Juice Plus+® Health News

McDonald's Smoothies? Really?

It's true, McDonald's is actually coming out with smoothies, not packed full of vitamins and nutrients that you would expect from a good, healthy smoothie - one made with ripe fruits and vegetables - but packed full of sugar. With too many people eating McDonald's and other nutrient-lacking fast foods on a regular basis, you can understand why we not only recommend Juice Plus+ as a nutritional supplement for added nutrients, but also are consistently trying to get others to eat more whole food fruits and vegetables. Here's more on these smoothies that are lacking in vitamins and nutrients --

Is that right? McDonald's real fruit smoothies
As this blog has noted time and again, the world is chock full of beverages whose manufacturers claim they provide several servings of fruit or are packed with powerful antioxidants, both offered as signs that the drink at hand is really good for you. Usually we end up poking holes in those claims.

But this week we're taking a slightly different tack, looking at a product for which no outlandish claims are being made -- even though they plausibly could be. This is a surprising happenstance, as the beverage is the Real Fruit Smoothie, and the maker is McDonald's.

You'd think that given the pounding McDonald's regularly (and often deservedly) receives for its fat- and sodium-heavy menu, it would take any opportunity to tout as healthful a new item that can actually claim to be made from good-for-you ingredients. It may not be perfect -- more on that in a moment -- but I think these smoothies are a decent addition to the McDonald's menu.

McCafe Smoothies come in two varieties -- strawberry banana and wild berry -- and three sizes, small (12 fluid ounces), medium (16 ounces) and large (22 ounces). Small smoothies have 210 calories, half a gram of fat, 3 grams of fiber, and 44 grams of sugar. A large strawberry banana smoothie has 330 calories (the wild berry version has 320), 1 gram of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 70 grams of sugar. (To see for yourself, click here and then go to the McCafe section to find a PDF file of nutrition data.)

The smoothies provide a nice dose of the antioxidant Vitamin C -- ranging from 70 percent of the Daily Value for that nutrient to 120 percent, plus a little bit of calcium and iron. read on...

Comments: There isn't going to be reason to eat at McDonald's anytime soon, including these smoothies. As this article points out, there aren't any claims being made about these drinks being healthy or packed with fruit nutrition and vitamins...yet. McDonalds may have learned a lesson from the Coca-Cola suit brought on them from claims made about Vitaminwater. The bottom line: avoid fast foods because they're almost always high in fat and salt and nutrient-deficient, and avoid soft drinks and the sugary smoothies that aren't made with fruits and/or vegetables. Otherwise, smoothies can be healthy if you use fruits and lean protein sources and water or skim soy or skim milk.  Add Juice Plus+ if you're not getting enough fruits (or vegetables) in your diet.

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC

Children Missing Vitamins and Proper Nutrition

Children are missing vitamins, nutrients, and an overall healthy diet these days. Even a child's development and brain function is contingent on good nutrition.  We can look at the overweight and obesity levels rising as evidence of poor nutrition, although one would think that there would be some good nutrition in there somewhere considering all the calories that are being consumed. But...no. Most of the calories come from cheap sources - foods and beverages that are calorie-dense. Instead what children need, and what we all need, are foods that are nutrient dense. Plant-based foods that contain lots of nutrients and vitamins and minerals are the ones that will not only provide better health, but also keep kids at a healthy weight. Although Juice Plus+® is not going to be something for weight control, it is even more helpful if your kids are completely missing the boat (or you are in not making them eat those foods) when it comes to their fruit and vegetable consumption.  You see, fruits and vegetables are generally bulky and yet still they are low in calories, while they can still be a good source of energy food (not to any great extent, but some). It seems that we just need some help, and probably some motivation, when trying to feed our children healthier. Lunch is a perfect example, so here are some tips for providing your child with a good lunch --

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity among children has more than tripled in the past 30 years. When it comes to preventing this health issue, parents play a critical role, especially when packing school lunches. Since it's hard to really know what kids actually eat in the cafeteria - not to mention what they may be swapping with their friends - parents should try and send them off with fun snacks that are healthy, too.

Roschelle Heuberger, a registered dietician and faculty member in the Human Environmental Studies department at Central Michigan University, has conducted nutritional research for more than two decades. Heuberger says it's easy to plan better lunches throughout the rest of the summer and when school kicks back in. She offers a few of her own ideas including: 

Embrace cold lunch: With a little planning, any parent can improve their child's health. Giving children money, or giving in to school lunch doesn't ensure they will eat well. Packing lunch offers parents more control over what their kids eat.

