Juice Plus+® Health News

Do Vegetarians Need Juice Plus+®?

The debate has been brought up many times - especially by those who prefer not to give up a good steak (guilty!): is a vegetarian diet healthier? The truth is that it's hard to deny a vegetarian diet's degree of health and nutrition over a non-veggie diet. You may not even need to supplement your diet with Juice Plus+® whole food nutrition with such. Think about the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables that you would have by switching. Naturally, you'd want the same volume of food to eat, but instead of a heavy steak (or other meats), you'd have to fill up on the more nutrition-dense fruits and/or vegetables.  There are degrees of what is considering 'vegetarian' - i.e. no meat vs. no animal products at all vs. no eating anything with a face (that one is something we've heard, not necessarily a formal definition).  For argument's sake, let's just keep the debate simple and say that the 'healthier' aspect of this type of diet comes from the increased nutrients that you're more likely going to consume, AND the decrease in fat and artery-clogging foods that you won't be consuming.  Here's what Cancer researchers say on the matter --

American Institute for Cancer Research - Vegetarians as a group tend to be healthier than non-vegetarians. Yet research suggests that vegetarian eating is one way, not the only way, to create the specific eating habits linked with good health.

Large population studies comparing incidence of heart disease among vegetarians and non-vegetarians show a clear advantage for vegetarians; overall mortality rates and diabetes incidence also tend to be lower. A combined analysis of five large studies showed that non-vegetarians had a 32 percent higher rate of mortality due to heart disease than did vegetarians. Vegetarians showed less than half the incidence of diabetes as non-vegetarians in a study of California Seventh-day Adventists; diabetes among vegans (vegetarians who consume no animal products at all) was even lower.

Impact of vegetarian diets on cancer incidence is less clear. Vegetarians showed 12 percent lower overall cancer risk than meat eaters in one large British population study, but non-meat eaters who did eat fish showed equally reduced risk. Vegetarians showed an even greater decrease in risk for particular types of cancer, but it was never any lower than that of those who ate fish but no meat. Some research shows less colon cancer among vegetarians, but some does not. Red meat and processed meat are linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer, but fish and milk be protective.

Part of the problem in studying the health benefits of vegetarian eating is that it’s not all the same. Vegans eat no animal products; lacto-ovo vegetarians do consume dairy and eggs. Pesco-vegetarians don’t eat meat or poultry, but do eat fish, and semi-vegetarians eat meat or poultry, but less than once a week.

We don’t really know how much of the health protection of a vegetarian diet comes from avoiding meat or dairy and how much is due to the nutrients, fiber and protective compounds in plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans and nuts. Most vegetarians do tend to eat more of these healthy foods than non-vegetarians. But replacing meat-oriented meals with these whole plant foods will almost surely have an entirely different health impact than meatless meals based mainly on processed refined grains, with limited variety of vegetables and plenty of sweets and soft drinks.

Furthermore, studies showing better health among vegetarians don’t reflect dietary differences alone. Studies show consistently that vegetarians as a group are more likely to be non-smokers and more physically active than non-vegetarians. Vegetarians are also less likely to be overweight. Excess body fat is strongly linked to heart disease, diabetes and cancer risk. But vegetarian eating won’t automatically lead to a healthy weight if it still includes excessive portions and foods concentrated in calories from oils and sugars.

Although a vegetarian diet has a positive influence in supporting weight control, specific food choices may be the overriding influence of plant-based diets on health. Traditional Mediterranean-style eating patterns, which are plant-based diets that include fish regularly but also may include modest amounts of meat occasionally, were identified as the principal eating style tied to lower incidence of heart disease in one recent review of available data. Diets highest in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, poultry and fish and lowest in refined grains, French fries, and red and processed meats were linked with 36 percent lower incidence of heart disease among women in the Nurses’ Health Study. And for lower cancer risk, it’s low body fat, regular physical activity and a plant-based diet with a wide range of vegetables, fruits and other fiber-containing foods that can lower risk of cancer by about one-third. (source)

Bottom Line: We would all be better off consuming less animal products and more fruits and vegetables - more plant-based foods. You just might find that you don't need vitamins or supplements like Juice Plus+ if you switched to such a plan. But, until you decide to make the change, we suggest you add the whole food nutrients you'll get with Juice Plus+.

Look into making yours a more vegetarian diet today!

