Juice Plus+® Health News

Is This Your Baby?

Is your baby getting enough of the right nutrition to keep her healthy? Chances are probably not. In particular, let's look at Vitamin D and focus on its benefits, and why it currently stands out amongst all the vitamins, necessary and important for your newborn, your grandparents, and everyone in between. Most of us know we need vitamin D for strong bones. But it appears that this nutrient, or rather a lack of it, may play a role in asthma, cancer, depression, heart disease, diabetes, even weight gain.

Starting With Your Baby
Daily Dose for Breastfed Babies

Breast milk provides multiple benefits for babies, but it is not a good source for vitamin D. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all breastfed babies receive a 400 IU daily supplement of vitamin D starting shortly after birth and continuing until the baby is weaned and drinking at least 1,000 mL of vitamin D-fortified formula or whole milk.

Vitamin D and Children

Evidence shows that children who get adequate vitamin D, either from the sun or from supplements, may have a reduced risk of developing type 1 diabetes. Studies also link inadequate vitamin D to more severe childhood asthma. Children with asthma who have low vitamin D levels have more hospitalizations and use more asthma medications.

Vitamin D for Older Children
Vitamin D-fortified whole milk and foods can provide the vitamin D that growing kids need — as long as they get enough of it. The AAP recommends that children who do not get at least 400 IU of vitamin D per day from their diet should be given a daily supplement of 400 IU.

How Much Vitamin D Do You Need?

How much vitamin D you need depends on your age and risk factors. Recommendations for daily adequate intake, which are being reviewed, are 200 IU for adults under 50, 400 IU for ages 51 to 70, and 600 IU for ages 70 or over. Most experts, though, feel those levels are too low. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends 800 to 1,000 IU for all adults over age 50.

Start Your Day With Vitamin D

One way to get vitamin D is through your diet. In the U.S., nearly all milk is fortified with vitamin D, and many brands of orange juice are, too. Even ready-to-eat breakfast cereals can contain a healthy dose. So just by making sure you eat breakfast, you can make every day a "D day."

Vitamin D at Dinner

Fish — especially fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines — are a good source of vitamin D. One 3-ounce portion of cooked salmon can provide nearly 200% of the recommended daily value of vitamin D. Three ounces of specially grown mushrooms that have been exposed to UVB light can provide 100%.

Eggs, Cheese, and Vitamin D

Other food sources of vitamin D include egg yolks, cod liver oil, beef liver, margarine, yogurt, and some cheeses. While milk has been fortified in the United States since the 1930s, the same is not true for all dairy products. Cheese and ice cream may be a tasty source of calcium, but you need to read the nutrition label to know whether or not you're getting vitamin D.

Vitamin D Supplements

To be sure you get enough vitamin D, many experts say you need to take a supplement. Most multivitamin tablets contain 400 IU of vitamin D, which means taking one or two tablets a day will provide the current recommended amount of vitamin D for most people. You can also find vitamin D by itself in higher-dose tablets and in combination with calcium. Of course, getting enough from natural foods is always going to be best.

Who's at Risk for "D" Deficiency?

Studies find vitamin D deficiency affects adults, infants, children, and adolescents. Your diet may increase your risk if it's low in milk or the foods that naturally contain vitamin D, such as salmon and eggs. Most people with low blood levels of vitamin D don't notice any symptoms. Others risk factors include:

Obesity
Digestive disorders like celiac disease
Older age (50+)
Some medications

Blood Pressure and Vitamin D

The combination of high blood pressure and vitamin D deficiency could be deadly. In one observational study, people with hypertension and a vitamin D deficiency were twice as likely to have a cardiac event than other people in the study. The lack of vitamin D was not linked to cardiovascular problems in those without hypertension.

