Earlier this week I got an inquiry about the brand Naked Juice; it LOOKS healthy, but IS it healthy?
So as I was touring an AMAZING new health food store I found close to home; Mustard Seed Market and Cafe, I picked up a bottle of the Naked Juice pictured above.
Before even glancing at the nutrition facts and ingredients though, the first thing that stood out was the price; $3.59 per bottle!? Regular consumption from this line could get pretty pricey if you ask me!
One thing I did find impressive is the wide variety of flavors!! It was really hard to decide which flavor to sample but I settled on pomegranate blueberry because I have been craving pomegranate lately!
When I finally got home I made my analysis. Here’s what I think:
1. Taste: DELICIOUS. I had 3 other people sample it and they all thought it tasted outstanding. The flavors of pomegranate and blueberry really pop in this beverage! I can see why it’s so popular!
2. Nutrition Facts: 2 servings per bottle
Below are stats per ONE serving
- 150 calories (drink the whole bottle and you have almost a meal’s worth of calories!)
- 0 g fat
- 36 g carbohydrates (fruits are carbohydrates)
- 300 mg potassium (excellent)
- 20 mg sodium (very low sodium)
- 0 g fiber (fiber in fruit comes from the skin and pulp)
- 32 g sugars (Even though there are ZERO added sugars, there are still 64 grams of sugar per bottle!!! Even if the sugars are naturally occurring from the fruit, even one serving of Naked Juice will surely spike/crash your blood glucose!!)
- 1 g protein
3. Ingredients:
The ingredient list looks pretty good!! I know what almost every ingredient listed is. It does contain natural flavors and you can read more about those here. I believe that a moderate intake of natural flavors is okay.
So is Naked juice healthy? While there are no major unhealthy deterrents in this brand of beverage, I am concerned about the calorie and sugar content. No matter which way you look at it, 300 calories is a lot of calories for a beverage. I can see it being very easy to drink an entire bottle of juice in one sitting. Unlike a 300 calorie meal or snack filled with fiber, protein, fat, and lots of nutrients that would keep you full for hours and leave you satisfied, Naked juice just doesn’t cut it. Aside from calories, this little beverage offers almost no nutritional value either. That may seem odd for 100% juice, but look at the vitamins and minerals on the nutrition facts. Not much to contribute.
On top of doing nothing for your waistline, Naked juice will also make your blood sugar spike up high and then come crashing down fairly quickly after. You’ll be looking for another snack in no time.
If you just can’t cut out Naked juice from your weekly grocery budget, which is crazy to me, then perhaps you can compromise. If you want to drink this beverage, try watering it down or adding a couple ounces to some herbal tea. This way, you get the flavor, without all the calories. For a boost of nutrition, try adding a couple ounces to a REAL fruit smoothie! Could be a tasty addition!
Received this link to an article discussing a lawsuit against Naked Juice for using GMO’s and synthetic substances in their “all-natural” products. Yeeps! Read more here!
That’s all I have for today my friends! Hope you have a healthy weekend! Tune in next week for NEW recipes; homemade fig jam and French onion soup!!
QUESTION: Have you tried Naked juice? What’s your favorite flavor? Do YOU think it’s healthy?
Great article! I usually drink a few every week. I tend to look for the Naked Protein Zone…esentially the same drink, but with 30g protein per bottle. Nice for on-the-go snacks or a last minute breakfast. As you mentioned though, the price is a bit high.
I bought the Mighty Mango and the pineapple and coconut one. I made mine last one week because I would make a smoothie every morning and I would add a little bit of both juices to my smoothie. I also added other fruits to my smoothies and Greek yogurt for protein so I don’t think those juices would be too bad using it the way I did. What do you all think?
I have recently been introduced to these juices. I am a very poor fuits/veggie eater. I am aware of the sugar/calorie content, but is it better to drink the green machine or berry veggie or any of the other fruits/veggie juices if I am not geting these daily servings? I am on a 1200 calorie diet but have put my body into a form of starvation mode so I am not really interested in eating at all. I have to force myself to get 600 calories in me a day and feel miserabley full the rest of the day. I know my eating habits are not healthy but I would be very interested in any comments/thoughts.
Have to disagree, I agree in the one u picked out there are no added minerals, but of you go for the green apple one there are both the fruit and veggies, the blueberry one as well actually has added minerals. I like reading about health and all that jazz, I just wanted you and ur readers to know that they do have more healthy options
I JUST purchased a bottle of Naked juice and came online to see what people had to say. I’m glad you shed light on the calories and sugar levels in this drink, which are EASILY overshadowed by the nifty marketing on the bottle. I got the Green Machine flavor. One sip- it’s delicious. But I’ll take your great advice and add it to my smoothies instead of downing the whole bottle. Thanks!