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC

Vitamins Linked To Increased Strength

While it is well known that Vitamins are an important part of a healthy diet, the full 'orchestra' of nutrients that come from whole foods are a healthier support to the body than just one or a few individual vitamins. (Juice Plus+ contains nutrients from a variety of different fruits and vegetables, which is why it is a supplement that we recommend). However, it turns out that there is a link between certain Vitamins and muscle strength, and important marker for health in the latter years of life.

In a study in older adults, dietary intake of vitamins C and E was linked with muscle strength, leading the researchers to suggest at a meeting in Atlanta this past weekend that a diet high in antioxidants could play an important role in preserving muscle function in older adults

"Muscle strength is really a marker of ageing," one of the investigators, Dr Anne Newman of the University of Pittsburgh, told Reuters Health. "Muscle strength starts declining when people are in their 40s, but it decreases dramatically after age 60."

This decline is "a major risk factor" for becoming frail and disabled, she said, but certain strategies may slow down the loss.

In previous work, Newman and her associates identified physical activity and, separately, dietary protein as important for maintaining muscle strength.

For their current study, to evaluate the potential benefits of micronutrients, the researchers asked more than 2000 men and women in their 70s about their long term eating habits. They also measured participants' grip strength at the outset and two years later.

On Saturday at the Gerontological Society of America's annual meeting, the researchers reported a significant positive link between dietary intake of vitamins C and E and subsequent change in muscle strength, regardless of participants' initial strength levels.

At this point, it's not clear whether vitamins C and E specifically help preserve muscle strength, or if intake of these micronutrients is a marker of a healthy diet, Newman said. "Since they're in the food, they could be directly related, or they could be marking diets high in fruits and vegetables and low in sodium - all of which would have beneficial effects."

The average daily dietary intakes of vitamins C and E in the study were 144 milligrams and 11 milligrams, respectively. "For vitamin E at least, our cohort's intake was on average a little lower than the recommended daily allowance," Newman pointed out. "So while it's possible to get enough of this micronutrient in the diet, you have to pay attention and be sure to include foods rich in that vitamin." (source)

Bottom Line: Vitamins are an important part of the body's health and functions, but be sure to get them from whole food fruits and vegetables. And add Juice Plus+ until you get the minimum recommended fruits and veggies on a daily basis.

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC
Official Juice Plus+ Distributor

Is The Juice Going To Waste?

The fruits and vegetables we should be consuming can vary in price from year to year making it difficult for farmers to make a profit, or at least a consistent one. If more people ate the recommended number of fruits AND vegetables each year (and everyday), then we wouldn't recommend Juice Plus+, and I suppose the quality of those foods would probably get better with the increased demand.

New York's apple orchards are being carpeted with red as unpicked apples drop to the ground.

With the best of the crop off to market, growers say this year it's cheaper to leave leftovers on the trees than to pick and sell them for juice.

While that's happened before, it's a far cry from last year when growers stripped branches bare and collected top dollar.

"There wasn't an apple left in western New York last year," said Bruce Kirby, who runs a small orchard in Orleans County.

Even the lowly "drops" — apples that fall on their own — were in demand. This year, growers can't give those away.

One reason is an abundant crop, not only in New York but in neighboring Pennsylvania and nearby Michigan, which has produced more second-tier fruit than juice plus applesauce makers need and have driven down market prices.

When labor and transportation costs are factored in, selling anything but the cream of the crop for the supermarket can become a losing proposition.

"In some cases it's not worth the bother of picking them off the tree," said Peter Gregg, spokesman for the New York Apple Association.

The difference in prices is the biggest one-year swing some have ever seen. Last year, growers hurt by severe hailstorms were getting an above-average 12-18 cents per pound for processing apples, those sold for sauce and slices. The price is about 5-8 cents this year.

Juice apples, including drops, brought 7 or 8 cents a pound last year, compared with 3 or 4 cents this year, and there are so many of them that juicers aren't even buying drops, Kirby said.

"The market and the prices were very strong last year, stronger than average," said Diane Kurrle, a U.S. Apple Association spokeswoman, "and they're below average this year."

Kirby estimates he left 1,000 bushels in his 40-acre orchard.

"I would venture to say every single grower who has an orchard in this state left something," he said.

It happens all the time in Washington, the only state that produces more apples than New York, said Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission. There, a higher percentage of apples are grown strictly for eating with less attention to processing.

