including cold pressing, removes the indigestible fibrous skin and pulp. This can be helpful for people who follow a low-fiber diet. Though most people benefit from eating more fiber, some may need to temporarily reduce their fiber intake to help their digestive system heal, such as during a flare-up of irritable bowel disease (IBD), diverticulitis, or Crohn’s disease.

3. May Help Fight Inflammation

Juices made from dark fruits and vegetables, like leafy greens and berries, are rich in antioxidants that help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. Chronic inflammation plays a major role in the development of conditions like heart disease and cancer.

Juices with the most anti-inflammatory properties include:

• Orange
• Cherry
• Plum
• Tomato

Some juices also contain spices like ginger and turmeric, which contain compounds that can further reduce inflammation and promote healthy aging.

4. Skin Improvements

Juice contributes to your daily hydration needs, which can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and dry skin caused by dehydration.

Research shows that carotenoids may help protect the skin against damage caused by sunlight. Juicing with vegetables like carrots, spinach, and sweet potatoes increases your vitamin A and carotenoids intake.

Juices made with leafy greens, berries, citrus fruits, kiwifruit, and strawberries boost vitamin C, which is important for collagen production. Collagen is a protein that helps keep bones strong and skin smooth.

5. Immune System Boost

Cold-pressed juices can be a concentrated source of immune-supporting nutrients. These include:

• Vitamin A: Found in sweet potatoes, spinach, and cantaloupe, vitamin A is abundant in many cold-pressed juices. It keeps skin and mucous membranes healthy, which acts as a barrier to pathogens.
• Vitamin C: Citrus fruits, leafy greens, kiwifruit, and strawberries are rich in vitamin C, which has antioxidant and immune-boosting properties.
• Vitamin E: In nuts, seeds, and leafy greens, vitamin E has antioxidant properties and can help your immune system function optimally.
  

6. Improves Cognitive Function

Eating more fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and red/yellow vegetables often found in juices, can help improve brain health and slow cognitive decline. Experts believe that carotenoids, flavonoids, polyphenols, and various vitamins can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain.

One study found that a moderate intake of natural fruit and vegetable juice was linked to a lower risk of cognitive decline. In contrast, beverages sweetened with sugar and artificial sweeteners were linked to a higher risk.

Research also shows improvements in cognitive function after consuming red, Concord grape, and sweet, tart cherry juices.

7. Boost Energy Levels

Juicing helps keep you hydrated, which is important for staying energized. Even mild dehydration can make you feel tired and sluggish. Leafy greens, which are often added to many juices, are packed with various vitamins and minerals that can help improve energy levels.

Natural fruit juices can be a decent pre-workout choice, offering natural sugars and carbohydrates for a quick energy boost.

8. Supports the Cardiovascular System

Research shows orange, pomegranate, celery, and cherry juices may improve blood pressure. Additional ways juicing may support heart health include:

• Fruits and vegetables high in beta-carotene and vitamin C may reduce plaque build-up in the arteries (atherosclerosis), which can shorten lifespan.
• Some juices made with a mix of fruits and vegetables may lower cholesterol and blood pressure. These benefits come from the juice's vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which may help reduce inflammation and prevent blood clots.
• Beetroot juice is rich in nitrates, which help widen blood vessels, improve blood flow, and lower blood pressure. One study showed that nitrate-rich beetroot juice lowered participants' systolic blood pressure.

9. Improves Mood

Consuming at least five portions of fruits and vegetables daily, including their juices, may benefit mood and mental health. Fruits and vegetables that have been linked with the most significant mood and mental health benefits include:

• Citrus fruits
• Kiwifruit
• Leafy green vegetables, especially spinach
• Bananas
• Apples
• Carrots
• Cucumber

Researchers believe the benefits may be due to their high content of nutrients that support mental health, such as vitamin C, B vitamins, carotenoids, and potassium. Higher levels of vitamin C have been linked to improved mood, while lower levels may increase the risk of depression.

Risks of Juicing

1. Lack of Fiber

Relying too much on juice to meet your daily fruit and vegetable needs can mean missing out on the health benefits of fiber, which include:

• Lowering inflammation
• Reducing the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer
• Promoting healthy digestion
• Helping with weight management

2. Not Diabetes-Friendly

Juices made mostly from fruit may not be ideal for those with diabetes. That's because most of the fiber, which slows down sugar absorption, is removed during juicing.

As a result, the natural sugars in fruits and vegetables are absorbed more quickly, which can cause blood sugar spikes.

3. Increased Risk of Food Poisoning

Unpasteurized cold-pressed juices may contain bacteria that can increase the risk of foodborne illness. Children, older adults, pregnant people, and those with weakened immune systems should avoid them.

Does Juicing Help Slow Down Aging?

Juicing may offer some anti-aging benefits, especially for people who don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. However, there isn't strong evidence that juicing is better than eating whole fruits and vegetables or prevents wrinkles or other signs of aging.

If you decide to include juicing in your diet, it's important to do so in moderation and as part of a balanced diet.

Which Juices to Prioritize

Focus on juices that include a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, such as spinach, kale, citrus fruits, beets, carrots, and apples. This gives your body a range of nutrients and plant compounds.

If you're juicing your produce, use mostly vegetables to keep the sugar content low. Add a small amount of fruit for sweetness. A good rule of thumb is to aim for a 3:1 vegetable-to-fruit ratio.

When shopping for juice at the store, choose 100% fruit or vegetable juice with no added sugar to avoid unnecessary calories and maximize health benefits.

Summary

Juicing is a mainstream health trend that can help increase your nutrition and fruit and vegetable intake. This may support skin, heart, immune system, and cognitive health, reduce inflammation, and improve energy and mood.

Though juicing can be a convenient way to add more nutrients to your diet, no evidence supports that juicing alone slows down aging. Additionally, relying solely on juice may cause you to miss out on fiber, which is important for a healthy diet.

If you're considering juicing, choose a juice that includes a variety of colorful vegetables and a small amount of fruit for natural sweetness. This helps keep the sugar content low while maintaining the health benefits.