While I’m at school, I’ll normally have the berry veggie while I’m at school studying. It’s the only one around with the lowest sugar and highest fiber.
I eat absolutelly no refined sugar in my diet. Normally I will juice my own veggies an drinks but the naked drinks are faster when Im on the go. I think they are completely fine sugar and calorie wise as long as you look at it the right way. I don’t treat these as a drink I buy a larger bottle and drink it over the course of the day. This way there’s no spike as well as no binge of calories. It’s probably one of my only sugar intakes besides fresh fruit. I’ve been living by not looking at nutritional facts and only looking at ingredients. I eat as much as I want whenever I want and mostly eat only whole real food. Doing this I have zero stress about what I eat because everything is naturall, and I’m in the best shape of my life. Get closer to the earth with food and you’ll feel better than you ever have. Naked juice is the only packaged food I eat.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/calories-in.asp?food=organic+soy+milk
Here are the nutrition facts for the soymilk I use.
Have you guys tried Blue Machine? It has the best nutrition of any of the flavors of naked I have seen. 7g of fiber Per Serving
Also if you check at your local Costco, they probably sell Naked in 64 ounce bottles and the ones near me sell them for $5.99. How is that for a deal? You can’t buy 114 blueberries, 12 blackberries, 13.5 apples and 4.75 bananas AND the added “boosts” in this drink for that price individually.
I strongly recommend you drink Blue machine in the morning and replace your normal breakfast with 8 ounces of it and coffee if you want to lose weight.
Here is a mix I drink when the time calls for it for my job, which is Pedicabing, (http://www.sbpedicab.com/)
1/3 vanilla or plain soymilk, I buy it at Costco http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?prodid=11138657&whse=bd_115&topnav=bdoff&cat=50215&hierPath=6220*&lang=en-US
1/3 caffeinated coffee
1/3 Blue Machine
This drink is serious energy, you will not be able to sit still. I take it with me in a metal bottle when I work.
I agree that it has high sugar. But it’s from fruit, not added refined sugar as soda. A couple of the comments compared it to soda, but I’d rather have sugar from natural sources (yes, I read the law suit, but those ingredients that are listed do not show up on the green naked juice I’ve bought – maybe it’s another flavor). And I don’t consider it a beverage – same as milk. It’s consider “food” so calories should be higher than our drink (water).
Now, I absolutely agree – you should juice your own, but in a pinch and traveling, I think it’s ok to get a little fruit boost from this. I can’t wait for an organic alternative, but to compare this to sodas is just a little off (in the comment section)
Thank you for posting about the law suit information. Definitely something to keep an eye on! But it’s interesting because the bottles I’ve drank never claimed to be non-GMO. There are SO many “natural” products on the market that are so truly processed. There may be lawsuits pending for them as well, I don’t know.
All taste great; But almost is much sugar as a can of pop; wont drink it because the nutritional content doesn’t out weight the sugar content
just had the berry veggie. it was ok, but i didn’t notice the calorie count was for 2 servings, or I would have skipped it. likely will never buy again.
So good, but ridiculous amount of sugar and calories!
So good, but ridiculous amount of sugar and calories!
Buy a juicer
I love the green machine! I love naked juice really, I like to try all the flavors. Couldn’t imagine having it everyday. Helps bodily movements *hinthinthint*.
I agree with you on the regular naked juice boxes but I would like to see what you think of the “boost” juice smoothies. That’s what I drink, and I usually use these as a meal supplement (law school doesn’t always allow for uber healthy eating!)
For instance, I’m currently drinking the acai machine. so for 1 serving, its 160 cals, 3 gram fat, 15 mg sodium, 24 gram sugar, 2 gram protein; 100% Vitamin A, 100% Vitamin C, 300% Vitamin E…
For me, this is just an easy way to get some vitamins and feel better about not having fresh fruit around so much.
I think one major issue that many here are missing is that the particular Naked Juice reviewed here is just that- juice. And juice, generally speaking, is junk. It’s sugar, little more. But many of the Naked Boost products are much more than juice, and contain very good amounts of fruit puree (whereas the reviewed juice only has blueberry puree, listed towards the very end of the ingredients). Blue Machine, for example, is full of puree and is 7g fiber (29% DV) and 1g protein. Red Machine is 3g fiber (10% DV) and 2g protein. Green Machine is probably better than both of these, but I don’t have a bottle on me.