A small percentage of growers in Michigan, the No. 3 apple state, are leaving apples in the fields, with those who grow more for the processing market feeling the biggest strain, said Apple Committee Executive Director Denise Donohue.

Pennsylvania growers, too, say low prices have hurt, but they still picked almost all of this season's fruit, according to Karen Rodriguez of the state's Apple Marketing Program. Much of it will feed the steady demand of Knouse Foods, a large, grower-owned co-op which produces Lucky Leaf and Musselman products.

"I don't know of anyone that left apples on the trees," Rodriguez said.

The bright side for New York growers, Gregg said, is that the public still has a voracious appetite for the top-dollar fresh apples which make up the majority of the crop. (source)

Bottom Line: The farmers may not know what prices are going to be from year to year, but we should all be consuming more fruits and vegetables as a percentage of our total caloric intake... that is, if we are changing to a healthier diet.  So try to eat more, and add Juice Plus+ until you get there.

The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC

Boost Your Prevention Before Vaccines

Without actually saying don't get a flu vaccine unless it's absolutely necessary, you can boost your immune system with a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables which in turn helps prevent sickness and disease.  Even Juice Plus+ can provide nutrients from whole foods, although the foods would be best.

While many people are still waiting for swine-flu vaccine to become available in their area, there is a lot they can do in their own kitchens to help fight off disease and build a strong immune system.

Scientists in the growing field of nutritional immunology are unveiling new evidence of the complex role that nutrition plays in fighting off infectious diseases like influenza. A diet rich in nutrients such as vitamin A, found in colorful fruits and vegetables, and zinc, found in seafood, nuts and whole grains, can provide the critical fuel the body needs to fight off disease, heal injuries, and survive illness when it does strike, experts say.

Scientists are still studying all the complex ways in which nutrients interact with the immune system. There is still much that they don't know about minerals such as zinc, for instance, including how they are absorbed and all the roles they play in the body. But scientists do know that certain vitamins and minerals can improve the body's ability to fight off infection: Studies in healthy elderly adults, for example, have shown an improved immune response to vaccination and fewer infections after receiving extra doses of vitamin E.

To create immune cells to fight off a specific infection, the body has to rapidly draw nutrients from the bloodstream, says Anuraj Shankar, a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health. "If you don't have an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals, you won't be able to produce the number of immune cells you need, and the immune cells you do produce may be compromised," Dr. Shankar says. That makes it impossible to mount an effective response to infection, he says.

The benefits of good nutrition may have been recognized first by Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician who declared "let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food." An 18th century naval surgeon's discovery that citrus fruits could cure scurvy in sailors was later recognized as a vitamin C deficiency, and after the 1930s, when dairies began to fortify milk with vitamin D, the disease known as rickets was virtually eliminated in the U.S. (source)

Bottom Line: The nutrients that you feed your body are the most influential part of whether or not you are healthy. Adding outside chemicals from food, drugs, or drinks can reduce or inhibit your immune system from functioning at its highest level. Feed your body the healthy nutrients it needs.

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC
Official Juice Plus+ Distributor

Multivitamins ARE ok, Whole Food Nutrition Still Better

While millions of people look to an easy way to stay healthy - popping a pill, swigging a juice drink, a powder, potion, or whatever - the real answer to good health comes in the form of a healthy diet, regular exercise, and of course avoiding the hundreds of thousands (literally!...last count was over 320,000 consumables!) of not-so-healthy food and beverage items. With that said, we do recommend adding a nutritional supplement - like Juice Plus+ - to get needed nutrients that are being missed by most everyone, or are not getting nearly enough anyway.  For those who have been taking vitamin supplements that are not from the whole food fruits and / or vegetables, there is some good news where caution has been reported for many months, that may make you feel comfortable. Although, we still recommend you stick with a whole food nutritional supplement if you take one at all.

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has encouraging news for those that have been taking multivitamins, and maybe some motivation for those that have been considering taking them. They recently completed a study that showed evidence that those that take multivitamins regularly for long periods of time may decrease their risk of dying from heart disease by 16 percent. In fact, daily supplements of vitamin E taken over a 10-year time frame are believed to reduce the risk of death from heart disease by 28 percent according to the study which was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Previous Studies Rebutted

The new research is a serious rebut to the previous 2004 report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. That report showed that multivitamins, and specifically vitamin E, actually inflated the risk of “all-cause mortality.” The new report was also a blow to another more recently published research study. The study published in 2007 in the Journal of American Medical Association alleged that vitamin A, vitamin E, and beta-carotene could raise the risk of death by 16 percent.