Calling all helpers: Most parents can relate to crazy and rushed mornings. Invite children to help pack their lunches the night before.

Make sandwiches fun: Let kids pick out their favorite cookie cutter and allow them to turn their ordinary square sandwich into a dinosaur or flower.

Keep it bright: Children enjoy colorful food. Cut up some bell peppers, which come in orange, red, green and yellow. Add a side of light or reduced fat ranch for dipping. This works with almost any vegetable.

Buy a fruit dryer: Dried fruit is actually very good for children. Though high in sugar, they provide many good vitamins and nutrients. Plums, pears and apples are highly recommended. Source...

Comments: There is no better way to set the foundation for good health and prevention for the coming years of a child's life than to instill good nutritional habits in them at an early age. Just looking at the childrens health study will tell you on positive the results can be if they are fed more good nutrition. It's easy enough to get out of good habits, let's don't leave them without a chance by not establishing those healthy habits in the first place. So make the effort to provide your child with plenty of good nutrition, with emphasis on ripe raw fruits and vegetables.  Be sure to supplement their diet with whole food nutrition that you can find with Juice Plus+®. Children need it just as much as adults, if not more, due to the deficiency in our number of consumed servings of fruits and vegetables.

Dr. Patrick Havey
The Health & Wellness Institute, PC
Official Juice Plus+® Independent Distributor

Vitamins May Help Ward Off Elderly Depression

As we age, we need more and better nutrition. This is mainly due to the fact that our immune system becomes more compromised, our ability to fight off sickness and disease is not as strong as it is in our early years. The vitamins and nutrients that we get in our diet does not provide the same effectiveness as they once did (another reason that we recommend Juice Plus+®). There are a few reasons for this, one of which is the increased medication intake as we age.  Medications depress the immune system and the elderly take a lot more medicines than those who are younger. Therefore, we need more vitamins and nutrients to make up for the compromise. And here's one study showing this to be true for helping ward off depression --

Higher intakes of two B vitamins -- but not folate -- may help ward off depression among older people, particularly if they take supplements, according to a large population study.

The prospective study, which followed more than 3,000 people ages 65 and older, found that higher intakes of vitamins B-12 and B-6 were both associated with a slightly reduced risk of depression (P=0.01 and P=0.05, respectively) for up to 12 years of follow-up, reported Kimberly A. Skarupski, MD, of Rush University in Chicago, and colleagues.

"In the assessment and treatment of depressive symptoms in older adults, clinicians and other healthcare professionals should be mindful of the patient's nutritional status in general, and whether there are vitamin insufficiencies in these nutrients before treatment," they wrote in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Recent data show that 6% of older people are deficient in vitamin B-12, and 20% may have marginal depletion, according to background information supplied by the authors. Vitamin B insufficiency among individuals over 65 can be caused by reduced absorption and by medical conditions.

The prevalence of depression in later life ranges from 7% to 49%, they further noted. Depression among older people is associated with adverse health outcomes (including risk of mortality) and increased health costs. read more...

Comments: There is no doubt that we are deficient in some or many vitamins. In fact, I received a call from an individual whose doctor recommended that she take 40,000 IUs of vitamin D each day for some issues she was dealing with, at an age I'm guessing of somewhere in her late 40's. Now many reports suggest that 2-4,000 IUs per day is a good level to supplement, so you can see that her amount is quite high. Regardless, the results that she had reported to me were very enlightening. Her life seemed to undergo quite a major improvement.

However, although one or two vitamins can make a difference, we really need more whole food nutrition in our diets - raw, ripe fruits and vegetables. These plant-based foods are what contain not only vitamins, but a plethora of nutrients that all work together to support every aspect of our health, supporting the immune system and  preventing sickness and disease. While a vitamin D supplement is one recommendation that I will support, an even better recommendation is for you to eat more fruits, vegetables, grapes, and berries each day. A variety of those foods will provide you with a plethora of antioxidants that will support your good health. Don't wait any longer, start adding more of those foods to your diet.  In the meantime, add Juice Plus+® Fruit, Vegetable, and Berry Blend to your diet to get more nutrients from 7 fruits, 8 vegetables, and 9 grapes and berries.