Vitamin D and Breast Cancer

Low vitamin D may worsen the prognosis for women with breast cancer. In one study, women deficient in vitamin D when they were diagnosed had a 94% greater chance of the cancer spreading. They also had a 73% greater chance of dying over the next 10 years. Other studies suggest that vitamin D may even offer protection against developing breast cancer.

Vitamin D and Other Cancers

Vitamin D may offer some protection against at least two other cancers: colon cancer and prostate cancer. But vitamin D isn't a magic bullet. The cancer-fighting benefit may be limited to people who are otherwise healthy, not overweight, and exercise.

Vitamin D and Depression

It isn't clear how they are related. But studies have linked low levels of vitamin D to depression among older men and women. One possible explanation is that lack of vitamin D causes the parathyroid gland to produce more hormone. Low levels of vitamin D and higher levels of parathyroid hormone have been linked to depression severity.

Vitamin D and Weight Gain

After menopause, most women gain weight until they reach their mid 60s. There is evidence, though, that taking a vitamin D and calcium supplement may slow that weight gain. In one study, women who were not getting enough of those two nutrients at the start were 11% less likely to gain weight and more likely to maintain their weight or even lose weight as a result of taking the supplement.

Testing for Vitamin D

There is a simple blood test — 25 hydroxyvitamin D test — your doctor can order to check your level of vitamin D. Some doctors, though, don't give the test unless you ask for it.

How Much Is Too Much?

There is an upper limit to how much vitamin D you can safely take. Current Institute of Medicine recommendations for adults say that a daily intake of up to 2,000 IU of vitamin D is safe. Some experts say that limit is far too low. However, you should not take more vitamin D than that unless you're told to do so by your doctor. The upper limit for infants is lower. Talk with your doctor about how much vitamin D is safe for your child.

Comments: You can't go wrong with a healthy diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables in order to get a well-rounded variety of nutrients and antioxidants, before you decide to supplement your diet. Then, when you do, be sure to choose a whole food nutritional supplement so that you're getting as many of the nutrients from the whole food.

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

Source: WebMD

Report Shows Fruits And Vegetables Lacking (chart)

It's time to stop taking notes and start taking action. Being aware of a problem is one thing; doing nothing about it is worse.  And that problem is not enough fruit and vegetable consumption. The CDC released a report which details the trends in fruit and vegetable consumption among adults. The numbers need major improvements. Personal responsibility is the only way to better health, more life in our years and years in our lives. A side effect will certainly be lower health care costs. Choosing to consume more ripe, raw fruits and vegetables is the best way to long-term health care. While we recommend Juice Plus+ as a way to get more nutrients from a variety of those foods, Juice Plus+ does not provide a total solution for good health. A well rounded diet, regular exercise, and avoiding the few unhealthy "killers" is what's needed. Here's more on the trend being seen --

A 10-year study released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that we (American adults) are eating even less of the healthy stuff than we were 10 years ago! Not surprising, because the rates of obesity and diabetes have climbed in that period as well.

The CDC Healthy People 2010 objectives included targets of fruit and vegetable consumption. Their targets were high indeed, compared to the results.

The CDC 2010 target for adults (18 or over) was that 75% of the people responding to the 2009 survey would eat two or more fruits a day. But the actual responses showed that only 32.5%, nationwide, ate two or more fruits per day.

Disappointing too, were the results of vegetable consumption. The 2010 target for adults who eat three or more portions of vegetables a day (not including french fries) was 50% of the population; the actual respondents who ate that amount of vegetables was only 26.3% nationwide.

The CDC concludes that...

These findings underscore the need for interventions at national, state, and community levels, across multiple settings (e.g., worksites, community venues, and restaurants ) to improve fruit and vegetable access, availability, and affordability, as a means of increasing individual consumption.

