Tomato Juice: Nutrients, What Research Shows and Safety

Tomato juice is the pressed and usually heated juice of tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum (nightshade family, Solanaceae), sold canned or bottled, plain or with salt added. People drink it for its vitamin C and for lycopene, the red carotenoid (a plant pigment) of tomatoes. This page covers the drink. It keeps tomato juice apart from fresh tomatoes, sauces, and lycopene capsules, which are different products, so results for one do not transfer to another. Information only.

Read this first

• Check the sodium. USDA lists 10 mg of sodium per 100 g in juice with no salt added and 253 mg per 100 g in juice with salt added. One cup of the salted type has about 615 mg, 27% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value. [1] [2] FDA says 20% or more of the Daily Value per serving counts as high. [3]
• Kidney disease: one cup has about 527 mg of potassium (11% of the Daily Value). NIDDK says damaged kidneys can struggle to clear potassium, and a care team may advise limits. [1] [12]
• Heartburn: NIDDK lists tomatoes among acidic foods that some people with reflux say trigger symptoms. [13]
• Evidence in one line: small studies saw lower LDL cholesterol after eating tomato products, but they are short and often small. Tomato juice is a vitamin C-rich, low-calorie drink. It is not a treatment for any disease.

What is in it (USDA values)

The values are for canned tomato juice without salt added (USDA FoodData Central item 170545, SR Legacy). [1] The salted item (170458) is identical except sodium. [2] The serving column is the USDA household portion of 1 cup (243 g).

% Daily Value uses the FDA 2016 Daily Values; values vary with brand. The serving figures are the 100 g values multiplied by 2.43. [1] [2] USDA lists beta-carotene (270 mcg per 100 g) but no lycopene value for this item, so we quote none. [1]

Lycopene is the red pigment. In a small crossover trial of 11 adults, lycopene from a special orange "tangerine" tomato juice was absorbed about 8.5 times better than from red tomato juice, with large differences between people. [9] That is a finding about absorption in people, not about health benefit.

What research says

The pooled trial analysis mixes tomato products with capsules and measures markers such as LDL, not heart attacks. [4] We did not find a trial showing tomato juice prevents cancer or heart disease ("Proper evidence not found in the sources we read").

Eaten as food vs taken as supplement. Lycopene supplements lowered systolic pressure in one pooled analysis, but tomato foods did not clearly do so. [4] [6]

How much is a normal serving

The USDA household portion is 1 cup (243 g), about 8 fl oz, with about 41 kcal; USDA also lists 6 fl oz (182 g). [1] The NHS says no more than 150 ml of juice, smoothies and vegetable juice combined counts toward 5 A DAY in a day. [14] This is information, not a prescription.

Safety, allergy and medicines

• Sodium and blood pressure: over 70% of sodium in the US diet comes from packaged and prepared foods, FDA says; check the Nutrition Facts label and compare "no salt added" with regular. [3]
• Kidney disease and potassium: NIDDK says high potassium can affect the heart and muscles, and that a care team may suggest limiting high-potassium foods. [12] NIDDK names orange juice, not tomato juice, as an example; the figure for tomato juice is from USDA. [1] See foods, kidney disease, potassium and oxalates.
• Reflux (GERD): some people find tomatoes trigger symptoms; triggers differ and NIDDK advises talking to a doctor about yours. [13]
• Medicines: we did not find a source we could read on interactions between tomato juice as a drink and a specific medicine ("Proper evidence not found"). A pharmacist can check your list. Potassium-rich foods matter for people who take medicines that raise blood potassium; ask your care team (NIDDK notes that medicines can raise potassium). [12]
• Diabetes: one cup has about 8.6 g of carbohydrate, much less than fruit juices. [1] Ask a clinician or dietitian. See foods for blood sugar control.
• Pregnancy, breastfeeding and children: canned juice is heat-treated; fresh-pressed juice is not, and FDA lists pregnant women and children among those at higher risk from untreated juice. [15] We did not read other advice specific to tomato juice.
• Allergy: tomato allergy exists but we did not read a source on how common it is. For trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat, call 911 (or your local emergency number). See food allergy basics.
• Lycopene capsules are a different product; this page does not cover them.

Choosing, storing and food safety

• Look for "no salt added" if you want to limit sodium. [1] [3]
• Fresh-pressed juice is not pasteurized unless the label says so; FDA says untreated juice must be refrigerated and carry a warning label when packaged, but juice sold by the glass does not need one. [15]
• We did not read a source with storage advice specific to tomato juice, so we give none beyond the label and refrigeration after opening if the label says so.

Related pages

• Tomatoes
• Green and vegetable juices
• Fruit juice vs whole fruit
• Foods for blood pressure
• Added sugars, sodium and saturated fat on labels
• Foods, kidney disease, potassium and oxalates