Dr. J. Patrick Havey
The Health & Wellness Institute, PC
Official Juice Plus+® Independent Distributor

Dietary Supplements Not Effective

Many people will use a consumable that offers the promise of easy weight loss with the hope that just swallowing a pill, powder, or liquid supplement of some kind will somehow reduce their weight. If you're one of these people, you know the disappointment from using these products.  Even some vitamin formulations offer promise of weight loss. The reality is that the best and most effective way to lose weight is to focus on eating healthier and living healthier. That is, choosing to eat more fruits and vegetables. If you follow this blog at all, you know that estimates are 99% of us don't get enough of those foods in our diet. Hence the reason we recommend adding Juice Plus+®, to at least get more nutrients from those foods. Here's a study on the ineffectiveness of some of these dietary supplements --

Two studies that examined the effects of various over-the-counter weight loss supplements found no evidence that any facilitate weight loss beyond the placebo effect, according to data presented at the International Congress on Obesity.

An 8-week, placebo-controlled, partially-blinded study examined the effects of polyglucosamide, cabbage powder, konjak extract, sodiumalginate-complex, bean concentrate, L-carnitine, fiber formulation, guarana seed powder and selected plant extracts compared with placebo. The study included 189 overweight and obese participants (BMI, 25 to 35; mean age, 47 years).

Significant weight loss occurred in the placebo group (mean change: –1.21 kg) and seven of the supplement cohorts (mean change: –1.05 kg to –1.99 kg). Following adjustments, no over-the-counter product caused significantly greater weight loss than placebo.

Many of these supplements have not been submitted to clinical trials, according to Thomas Ellrott, MD, head of the Institute for Nutrition and Psychology at University of Göttingen Medical School, Germany.

“The market for these is huge, but, unlike for regulated drugs, effectiveness does not have to be proven for these to be sold,” Ellrott said in a press release. “We need to put them through rigorous scientific evaluation to determine whether they have any benefit.”

In a second study presented at the meeting, researchers presented the results of a review of literature searches for relevant articles on popular weight loss supplements. They found nine systematic reviews that evaluated guar gum, chromium picolinate, ephedra, spp/ephedrine, citrus aurantium (bitter orange), conjugated linoleic acid, calcium, glucomannan, chitosan and camellia sinensis (green tea).

“We found no evidence that any of these food supplements studied is an adequate treatment for reducing body weight,” Igho Onakpoya, MD,of Peninsula Medical School at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, U.K., said in a release.

According to the researchers, Americans spend more than $1.6 billion per year on weight loss supplements.

“People think these supplements are a shortcut to weight loss and may spend huge sums of money on them, but they may end up disappointed, frustrated and depressed if their weight expectations are not met in the long term,” Onakpoya said. (reference...)

Comments: You don't need to spend your money on products that promise easy weight loss. Instead, put your money on fresh fruits and vegetables.  Until you each the minimum recommended servings of those foods (at least 5/day, although 7 or more seems to be the most recent recommendation), then add Juice Plus+® so you're getting additional nutrients from those foods. The healthiest diet and best insurance you can provide yourself is a one that includes plenty of ripe, raw fruits and vegetables. Those foods provide the antioxidants and nutrients that will keep you healthy and help prevent sickness and disease.

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC

Diet, Nutrition Effects Generations to Come

Choose your diet wisely, because you may be having more influence on future generations' health than you realize. Getting the right nutrition with vitamins and nutrients from natural sources - fruits, vegetables...plants, basically - will support not only good health but healthy DNA.  There is a study on the positive effects that the powdered concentrate of fruit and vegetable nutrients used in Juice Plus+ has on DNA (read the research here). Think of the logic here: the nutrients in your diet feed every cell in your body and those cells are constantly dying off and being replaced, some at different rates than others. Therefore, if you're not getting the right nutrition and vitamins from raw, ripened plant-based sources, then you might be allowing some compromises to your system. This is oversimplifying a bit, but you can understand the nature of how things work. Here's a portion of an article from foodconsumer.org on how foods influence your health, and possibly those offspring --

The bottom line is that if you want to stay healthy, and keep your children healthy, you have to avoid fast food and other processed foods, and invest some time in your kitchen, cooking from scratch.

Cooking for your children may actually have extremely far reaching benefits, because it is now well known that dietary changes can prompt epigenetic DNA changes that can be passed on to future generations. For instance, pregnant rats fed a fatty diet had daughters and granddaughters with a greater risk of breast cancer.

