I have been taking Juice Plus+ almost every day since I was 13 and am now 37 years old as I’m writing this post. For full disclosure, I have been a Juice Plus+ affiliate or distributor since age 19 and the company has been paying me commissions on sales I generated as an affiliate every month for the past 18 years.
I tried writing about Juice Plus+ over a decade ago on a previous blog I created but the company quickly asked me to take down all mentions of the company and product because they were overly zealous and afraid of regulatory compliance issues that can occur when affiliates like myself make unsubstantiated claims about a company’s products. Because I wanted to continue collecting monthly checks from the company, I chose to take down the blog posts to protect my financial interests.
Recently, the company has become more flexible and I am now allowed to finally publish information about Juice Plus+ publicly online so that’s what I’m going to do here.
What is Juice Plus+?
Juice Plus+ is a line of whole food nutrition supplements created the The Juice Plus+ Company which was founded in 1970. The first Juice Plus+ product was launched in 1993.
There are three main Juice Plus+ products that come in four different bottles: The Fruit and Vegetable Blend (which can only be purchased together, Berry Blend, and Omega Blend.
Fruit and Vegetable Blend
Technically this is two products or bottles but they can only be purchased together as a package. The fruit and vegetable blend comes in capsule or gummy form.
Ingredients for Fruit Blend:
Powdered Fruit and Vegetable Juice and Pulp
Blend from Apple, Cranberry, Beetroot, Orange, Mango,
Peach, Pineapple, Date, Prune; Acerola Cherry Extract,
Tapioca Pullulan, Citrus Bioflavonoids, Lutein/Zeaxanthin,
Sunflower d-α-Tocopherol, Mixed Tocopherols, Citrus Extract,
Beta Carotene, Lycopene, Astaxanthin, Lemon Peel Extract.
Ingredients for Vegetable Blend:
Powdered Fruit and Vegetable Juice and Pulp Blend from Carrot, Parsley, Broccoli, Spinach, Kale, Rice Bran, Tomato, Garlic, Cabbage, Beetroot; Tapioca Pullulan, Acerola Cherry Extract, Mixed Tocopherols, Calcium Carbonate, Spirulina, Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Sunflower d-α-Tocopherol, Beta Carotene, Lemon Peel Extract, Lycopene, Astaxanthin.
Berry Blend
The berry blend comes in capsule or gummy form.
Ingredients for Berry Blend:
Gelatine capsules containing a dried powder blend of juice and pulp from grapes and berries (48%) from (in varying proportions): concord grape,
pomegranate, blueberry (15%), bilberry, blackberry (8%), elderberry, raspberry (4%), cranberry, blackcurrant; cocoa powder, mixed tocopherols; green tea extract, ginger root powder, Vitamin C, anticaking agents: silicon dioxide, mag nesium stearate; artichoke leaf powder, grapeseed powder, citrus extract.
Omega Blend
The omega blend only comes in capsule form.
Ingredients for Omega Blend:
Proprietary blend 1.35g: algal (Schizochytrium sp.) oil, pomegranate seed oil, raspberry seed oil, sea buckthorn berry oil, safflower seed oil, tomato seed oil
Typically providing the following profile:
Total Omega Fatty Acids 925mg
Omega-3 Fatty Acids 375mg
DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) 175mg
EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) 100mg
ALA (Alpha-linolenic acid) 35mg
Omega-5 & 7 Fatty Acids 250mg
Omega-6 & 9 Fatty Acids 250mg
Other Ingredients: Tapioca Pullulan, Silicon Dioxide, Orange Oil,
Vanilla Extract, Rosemary Extract.
Is Juice Plus+ Clinical Research Legitimate?
When analyzing scientific research, it is important to learn about how research is conducted, how to read research studies, and how to identify the pros and cons of different research methods. It’s also very helpful to understand statistics and how to interpret whether results are statistically significant or not. Furthermore, it can be very helpful to understand logic and to therefore be able to interpret whether the conclusions of the researchers are logical and aligned with the data they reported in their research results.
As of 2024, there have been more than 40 peer-reviewed clinical research studies published on Juice Plus+ products. Some of the studies were pilot studies without placebos, control groups, or double-blinded research methods.
More than half of the studies are double-blinded, placebo-controlled, and published in prestigious peer-review research journals like Journal of American College of Cardiology, Journal of Nutrition, Journal of Pediatrics, and Journal of the American College of Nutrition.
Although some of the earlier placebo studies were not done to the gold standard of clinical research, there is plenty of very well-done scientific research on Juice Plus+ and many of the findings are statistically significant and, in my opinion, quite meaningful.
Does Juice Plus Actually Work?
More than 40 clinical studies on Juice Plus+ have been published in peer-reviewed journals. Of those studies, more than 20 have found that Juice Plus+® capsules have excellent bioavailability and effectively increase blood levels of vitamins, carotenoids, and polyphenols in people of all ages.