In addition to the negative impact on our heath, interesting too, is the impact of less demand for fruit and veggies on the nation's farmers, as well as other economies in the chain of food gathering, transportation, sale and preparation that rely on that demand for survival. (source)

Comments: There are no capsules that can provide good health. The solution may be a simple one, but it requires day-to-day consistent actions. Choosing fruits and vegetables over vending machine snacks that come in a bag or wrapper, or water over the soft drinks that too many people tend to gravitate toward when thirsty or feel tired. THe best way to feel great is by consuming plenty of the natural things: plant-based foods and water. And although we cannot use the Juice Plus+ fruit, vegetable, vineyard capsules as a crutch for our diets, thinking that we're getting what we need, we can at least give ourselves some of the nutrients that we fall short on...until we consistently eat the minimum recommended each day. The importance of fruits and vegetables - plant-based foods - to our good health, is a message that we all need to hear, and spread, until we have good health throughout our nation and world. Choose good health. Choose a healthy diet.

Nutrition, Vitamins Can Make You Happy :-)

We've all had a burger, fries and soft drink at some point in our lives, probably with some regrets afterwards - rapid heart rate, upset stomach, fatigue (why do we eat this stuff!?).  Surely, those types of bodily reactions are not going to do much for our mood.  What about other types of foods that you've probably eaten that make you "feel" bad?  The point is that what you choose to eat will have an impact on your mood, your energy levels, your motivation, and your general outlook on life.  Vitamins and proper nutrition are going to be a big influence on your mood, and you've got to take that into consideration when it's time to eat. This is why we continue to emphasize whole food nutrients like Juice Plus+ as a supplement to what should be an otherwise healthy diet.  You would probably hard pressed to find many people who eat healthy who are unhappy. Here is research on how vitamin C helps with mood --

The known benefits of taking vitamin C now include mood improvement, according to a new study by researchers from Montreal's Jewish General Hospital (JGH). In a double-blind clinical trial, patients at the hospital experienced a significant and rapid improvement in their moods shortly after taking vitamin C.

Published in the journal Nutrition, the study adds to the growing body of evidence about the vital role vitamin C plays in regulating hormone levels, particularly those like Serotonin that affect mental and emotional well-being. And according to researchers, most people have dismally inadequate intake of the vital nutrient.

"Earlier studies, both in our hospital and in other centres, demonstrated that the majority of acutely hospitalized patients have subnormal levels of vitamins C and D in their blood," explained Dr. L. John Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., an investigator at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI), which is affiliated with JGH. "About one in five acute-care patients in our hospital have vitamin C levels so low as to be compatible with scurvy."

Hoffer also explained that doctors are largely unaware of these massive vitamin deficiencies, resulting in patients not getting the vitamin supplementation they need to regain their health.  "[P]atients are rarely given vitamin supplements," he said. "Most physicians are simply unaware of the problem. Subclinical deficiencies of vitamin C and D have each been linked to psychological abnormalities."

The JGH study is hardly the first to identify a connection between vitamin C deficiency and poor health. Numerous studies have shown that vitamin C is necessary to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system and to protect the body from oxidative damage, but it is now clear that the brain relies on vitamin C as well. "Low levels of vitamin C in the brain can result in depression and hysteria," explain Michael T. Murray, N.D., and Joseph E. Pizzorno, N.D. (source)

Comments: There are many benefits that have been seen from vitamins and supplements, but also some risks that have been shown when just single vitamins have been added to the diet. You are much better off eating fruits and vegetables and other whole foods, in their raw and ripe state, than trying to get good nutrition from supplements.  If you are feeling a bit sluggish and down, eat some fruit and/or some vegetables. Try it once and you'll be a believer.  It won't hurt to add some whole food nutrition supplement with Juice Plus+.

