Fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes are generally high in beneficial nutrients.
Tomato juice is a fast way to consume a lot of these essential nutrients, and also tends to taste delicious, but is a bit of an acquired taste.
High amounts of certain nutrients can cause diarrhea so today I thought I’d explain whether too much tomato juice causes diarrhea.
Too much tomato juice can cause diarrhea.
More than 1 cup of tomato juice is very likely to give you diarrhea.
Tomatoes are relatively high in vitamin C compared to other fruits and vegetables.
Vitamin C in large amounts is known to have a laxative effect.
Each fruit and vegetable has a unique amount of beneficial nutrients.
When certain fruits and vegetables are consumed every day it can cause a build-up of these nutrients which can be unhealthy.
So, below I will explain if it’s OK to drink tomato juice every day, what happens if you drink tomato juice every day, and what time of day is ideal to consume tomato juice.
Is It Okay to Drink Tomato Juice every day?
Because tomato juice is made from all-natural ingredients you would assume that it’s very healthy, and is beneficial to consume daily.
But, without looking at all the nutrients it’s hard to know if it’s ok to drink tomato juice every day, and it’s possible there are some downsides to drinking it everyday.
So, I looked into the nutrient content and the advice of health professionals, and here’s what I found.
It’s perfectly fine to drink tomato juice everyday.
There are no known negative effects from consuming tomatoes or tomato juice every day.
Tomatoes are high in the beneficial nutrients potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A, and fiber.
Although juicing tomatoes removes most of the fiber.
About 90% of the fiber in tomatoes is removed by juicing which means it’s not as good as regular tomatoes in this regard.
But, other than that all of the other nutrients remain the same.
I’ve compiled a table below that shows how much of each nutrient is found in the different kinds of tomatoes: regular tomatoes, grape (plum) tomatoes such as Roma and San Marzano, and cherry tomatoes.
The percentages are how much of the recommended daily intake they have.
For example, 1% is 1% of the recommended daily intake (RDI).
Nutrient per 3.4 oz (100g) | Regular tomatoes | Grape tomatoes | Cherry tomatoes |
Calories | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.71% |
Carbohydrates | 1.00% | 0.50% | 2.00% |
Fiber | 7.00% | 8.40% | 7.20% |
Protein | 1.80% | 1.60% | 1.60% |
Sugars, total including NLEA | 8.00% | 9.94% | 18.96% |
Calcium, Ca | 1.00% | 0.36% | 1.44% |
Iron, Fe | 1.00% | 0.01% | 0.01% |
Sodium, Na | 0.00% | 0.39% | 4.35% |
Zinc, Zn | 1.00% | 1.37% | 99.09% |
Copper, Cu | 3.00% | 4.14% | 14.29% |
Vitamin C | 21.00% | 30.22% | 10.33% |
Vitamin A | 17.00% | 50.00% | 22.22% |
Vitamin E | 3.00% | 65.33% | 3.33% |
Manganese, Mn | 3.00% | 6.05% | unknown |
Potassium, K | 10.00% | 5.53% | 4.46% |
Niacin | 3.00% | 5.03% | 0.06% |
Riboflavin | 1.00% | 5.00% | 0 |
Phosphorus, P | 2.00% | 4.00% | 0.26% |
Vitamin B-6 | 4.00% | 0.39% | 0 |
Total | 95.80% | 199.21% | 190.69% |
From the table, you can see that the amounts of nutrients between the different types of tomatoes does differ quite a bit.
But, overall all types of tomatoes are high in vitamin C, vitamin A, and potassium, and have a small amount of the other nutrients.
Registered Nutritionist Jill Corleone says:
“To obtain all the benefits tomato juice has to offer, your drink should be natural and freshly made.”
And if you buy tomato juice from the store be wary of high levels of sugar, and salt which will be shown on the label as having a high RDI % (source)
Different types of plum tomatoes such as Roma and San Marzano have different amounts, and some types of plum tomatoes taste better than others.
I explained how they differ based on the nutrients they contain and which type of plum tomatoes most people consider are the best tasting and the best to cook with in this article about plum tomatoes versus Roma tomatoes.
How many tomatoes go into a cup of tomato juice?
It takes about 6 medium-sized tomatoes to make 1 cup of tomato juice.
Vitamin C in 6 medium-sized tomatoes is about the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.
Therefore, if you consume 1 cup of tomato juice you will consume the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.
Because of that, it’s recommended not to consume more than 1 cup of tomato juice per day.
Strained tomatoes are quite similar to tomato juice.
The main difference is that strained tomatoes contain all of the tomato solids.
Strained tomatoes are made by blending cooked tomatoes until they’re liquid.
Or the mixture is put through a sieve to remove the seeds and fiber.
But, most of the tomato flesh remains in the sauce.
This is also how traditional Italian tomato sauce is made to be used in pasta such as spaghetti and as the base for pizza.
I explained the difference between strained tomatoes and other ways that tomatoes are prepared such as tomato sauce, and tomato puree in this article about the difference between tomato puree and strained tomatoes.
Beneficial aspects of vitamin C, A, and potassium (high in tomato juice)
Tomatoes are high in these nutrients so here’s a brief description of how these nutrients aid the body according to medical professionals:
- Vitamin C – good at reducing free radicals which have some links to cancer, and heart disease.
- Vitamin A – good for eyesight, the immune system, the reproductive system, kidneys, lungs, and heart
- Potassium – nerve function, the heart, transporting nutrients to the cells, and removing waste from the cells
Most foods also have beneficial nutrients, so eating tomatoes together with a balanced diet will enable you to get ALL of the beneficial nutrients you need to maintain good health.
What Is the Right Time to Drink Tomato Juice?
Vegetable and fruit juices don’t really fill you up so it can be a bit tricky to decide when to consume them.
I typically drink fruit or vegetable juices on my own in between meals.
But, I wanted to know the best time to drink tomato juice, so I looked into studies that were done, and here’s the right time to drink tomato juice.
The right time to drink tomato juice is after you eat breakfast according to a study published in the Journal of American Heart Association.
They also showed the other best time to drink tomato juice is for lunch with other fruit.
The study showed that the other healthiest way to drink tomato juice is on its own for lunch.
However, tomato juice on its own is not very filling.
So, it’s a bit impractical for most people unless you consume a very filling breakfast.
Therefore, in my opinion, you’re best to drink it after breakfast.
At about morning tea time, or mid-way between breakfast and lunch.
What Happens When You Drink Tomato Juice every day?
Tomato juice goes really well with a vegetable smoothie or on its own as a nutritious and refreshing snack.
Because tomato juice isn’t sweet, many people aren’t a big fan of it, whereas others find it really delicious and wouldn’t mind having some every day.
So, I thought I’d explain what happens if you drink tomato juice every day.
Drinking tomato juice everyday provides you with a good amount of vitamin C, vitamin A, and potassium which keep your body healthy.
There are no known negative effects from drinking tomato juice every day provided you don’t drink more than a cup, otherwise, it’s likely to give you diarrhea.
Vegetables contain different amounts of nutrients, therefore, to make the most of tomato juice you could consider adding it to a vegetable juice/smoothie with other vegetable juices such as spinach, ginger, and cucumber.
I’m Chris Watson & the Founder of EatForLonger.com. I’m a food and wellbeing enthusiast researching and sharing foodstuffs and simple food-based concepts, such as fasting and clean eating.
I hope it inspires you to make tiny changes to what you eat and when you eat while optimizing your healthspan and all-around well-being.
Read more About Me here.