In addition, several studies have shown that Juice Plus+ capsules reduce biomarkers of inflammation, improve biomarkers for immune function, protect DNA from oxidation, improve key cognitive processes such as working memory and executive function, increase micro-circulation in skin, improve markers of gum health, and much more.
You can read more about the clinical research on Juice Plus+ and find links to all the published studies here.
Does Juice Plus Give You Gas?
Some people experience gas for up to a few weeks after taking Juice Plus+. This is likely caused by changes in your gut microbiome. Because Juice Plus+ Fruit, Vegetable, and Berry Blend in combination contain more than 30 different plant foods that you may not be used to eating, it may take the microbes in your gut a few weeks to adjust to digesting these new foods (especially the fibers from these foods found in Juice Plus+).
Other side effects of Juice Plus+ may include bloating, diarrhea, constipation, bad breath, or headaches. These effects often go away within a few weeks as your gut microbiome adjusts to these new foods. You can take half the recommended amount of Juice Plus+ for 5-10 days or until symptoms disappear to help your microbiome gradually adjust with less discomfort.
A Review of Juice Plus+ Reviews
There are several existing reviews posted online about Juice Plus+, and I will attempt to review a few here and clarify any information or arguments to the best of my ability:
Let’s Squeeze the Hype Out of Juice Plus
The writer starts by mentioning Juice Plus+ was sponsored by OJ Simpson, which is fascinating and awkward but also holds no bearing on the validity of Juice Plus+ research or the quality of the product.
The writer claims fiber is missing from Juice Plus+. Although it is true that much of the fiber is removed, there is still some soluble and insoluble fiber in Juice Plus+ capsules, specifically Fruit and Vegetable Blend and Berry Blend capsules.
The writer is concerned about baseless claims being made about Juice Plus+ as everyone should be. Baseless claims shouldn’t be made, listened to, or accepted. However, concerns about baseless claims hold no bearing when it comes to analyzing the validity of scientific research or discussing the actual pros and cons of a product.
The writer seems to not understand the scope of clinical research on Juice Plus+ and claims that “two capsules of Juice Plus have the antioxidant power of about two to three bites of an apple” and I have not found evidence to support such a claim.
They also wrote, “However, the changes noted are in comparison with a placebo. At the very least, the comparison should be with a standard, multi-vitamin-multi-mineral supplement. More realistically, the assessment should be based on popping Juice Plus capsules versus consuming five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. No such studies have been carried out.”
This argument doesn’t make much sense to me. Placebo controls are gold standard. There is significant evidence showing multi-vitamins do NOT improve health outcomes. Therefore, it makes no sense to use a randomly formulated multi-vitamin as a control for a study on Juice Plus+ given that multi-vitamins do not provide benefits related to the outcomes being studied in Juice Plus+ research.
Assessing Juice Plus+ in comparison to five servings of fruits and vegetables a day is an interesting idea. From what I’ve heard, the company has refused to do so because they do not want Juice Plus+ to ever be marketed or seen as a replacement for eating fruits and vegetables. No one should ever take Juice Plus+ instead of eating fruits and vegetables. People should eat lots of fruits and vegetables period. If you want to supplement with Juice Plus+, that’s a choice you can make based on your own research.
They also write, “Claims of preventing or curing disease, often made by independent distributors, are totally unjustified and border on criminal.” I agree that claims of preventing or curing disease are unjustified. However, I don’t believe such claims are “often made” given my 15+ years as an affiliate and having attended dozens of Juice Plus+ conferences and events and met hundreds of other affiliates. I am sure that unsubstantiated claims have been made before, but again such information is irrelevant when trying to decide if the research is valid or if the product is useful.
Dismissing the benefits of Juice Plus+ and its research by saying people sometimes make false claims about it is akin to saying that the American economy isn’t important or useful because some people make false claims about it. People do sometimes make inaccurate statements. Those inaccurate statements do not change the reality of the situation. Someone’s opinions, judgments, or false statements are a reflection of themself and their own understanding but they are not an accurate reflection of the object they are talking about.
Reddit Thread: Juice Plus is a Scam!
This thread had me laughing out loud and also shaking my head.
The writer claims that Juice Plus+ research is stupid. When someone says something is stupid, I usually interpret that as, “I don’t understand it and I’m not actually curious about it.”
For example, I think baseball is stupid. I love many sports (especially Pickleball) but I don’t like baseball and don’t understand how people have fun playing or watching it. Is baseball actually stupid? No. I just don’t understand it and I’m not curious enough to research it or try it more.
The writer goes on to say, “I, admittedly, have not read all of the research myself, but other reviews and sources document that nearly all of the research is funded by Juice Plus+ and rarely feature placebos, double-blinds, large sample sizes, etc. This is poor science at best, and intentionally misleading science in actuality.”
This is like saying, “I didn’t read the original research but I read someone else’s opinion and in their opinion it is also stupid.” Which, again, I interpret as they don’t understand it.