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

Super Foods For Women

Foods loaded with vitamins and antioxidants and are nutrient-dense are great for your health and weight if you're looking to shed a few pounds.  Feeling full from foods that taste good and are good for you is the right combination.  Because we don't seem to follow that regimen of eating, I suggest adding Juice Plus+ to get more nutrients and antioxidants.  Here's five superfoods that you may want to pick up and why, particularly if you're a female  --

Buffalo Meat Due largely to menstruation, women tend to be anemic more than men. And low iron levels in blood can cause severe fatigue. To get a good dose of iron, try bison. Bison, or buffalo, meat is lean and has what diet-conscious women want -- lots of iron and less fat than most cuts of beef. "The iron content is about 3 milligrams in a 3 1/2-ounce uncooked portion," says Marty Marchello, Ph.D., at North Dakota State University. "That portion contains less than 3 grams of fat." Buffalo meat can help boost energy and lower weight. And you don't have to have a home on the range to get some bison anymore. You can pick it up at many supermarkets across the United States, or through mail order or on the Internet.

Papaya This tropical fruit packs about twice the vitamin C of an orange. Add it to your arsenal against gallbladder disease, which afflicts twice as many women as men. After analyzing the blood of over 13,000 people, scientists from the University of California, San Francisco, found that women who had lower levels of vitamin C were more likely to have gallbladder illnesses. One medium papaya (about ten ounces), with its 188 mg of vitamin C and a mere 119 calories, is a refreshing source of vitamins. The once exotic fruit now can be found in most supermarkets.

Flaxseed Bakers use this nutty-flavored seed mainly to add flavor and fiber. But scientists see the tiny reddish-brown seed, rich in estrogenlike compounds called lignans, as a potential weapon against breast cancer. An exciting report at last year's San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium showed that adding flaxseed to the diet of women with breast cancer effectively slowed tumor growth. You can flavor your muffins with flaxseed, but the easiest way to get the beneficial lignans is to sprinkle a few tablespoons of ground flaxseed on your morning cereal. Look for the seeds in health food stores or in supermarkets on the flour aisle. They're easy to grind in a blender or coffee grinder. But get seeds -- there are no lignans in the oil.

Tofu Foods high in soy protein can lower cholesterol and may minimize menopausal hot flashes and strengthen bone. Isoflavones, plant chemicals in soybeans that have a structure similar to estrogen, may be the reason. Though animal studies form the bulk of the evidence, a human study found that 90 mg of isoflavones was beneficial to bone (specifically the spine). And two other studies suggest that 50 to 76 mg of isoflavones a day may offer some relief from hot flashes. A half-cup of tofu contains about 25 to 35 mg of isoflavones.

Collard Greens This humble vegetable may help fight osteoporosis, which afflicts many women late in life. In addition to getting adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D, some studies suggest that vitamin K may have a bone-protective effect as well. Based on data from one of the largest studies of women, the Nurses' Health Study, researchers discovered that women who ate enough vitamin K-rich foods (at least 109 micrograms of the vitamin daily) were 30 percent less likely to suffer a hip fracture during ten years of follow-up than women who ate less. Researchers point out that dark-green leafy vegetables -- Brussels sprouts, spinach, broccoli -- are all good sources of vitamins. But collard greens, with about 375 micrograms per half-cup, are among the best. (source)

Comment: There are many foods that have the qualities of healing, and can give you the preventative powers that are needed to avoid sickness and disease. Remember, your diet is the single biggest influence on your health and longevity...so choose what you eat and drink wisely!

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

Prostate Cancer Awareness - Health News

Good nutrition is a must for anyone who wants to take appropriate steps in the prevention of sickness and disease. And for anyone who's risks may be higher, we recommend adding some source of antioxidant supplement to what should be an already healthy diet. Nothing beats eating ripe, raw, whole foods for the prevention of sickness and disease, but adding a supplement to get what's missing is a good idea.  Juice Plus+® has 3 blends with the following: a Fruit Blend with nutrients from 7 different fruits; a Vegetable Blend with nutrients from 8 different vegetables; and a Vineyard Blend with nutrients from 9 different grapes and berries. Juice Plus+® is a good source for supplementing your diet.  As we get into football season, it is also time to remind the millions of males glued to the TV each Sunday about one of the higher risk cancers. This is the month for National Prostate Cancer Awareness.