Neither of these two past reports lined up with the new conclusions that the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center reported. The new Washington study had much more favorable results for these supplements. Their research results showed the following:

• Multivitamins did not lower the risk of causes of death other than heart disease.
• Vitamin E and multivitamins were not associated to a rise in cancer deaths.
• Vitamin E and C slightly decreased the risk of overall death.

These findings were based on more than 77,000 questionnaires that were completed by residents of the state of Washington. These residents were between the ages of 50 and 76. The researchers then correlated the results with 10 year use of multivitamins and vitamins C and E, and with mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Who Takes Vitamins?

A large sector of the general population visits their local health and nutrition stores regularly. Apparently, these people already knew that there were health benefits to nutritional supplements of some kind. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was recently conducted. It revealed that approximately 35 percent of adults in the United States take multivitamins on a regular basis. Now these nutrition shop regulars have some hard facts to substantiate their faith in these supplements. Of course, our recommended supplement Juice Plus+ has positive research findings, and is considered whole food nutrients.

That multivitamin-taking adult population will be encouraged by the new research findings. While they did not find any reduction in the mortality from anything other than heart disease, heart disease is a big concern for many Americans. This also means that 65 percent of the American adult population should take heed of these findings. Is this information enough motivation to drive the rest of the Americans to begin taking multivitamins? It is hard to say.

Bottom line: Your best bet for supplementing your diet is to choose one that is as close to the real food as possible. Not just one or a few vitamins, but a supplement that gives you as many of the nutrients from the whole food(s) as possible. Juice Plus+ is one that The Health & Wellness Institute recommends.

 

Health Care Reform Bill Must Read Paragraphs

Now that the doubt is in the air about our Health Care system being able to 'take care' of us in our time of need, the one thing we can be certain of is that we have to start caring for our own health and taken the steps necessary for the prevention of sickness and disease. Fruits, vegetables, lean protein, vegetables, healthy grains, fruits, exercise, vegetables, water... get the idea?  Yes, we recommend a fruit and vegetable nutrient supplement called Juice Plus+, but that's only one small part of the big picture that can support good health The steps we all need to be taking for our health is very important, and probably should go in the direction of Washington. So as you start jumping on the health bandwagon, please be aware of whether your actual 'health' is not being taken away with the possible Health Care Reform that is being proposed. Then you need to ask do I really want it, at least in the form that it has been written?  Take a closer look at a few things to help you make that decision, and let your Representative know. Read on...

"There is no such thing as a little freedom," said Walter Cronkite. "Either you are all free, or you are not free."

Whether you're for or against federal efforts to help people buy health insurance, you should know that the reform bill before the Senate would mandate a healthcare system that is definitely "not free."

What most of us know about the Democratic bill is that it requires nearly all Americans to have health insurance. What most of us don't know is that it requires us to buy a minimum level of insurance approved by the federal government, and forces health plans and providers to share our personal health information with the federal government and other entities.

If this bill becomes law, we could each be assigned a national beneficiary ID number or card (possibly an electronic device). And our personal health information will flow electronically to the US secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) – and many others – without our consent.

Sound farfetched? Buried in the Senate bill's 2,074 pages are provisions that actually permit and foster such things. Freedom and privacy are often lost in the fine print – which is why we've been studying the Senate bill since it was released Nov. 19 to help uncover the facts. Here are five highly invasive provisions Americans should know:

1. Mandatory insurance

Bill text: "Sec. 1501. Requirement to Maintain Minimum Essential Coverage.... An applicable individual shall for each month beginning after 2013 ensure that the individual, and any dependent of the individual who is an applicable individual, is covered under minimum essential coverage for such month."

Translation: Uncle Sam will now serve as your national insurance agent and force you to buy "minimum essential coverage" – or else you'll have to pay an annual fine.

However, what Congress considers "minimum essential coverage" and "essential health benefits requirements" includes comprehensive coverage that many neither need nor want. Plus, those who prefer to carry catastrophic-only coverage won't have a free range of options for such coverage.

Bottom line: In a free society, the government should not force citizens to buy any product nor should the government mandate citizens' level of health-insurance coverage.

Rather than imposing penalties to coerce people into government-sanctioned health insurance, Congress should offer incentives to help those who wish to buy insurance but find it unaffordable.

