With all the hype surrounding juicing, it’s hard to believe that something so well talked about could actually be bad for you.  However, there is a chance that your daily fructose filled juice could be doing more harm to your body than good.

In fact, if you typically juice fruits with all your juicing recipes, there is a good chance that your are taking in way too much sugar.  This excess sugar can cause all sorts of unwanted symptoms in the body and can totally destroy the overall health of an individual.

Many are under the impression that sugar from fruit, also known as fructose, is healthy for the body and well tolerated.  Unfortunately, this could not be further from the truth.

By the end of this post you will understand why juicing fruits can be bad for overall health and how to create the healthiest and most beneficial juice recipes.

Fructose – Is it Toxic?

More and more research is coming forth of the toxicity that fructose can cause in the body.  Yet, we are told to eat copious amounts of fruits each day by “health experts” in order for optimal health.

However, research has shown that diets high in fructose are more prone to developing degenerative conditions in the body such as fatty liver disease (1). 

It’s important to understand that fructose is processed in the same manner as alcohol in the body.  Before being released to all other parts of the body, fructose is first broken down in the liver.  Overtime, this can put high amounts of stress on the liver and can lead to conditions such as fatty liver disease.

To be clear, there is no such thing as year round fructose in nature.  In fact, all wild fruits contain much less fructose than their hybridized counterparts.  Almost all store bought fruits have undergone an extensive hybridization and selective breeding process in order to produce unnatural amounts of both size and sugar.

Unfortunately, the body was never equipped to handle such large amounts of fructose and was designed to only have access to it seasonally.

Fructose and Blood Sugar Dysregulation

One of the primary causes of rapid aging in the body is blood sugar dysregulation.  Those suffering from constant insulin spikes and insulin resistance will be more prone to rapid aging unless their destructive eating habits are changed.

Just like sugar and simple carbohydrates, fructose coming from “natural fruits” has the ability to spike blood sugar levels in the body.  Eating large amounts of fruits each day can be disastrous for those sensitive to the effects of sugar.  Not only do modern fruits have the ability to spike blood sugar levels in the body, they are typically much lower in fiber.

For those unaware, fiber can help slow down the absorption of fructose in the body.  However, most modern fruits have had their fiber content bred out and replaced with large amounts of edible flesh.

It’s for this reason that we only recommend small amounts of fruits each day.  To take it a step further, only use local fruits which have not undergone high amounts of man-made hybridization.

The video below is a great demonstration of how modern hybridized fruits (such as the banana) can cause blood sugar spikes in the body.

The Problem With Juicing Fruits

One of the biggest problems that comes with juicing fruit is the removal of fiber.  As mentioned before, fiber helps to slow down the absorption of sugar in the body.  Unfortunately, juicing naturally removes fiber which naturally increases the rate at which sugar is absorbed in the body.

It’s for this reason that many on a juice cleanse or juice fast often feel high amounts of energy followed by a crash.  Also, those drinking juices containing high amounts of fruits will often find that they become dizzy or off-balanced due to the sudden drop in sugar which results from consuming such juices.

Even without the fiber removed, most modern fruits will pose significant problems when it comes to blood sugar regulation.

We always recommend you use the following ratio when creating all your juice recipes; 70% greens, 20% fruits, and 10% herbs.  Using this ratio helps to naturally keep the overall sugar content of juice low.

Also, for more ideas on low sugar juice recipes, be sure to check out our Juice Me Better Recipe Book!

Fructose and The Liver

If you remember from the beginning of this post, studies show that a diet high in fructose can lead to degenerative conditions such as fatty liver disease.  For those unaware, the liver is one of the most important organs in the entire body. 

All blood coming from the stomach must first be filtered by the liver before being released to all other parts of the body.  Maintaining good liver function is essential for optimal health.  When the liver is not working properly, blood will not be properly be filtered and this can lead to several different disorders in the body.

In particular, those with poor liver function often times suffer from poor blood quality and blood deficiency. 

Unfortunately, by consuming and juicing large amounts of modern fruits daily, you naturally risk doing damage to the liver overtime.  Interestingly, there is no difference between the appearance of fatty liver caused by alcohol and fatty liver caused by sugar; both look identical.

A great way to naturally rebuild the health of the liver is to juice turmeric.  A studied showed that the active component in turmeric, curcumin, helped improve a fatty liver condition in almost 80% of the patients suffering (2). 

As a result, adding a small amount of turmeric in all of your juice recipes is great way to protect against the damaging effects fructose can have on the liver.

Use a Natural Sweetener Instead

If you’re looking to sweeten up your juice recipes, we highly recommend you use a natural sweetener and only small amounts of fruit.  Both maple syrup, raw honey, and stevia are all great sweeteners that will not cause unwanted blood sugar spikes in the body.

Also, these sweeteners have several different anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties making them great for overall gut health.  It should be mentioned that these sweeteners have been used for centuries as both food and medicine and have a long track record of being both safe and effective.

However, if you must use fruit, always make sure it’s in small amounts.  Juices containing primarily fruits is not advised and can possibly lead to health problems if done long term.

Try Adding Cinnamon

Many are unaware that cinnamon is a medicinal bark that has been used for centuries by various native people around the world.  It’s well known that cinnamon is a powerful anti-fungal and can help eradicate pathogens from the body.  However, cinnamon is also great for controlling blood sugar levels in the body.

In fact, many natural health experts recommend consuming small amounts of cinnamon daily in order to help control blood sugar levels in the body. 

Simply sprinkling a few dashes of cinnamon into your raw juices is a great way to get the blood sugar regulating benefits of cinnamon!