Every September, special attention is placed on one of the few disease exclusively affecting men. Prostate cancer has consistently ranked as the most common form of cancer within the United States over the last decade, beating out breast, lung, and colon cancers every year. And when paired with the male tendency to shy away from doctor’s appointments, this disease represents an issue of real concern in the world of men’s health. So in honor of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and the health of men everywhere, here are a few quick tips for staying competitive in the battle against prostate cancer.

Know Your Opponent
•   Prostate cancer affects 1 in 6 American men, with more than 2 million American men currently living with the condition.
•   Men are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than women are to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
•   Prostate cancer can be diagnosed in men as early as in their 30’s.
•   The cancer is highly treatable in the early stages, with an almost perfect treatment rate, so early detection is very important.
•   Delayed detection and treatment can be deadly, with almost 90 American men dying from the disease daily.

Checking Your Stats
•   African American men are 40% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than Caucasian men, making it that much more important for this group to schedule regular checkups with their doctor.
•   Family history plays an important role in the development of the disease, with the risk doubling for men with fathers or brothers who have been diagnosed.
•   It is recommended that men receive a “baseline” prostate screening, testing for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, and a digital rectal exam at age 40.  They should discuss the possibility of yearly exams thereafter with their physicians.  Men with family history of prostate issues should discuss earlier screening initiation with their doctor.
•   Know Your Number: Keep track of your PSA results for each screening, making sure to write the number down in a safe place each year.

Making a Winning Gameplan
•   Maintain a healthy weight through good nutrition and an active lifestyle.
•   Increase your ‘good’ fats, such as the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, and keep ‘bad’ fats like those found in margarine to a minimum.
•   Vary your diet…try to include foods that have been seen to be beneficial, such as tomatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower, into your regular diet.
•   Keep smoking, alcohol intake, and unnecessary stress to a minimum. (source)

Comments: Don't ignore the obvious steps for good health. A few smart diet choices, some exercise, and regular checkups at the doctor are not that difficult to follow.

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

More Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Needed

While we recommend Juice Plus+ as a way to get nutrients from 7 different fruits, 8 different vegetables, and 2 grains, the statistics continue to show why there is such a need for this whole food nutritional supplement.  Juice Plus+ is not a substitute for eating ripe, raw fruits and vegetables, but when we continue to emphasize the need to consume more of those whole foods and the statistics say that even more people are not doing so, then we have to continue to make the recommendation. Here's more on the deficit in good nutrition that more people are facing --

Despite all those public health campaigns designed to convince us to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, a recent study by the Centers of Disease Control shows that most Americans still aren't getting enough. The state-by-state analysis found that only about one-third of American adults consume two or more servings of fruit per day and just one-quarter eat three or more servings of vegetables. There's also been no statistical increase in vegetable consumption in the past decade, and fruit consumption has actually fallen.

These figures fall far, far below the CDC's goal. By now, the CDC had hoped that 75 percent of adults would be eating enough fruits and that 50 percent would be getting enough veggies.

Nearly every state in the country has failed in consuming the ideal amount of fruits and vegetables. Tennessee, Oregon and Maine, however had the highest levels of veggie eaters while California, New York and Vermont ate the most fruit. Washington D.C. was the only area surveyed to rank in the top five for both fruit and vegetable consumption.

So which states fared the worst? South Dakota, Louisiana and Iowa had the lowest levels of vegetable consumption, while Oklahoma, South Carolina and Kansas consumed the least fruits. Mississippi earned the distinction of being near the bottom of both lists.

It's no wonder 26.7 percent of American adults are obese. source...

Looking state by state, only Idaho managed to get close to the produce eating objective. How’d Georgia do? Not so great, with just shy of 30 percent of people meeting fruit and veggie goals in 2009. If you want to be a tiny bit optimistic, during the past decade, Georgia didn’t lose any ground in the vegetable category and fruit consumption is up from 28 percent, which met the goal in 2000. No matter how you look at it, there’s huge room for improvement. more...