Could it be that we're just now starting to see the generational effects of our grandparents' and parents' penchant for processed foods?  Perhaps.  But the good news is you can change the trend, and you can "override" genetic predispositions by choosing your foods wisely today.

Do You Suffer from Biophoton Deficiency?
The more I study nutrition the more I am convinced that we need to eat raw, uncooked, unprocessed food. Yet the average American spends 90 percent of their money on processed food. In my mind, it's no wonder we have an epidemic of chronic degenerative disease! Part of the problem is related to the lack of live food.

I've written about biophotons a few times over the years, but it's still an area that many people are unaware of, or have trouble "believing" in. But biophoton research clearly explains the underlying principles of why it's so vital to eat a diet of mostly RAW food.

As you know, without the sun it is virtually impossible for most life forms to exist. For example, we now know that without appropriate sun exposure, you will become deficient in vitamin D, which will have very far ranging consequences for your health. Vitamin D influences up to 3,000 genes (that we know of), and without sufficient amounts of vitamin D, your body becomes susceptible to a staggering amount of diseases.

But you can absorb sun energy via your food as well as through your skin (although this should not be confused with being able to alter your vitamin D status).

Dr. Johanna Budwig from Germany has stated that live foods are electron-rich, and act as high-powered electron donors and "solar resonance fields" in your body to attract, store, and conduct the sun's energy in your body.

The greater your store of light energy, the greater the power of your overall electromagnetic field, and consequently the more energy is available for healing and maintenance of optimal health.

Every living organism emits biophotons or low-level luminescence, and the higher the level of light a cell emits, the greater its vitality and the potential for the transfer of that energy to the individual who eats it. Hence, the more light a food is able to store, the more nutritious it is.

Naturally grown fresh vegetables, for example, and sun-ripened fruits, are rich in light energy. The capacity to store biophotons is therefore a measure of the quality of your food. That said, how much light energy do you think processed- and fast foods might have? I can guarantee you it's not much, if any at all.

I firmly believe it's only a matter of time before these truths will become common scientific- and medical knowledge, but until then, you can help speed things up by sharing what you know with your family and friends.

Taking Control of what You Eat
Remember, taking control of your health requires you to pay close attention to what you eat. Ideally, you'll want to consume as much whole, raw, organic and/or locally grown foods as possible. That's one of the major reasons why vegetable juicing works so well – you're consuming living raw food!

Most vegetables also have very low carbohydrate levels that minimally disturb insulin metabolism – another important trait of a healthful diet -- but there is something very special about vegetable juicing and eating live raw foods in general. read more...

Comments: The importance of a diet that includes plenty of raw, ripened fruits and vegetables cannot be emphasized enough. If the influence that the foods you eat has on your DNA doesn't motivate you to at least make the attempt each day to add more fruits and vegetables then, well...you need to think twice.  There is no way to avoid the effects a poor diet will have on your health, and certainly we have a health crisis in the US that starts with a lack of raw, ripened plant-based foods.

We do recommend Juice Plus+ as a way to at least get more nutrients from a variety of those foods, and it is made by starting with ripe, raw fruits (7 of them) and vegetables (8 of them); juicing and drying the juice to get a concentrate of nutrients. However, Juice Plus+ is not a substitute for those foods that you should be eating.  So work on adding more of those foods to your diet, for your own health's sake and for the sake of your offspring's health.

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC

The Antioxidant Power of Grapes And Berries

It is no secret that grapes and berries are some of the hightest-contain foods out there. They are healthy on many levels - the fiber, nutrients, antioxidants, and so on, and all that adds up to being essential for good health and the prevention of sickness and disease. Even Juice Plus+® has a Berry Blend that contains nutrients from 9 different grapes and berries (and coming soon: a chewable version!).  But too many of us don't get enough fruits and vegetables in our diet, and certainly not enough berries and grapes (no, wine doesn't count!). Here's more details about the antioxidant power of berries that may help motivate you to start consuming more of them --

 That unique dark indigo blue color, the spicy aroma, that sweet-tart taste, nothing says tangy summer quite like blueberries. Not only are these berries rich in vitamin A, C, and E, but they are also bursting with healthy antioxidants. Blueberries contain both betacarotene as well as many minerals , such as potassium, manganese and magnesium.

Their high fiber content and low saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium levels make blueberries one of the most health-protecting antioxidants available during this season. May through October is blueberry season, this is when you will find fresh blueberries at most of your grocery stores. During other months, blueberries are imported.

