Orange Juice May Benefit You at the Cellular Level, Study Finds

Orange juice has been a staple on breakfast tables around the world for what seems like forever. That sweet-and-tart drink has long been a perfect way to start the day. And as a new study highlights, that glass of OJ may offer benefits that go beyond the surface, supporting our health on the cellular level.

In October, researchers from the Food Research Center and School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of São Paulo published their findings on how the body responds to regular orange juice consumption in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.

To understand how orange juice can help our bodies thrive, the team tracked adult volunteers who were asked to drink 500 milliliters (a little over 2 cups) of orange juice a day for 60 days. The volunteers were instructed to divide their daily dose into two equal portions to drink throughout the day. Their blood was sampled both before and after the 60-day period, along with their blood pressure readings. Participants were also asked to track their diets via 24-hour dietary recalls but to otherwise “maintain their lifestyle and usual dietary habits, only avoiding citrus-containing foods.”

The researchers found that regular consumption of orange juice may “impact global gene expression,” including those that regulate blood pressure, inflammation, and insulin resistance, thereby reducing potentially harmful gene activity in the body. The team also observed that some of this gene expression “may contribute to the significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and body fat percentage” as well.

The researchers also discovered that the genes had shifted for the better over the course of their experiment, using a known disease database, and that these same genes are involved in a variety of diseases, including stroke, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. While their work doesn’t imply that orange juice can treat these diseases, it suggests that OJ could potentially play a role in improving heart and metabolic health.

Notably, the team also observed key differences among volunteers in the normal-weight and overweight categories. In overweight volunteers, they noticed greater changes in genes related to fat metabolism (how it is broken down and stored in the body) and in fat cell formation. In normal-weight volunteers, they saw more changes in inflammation and immune signaling. This could indicate that OJ habits and their effects may not be universal at the cellular level, but still provide benefits to both groups.

This is also far from the only study demonstrating the drink’s benefits. As Science Alert noted, a 2022 review found that OJ can influence energy pathways and even impact the gut microbiome. Another study the publication cited showed similar results: experienced an increase in the amount of gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids, which help maintain healthy blood pressure and reduce inflammation, over a single month. 

Like all studies, this latest one from Brazil has some limitations. For starters, it involved only a small group of volunteers, all young and relatively healthy. It also didn’t track long-term outcomes. So, no, orange juice won’t magically fix you. But this study might give you the extra nudge to say “yes” the next time someone offers you a glass at brunch (sans Champagne, of course). Data has shown that drinking orange juice does not spike blood sugar among people without diabetes. If you are managing diabetes, prediabetes, or any other condition that affects blood sugar, it is always best to consult your healthcare provider to determine if regular orange juice consumption is right for you.