Comments: You don't need to supplement your diet if you eat plenty of raw, ripened fruits and vegetables each day. But until you do, it's a good idea to get a whole food nutritional supplement in order to at least get the nutrients, such as Juice Plus+.  You may found the ounce of prevention worth the pound of cure later. Those foods are important for brain function, prevention of sickness and disease, slowing the aging process, and just overall better health!

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC

Are Vitamins the Same as Antioxidants?

Is your vitamin supplement providing the antioxidants you need from the gamut of nutrients in the whole food?...and from a variety of sources?  You know, we hear a lot about antioxidants these days. But what are they, and why are they so important?

Antioxidants are nutrients found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that provide significant preventive health benefits. They offset the negative impacts of millions of maverick electrons called free radicals, which continually bombard cells throughout your body. Free radicals are generated when you are stressed, when you exercise, when you smoke – even when you breathe.

Vitamins are antioxidants. Multi-vitamins contain only a handful of antioxidants, while fruits and vegetables contain literally thousands of antioxidants.

When your body has more free radicals than antioxidants, a state known as oxidative stress occurs. A number of independent clinical studies show that Juice Plus+ not only delivers antioxidants that are absorbed by your body, but also reduces biomarkers of oxidative stress in your body.

A clinical investigation by researchers at The University of Florida published in The Journal of Nutrition in October 2006 showed improved overall Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) – an indicator of reduced oxidative stress – after only 35 days of taking Juice Plus+.

A clinical study at Tokyo Women’s Medical University published in September 2007 reported a reduction in two key markers of oxidative stress after only 28 days on Juice Plus+.

Researchers at The Medical University of Graz, Austria and The University of North Carolina, Greensboro found that Juice Plus+ Orchard, Garden and Vineyard Blends taken together were effective in reducing a marker for oxidative stress associated with aerobic exercise. Results from these studies were published in The Journal of Nutrition in December 2007 and in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise in June 2006 and in January 2009.

Eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and take Juice Plus+ – because scientific research shows that it’s delivering antioxidants that help fight the free radicals and reduce your oxidative stress.

The following information is published on the website of the National Cancer Institute:

Can antioxidants prevent cancer?
Considerable laboratory evidence from chemical, cell culture, and animal studies indicates that antioxidants may slow or possibly prevent the development of cancer. However, information from recent clinical trials is less clear. In recent years, large-scale, randomized clinical trials reached inconsistent conclusions.

What was shown in previously published large-scale clinical trials?
Five large-scale clinical trials published in the 1990s reached differing conclusions about the effect of antioxidants on cancer. The studies examined the effect of beta-carotene and other antioxidants on cancer in different patient groups. However, beta-carotene appeared to have different effects depending upon the patient population. The conclusions of each study are summarized below.

The first large randomized trial on antioxidants and cancer risk was the Chinese Cancer Prevention Study, published in 1993. This trial investigated the effect of a combination of beta-carotene, vitamin E, and selenium on cancer in healthy Chinese men and women at high risk for gastric cancer. The study showed a combination of beta-carotene, vitamin E, and selenium significantly reduced incidence of both gastric cancer and cancer overall (1).

A 1994 cancer prevention study entitled the Alpha-Tocopherol (vitamin E)/ Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC) demonstrated that lung cancer rates of Finnish male smokers increased significantly with beta-carotene and were not affected by vitamin E (2).

Another 1994 study, the Beta-Carotene and Retinol (vitamin A) Efficacy Trial (CARET), also demonstrated a possible increase in lung cancer associated with antioxidants (3).

The 1996 Physicians’ Health Study I (PHS) found no change in cancer rates associated with beta-carotene and aspirin taken by U.S. male physicians (4).

