I wish I could eat veggies all day but I have a hard time eatting them period. Every since I was a kid I would almost get sick trying to eat them. As I got older I have been able to eat a few of them but I know its not good enough.
I'm not a veggie lover either, unless they're all done up gourmet style, which I don't have the time or the nerve to do. So, I do a few things to sneak veggies in. I buy salsa in bulk at Costco (Santa Barbara brand, Deli Style), goes great with eggs in the morning. Next, I commi to a salad 5 nights a week. I let myself off the hook for from veggies 2 nights a week, big deal. If I happen to go out, I'll make sure my order has veggies, obviously saves prep, which is one of my per peeves about those pesky greens. A 3rd way I get veggies in is to have a once a week pizza night (see avvy). I use up a whole package of mushrooms & 3 tomatoes, 4 garlic cloves, & about a 3rd of a package of basil. Yeah buddy.
I know theres no replacement but I have found Juice Plus
"Juice Plus+® provides the nutritional essence of 17 different fruits, vegetables, and grains in convenient and inexpensive capsule form. Juice Plus+ Orchard Blend® contains seven of the most nutritious fruits around: apples, oranges, pineapple, cranberries, peaches, acerola cherries, and papaya. Juice Plus+ Garden Blend® contains ten nutrient-dense vegetables and grains: carrots, parsley, beets, kale, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, and barley and oat fibers."
Anyone tried this stuff, is it worth it?
Here's a fun little writeup on Juice Plus:
Juice Plus: A Critical Look
Juice Plus: A Critical Look
Stephen Barrett, M.D.
National Safety Associates (NSA) president Jay Martin likes to turn simple ideas into megamillion-dollar sales. An NSA brochure states by 1997, his company had generated over $3 billion in sales by "developing and introducing innovative new products that are on the leading edge of whole new industries": home fire detectors in the 1970s, water filters in the early 1980s, and air filters in the late 1980s. But its "biggest hit yet," is a line of "natural food-based products designed to help prevent disease." [1] Its flagship product —Juice Plus+®—was introduced in 1993 and hit $6 million per month by the end of its first year [2].
The Juice Plus+ recipe for success is very simple: Fruits and vegetables are good for us. Capture their goodness in convenient products. Add endorsements, testimonials, a pinch of fear, a scientific veneer, and several dollops of deception. And harness the power of multilevel marketing (MLM) to spread the word. All of these ingredients have been around for many years. But NSA has developed a winning mix.
It is well established that dietary strategies can help prevent certain cancers and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Popularization of the diet-cancer link began during the early 1980s when the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reported that people who eat lots of whole-grain cereals, fruits, and vegetables have a lower incidence of certain cancers [3]. Since that time, research has shown that emphasizing these foods can also help prevent heart attacks and strokes. These ideas have been quantified in the Food Guide Pyramid System (1992), which recommends 6-11 servings of grain products, 2-4 servings of fruit, and 3-5 servings of vegetables per day, depending on the individual's caloric level [4]. Since it was not known which dietary factors, if any, might be helpful, the NAS report specified that supplementation with individual nutrients was not advisable. Within a few months after the report was issued, however, several products containing dehydrated vegetables and/or various nutrients were marketed as though the report had supported their use for cancer prevention. Government regulatory actions drove some of the early products from the marketplace, but new studies (particularly of antioxidants), new marketing techniques, and lax federal enforcement have enabled many more to take their place.
NSA would like you believe that everyone should take Juice Plus+. This article explains why I disagree.
The Power of MLM
MLM is a form of direct sales in which independent distributors can make money not only from their own sales but also from those of the people they recruit. Its roots date back to the 1930s when a California businessman began offering friends a commission for selling a food supplement to their friends. The operation evolved into Nutrilite Products in 1939 and began significant interstate distribution in 1945. In 1959, two highly successful distributors formed a new company that evolved into the multibillion-dollar, international conglomerate now called Amway. Shaklee Corporation, another MLM giant, was founded in 1956 by a retired chiropractor. Since that time, hundreds of other companies and millions of "independent distributors" have joined the fray.
Until the mid-1980s, claims made for health-related MLM products were conveyed mainly through direct personal contact in which the salesperson's personal success story (health or financial) played an important role. Since that time, however, many companies have added slick videotapes and audiotapes to spread their story, telephone conferences to train large groups of salespeople, a scientific advisory board to seem more authoritative, company-sponsored research to appear more authentic, and endorsements from prominent persons to lend prestige. Many companies use scare tactics and cite scientific research to suggest that their products will prevent disease. NSA does all of these things effectively.
