Juice Plus+ vs Vitamin and Mineral Supplements

Some of the most commonly asked questions about Juice Plus+® are:

1. Is Juice Plus a vitamin?
2. How does it compare to vitamin and mineral supplements? and 
3. How much of a certain vitamin (eg. vitamin C) is in Juice Plus+® ? 

Firstly, YES Juice Plus+ is considered a vitamin/nutritional supplement in Australia and New Zealand. If you look at the ingredient label on our capsules, all the plant based ingredients are at the top, but below that, there is listed additional active ingredients, which are all from natural sources. This is an important part of the process, as with seasonal variations, changes in crops, rain, soil etc., the product would not have a same amount of the vitamins we claim to have. That is what makes us a vitamin.

To answer the second question, you cannot and should not compare Juice Plus+® to other supplements.  This is because a requirement of the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code is that "any comparisons made in the advertising between therapeutic goods or classes of therapeutic goods do not directly or indirectly claim that the goods or class of goods being used as the comparator are harmful or ineffectual".  This means we cannot say that Juice Plus is better, as this would imply the other goods are lesser. 

As to the third question of how much of a specific nutrient is in Juice Plus+®; rather, the question should be - are the nutrients in Juice Plus+® absorbable (bio-available) so they can be used by the body? 

Questions like these demonstrate a lack of public education of the true philosophy of nutrition. It is not how much we put in the body, but how much the body can absorb over a long period of time. 

For example, when you look at the amounts of vitamin C contained in foods, it may not seem like a large amount. For instance, an orange typically has between 60-80 mg of vitamin C, however like all fruit and vegetable this depends on many variables including variety, size and where it is grown. 

The body is designed to handle foods and should get most of its vitamins from foods.(1)    

In nature, vitamins and minerals are never isolated; they are always present in food in complex form  (2-5),  meaning synergistically connected to other nutrients and elements.  Synergy means that each element works with and is interconnected with each other.  No nutrient stands alone in whole foods. Please keep in mind the identity of a nutrient is found in connection with all other necessary food substances, not isolated by itself. 

Each vitamin has a specific function and cannot be replaced by something else.  The factors that influence the absorption of a nutrient relate not only to the nature of the nutrient itself, but also the interaction with other components (synergists) in the food.( 6)  If you are deficient in one vitamin, the orchestra of nutrients in the body can be hindered in their metabolic function.  Vitamins can be specific,  finding out where any gaps are and supplementing with whole foods is a fantastic approach. 

We must understand man can never duplicate nature perfectly, especially when all vitamins, minerals, phyto-chemicals and enzymes are not yet known to man.  He does not know what they are, has not discovered them yet, their action in the body, and the effect they have in the body isolated or with its other thousands of synergistic substances.  How can a scientist produce what he has not yet discovered?  Nutrition should not be guess work.  Man at his best will never be able to produce the synergy of nature.  Put your trust in nature.

There are thousands of unknown elements in each food.  Ten years ago we knew nothing about phyto-chemicals (phyto=plant, plant chemicals), but they were in whole foods, put there by nature, absorbed from the soil, and are absolutely necessary for normal metabolic activities.  Without them we lay the foundation for a weakened immune system.  Look at the list of phyto-chemicals that are in just one whole apple (See list - What's in a Fresh Whole Clean Apple?).  Can you even imagine how many unknown but necessary chemical nutrients there are in all the other fruits and vegetables? We may never know exactly what is necessary to make a vitamin or mineral bioavailable.  There have been studies that have shown that natural food complexes (concentrated foods) are absorbed.  Here is an example of research, taken from an article written by Robert Theil, Ph.D., N.D.  (7-18):

Another very important factor which is very seldom if ever explained to us is a term called selective absorption.  This simply means that the body must choose what it needs and when it needs a nutrient to keep itself metabolically sound.  All the known and unknown nutrients must be present at any given time to be absorbed.  Whole foods are a great way to supply these.

Fruits and vegetables and other whole foods are absolutely, unequivocally important for all humans, adults and children.  Think about whether you eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables daily, do you?

Your first priority should be to eat wholesome foods.  Second, choose concentrated food sources to support your diet.  Third, choose your vitamin and mineral supplements according to your needs.

Often times we face statements like, "Well, I take spirulina, or blue green algae, kelp, or bee pollen.  Why do I need Juice Plus+® ?"  All these products are wonderful.  I added spirulina and kelp to Juice Plus+® Complete  because of some of the nutrients they contain, but they are not fruits and vegetables.  An orange is an orange, an apple is an apple;  each are totally different from any other food. Consider all the unknown elements in an orange.  God made every food different in some factor, whether it's the colour, flavour, minerals, enzymes content, etc. We know we need a variety of foods in order to be healthy and what is most important is that we eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.  Spirulina, bee pollen, kelp, etc. are supplements to the diet - fruits and vegetables are a necessity.  That's why we used 20 nutritionally dense fruits and vegetables in Juice Plus+® Fruit and Vegetable blends (30 in Premium).