The 1999 Women's Health Study (WHS) tested effects of vitamin E and beta-carotene in the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease among women age 45 years or older. Among apparently healthy women, there was no benefit or harm from beta-carotene supplementation. Investigation of the effect of vitamin E is ongoing (5).

How might antioxidants prevent cancer?
Antioxidants neutralize free radicals as the natural by-product of normal cell processes. Free radicals are molecules with incomplete electron shells which make them more chemically reactive than those with complete electron shells. Exposure to various environmental factors, including tobacco smoke and radiation, can also lead to free radical formation. In humans, the most common form of free radicals is oxygen. When an oxygen molecule (O2) becomes electrically charged or “radicalized” it tries to steal electrons from other molecules, causing damage to the DNA and other molecules. Over time, such damage may become irreversible and lead to disease including cancer. Antioxidants are often described as “mopping up” free radicals, meaning they neutralize the electrical charge and prevent the free radical from taking electrons from other molecules.

MY COMMENTS: You can't take one component out of the food which was meant to be eaten and study it expecting some amazing results, when you're missing the full gamut of what we believe are supporting nutrients. The same way you wouldn't expect a violinist to play what you expected from an entire orchestra. So be sure to take these studies with a 'grain of salt'.  Consume a diet rich in ripe, raw, whole food fruits and vegetables in order to get as many nutrients and antioxidant-fighting power as you can.  One thing to note: we still don't know everything there is to know about how all the nutrients in foods work to provide the prevention, healing, and health that we get from them. But go with common sense and consume plenty of them.

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

More Than Vitamins and Calcium From Milk

Turns out that athletes using milk for more than the vitamins and calcium content may be seeing evidential support from researchers.  While many athletes use juice plus other sports drinks when they would be better off drinking milk, especially because of the high content of sugar in most of those juice drinks that is not from the whole food(s). Here's more on athletes and their choice of milk --

Researchers are giving scientific support to a view that Whitmore vouches for from experience: that milk might be just as good or even better than sports drinks for serious athletes recovering from exercise. The health benefits of milk — which has carbohydrates, electrolytes, calcium and vitamin D — have long been established. But for athletes, milk also contains the two proteins best for rebuilding muscles: casein and whey.

Muscles get damaged after an intense bout of aerobic exercise such as running, playing football or cycling. The casein and whey proteins in milk are precisely what the body needs to regenerate muscles fast.

Glenys Jones, a nutritionist at Britain’s Medical Research Council, said milk’s protein content makes it an ideal post-exercise drink. “Milk provides the building blocks for what you need to build new muscles,” said Jones, who has no ties to the dairy industry.

She said sports drinks mainly replace lost carbohydrates and electrolytes and don’t usually have the necessary nutrients for muscles to regenerate themselves.

Experts have generally been divided over whether milk outperforms sports drinks. Dairy producers have been eager to break into the multibillion-dollar market, often sponsoring research into milk’s athletic benefits that some call biased. So the debate continues, but milk has been getting a lot of attention.

In a study published in June in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, researchers found people who drank milk after training were able to exercise longer in their next session than people who had sports drinks or water. more...

Comments: The best source for whole food nutrition comes from ripe, raw fruits and vegetables. Add Juice Plus+® for whole food nutrients from a variety of those foods.  And if you are going to drink milk, you can go to the completely natural source and drink raw milk or choose the next closest which is organic milk. There is plenty of evidence supporting raw milk as the source for superior nutrition vs the "purified" varieties.

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

A Gov't Program For Rating Nutrition?

