Is V8 Vegetable Juice Keto Friendly?

Juicing can be a great way to consume a lot of nutrients that are hard to acquire in just one meal. 

Mixing different fruits and vegetables can help to detoxify and boost your health.

When you’re thinking of a veggie drink, V8 is probably the first one that comes to mind. 

But is V8 Vegetable Juice keto-friendly?

Let’s find out what’s in V8 Vegetable Juice, how many carbs it has, and whether it’s keto-friendly or not.

What is V8 Vegetable Juice?

Vegetable juices have been a big hit recently, and Campbells made sure not to get left behind. Their V8 Vegetable Juice is the most well-known vegetable juice brand.

They are so popular because they come in different types, sizes, and they are convenient and easy to carry with you wherever you go. 

V8 Vegetable Juice is said to help you meet your daily vegetable requirements as it contains a full serving of vegetables in one can.

The brand prides itself on the quality of its ingredients as the tomatoes, which make up 90% of their juices, are mainly grown in California by family farmers. 

The other veggies in the vegetable juice are grown in the US too and driven to their processing facility in Napoleon, Ohio.

V8 Vegetable Juice Ingredients

The vegetable juice is made with the water and concentrated juices of a variety of vegetables. 

Here are V8 Vegetable Juice’s other ingredients:

• salt
• vitamin C
• beta carotene
• natural flavoring
• citric acid.

The website also states that their V8 products are made without GMO ingredients. 

Make sure to read the ingredients on packed fruit and vegetable juices like V8 to make sure there are no hidden ingredients.

V8 Vegetable Juice Nutrition

V8 is made from vegetables with the same nutrients as whole vegetables. According to their website, Campbell’s V8 Vegetable Juice contains the juice of the following veggies:

• tomatoes
• carrots
• beets
• celery
• lettuce
• parsley
• spinach
• watercress.

These ingredients make V8 a great source of vitamins A and C. 

V8 contains mostly vitamins and minerals. It has no fats and only 2g of protein. 

V8 contains 72mg of Vitamin C, which is 80% of the daily recommended value. Vitamin C helps you strengthen your immune system.

Also known as L-ascorbic acid, vitamin C acts as an antioxidant to protect your cells from free radical damage. 

In a study, it was found that regular vitamin C intake may reduce the duration or severity of cold symptoms.

We cannot synthesize vitamin C on our own, so we need to get enough from foods for good health.

V8 Vegetable Juice also contains 180mcg of vitamin A, which is 20% of the daily value. This nutrient helps maintain overall health, cell growth, and immune function.

One of its best-known functions is its role in vision and eye health. The active form of vitamin A, Retinal, mixes with opsin to form rhodopsin for color vision and low-light vision.

Vitamin A also helps maintain the cornea and the conjunctiva. 

V8 also includes other noteworthy minerals like potassium, iron, sodium, and calcium. 

Overall, antioxidants can be found in lots of different fruits and vegetables, helping the body prevent and fight chronic conditions. 

V8 also contains 2g of fiber, which helps with gut health and digestion.

However, V8 Vegetable Juice has 640mg of sodium, which can be a bit too high for someone who has to watch their sodium intake.

Salt is used to add flavor and preserve the juices, hence the sodium content. 

There is a low-sodium version of V8 that has only 140 mg of sodium in an 8-ounce glass.

How Many Carbs are in V8 Vegetable Juice?

When we’re on the keto diet, the macronutrient we must be most cautious of is carbohydrate. 

V8 Original contains 9g of total carbs, 7g of which are natural sugars, and 7g of net carbs, with no added sugar.

This is not surprising because most fruits and vegetables contain starch and healthy natural sugars.

But that does not necessarily mean they are keto-friendly.

Remember that fruits and vegetables usually don’t spike your blood sugar because of the fiber they contain. But juicing these ingredients removes most of the fiber.

Here are the flavors of V8 Vegetable Juice and how many carbs they contain:

• Original 100% Vegetable Juice: 9g total carbs, 7g net carbs
• Spicy Hot: 9g total carbs, 8g net carbs
• 100% Vegetable Juice Low Sodium: 9g total carbs, 8g net carbs
• Essential Antioxidants 100% Vegetable Juice: 9g total carbs, 8g net carbs
• High Fiber 100% Vegetable Juice: 13g carbs, 7g net carbs

What’s Wrong with V8 Vegetable Juice?