The claim that Juice Plus+ research studies “rarely feature placebos, double-blinds, large sample sizes” seems to be refuted by the facts which anyone can see in the actual research if they have the patience and humility to do so. It is true that some of the studies do not feature placebos, some of the studies are not double-blinded, and some of the studies do have very small sample sizes. The same could be said for just about any area of scientific research with 40+ published studies.
“Nearly all of the research is funded by Juice Plus+.” This is true. Nearly all of the research in pharmaceutical drugs are also paid for by the companies who create those products. Who else would fund such research? Yes, there are other studies funded by other organizations or governments, but most of the research done is paid for by the companies who create the products. That is not unusual.
“The supplements contain very few vitamins (only A, C, E and folate).” This is a hilarious misinterpretation of reality. Because Juice Plus+ is labeled as a food and not a supplement, it has a nutrition facts label (here’s the nutrition facts label for the Vegetable Blend). By law, this label must display the nutrients A, C, E, and folate. That doesn’t mean those are the only vitamins in the product. Those are just the ones on the label as determined by law.
“I mean, shit, the ingredients section of their site doesn’t even tell you what is in each pill.” This is hilariously true. The company is, in my opinion, notoriously bad at using the internet (hence why they asked me to take down my previous blog posts long ago). But the company is transparent about the ingredients despite not listing them on that one particular web page (pssst if you work at Juice Plus+, maybe tell your boss that page should have a list of ingredients).
“You’d be much better off taking a multivitamin as a supplement if you’re concerned about your dietary intake.” There is so much research showing multivitamins do not improve health outcomes for most people except in some specific cases of vitamin deficiencies.
Juice Plus+ “doesn’t help the food insecure because it does NOT provide any sort of caloric value.” I agree. Juice Plus+ is low in calories and is not meant to be taken to meet someone’s need for calories.
“If YOU are concerned about not consuming enough fruits and vegetables, I really recommend consulting with a dietitian about how to improve your diet. Eating whole foods and being smart is a much more reliable way to make serious improvements in your health than taking cool-sounding (and unregulated) supplements.” I agree that consuming fruits and vegetables and eating whole foods is probably going to do more to improve your health than any supplement except in certain cases where a supplement may be helpful in fixing a specific deficiency.
Why does my esophagus hurt after taking Juice Plus+?
Because the fruit, vegetable, and berry powders inside each Juice Plus+ capsule are dehydrated and because the capsules are made of gelatin, the capsules can melt inside your mouth, throat, or esophagus. When this happens, the dry powders are released and these super dry powders can irritate your throat and esophagus which can be incredibly painful. It is a very unpleasant experience and after having experienced it dozens of times, I don’t ever want to experience it again.
There are a few ways to prevent this from happening:
Only swallow Juice Plus+ capsules immediately before a meal or in the middle of a meal. By swallowing food shortly after swallowing the capsules, you can ensure they will more quickly reach your stomach where the dry powders will not irritate your esophagus.
You could also open up the capsules and place the powder in a glass of water or in your food and then consume it that way.
You could also consume the Juice Plus+ gummies instead of capsules which do not irritate your esophagus.
I can’t afford Juice Plus+. What should I do?
You should not buy anything you can’t afford.
Juice Plus+ is, in my opinion, a great way to get more micronutrients in your diet, but Juice Plus+ is not a significant source of calories, so if you are struggling to put food on the table you should definitely not be buying Juice Plus+ until you have food security and can ensure you’re eating enough calories to be healthy.
How do I buy Juice Plus+?
You can buy Juice Plus+ on the company’s website or through a Juice Plus+ affiliate like myself (here’s my link to buy it). If you buy through the company’s main website, you will be assigned to an affiliate like myself for customer care.
Most Juice Plus+ products can be paid in full when you order or you can pay four monthly interest-free installment payments.
You are under no obligation to purchase Juice Plus+ and you can cancel at any time. The company also offers a generous 100% money-back return policy.
Juice Plus+ products usually offer a recurring shipment plan so you should contact your affiliate or the company if you do not want to receive a shipment of product every four months. You can cancel any recurring shipment at any time.
Should I become a Juice Plus+ Affiliate?
There is no obligation to become a Juice Plus+ affiliate. If you become a Juice Plus+ affiliate, there is no obligation to buy or sell any products.
In my opinion, it only makes sense to become a Juice Plus+ affiliate if you intend to purchase more than one Juice Plus+ product and want to receive commissions on your own purchases (kind of like a rebate) or if you plan to sell Juice Plus+ products and want to earn a commission on those sales.
If you would like to become a Juice Plus+ affiliate, you can sign up at new.juiceplus.com
Affiliate Disclosure
FTC Disclosure: I am a Juice Plus+ Affiliate and have been for more than 15 years. You should always assume that pretty much every link on this blog is an affiliate link and that if you click it, find something you like and get it, I’m gonna make some serious money. And if I mention a book or some other product, just assume I got a review copy of it gratis and that me getting it has completely biased everything I say.
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