Antioxidants are valuable elements that prevent cancer-causing cell damage. They do this by binding the free electrons, aiding the halt of free radical production. Free radicals are groups of atoms that affect cells and impair the body's immune system. Antioxidants are also believed to limit the changes brought on by old age related diseases.

Blueberries have the highest level of anthocyanins than any other fruit or vegetable, an antioxidant that is known to reduce human heart disease and cancer. These are what create that signature blend between that dark blue and red color that makes blueberry violet. This is also the culprit for those brutally stained blue lips on your children's faces and that irremovable stain since anthocyanins are what makes these berries bleed. This substance is also believed to fight E. Coli. Read more...

Comments: Berries are easy to consume. You don't have to do any preparation other than a quick rinse to remove some of the dirt, but that's it.  And it's best to consume them in their natural state - ripe and raw, for maintaining the optimal amount of nutrients that exist in them.  With all the benefits there are, you should make the effort to consume more.  And why not add Juice Plus+® Berry Blend (also called Vineyard Blend) to get even more nutrients from grapes and berries. Chances are, with even the best of efforts, you probably will still fall short of the daily minimum recommendation.

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

NSF Certifications Brings Confidence for Athletes, Others

There is a certification from NSF - 'The Public Health And Safety Company', that is used by many governing bodies of professional and international athletic organizations that assures them of the quality and standard of such product. Sometimes athletes for example take a supplement not knowing there are stimulants or other things present that may be banned by such organization, in which case any testing on the athlete would render them ineligible or disqualified from competition. There are other uses for having the NSF certification on a product, but having it at all is another way that consumers can feel confident that the product is maintaining a high quality.  The Juice Plus+ Fruit and Vegetable and Vineyard Blends have received the NSF review. Here's more --

Juice Plus+® Orchard and Garden Blend and Juice Plus+ Vineyard Blend®* nutritional products recently received certification from NSF International’s dietary supplements and functional foods product certification program in addition to certification from NSF’s Certified for Sport™ program. Juice Plus+® is a line of whole food based nutritional products made by NSA LLC.

To achieve certification, Juice Plus+® Orchard and Garden Blends met all of the requirements of NSF International’s dietary supplements certification program. These requirements are part of NSF/ANSI Standard 173, the only accredited American National Standard for dietary supplements and functional foods and include:

•Contaminant review: to ensure there are no undeclared ingredients present or unacceptable levels of contaminants in the product
•Label claim review: to ensure what’s on the label is in the bottle
•Toxicology review: to verify product formulation and marketing claims
•Facility Inspection: Manufacturing facility audits to ensure the products are produced in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs)
•Ongoing monitoring: to verify compliance through periodic auditing and testing.
Select batches of the Juice Plus+® products also have been tested and certified by NSF International’s Athletic Banned Substances Certification (Certified for Sport™) Program, which screens for more than 140 banned substances, including stimulants, narcotics, steroids and diuretics.

Juice Plus+® can also use the NSF certification mark on product labels, in product advertising, and in other marketing materials to highlight their certification efforts.

“We’re proud to have received these certifications from NSF International, which show our products meet the highest industry standards,” said John Blair, Senior Vice President of Product and Research for Juice Plus+®. “Juice Plus+® is committed to providing high-quality, whole food based nutritional products. These certifications show that our products meet the highest industry standards.”

Because their products meet the requirements of both the NSF dietary supplements and functional foods certification and the NSF Certified for SportTM Program, Juice Plus+® is listed on the NSF website.

NSF International conducts ongoing inspections and periodic testing to verify that Juice Plus+® continues to meet their requirements. (reference)

Comments: Just another way that the products offered by NSA are of the highest quality, so you can consume them with confidence.  Of course, there are plenty of studies that support the efficacy of the products as well. Try a 4-month supply and experience the product for yourself.

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

Use Discretion When Choosing A Nutritional Supplement

Not every supplement is as healthy as it may appear in advertising or promotions. One thing we like about Juice Plus+® is that the only promotional claims we make is that "Juice Plus+® contains nutrients from a variety of fruits and vegetables" - specifically, 7 fruits and 8 vegetables and 2 grains.  So be critical when choosing any supplement or vitamins. Here's what happened to two women that were consuming an aloe vera juice --

An investigation is under way after two women were left seriously ill by a health drink contaminated with horse tranquilliser.  One of the women, aged 60, was reportedly left in a "vegetative state" after drinking the aloe vera juice contaminated with ketamine. She and another woman, in her 40s, reacted to the drink which they are believed to have bought at a school fair in Leicester. The 60-year-old is in Leicester Royal Infirmary where her condition is said to be satisfactory.