Congress could allow everyone to deduct the full cost of health insurance (and provide tax credits for those with no tax liability), while offering assistance to those who can't afford insurance and subsidize high-risk pools for those with preexisting conditions.

Helping those in need is a much better way to reform our nation's healthcare system than overhauling the entire system and putting Big Brother in charge of deciding what is acceptable coverage for nearly every American.

2. Electronic data exchanges

Bill text: "Sec. 1104. Administrative Simplification…. (h) Compliance. – (1) Health Plan Certification. – (A) Eligibility for a Health Plan, Health Claim Status, Electronic Funds Transfers, Health Care Payment and Remittance Advice. – Not later than December 31, 2013, a health plan shall file a statement with the Secretary, in such form as the Secretary may require, certifying that the data and information systems for such plan are in compliance with any applicable standards (as described under paragraph (7) of section 1171) and associated operating rules (as described under paragraph (9) of such section) for electronic funds transfers, eligibility for a health plan, health claim status, and health care payment and remittance advice, respectively."

Translation: Requiring everyone to buy federally sanctioned health insurance, and then forcing qualified plans to comply with Administrative Simplification requirements, provides the government and health industry with power they would not be able to exercise in a free market.

Administrative Simplification rules are a product of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. They lay the foundation for a nationally linked database of personal health information. A federal "Nationwide Health Information Network" (NHIN) is well under way in the United States, without assurances that individuals will control their personal health data.

Bottom line: Americans should be able to contract privately with the insurance companies of their choice. Patients should be able to decide whether to have electronic or paper medical records, and not have the government require electronic records, which are then included in a nationally linked database.

3. Real-time health and financial data

Bill text: "Sec. 1104. Administrative Simplification…. (4) Requirements for Financial and Administrative Transactions. – (A) In General. – The standards and associated operating rules adopted by the Secretary shall – (i) to the extent feasible and appropriate, enable determination of an individual's eligibility and financial responsibility for specific services prior to or at the point of care.... (i) Eligibility for a Health Plan and Health Claims Status. – The set of operating rules for eligibility for a health plan and health claim status transactions shall be adopted not later than July 1, 2011, in a manner ensuring that such operating rules are effective not later than January 1, 2013, and may allow for the use of a machine readable identification card."

Translation: Administrative Simplification rules are being expanded to gather real-time financial and health data on individuals through a tracking ID, possibly a "machine readable" ID card (electronic device).

Bottom line: Moving forward with real-time data collection without an ethical patient consent provision means everyone loses their health-privacy rights. Congress needs to enact strong patient consent provisions for all health data, especially data collected "real-time."

4. Health data network

Bill text: "Sec. 6301. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research.… (f) Building Data for Research. – The Secretary shall provide for the coordination of relevant Federal health programs to build data capacity for comparative clinical effectiveness research, including the development and use of clinical registries and health outcomes research data networks, in order to develop and maintain a comprehensive, interoperable data network to collect, link, and analyze data on outcomes and effectiveness from multiple sources, including electronic health records."

Translation: Your personal health information may soon be studied by government scientists. Washington is creating a new research center that plans to use patients' electronic health records for conducting research and creating disease registries. The data network is comprehensive and includes use of electronic health records.

Bottom line: Federal funds should not be used to collect data electronically and conduct research on patients' personal health information without their consent.

5. Personal health information

Bill text: "Sec. 6301. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research…. (B) Use of Data. – The [Patient-Centered Outcomes Research] Institute shall only use data provided to the Institute under subparagraph (A) in accordance with laws and regulations governing the release and use of such data, including applicable confidentiality and privacy standards."

Translation: Think your health privacy is protected? It's not. This language refers to "applicable confidentiality and privacy standards," but HIPAA's so-called privacy law permits individuals' personal health information to be exchanged – for many broad purposes – without patients' consent (See 45 CFR Subtitle A, Subpart E – Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information; section 164.502(a)(1)(ii) "Permitted uses and disclosures").

Bottom line: Trust is a must for ensuring quality healthcare. Thus, as stated above, Congress needs to pass a strong, ethical patient consent law that ensures patients have control over the flow of their personal health information. 