V8 Vegetable Juice has plenty going for it, particularly if you’re not on the keto diet. 

It’s not as bad as drinking soft drinks and fruit drinks because it has adequate amounts of vitamins A and C.

However, this drink should not be considered a superfood because the fiber is stripped away. 

The fiber in whole plant foods helps you stay full and slows down the rise of your blood sugar levels.

Pasteurizing the juice also means destroying other vitamins due to the high heat. V8’s juices are reconstituted from concentrate, meaning the water is removed then added back.

So, you wouldn’t consider it fresh. 

Lastly, natural flavors are indicated in the ingredients list. These are usually highly processed chemicals with around 80% additives that are not required to be listed.

Is V8 Vegetable Juice Keto-Friendly?

V8 Vegetable Juice is not keto-friendly. 

With 9g of total carbs and 8g of net carbs, you can get kicked out of ketosis with too much.

The lowest-carb variety contains 7g of net carbs, which is still too high for a drink for those on the ketogenic diet.

This is especially true if you’ve already eaten other carb-heavy foods during the day. 

Your vegetables should come in the form of fresh whole foods for maximum nutritional value.

Most of the carbs in this juice are sugars, which is not recommended on any low-carb diet. To be fair, these are sugars from the vegetables since the product contains no added sugars. 

Sugar also makes you crave more high-carb foods, which leads to more chances of getting kicked out of ketosis.

Aside from the high carb count, V8 Vegetable Juice does not contain any fat, which is ideally your source of energy on the diet.

Many get tricked into the false belief that zero-fat foods are automatically healthy. 

In short, this vegetable juice is not recommended for those on the ketogenic diet. 

Best Keto-Friendly Juice

Now that you know that V8 Vegetable Juice is not keto-compatible, here are some of our favorite green drinks on keto.

Homemade Juice

Juicing real vegetables is the healthiest route to go, although it requires a bit of time and the right equipment.

You also want to mix in keto-friendly fruits and vegetables, so you won’t get kicked out of ketosis. 

Here are some of the ingredients for Bulletproof’s Keto Green Lemon Smoothie recipe:

• ½ large avocado
• ½ cucumber
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 cups organic baby spinach leaves
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp Brain Octane MCT Oil
• 1 scoop Bulletproof Collagen Protein
• 1 scoop whey protein
• 1 cup ice
• stevia

FAQ Keto Diet and Veggies

How Much V8 Vegetable Juice Will Kick Me Out of Ketosis?

A healthy diet should include five servings of vegetables daily, and V8 nutrition facts only have two servings of vegetables per 8-ounce glass.

Despite this recommendation, you need to watch out for the carb content when on the keto diet.

Because it has 8g of net carbs, two servings may already kick you out of ketosis.

Always check the labels and keep in mind how many grams of carbs will kick you out of ketosis.

Do Vegetables Kick You Out of Ketosis?

That depends on the type of vegetable.

While vegetables are healthy, some of them may be high in carbs because of starch. These include carrots, potatoes, cassava, acorn squash, tomatoes, corn, and more. 

That means not everything that is healthy is keto-friendly. So, be cautious of the vegetables you put in your drinks. 

Find out what else kicks you out of ketosis. 

Can I Drink Juice on the Keto Diet?

Drinking juice on the keto diet may not be recommended by some experts. In its most basic sense, juicing is unnecessary on the keto diet. 

However, if you want to try this trend or if you’re used to juicing, just make sure to avoid high-carb vegetables and fruit.

You may also add MCT oil to make it more keto!

Avoid V8 Vegetable Juice on Keto!

V8 Vegetable Juice may seem healthy compared to other beverages, but it’s not considered keto-friendly.

Even though it has no added sugar, the vegetables are either too starchy or sugary to fit your daily carb limit.

If you want to go on a juice-cleanse on keto, make sure not to eat other high-carb foods during the day.

Or you can try exploring other keto-friendly drinks, so you don’t have to sacrifice too many carbs!