A spokeswoman for the Health Protection Agency said: "The HPA is advising anyone who has a bottle of this liquid not to drink it and take it to the nearest police station. If they have drunk it they should seek medical advice immediately."  The daughter of the 60-year-old woman said she thought her mother was dying after she suffered a severe reaction to the drink. Read more...

Comments: Whenever you decide to add a supplement to your diet, look to see what research has been done that supports the efficacy of the product.  Don't rely on testimonials only. If you have a success story from a friend or family member, that may hold more credibility than those you read or hear online. Regardless, you are better off with a balanced diet that includes plenty of raw, ripe whole food fruits and vegetables, for the prevention of sickness and disease and support of your good health.

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

Vitamin K May Be the Next Vitamin D

There's a new vitamin gaining attention that most people aren't fully aware of. Add vitamin K to the list of vitamins that is producing some significant results in the prevention department. Vitamin D is the leader recently, but now K may be a close second if research continues to show the benefits. While taking one or a few of these vitamins seems like a good idea, it would be better to get all of your nutrition from food sources. If you take a supplement because you don't eat enough fruits and vegetables, then we recommend Juice Plus+ because it contains nutrients from a variety of those whole foods. While Juice Plus+® is not a substitute for the actual foods, it is more than just one or a few vitamins because it contains nutrients from the whole food. Here's more on Vitamin K that should have you thinking hard about being sure you get the right nutrition in your diet --

Vitamin K may be "the next vitamin D" if research continues to illuminate the growing number of benefits to your health.  Dr. Cees Vermeer, one of the world's top researchers in the field of vitamin K, founded a vitamin K research group in 1975, which is now the largest group investigating this area of nutrition science.

How many people have adequate vitamin K… care to guess? Just about zero, according to Dr. Vermeer and other experts in the field.

Most people get just enough K from their diets to maintain adequate blood clotting, but NOT enough to offer protection against he following health problems—and the list is growing:

• Prostate cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer and leukemia
• Arterial calcification, cardiovascular disease and varicose veins
• Osteoporosis
• Brain health problems, including dementia, the specifics of which are still being studied

Vitamin K comes in two forms, and it is important to understand the differences between them before devising your nutritional plan of attack.

Two Basic Types of Vitamin K
Vitamin K can be classified as either K1 or K2:

Vitamin K1: Found in green vegetables, K1 goes directly to your liver and helps you maintain a healthy blood clotting system. (This is the kind of K that infants need to help prevent a serious bleeding disorder.)  It is also vitamin K1 that keeps your own blood vessels from calcifying, and also helps your bones retain calcium and develop the right crystalline structure.

Vitamin K2: Bacteria produce this type of vitamin K. It is present in high quantities in your gut, but unfortunately is not absorbed from there and therefore most of it is passed out in your stool. K2 goes straight to vessel walls, bones, and tissues other than the liver. It is present in fermented foods, particularly cheese and the Japanese food natto, which is by far the richest source of K2. Vitamin K2 can convert to K1 in your body. As a supplement, K1 is less expensive, which is why it's the form used for neonates.

Making matters even more complex, there are several different forms of vitamin K2.

MK8 and MK9 come primarily from dairy products. MK4 and MK7 are the two most significant forms of K2, and act very differently in your body:

MK4 is a synthetic product, very similar to vitamin K1, and your body is capable of converting K1 into MK4. However, MK4 has a very short half-life of about one hour, making it a poor candidate as a dietary supplement. After reaching your intestines, it remains mostly in your liver, where it is useful in synthesizing blood-clotting factors.

MK7 is a newer agent with more practical applications because it stays in your body longer; its half-life is three days, meaning you have a much better chance of building up a consistent blood level, compared to MK4 or K1. MK7 is extracted from the Japanese food called natto.  Read on...

Comments: As you can see again, foods are a good source of your nutrients. Eating plenty of, and a variety of, fruits and vegetables is the rule of thumb for covering all of your nutritional needs...or at least very near to it.  If you don't eat enough of those foods, then take Juice Plus+® so you will at least get additional nutrients from a variety of fruits and vegetables. However, a diet that includes plenty of raw, ripened whole food fruits and vegetables is going to be the first and best way to go about preventing sickness and disease and keeping you health.