(SOURCE)

HWI Comment: The Federal Government exists for us, not the other way around. For anyone to think that our health care is going to be in the hands of any one entity, especially the Federal government, is mistaken. Health care is actually a misnomer. It's 'Sick Care'. You don't (usually) go to the doctor when you're healthy. It's when you're sick, suffering from an illness, whether acute or chronic, or a condition that could be or is fatal - that's when you need help.  The drugs, surgeries, treatments, and all the care that goes into trying to save a life, or at least extend it for a few if not several more weeks...that is where most of our health care costs are going. There are plenty of conditions that could be avoided or at least reduced in frequency if enough people made a few changes to their diet and lifestyle.  This has not be proven extensively (although some studies have been done and more are on the way), but you can't argue the common sense point that -- fresh fruits and vegetables, regular exercise, lean protein sources (even a vegetarian diet), while avoiding everything that has man-made chemicals, has been processed, comes with ingredients that are hard to pronounce, or comes in a bottle (soft drinks) with man-made ingredients... is a recipe for a healthy lifestyle that would not dramatically reduce our health care costs. Of course it would!  Any normal thinking person would agree. While this 'recipe' is an extreme (for some it is a lifestyle), it should be looked at with some agreement as to the positive effect if the majority of the population followed it. The point is that we need to focus on how to get motivated to take action for a healthier society. What we don't need is a system that allows us to live without having to take responsibility for our own good health.

Just be sure that you're informed about what is being considered in Washington. If you think about it, every new Bill that is passed takes away a freedom. While it may have good intentions, it is still a freedom that is taken away. Make your voice heard. And more important, take steps to improve your health.

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC
Official Juice Plus+ Distributor

Juice Drinks Not The Answer for Antioxidants

The first word of advice is to eat more fruits and vegetables for anyone who wants to support good health. The one supplement that we've recommended for the reason that most people fall well short of getting the minimum fruits and vegetables they need, is Juice Plus. Nutrients from whole food nutrition, Juice Plus+ is made using 7 different fruits and 8 different vegetables. (Add the Vineyard Blend and you've got nutrients from 9 different grapes and berries too!) But let's look at the caution we should take when considering a juice drink or other pill for prevention --

An ounce of prevention ... often adds up to a pound of malarkey. Whether it's a tablet to take with alcohol to prevent a beer belly, or a chocolaty, sweetened breakfast cereal that's fortified to "support" your child's immune system, experts say most preventive health products are of little, if any, value.

"If there were 'prevention' products they'd be bottled and sold by drug companies," said Canadian obesity expert and family medicine physician Yoni Freedhoff. "The only one I know is diet and exercise."

There's no shortage of products where you should think twice before laying out money, but here is the first pick in an ongoing series:

ANTIOXIDANT BEVERAGES

Marketers are trying to capitalize on antioxidants and have co-opted a method used to measure them: the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) scale developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

It is true that plant-based foods contain phytochemicals with antioxidant properties, and people who eat large amounts have a lower risk of developing chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.

However, "just because a food or beverage scores well with the ORAC test doesn't guarantee that it can cure, treat or even prevent disease, though it certainly warrants further investigation," said Diane McKay, an antioxidant researcher at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.

The ORAC assay "appears to have no direct relevance to the health effects of the products," she added. "Even if one beverage ranks higher than all the others, that doesn't necessarily mean it will increase the antioxidant capacity of your cells, for example." (source)

Bottom line: You can't rely on any one thing to be the 'miracle' health giver, life support, or curer. The miracle comes from the plethora of good things that we do, say, eat, think, pray, and so on.  Health is a compound of many different things. Some are more fortunate than others just by nature of their genetics are to whom they were born. But there are basic rules for good health that are true across the board. And it starts with a healthy diet. Throw in there a healthy attitude and you've got a great start to a healthy and productive life.

The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC
Official Juice Plus+ Distributor

Avoid All Soft Drinks, Some Juice Drinks OK

While many people may think that a soft drink here and there, or a diet soda once a day won't do harm to their health and especially their weight, you may want to read on. Juice plus regular soft drinks are just the beginning, because diet soft drinks are a big problem as well.  With natural (not from concentrate) juice drinks, there are plenty of nutrients and not the un-natural sugars like high-fructose corn syrup that has shown to have it's disadvantages. Here's more --

Stopping your soda habit does more than reduce what nutritionists call "empty" or nutrient-poor calories from your daily diet. Less soda means you will eat less too. True story; here are the plot lines:

The amount of sugar in a regular 12-ounce serving of soda -- Do they serve that size anymore? -- is staggering. Figure an equivalent of eight to 10 teaspoons if you were power-sprinkling over your cereal or crop-dusting a bowl of strawberries.

