Does Noni Juice Help You To Lose Weight?

Noni has joined the ranks of "superfruits" alongside it's predecessors and competitors, the acai and goji berry and mangosteen fruit. You may have heard the claims: Exotic noni juice from afar can "cure" just about anything from lupus to blindness. Some Internet sites infer that noni juice can even help you lose weight. However, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, or CSPI, there's no scientific evidence that noni juice can help you lose weight or that it has any specific health benefits.

About Noni Fruit

The noni fruit goes by other names, including Indian mulberry, morinda, hog apple and wild pine. According to the American Cancer Society, or ACS, the plant is native to Tahiti, the Pacific Islands and certain parts of Asia, Australia, South America and the Caribbean. The noni fruit is a green, potato-sized fruit which according to the CSPI doesn't exactly tempt the tongue; it's often described as having the odor of stinky feet and tasting like stale prune juice or old cheese. Companies that make noni juice blend it with other juices such as blueberry and grape to make it palatable. The noni plant does have a traditional use in Polynesian medicine: the bark, leaves, fruit and juice are believed to prevent cancer, according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

How It's Sold

Similar to mangosteen and acai berry juice and supplements, noni juice is another superfruit product sold by multi-level marketers. According to the CSPI, the biggest seller of noni juice is Tahitian Noni, a marketing company based out of Utah. You can find noni juice sold on the Internet. Noni juice can be prohibitively expensive, costing $42 for a 32-oz. bottle. Noni juice sellers often suggest drinking it on an empty stomach, says the ACS.

Nutritional Information

Noni juice contains vitamin C and A and some trace minerals, says the ACS. According to the Tahitian Noni website, it's product contains noni fruit juice and juice puree, grape juice concentrate, blueberry juice concentrate and natural flavorings. A serving of noni juice contains only 10 calories -- however, according to the product label, a serving consists of only 1 fl. oz. rather than 1 cup. One ounce of skim milk also contains 10 calories. An ounce of carrot juice and fresh grapefruit juice has 12 calories. Cranberry juice cocktail contains 17 calories per oz., and unsweetened grape juice has 19.

Experts Say

Noni juice has no any special properties that help you to lose weight. No food "burns" fat or affects your metabolism in such a way that weight loss is possible by its consumption alone, says the Weight-Control Information Network. The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume every day. Mayo Clinic cardiologist Thomas Behrenbeck cautions that noni juice contains a lot of potassium; drinking a lot of it can elevate your potassium levels to the point where it's dangerous to your health. If you have chronic kidney disease or take blood pressure medications, drink noni juice with caution or eschew it entirely.

Avoiding Health Fraud

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration urges consumers to be aware of products -- supplements, juices and teas -- that smack of health fraud. If the product you're interested in purports to be a quick fix for a host of health problems, including obesity, this is an indicator that the product isn't supported by science. According to the ACS, noni juice sellers may claim that their product treats and cures unrelated diseases and medical conditions -- diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, high blood pressure, macular degeneration, arthritis, menstrual cramps and allergies, to name only a few of many. To get to the truth about the purported weight loss benefits of noni juice, talk with your treating physician or a nutritionist.