Is Orange Juice Good For Weight Loss? Here’s What You Need To Know In 2024

In many weight loss circles, fruit is feared due to its high sugar content. Yet, fear no more; fresh orange juice offers plenty of nutritional benefits. When used alongside other weight loss strategies, fruit juice can be enjoyed in moderation while supporting your health in various ways.

Orange juice, in particular, is often referred to as a liver detox juice due to its high antioxidant content. Plus, many enjoy this juice as part of their daily breakfast. But is orange juice good for weight loss? And how? 

In this article, we take a look at how a glass of orange juice a day can support your weight loss journey.  

Is Orange Juice Good For Weight Loss?

Regarding fruits for weight loss, grapefruit often comes out on top. It’s low in calories but high in nutrients. Many enjoy this fruit as breakfast or as juice. But is orange good for weight loss?

Surprisingly, freshly squeezed orange juice can have a rightful place in your weight loss journey. Below, we look more closely at how exactly this citrus fruit can support your goals.

Orange Juice May Help Balance Blood Sugar Levels

Added sugar can send our blood sugar levels on a rollercoaster ride. However, not all sugar is created equal. 

Citrus fruits, like oranges, contain various different sugars, all of which are natural. In fact, oranges^[1] contain sucrose, fructose, and glucose. 

Research suggests that fructose is often the sugar implicated in impaired insulin signaling.^[2] However, this is usually associated with added sugar, such as high-fructose corn syrup, which isn’t present in oranges.

Furthermore, research indicates that orange juice may actually improve insulin sensitivity.^[3] This means it can help balance blood sugar levels by ensuring the body responds properly to insulin; insulin helps the cells take in sugar from the blood, which helps balance blood glucose. Orange juice is a favorite treatment for hypoglycemia^[4] reactions, raising blood sugar quickly.

Dangerously high blood sugar can happen when our cells become insulin resistant, such as in the case of type II diabetes — or when our body doesn’t produce enough insulin, such as type I diabetes. In these cases, nerve and organ damage can occur if blood sugar isn’t controlled.

Moderately high blood sugar levels are further associated with increased weight gain, especially around the belly.^[5] Thus, it’s important to keep them balanced, and orange juice can play a part here when portion control is used.

At the same time, losing weight is more or less about calories in versus calories out. In other words, a calorie deficit is necessary to shed the pounds. Thus, merely drinking one-half cup of orange juice or eating citrus fruits won’t cause weight loss.

In reality, it takes a holistic approach, including a healthy diet and regular exercise to achieve your ideal body weight. No number of diet pills or fat burners for women or men will be the sole answer to accomplishing your goal.

Orange Juice Might Help You Get Sick Less Often

Initially, this might not sound related to weight loss, but hear us out. When we get sick, we’re more likely than not to drop our regular routine. 

Yet, drinking orange juice can help you obtain essential nutrients, like vitamin C. Vitamin C promotes the proper functioning of the immune system by supporting various cellular functions.^[6] It can even enhance microbial killing, helping you recover faster or not get sick at all.

About 4 ounces of fresh squeezed orange juice^[7] contains about 50 mg of vitamin C. Healthcare professionals indicate that adults need between 75 and 90 mg of vitamin C daily. In other words, a 250 ml glass of orange juice, or two fruit servings, more than covers your daily vitamin C needs.

At the same time, avoiding illness means washing your hands frequently, eating healthy, and exercising regularly. When you have good health, your immune system can better fight off foreign germs and viruses.

Orange Juice May Help Reduce Inflammation

Thanks to its vitamin C content, including orange juice in your daily diet may further reduce inflammation. Animal research shows this to be especially true regarding reducing inflammatory markers^[8] in obesity. Vitamin C does this by acting as an antioxidant, which helps prevent free radicals from causing harm.

And this might just reduce any need for a vitamin C supplement. After all, it’s always best to obtain nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from whole foods.

Inflammation^[9] is further linked to various chronic diseases. These include diabetes, metabolic syndrome, arthritis, asthma, cardiovascular disease, obesity, etc. 

Lowering the risk of these chronic diseases is crucial for getting your health on track. And thus, your ability to lose weight. 

Orange Juice Offers A Low-Calorie Snack

One cup of orange juice^[10] contains only 112 calories. This can provide a low-calorie snack or a delicious beverage option. At the same time, fresh orange juice shouldn’t necessarily take over your weight-loss beverages.

Water can also provide an invaluable tool toward your goals. Drinking water helps you lose weight by keeping you full and hydrated. Considering that a balanced diet limits orange juice to one-half cup per day in favor of fiber-containing whole fruits — getting your fluid needs met by juice is insufficient.

It’s further important to include a variety of foods to obtain versatile nutrients. For instance, clean eating is a great way to go about your weight loss journey. This means eating whole foods and ditching processed foods with more sugar, fat, and salt.

At least half of your recommended servings^[11] of fruit per day should come from whole, unprocessed fruit, not 100% fruit juice. Depending on your caloric intake recommendations, fruit servings^[12] vary between 1 and 2 ½ cups per day for 1,000-3,200 calories.

Other Health Benefits Of Drinking Orange Juice

The health benefits of orange juice extend far beyond mere weight loss. It can also benefit your overall health, including:

• Improving heart health: Orange juice might reduce your heart disease risk.^[13] One study showed how long-term orange juice drinkers had lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. This may further lower blood pressure and improve other cardiovascular markers.
• Lowering the risk of kidney stones: Orange juice on its own has shown effectiveness^[14] in reducing the formation of kidney stones.
• Decreasing arthritis pain: Since rheumatoid arthritis^[15] causes inflammation of the joints, the vitamin C in orange juice may potentially reduce associated arthritic pain by lowering inflammation.

Orange juice contains two grams of protein, fiber, folate, potassium, magnesium, and more. Thus, it can help support your body in many ways, contributing to better overall health.

How Do You Make Orange Juice For Weight Loss?

The best type of orange juice is fresh orange juice. And if you don’t have a juicer, it can be a tedious process. However, you can also remove the seeds and the peel and blend the oranges into a juice.

Alternatively, handheld juicers or some elbow grease will also do the trick. It just might require a bit more muscle.

When making your orange juice, keep these tips in mind:

• Avoid added sugar. Keep your orange juice raw and fresh, without any added sugar.
• Drink it with meals to avoid blood sugar spikes and dips.
• Make sure you still drink enough water despite adding orange juice to your regime.
• If possible, the whole fruit might actually be better than the juice. Simply put, the whole fruit has more fiber.

Conclusion

So, is orange juice healthy for weight loss? This largely depends. If you’re eating in a caloric deficit and consuming a balanced diet, orange juice can be a great addition in limited portions. 

However, adding orange juice likely won’t make a big difference if you’re consuming largely processed foods. Yes, you’ll get the additional vitamin C, but weight loss always comes down to creating an energy deficit via exercise or food.