Does juice help you lose weight? The honest answer

Search for juice and weight loss and you will see many promises: lose weight in 7 days, melt belly fat, a juice that burns fat. Almost none of them names a source. So what is true?

What decides your weight

The NHS explains it simply: if you eat and drink more calories than your body uses, you are likely to put on weight, and if you take in fewer, you are likely to lose weight. No single food or drink changes that rule.

Juice has energy and sugar

The NHS counts the sugar in unsweetened fruit juice and smoothies as free sugar, the kind most people eat too much of, and says adults should have no more than 30g of it a day. Eating too much sugar can make you gain weight, the NHS adds.

Some real numbers

By our own recipe estimates, a full 360ml bottle of our juices goes from 81 calories and 11.6g of sugar (I'm in Love with the Coco) to 303 calories and 46.2g of sugar (Beet Drop). The same drink can fit a weight loss plan or not, depending on how much of it you have.

If you are trying to lose weight

Make water your everyday drink. The NHS says choosing drinks that are low in calories can help you manage how many calories you have each day. Have juice with a meal, keep it to one small glass, and share a bottle. Lighter choices, like coconut water or I'm in Love with the Coco, give you the taste with fewer calories.

Smoothies are different

A smoothie with protein can stand in for a snack or a light meal, which is not the same as adding a drink on top of your food. See Meal or smoothie? When a smoothie can really replace lunch for what makes a smoothie a meal.

Sources: NHS, Understanding calories; NHS, Sugar: the facts; NHS Better Health, Lose weight; GetJuicy Health Bar recipe estimates (getjuicy.vn/nutri).