Testimonials Are not Reliable Evidence
The "success" of network marketing lies in the enthusiasm of its participants. Most people who think something has helped their health enjoy sharing their success with their friends. Testimonial-givers are usually motivated by a sincere wish to help their fellow humans. Since people tend to believe what others tell them about personal experiences, testimonials can be powerful persuaders. An NSA distributor manual notes that "as people use the product, they begin to build their own Juice Plus+ story to share with others." Although NSA literature states, "We do not make any claims . . . involving the prevention, cure, mitigation of any disease," NSA distributors are circulating statements that Juice Plus+ products have relieved a wide variety of discomforts. In 1994, I even even acquired a 69-page booklet of endorsements and testimonials which stated:
These are some of the benefits found by people taking Juice Plus+. Some noticed these signs after a few days, others after weeks or months. These benefits may not apply to you, but you may want to look out for them: general sense of well-being; more alert; more energy; more regular; better digestion; better appetite; sleep better; need less sleep; wake up easier; wake up earlier, less urge to snack; less craving for sweets; crave fruit, vegetables & salad; weight loss; weight gain (if desired); loss of inches from waist & hips; better skin tone; nails grow stronger and faster; hair grows stronger and faster; look better; clearer eyes; easier to quit smoking; easier to start exercise program; handle stress more easily; better recovery after workout; able to work harder; higher athletic performance; faster recovery from injury; reduced allergies & sinusitis; reduced arthritis pain; fewer headaches; less pain; lower blood pressure; improved blood sugar [5].
Testimonials, of course, should not be regarded as valid evidence. Without well-designed tests, it is usually impossible to tell whether changes that take place after taking a product are the result of the product, a placebo effect, or other factors such the fact that symptoms often change with the passage of time. Nor is it possible to tell whether enthusiastic, financially motivated salespeople accurately report what they experience.
The unreliability of testimonials was dramatically illustrated by the case of former football star O.J. Simpson, who was charged with stabbing his wife and her friend Ronald Goldman. In March 1994, shortly before these murders took place, he was videotaped telling 4,000 distributors at a sales meeting that Juice Plus+ had cured his arthritis. Testimony in the murder case indicated that he was also taking sulfasalazine, a standard anti-inflammatory drug that could have relieved his symptoms [6]. Subsequently, his defense attorneys presented medical testimony that Simpson was so crippled by arthritis that he could not have committed the murders [7].
What's in Juice Plus+?
NSA's Guide for New Distributors, a 94-page loose-leaf manual dated October 1997, stated that 17 foods are juiced to extract their nutritional essence and then reduced to powders using a proprietary process that avoids high temperatures. During the process, sugar, salt, and most of the calories and fiber are removed. "Orchard Blend" capsules are derived from acerola berries, apples, cranberries, oranges, papaya, peaches, and pineapple. "Garden Blend" capsules contain barley, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, kale, oats, parsley, spinach, and tomato. Both products are also said to contain corresponding soluble and insoluble fibers, phytochemical "food actives," vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Additional fiber and enzymes are added, and the products are encapsulated by a company called Natural Alternatives International [8].
Neither the product labels nor the product literature I have seen indicate the quantities of these ingredients in Juice Plus+ capsules. The 1997 manual advised taking Orchard Blend and Garden Blend at separate times because "fruits are digested differently from vegetables and your system can handle them more efficiently if they're dealt with separately." However, Juice Plus+ "Better Bars" combined both concentrates with "real fruits, oats, bran, and a host of other natural ingredients." NSA has also marketed a meal-replacement drink, Juice Plus+® Lite, each serving of which provided 110 calories, 4 grams of dietary fiber, and significant amounts of 12 vitamins and a few minerals. The current (2006) products include a chewable pill for children, JP+ Gummies® (said to be a healthy alternative to candies), and Juice Plus Thins®, said to be a snack "specially designed and formulated to help curb your appetite." The Juice Plus+ Web site contains no data showing that taking the product helps curb appetite.