Every soda can is roughly 150 calories, and those bigger bottles from the vending machine are busting 250 calories and 15 spoonfuls of sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup.

The caloric math is simple enough.

Eliminating a super-size drink per day cuts out hundreds of calories for many soda drinkers. Stop drinking your calories, and it frees space in your daily diet for wholesome foods and, no question, even a handful of those holiday cookies or doctored eggnogs that just are too hard to pass up. In football-speak, it's a way for your sweet tooth to stop piling on during the American eating marathon that stretches from about noon on Thanksgiving until the first January Monday back at work.

You probably know that, so you switched to diet soda long ago. But researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio found you can't beat the system -- and that diet sodas might even lead to more extra pounds.

In a long-term study, 57 percent of individuals who drank two or more cans of diet soda per day became overweight in an average of eight years, compared with 47 percent of volunteers in the study who drank regular soda.

What's more, a 2007 Yale University study showed "on days when people drink soft drinks, they consumed more calories than on days when they did not have soft drinks." Let's review: Same people, different outcomes. They simply ate more food on soda days compared to non-soda days. That's a pattern worth your attention as you look to get healthy this season. (source)

Note: You can see that is doesn't matter whether you're consuming regular soft drinks or diet versions. The results come out negative if you want to keep your body at a healthy weight. The one suggestion that we make to those who consume these drinks is to substitute a piece of fruit instead. Fruit has plenty of nutrients and is also water-dense, which should help quench your thirst. There just is no easy way to try and have your cake and eat it to. It is just better to follow a sensible diet with mostly water, plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean protein sources, and so on. Soft drinks have been shown to be one of the biggest problems on the health of society. A lack of fruits and vegetables is not helpging either.

For those of you who don't eat enough fruits and vegetables, we recommend adding Juice Plus+.

The Health & Wellness Institute
Official Juice Plus+ Distributor

Juice Plus+® - product change

You can now check out the new Juice Plus+ Chewables which are for available for younger and older children No longer is there a Gummie for small children and a Chewable for older kids, but a better Chewable Gummy that is suitalbe for kids of all ages. Better quality, more nutrients, and still from whole food fruits and vegetables, as are the Juice Plus+ Capsules.

Try a 4-month supply for your children.

The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC
Official Juice Plus+ Distributor

Ordering Juice Plus+

Nutrients, Vitamins Better From Foods

While we all may believe that there will come a day of "The Jetsons" where we can derive our food and nutrition from a pill that is easily transformed into a nutrient-dense food that is identical to what we can get from fruits and vegetables today...well, we may just have to wait and hope. It may be possible someday considering the technology advancements that are moving at light speed, so to speak. But rather than throw caution to the wind and hope that day come sooner than later, what we really need to focus on is a healthy diet rich in the whole food fruits and vegetables that contain those nutrients - and do so today!  With so many people looking for shortcuts to getting those nutrients, we recommend Juice Plus+®, although there are no true shortcuts to the REAL thing.

Vitamins and minerals are necessary for your body to function properly, but do any of us really know exactly what is in our food or in the medications we take? Vitamins help you absorb food into your system, help cell production and so many other processes they are too numerous to detail. But exactly how effective are those little pills we get in the drug stores, and what are the dangers they pose? If you think you get the necessary nutrients you need simply from having a balanced diet you might just be right if it were the 1950s, but because of new occurrences from industry farming, like soil depletion, people who fail to buy completely organic food will pass up a lot of nutrients they need even if they have a well balanced diet.

Organic foods alone contain six times the nutrient density of normal super market foods, and unless you cultivate your own cows, chickens, fruits and vegetables, and follow carefully what you eat, it is hard to get exactly the right amount of nutrients out of your food.(more here...)

Bottom line: We just can't rely on shortcuts for the nutrition that we need. It is important to take a proactive role in not just the proper nutrition, but your overall health. While we do recommend adding Juice Plus+, it is more important to avoid the unhealthy things - fast foods, soft drinks, etc. - and get regular exercise, drink plenty of water, and of course eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible (we've never met a person who 'over does it' when it comes to this).  So if your diet is not as good as it could be, you may not be able to change it all overnight. But making one healthy change can be just the chain reaction you need to many other healthy changes that leads you to a healthy lifestyle. So don't wait. With health insurance changes happening, you're best defense is to take charge of your own health.

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC
Official Juice Plus+ Distributor