Can You Drink Vegetable Juice with Type 2 Diabetes?

Juicing – both fruit juice and vegetable juice – is a popular health trend that claims to offer valuable benefits.

After all, you’re running whole fruits and vegetables through a juice machine. This liquefies the produce and removes most of the pulp and fiber, creating a smooth beverage that makes it easy for you to drink your nutrients.

But, is juicing as healthy as it sounds? Particularly if you have type 2 diabetes?

Well, the answer mostly depends on what you put in your juice!

For instance, if you use only apples in your recipe, then your juice won’t really be diabetic friendly because apples are high in carbs and you’ll be chugging down straight sugar.

We’ve written previously on fruit juicing over here – and that’s not something we recommend for you as a diabetic.

But, if you purchase or make a juice that is heavy in leafy greens and other non starchy vegetables, and contains a small portion of low carb fruits, then you’ve got a great supplement to drink on the odd occasion.

Drinking vegetable juice can be a good way to get in those daily vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants… just as long as you do it the right way!

Store bought vs. homemade juice comparison

Thankfully, juicing has become so common that you can walk into almost any grocery store and find juice made of vegetables, fruits, or a mixture of both.

Health food stores and specialty stores may have fresh juice made in house, which is usually located in the refrigerator section. Or you can find a can or bottle of juice like V8 pretty much anywhere, even at convenience stores!

So, is store bought juice any less healthy for you than homemade juice?

The answer: not really.

In theory, fresh juice is better for you, but you can buy a premade juice that contains just as much nutrition – if you choose wisely!

Let’s look at some pros and cons of each juicing style.

Pros and cons of store bought vs. homemade juice

The upside of store bought juice: It is really convenient to grab a drink off the shelf and be done with it. You don’t have to own a juicer or clean up any mess!

The downside of store bought juice: Some juice brands add in lots of high carb and high fructose fruits to make the drink taste better – of course, we always want the sweet taste.

Some innocent looking commercial juices even add in white sugar or artificial sweeteners to make the juice more palatable, so always read the ingredient list and nutrition label thoroughly before buying.

Premade juices can also be very expensive and the cost can add up quickly if you drink them every day.

The upside of homemade juice: You get to control exactly what goes into your juice. You choose the ingredients, the flavor, the proportions, and you have peace of mind that there aren’t any added sugars hidden in your drink. Plus, making your own juice is usually much cheaper in the long run. And it can also be a great way to learn about nutrition.

The downside of homemade juice: Juicing can be time consuming and you must have the right equipment – a juicer or blender.

Nutrition facts

The nutritional value of vegetable juice can vary wildly, depending on the contents of the juice.

For instance, is it made of mostly leafy greens, or is it mostly fruit? Does it have added sugar or is it heavily processed?

Questions like these can help you determine how healthy a juice will be. And how likely it’s going to send your blood sugar levels soaring.

Below is a list of the nutrition facts for three commercial juice brands, so you can compare the nutritional value of some competing brands.         

Naked Veggie Juice: “Kale Blazer”    

• What’s in it: 5 ¾ kale leaves, 1/8 cucumber, 15 spinach leaves, ½ celery stalk, ¾ apple, 1 ¾ oranges, hint of lemon and ginger
• 40 grams of total carbs (34 grams of natural sugar) – that’s a lot!
• 190 calories in one 15.2 oz bottle
• 70% of daily vitamin C

Odwalla Juice: Berry Greens

• What’s in it: 2 apples, 1 ½ cups cucumber, ¾ cups Kale, 1 cup spinach, 1 strawberry, 12 blueberries, lemon juice and other natural flavors
• 39 grams total carbs (34 grams of natural sugar) – pretty darn high again!
• 160 calories in one 15.2 oz bottle
• 2% of daily calcium

V8 Juice: Original 100% Vegetable Juice

• What’s in it: Reconstituted vegetable blend (water and concentrated juice of tomatoes, carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress, spinach). Contains less than 2% of: salt, natural flavors, citric acid
• 7 grams of total carbs (5 grams of natural sugar) – now that sounds better!
• 30 calories in one 5.5 oz can
• 80% of daily vitamin C, 20% of daily potassium

Notice that two out of the three juices contained several servings of fruit, which racked up almost 40 grams of carbs per bottle!

That’s just too many carbs to be worth your while. All it will result in is higher levels of daily glucose and at your next A1C check, you’re going to get a higher number there, too.

The real issue for you as a diabetic, comes down to how much ‘fruit sugar’ the juice contains. Most fruits are high in sugar. And natural or not, fruit sugar is still sugar.

The reality is though, it can be very difficult to find commercial juices that contain only vegetables. Really, V8 juice is one of the best bets out there.