NSA stresses that government guidelines recommend eating 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. However, it fails to put this recommendation into proper perspective. The primary purpose is not to ensure adequate vitamin intake (which is achieved with fewer servings) but to (a) get adequate fiber intake and (b) create a dietary mix that is low to moderate in fat. Juice Plus+ provides the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, but includes far more beta-carotene than most experts would recommend. In addition, it lacks the fiber and people who think it substitutes for fruits and vegetables might wind up with a higher dietary fat content.
In 2005, the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus advised NSA to modify certain advertising claims to avoid the implication that Juice Plus+ Gummies®, are an alternative for, or nutritionally comparable to fruits and vegetables [9].
Peculiar Claims
Pages 41 and 42 of the 1997 manual suggested that each food source offered a special health benefit. Apples, for example, were said to "contain boron a trace mineral that affects the electrical activity of the brain, increasing mental alertness." Oranges are said to "contain every class of cancer inhibitor known." Acerola cherries were "a source of vitamin C, known to relieve symptoms of osteoarthritis." Carrots were said to lower cholesterol, parsley to be "good for the heart and immune system," kale to be a "powerful cancer fighter," and cabbage was "thought to block breast cancer." Even if these claims were true, there is no reason to conclude that taking Juice Plus+ capsules could provide the same benefit.
Page 43 stated, "The food enzymes in Juice Plus will facilitate digestion of your food, making it more usable to your body. This also conserves the body's own enzyme supply to do other important things like fighting off disease." This statement is false because: (a) most people have enough enzymes in their intestinal tract to digest their food; (b) most of the enzymes in food are destroyed during digestion; and (c) the body's production of metabolic enzymes does not depend upon the amounts of enzymes in the digestive tract.
Such enzymatic nonsense reflects the ideas of Humbart "Smokey" Santillo, author of Food Enzymes: The Missing Link to Radiant Health [10], to whom NSA attributes the Juice Plus+ concept. Santillo's credentials include a bachelor of science degree from Edinboro State Teacher's College; a doctor of naturopathy degree from a nonaccredited correspondence school (the Anglo-American Institute of Drugless Therapy), an iridology "certificate of merit," a master herbalist certificate from the herbalist John Christopher's School of Natural Healing, and eight years of study at the Concept Therapy Institute (which teaches a biotheistic chiropractic technique). One of NSA's audiotapes featured Santillo claiming that whole fruits and vegetables should not be eaten closely together as foods but are safely combined but in Juice Plus+. He also claimed that Juice Plus+ Lite helped people manage their weight because. "It has so much food value and is so easy to digest. Once they start absorbing all that food, they just don't have the same hunger . . . and lose weight automatically." [11]
Santillo's basic concepts of health, disease, and treatment include a hodgepodge of naturopathy and traditional Chinese medicine. His book Natural Healing with Herbs, spouts the naturopathic dogma that most diseases are "really the result of an overtaxed eliminative system" and that "by using a cleansing diet and short fasts, cleaning the colon by using enemas, aiding eliminative processes and purifying the blood through the proper choice of herbs, and by other methods," disease can be quickly cleared up by "clearing the underlying toxic state." [12:3] But he also states that "diseases can be classified as either hot or cold, yin or yang, excess or deficient, internal or external." [12:5]. Varro E. Tyler, Ph.D., a world-renowned herbal authority who was professor of pharmacognosy at Purdue University, concluded that the book was riddled with errors and is a "nearly perfect example" of irrational advice about herbs [13].
The Aetna U.S. Health Care "Endorsement"
In 1998, Aetna U.S. Health Care (the largest HMO) began offering a "Natural Alternatives Program," under which subscribers can obtain discounts of 20% or more for various products and services [14]. Several Juice Plus+ distributors have notified me that Aetna U.S. Health Care was "recommending" Juice Plus+ under this program. However, the site describing the program stated otherwise:
Natural Alternatives is a discount pass-through program. . . . Participating Natural Alternatives providers and vendors are solely responsible for the products and services they provide. Providers or vendors offering discounts under Natural Alternatives may not have been credentialed or reviewed by Aetna U.S. Healthcare. By making these discounts available, Aetna U.S. Healthcare does NOT endorse these providers or vendors or their services or make any guarantee as to availability or quality of providers or discounts under this program. Aetna U.S. Healthcare gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to description, quality, merchantability, fitness for any particular purpose, or any other matter for any product or service purchased by you using a Natural Alternatives discount [15].