Green juices may seem like a quick fix for the health-conscious consumer; blending kale, spinach and other greens together with fruit can be a more palatable way to eat vegetables for many.

Juicing has become a big trend in recent years, with juice bars popping up across the country, and bottled juices filling up supermarket shelves.

But despite the hype, not all green juices are necessarily good for you.

Here are three things to look for when in the market for green juice.

Fruit to greens ratio

One of the biggest issues with many brands of green juices is that they contain too much fruit juice.

Fruit juices, while making the drink taste better, are actually lessening the positive effects of the juice, according to Jesse Hirsch, Consumer Reports Health Editor.

That’s because of the natural sugars they contain.

Many drinks will advertise “no sugar added” on the label to convince consumers the drink is healthy, but the nutritional information on the label tells a different story.

For example, Naked Juice Green Machine, a popular green juice brand, contains 53 grams of sugar in each bottle -- that’s more sugar than is in 15 ounces of Coca Cola.

Fibre levels

One of the common selling points of green juices is that the drinks are a quick and easy source of fibre.

But according to Amy Keating, Consumer Reports Nutrition Expert, juicing the vegetables removes most of the fibre from them, as the skins are left behind.

Keating says that it’s best to eat whole vegetables to increase fibre in your diet, or use a blender to liquefy whole vegetables.

Health claims

Many brands of green juice claim to have a wide variety of health benefits, like improving sleep, purifying the bloodstream, or improving digestion.

But Keating says that these claims should be taken with a grain of salt – if it seems too good to be true, chances are that it is.

“If the company doesn’t have solid evidence for their claims you shouldn’t take them at face value,” Keating told CTV Vancouver.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Ross McLaughlin