Again, what that means is that making your own juice is a great option because you get total control over what you put into it.

Here’s a chart that shows the nutritional value of some basic vegetable juices you could make at home:

1 cup	Calories	Total carbs	Fiber	Protein	Fat	Glycemic Index
Celery juice	42kcal	9.46g	3.8g	1.96g	0.38g	15
Carrot juice	94kcal	21.92g	1.9g	2.24g	0.35g	40
Tomato juice	41kcal	10.30g	1g	1.85g	0.12g	38
Cucumber juice	68kcal	4g	0g	0g	0g	15
Beet juice	91kcal	21.29g	4.7g	2.57g	0.25g	35

Both carrot and beets are much higher in carbs so if you’re going to include those, don’t drink one whole cup.

You can also juice:

• Green leafy vegetables such as Swiss chard, kale, spinach, arugula and lettuce
• Broccoli and cauliflower
• Zucchini
• And herbs like mint, parsley, oregano and basil

You can also throw in some lemon or lime for a zesty flair!

Include small amounts of berries, peaches and plums. And, for an added bit of sweetness, add a little stevia to the mix and you’ll have low carb vegetable juice that you can enjoy.

Health Benefits of Vegetable Juice for Type 2 Diabetics

Like most chronic illnesses, type 2 diabetes is associated with widespread inflammation in the body.

It is also thought that type 2 diabetes may be perpetuated by inflammation, so consuming lots of foods with anti-inflammatory properties is a great way to help treat your condition.

One such vitamin with anti-inflammatory properties is vitamin C (found in citrus like lemons, limes and grapefruit – 3 fruits that are diabetic friendly; along with leafy greens and bell pepper). Vitamin C is well-known to improve the function of the immune system and is one of the most potent antioxidants, which destroys cell-damaging free radicals.

Kale and spinach, common juicing favorites, are high in vitamin B6, K, A, and C; and minerals manganese, magnesium, calcium and potassium – which all work to reduce inflammation in the body.

Vitamin A, is yet another powerful anti-inflammatory micronutrient that fights harmful free radicals. You can find this vitamin in many juiceable veggies like arugula (rocket), collard greens, lettuce, and dandelion.

Chronic magnesium deficiency has been shown to be present in many type 2 diabetics, and has also been linked to atherosclerosis/ heart disease and heart attack, alterations in blood lipids/ cholesterol, alterations in blood sugar, hypertension, kidney stones, premenstrual syndrome, psychiatric disorders, and the list goes on.

What much of the research suggests is that increasing your intake of magnesium may help treat your diabetes. And of course, if you’re prediabetic, it can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Dark leafy greens are an excellent source of magnesium and should be incorporated into any vegetable juice recipe.

It is important to note that you should avoid juicing lots of fruit, because they are high in overall carbs/ sugar/ fructose.

Another important point is, when eaten whole, many fruits and vegetables contain a lot of fiber – insoluble and soluble – both of which have a variety of great health benefits.

Both types of fiber are significantly lost when you juice your produce, because the juicing process strips the produce of almost all of its natural fiber. Blending is somewhat better as it doesn’t completely remove all the fiber. But, it does still break it down and makes it less effective.

So even though vegetable juice can make a nice addition to your diet, it’s always best to EAT food rather than drink it.

Vegetable “Juice” Recipe

As suggested above, blending, rather than juicing will retain slightly more of the fiber and nutrients. So always blend a smoothie, rather than squeezing your low carb fruits and veggies through a juicing machine. Thankfully, these days there are a range of zappy bullet blenders available that make this easy to do.

Give this Green Superfood Smoothie recipe a try:

• 1 1/4 cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 2 ice cubes
• 2 cups of spinach
• 1/2 of an avocado
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla protein powder
• 4-5 drops of liquid stevia extract

Directions: Blend everything up in a blender. Pour into a glass and enjoy right away.

So, what’s the take on vegetable juice and diabetes?

Juicing can be a convenient way to get a good amount of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, as long as you do it right.

Stay away from commercial juices that contain added sugars and juices made of fruit, which means, apart from V8 juice, you won’t have many options. The reality is, there just aren’t many store-bought juice options available. So, if you want to consume juice, you’ll likely be juicing at home.

The bulk of your options should focus on green leafy and non starchy vegetables, but you can toss in some citrus like lemon or lime in order to add some zest to your drink. And add a tad of stevia, vanilla or cinnamon for that much desired sweetness.

And don’t be afraid to throw in a few herbs like mint, parsley, oregano, and basil to turn up the flavor!

If you stick to those simple rules, you can whip up some tasty vegetable juice recipes and keep your blood sugar and A1C under control as well.

Please pin, tweet or share this info to help others. Thanks!