I’m probably starting to sound like I”m a Naked Boost exec, but honestly I’m not. I’m just a fuit (or puree) lover. In fact I would personally tell everyone to avoid, at all costs, the Naked juice reviewed here. Grab some puree instead. And for that, it’s hard to find any more readily available alternative on the market than Naked products, short of making your own fruit puree/smoothie at home.
too many calories for the “nutritional” punch!
i picked up either this brand or a similar version at starbucks today (can’t remember), and despite the ingredient list of “two whole apples . . . bla bla bla” i was not impressed.
i optioned for two bags of pomegranate cashews. yum! x
The amount of sugar concerns me too! 64 grams in one bottle is almost like drinking two cans of soda… it would be difficult for me to only drink half the bottle so I just avoid it altogether.
I’ve drank Naked Juice quite a bit, but gave it up for the same reasons you mentioned, lots of cals and sugar. But man is that Green Machine flavor tasty. And I don’t necessarily think it’s bad if you are in the mood for something sweet. It’s better than a smoothie from Jamba Juice or ice cream, no?
I get really annoyed at bottled juice. Abnormally so. It’s just sugar with a health halo on it.
I’m not a big juice girl…I feel like I’m on a sugar-high after guzzling one of those. However, it is the juice I chose if I’m going to pick one. I like the ingredient list. But yes, it is super expensive! Thanks again for sharing with me. You know how to make me smile. I hope you have a blessed weekend!
I just spotted you on Monet’s blog; the name of your blog caught my attention. i just had to come and visit; happy I did. I have seen these different juices and wnted to try them; but the calorie and sugar content helped to resist the temptation. I will be back for sure.
Rita
I’ve not seen this juice, but I very rarely have juice (fruit or vegetable). In my case I could make a case for having vegetable juice as I do struggle to get enough serves some days – but I eat so much fruit there is certainly no need for juice!
PS—about the sugar spike in juice…you are so right! I meant to post about this story for a while. When I was pregnant, on my way to my doc appointment I stopped at the farmers market for juice [okay I lied in the last comment I drink it unless I make it or someone makes it fresh for me]. I usually get a green juice from them with not too much fruit. I tried one that had spinach and kale and a bunch of fruit like pineapple, mango, banana, etc. Well, at my doc appointment it was the one and only time throughout my pregnancy that there was sugar, and not just a little, A LOT in my “sample” [sorry TMI]. I knew it was prob from the juice. The nurse was all freaked out but I told my doc about what I had and she said it was prob that. My appointment a week later was fine. It freaked me out though and made me really order more wisely when getting fresh juice! Berries and greens mostly now!
I had it a couple of times when I was pregnant trying to get in extra calories and vitamins. It’s okay…like you said. Juice in general I stay away from unless I’m making it fresh!!!
Thanks for featuring it and linking your “natural flavors” link. I need to go read up on that now! I always wonder if what I think it is is what it is? You’re the perfect person to tell me
I’ve had a sip or two on Naked Juice but like you, I am also wary of the high calorie/sugar content. Great review!
Great review!!
I’ve had a couple of these juices before but like you said, they are a bit pricey. I’m surprised by the calories also. That bottle is pretty tiny.
I try to stay away from juice mostly because of the sugar content, even in the no sugar added juices for the very reasons you stated. However, if I am going to have some juice, I do like this brand very much.
Happy weekend!
thanks for sharing this article!!
Hey nicole…did you mean blood sugar spiking?
Agree with everything you said! So tasty, but WAY too easy to drink a whole one all at once. Also – check out this article I recently read… “…here comes a class action lawsuit against Naked Juice (owned by PepsiCo) for using genetically-modified ingredients and synthetic substances in products that were marketed as “Non-GMO” and “All-Natural”.” The article also talks about a lawsuit against Kashi, which I hadn’t heard about. http://livingmaxwell.com/naked-juice-lawsuit
I love this juice! Definitely pricey and the high sugars make me back off of it when I am tempted. I think some of the other flavors they have are “healthier” because they add different vitamins to it. I was surprised to see that this one had barely any vitamins! The lack of protein definitely means a sugar crash is likely. It needs to be paired with a handful of almonds or something, but then you will really have a meal’s worth of calories!
I have tried it and yes, my jaw dropped at the tricky One Serving on the label. I had no idea about the blood pressure spiking, which is something I try to keep a keen eye on. Fantastic review. I’ll be sure before I get Naked again:)
That stuff is so pricey it’s insane! I’ve only bought it at airports (where it’s price tag is even HIGHER!) b/c I wanted something “juicy” that wasn’t from concentrate for breakfasts. Personally, I don’t even like it that much. I hate the thickness of the juice and for all the calories and sugar, it does nothing to leave me satisfied.