Is drinking orange juice bad for acne?

Drinking orange juice is not good for people who struggle with acne...sad but true. Freshly squeezed Orange juice is a good source for vitamin C, which helps control your immune system and renew your collagen. Unfortunately, orange juice is also packed with sugar, which is a huge culprit when it comes to acne. A single cup of freshly squeezed orange juice contains 21 grams of sugar and does not contain any of the good fiber of whole fruits and vegetables (in fact, the processed versions from the grocery store might have 30-40 grams of sugar in a single cup...yikes!)

These vast amounts of sugar outweigh any advantage that vitamin C may have for your acne. The sugar problem in orange juice is actually worse. 50% of the sugar in orange juice is in the form of fructose that is processed in our body differently than glucose. Fructose is transformed into glycogen and later to fat more rapidly than glucose. Lack of fiber in orange juice enhances fructose absorption and causes spikes in insulin and other growth factors that were shown to increase the risk for acne.

Alternatives to drinking orange juice for people with acne-prone skin are whole oranges, which contain only 10 grams of sugar have fiber to slows down the fructose absorption or clementines, which are easy to peel and have less sugar than oranges. If you have acne, your best alternative would be green vegetable juices or smoothies that are low in sugar, have a lot of fiber, and are jam-packed with good nutrients.

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