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

One Mineral Not To Overlook

Amongs the many vitamins and minerals that are present in the foods we should be consuming, exists one that needs some attention.  While it is important to get your vitamins and minerals from mostly plant-based sources, this mineral needs to be singled out.  It is magnesium. Although in some form it may produce some sparks, your body will get a good charge out of adequate consumption of this important mineral.  Here's why --

The Marvels of the “Miracle Mineral”

Antioxidants can help restore youth, replenish energy, and even improve heart health. But did you know that one mineral is so vital that deficiency doubles your chance of death? And guess what? Experts estimate that 80 percent of the population is exactly that.

That miracle mineral is magnesium.

The claim that magnesium deficiency doubles your chances of death is quite genuine. The finding came from a study published in The Journal of Intensive Care Medicine. But the conclusion comes as no surprise to leading experts in the field. They agree that magnesium is critical to long life and good health.

“Magnesium deficiency triggers 22 conditions,” says Dr. Carolyn Dean, M.D. As a magnesium expert, she should know. She has led medical research on the subject for over 30 years. She currently serves as the Medical Director of the Nutritional Magnesium Association and wrote The Magnesium Miracle.

Among the 22 conditions that magnesium deficiency can cause, she lists anxiety, diabetes, heart disease, and migraines. And she notes that “the introduction of magnesium can help alleviate these conditions.” more...

Comments: You can see that magnesium is an important part of good health. There are many ways to get the vitamins and minerals you need. However, food sources are going to be the best. That's one reason we recommend Juice Plus+®, because it is a supplement that contains nutrients from a variety of whole food fruits and vegetables. Here are some great sources to get the necessary intake:

FOOD	Milligrams (mg)	%DV*
Halibut, cooked, 3 ounces	90	20
Almonds, dry roasted, 1 ounce	80	20
Cashews, dry roasted, 1 ounce	75	20
Soybeans, mature, cooked, ½ cup	75	20
Spinach, frozen, cooked, ½ cup	75	20
Nuts, mixed, dry roasted, 1 ounce	65	15
Cereal, shredded wheat, 2 rectangular biscuits	55	15
Oatmeal, instant, fortified, prepared w/ water, 1 cup	55	15
Potato, baked w/ skin, 1 medium	50	15
Peanuts, dry roasted, 1 ounce	50	15
Peanut butter, smooth, 2 Tablespoons	50	15
Wheat Bran, crude, 2 Tablespoons	45	10
Blackeyed Peas, cooked, ½ cup	45	10
Yogurt, plain, skim milk, 8 fluid ounces	45	10
Bran Flakes, ½ cup	40	10
Vegetarian Baked Beans, ½ cup	40	10
Rice, brown, long-grained, cooked, ½ cup	40	10
Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, ½ cup	35	8
Avocado, California, ½ cup pureed	35	8
Kidney Beans, canned, ½ cup	35	8
Pinto Beans, cooked, ½ cup	35	8
Wheat Germ, crude, 2 Tablespoons	35	8
Chocolate milk, 1 cup	33	8
Banana, raw, 1 medium	30	8
Milk Chocolate candy bar, 1.5 ounce bar	28	8
Milk, reduced fat (2%) or fat free, 1 cup	27	8
Bread, whole wheat, commercially prepared, 1 slice	25	6
Raisins, seedless, ½ cup packed	25	6
Whole Milk, 1 cup	24	6
Chocolate Pudding, 4 ounce ready-to-eat portion	24	6

*DV = Daily Value. DVs are reference numbers developed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help consumers determine if a food contains a lot or a little of a specific nutrient. The DV for magnesium is 400 milligrams (mg). Most food labels do not list a food's magnesium content. The percent DV (%DV) listed on the table above indicates the percentage of the DV provided in one serving. A food providing 5% of the DV or less per serving is a low source while a food that provides 10-19% of the DV is a good source. A food that provides 20% or more of the DV is high in that nutrient. It is important to remember that foods that provide lower percentages of the DV also contribute to a healthful diet. For foods not listed in this table, please refer to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Nutrient Database Web site: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl

Comments: Make every effort to get adequate amounts of fruits, vegetables, even grapes and berries into your diet in order to get the nutrients from a variety of healthy sources. Add Juice Plus+® if you don't or won't eat the minimum recommended servings each day. We all need those foods and nutrients from them for good health and prevention.

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