With Juice Plus+® we have actually concentrated nature into a capsule. Here is how:

1. We use several concentrated juice powders.
2. We add back more enzymes, phytochemicals, and fibers.
3. We get our fruits and vegetables from a variety of soils. 

Each nutrient represented in Juice Plus+®  is in more than just one of the foods included in the formula.  Example: calcium is not just in carrots, but is also in spinach and broccoli as well.  Potassium is in parsley and beets.  I call this a "nutritional loop system" when single nutrients are contained in more than one of the foods included in the formula.

It is important to understand that it takes time for whole food supplements to work in conjunction with normal body functions. Most people do feel different after a few short months on  Juice Plus+®.  But others that make statements that they don't feel a difference are under the delusion that nutrients work like drugs and you should feel immediate effects. Nutrients do have few immediate effects, but you may not immediately feel these. Your body is constantly replacing cells throughout your life.  Renewal is slow and steady.

Your blood cells take three months for renewal, muscle cells and organs take six months, bones and teeth about a year.  That is what good, sound nutrition is all about.  You have to wait until the nutrients are built into your structure to feel the difference and for it to show.  It is similar to a house plant that has been neglected-you start to fertilize the plant and the plant perks up.  But it sometimes takes a few days or weeks to see the difference. 

In summary, it is just a matter of understanding what true nutrition is and the role vitamin and mineral supplements play.  Your priority is to eat healthy food, exercise and drink plenty of purified water.  The supplements you choose are entirely up to you.  Just make sure there is research to back up the bioavailability.  Juice Plus+®  has been  proven to be  bioavailable.  The research has shown its effects reach down to the cellular structure of the body which is the ultimate goal of any formulated health product.

I hope this article has helped you in understanding the true philosophy of nutrition.  Whole foods and whole food concentrates are necessary. Everybody at every age needs fruits and vegetables.  This especially includes the athlete, the elderly, and growing children.  Teach them to depend on nature, for the health and wealth of this country depend on it.

This article is not intended for treatment of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice.  It is a review of scientific evidence presented for information purposes.  Any application of the advice herein is at the reader's discretion and sole risk and  should not be adopted without a full review of the scientific references given and consultation with your health oriented practitioner.

Footnotes

1. Whitney EN, Hamilton EMN. Understanding Nutrition, 4ed. West Publishing, New York, 1987.
2. Airola P. How to Get Well. Health Plus, Sherwood (OR), 1989.
3. Olson JA. Vitamin A, retinoids, and carotenoids. In Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 8th ed. Lea & Febiger, Phil., 1994:287-307.
4. Farrell PA, Roberts RJ. Vitamin E. In Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 8th ed. Lea & Febiger, Phil., 1994:326-358.
5. OeCava JA. The Real Truth about Vitamins & Antioxidants. A Printery, Centerfield (MA),1997.
6. Jenkins DJA, Wolever TMS, and Jenkins AL. Diet Factors Affecting Nutrient Absorption and Metabolism. In Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 8th ed. Lea & Febiger, Phil.: 583-602, 1994.
7. Macrae R, Robson RK, Sadler MJ. Encyclopedia of Food Science and Nutrition. Academic Press, New York, 1993.
8. Turner G. Spectral Data Services. Test conducted Feb. 1993.
9. Plesofsky- Vig N. Pantothenic acid and Coenzyme A. In Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 8th ed. Lea & Febiger, Phil., 1994: 395-401.
10. Herbert v. Das KC. Folic acid and vitamin B12. In Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 8th ed. Lea & Febiger, Phil., 1994: 402-425.
11. Kasai T, InDue K, Komatsubara H, Tsumimura. Synthesis and antiscorbutic activity of vitamin C analogue: L-threo-hex-2-enaro-1,4-lactone ethyl e: guinea pig. Int J Vitamin Nutr Res, 1993:63(3):208-211.
12. Ishida A, Kanefusa J, Fujita H, Toraya T. Microbiological activities of nuclec modified analogues of vitamin B12. Arch Microbial, 1994;161 (4):293-29
13. Swenseid ME and Jacob RA. Niacin. In Modern Nutrition in Health and Dise ed. Lea and Febiger, Phil.:376-382, 1994.
14. Nakano H, McMahon LG, Gregory JF. Pyridoxine-%'-beta-glucoside exhib] incomplete bioavailability as a source of vitamin 8-6 and partially inhibits utilization ofco-ingested pyridoxine in humans. J Nutr, 1997;127(8):1508
15. Tandler B, Krhenbul S, Brass EP. Unusual mitochondria in the hepatocytes o treated with a vitamin B12 analogue. Anat Rec, 1991;231(1):1-6.
16. Tanphaichitr V. Thiamin. In Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 8th ed. Febiger, Phil., 1994:359-365.
17. McCormick D8. Riboflavin. In Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 8tb Febiger, Phil., 1994:366-375.
18. Leklem le. Vitamin B(). In Modern Nutrition and Health and Disease, 8th ed. Febiger, Phil., 1994:383-394.