This is just a pilot program, but the government wants some data on whether or not there is a link between good nutrition and food assistance.  Meaning, if you ate more fruits and vegetables, would you be less likely to need the assistance (or something close to that). We've recommended Juice Plus+ for years because most people don't get enough of those foods, regardless of their income level.  You know, there has long been a problem with the government getting involved with most things, only to put restrictions, laws, guidelines, or some control over them in the long run. This may not be different.  Here's more about what's happening --

Public health advocates have long yearned to link food assistance to good nutrition. But the question was how? Telling people what to eat is a political no-no – and it's impractical to boot: How could the government rate which of the 50,000-plus products in a grocery store are healthy? Would Diet Coke pass the test? How about juice drink Sunny Delight?

This week, the USDA took a first crucial step toward finding the answer when it announced details of a $20 million pilot program that provides incentives for recipients of SNAP, formerly called food stamps, to eat more fruits and vegetables. The money was allocated in the 2008 Farm Bill.

The so-called Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) will take place in Hampden County, Mass., a mix of 27 urban, rural and suburban cities with a total of 50,000 SNAP households. Starting in fall 2011, 7,500 households will receive 30 cents for every dollar that they spend on fruits and vegetables with their SNAP electronic benefit cards. Cambridge, Mass., consulting group Abt Associates will evaluate the pilot to assess how overall diets are affected.

Twenty million dollars isn't much when you consider that the government budget for food stamps was more than $56 billion in 2009. But philosophically, it represents a shift. For decades, the government treated hunger and obesity as unrelated phenomena. The anti-hunger lobby supported that position, arguing that a mandate on what kind of food needy people should eat is both impractical and smacks of paternalism. more...

Comments: While we'd like to think that the result of this 'pilot' will turn into to something of a campaign for promoting the consumption of more fruits and vegetables, only time will tell. In the meantime, if you do not get enough of those foods in your diet and you won't or can't, then add Juice Plus+.

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC

Some Sources of Antioxidants Are Being Questioned

If you have been on the bandwagon with some supplements that take one part of a fruit or some plant and put it into a capsule and tout it as the next best antioxidant for keeping you healthy...then you may want to review new research.  While we believe antioxidants are a good thing, we believe that after the ripe, raw whole food fruits and vegetables, a whole food nutritional supplement is the best way to get those antioxidants, as opposed to taking one or a few vitamins.  Vitamins are good, antioxidants are good, minerals and nutrients are all good.  The problem starts when we think that taking any one of those out of the food and mass produce it with the thought of being stronger and more beneficial to our health than the natural state in which we found it. Not so. At least that's not what we've seen or believe to be the case.  The whole food or a supplement made using a variety of whole foods, like Juice Plus+®, is the best way to get antioxidants. The balance of all the nutrients together is what makes them more effective than any one vitamin or nutrient alone.  Here's more about the questionable antioxidants of a couple nutrients --

In what may be yet another case of eat-this-oh-wait-don’t-eat-this, the safety of several plant-based antioxidants are being called in to question.

Scientists are suggesting more research on the possibility that some plant-based antioxidants–including some commonly touted as healthful and renowned for their cancer-fighting ability–may actually aggravate or cause cancer in people with diabetes. The recommendation was made after a study in which two antioxidants, quercetin and ferulic acid, appeared to aggravate kidney cancer.

The plant-based antioxidants looked at in this study are quercetin, which is abundant in onions and black tea, and ferulic acid, found in corn, tomatoes, and rice bran. Both also are used in a number of herbal remedies and dietary supplements.

The study found that diabetic laboratory rats fed either quercetin or ferulic acid developed more advanced forms of kidney cancer, and concluded the two antioxidants appear to aggravate or possibly cause kidney cancer. “Some researchers believe that quercetin should not be used by healthy people for prevention until it can be shown that quercetin does not itself cause cancer,” the report states. “In this study we report that quercetin aggravated, at least, if not directly caused, kidney cancer in rats,” it adds, suggesting that health agencies like the U. S. Food and Drug Administration should reevaluate the safety of plant-based antioxidants. more...

Comments: You are better off sticking with a diet that includes plenty of ripe, raw fruits, vegetables, grapes, and berries, than trying to find one nutrient that exist in some of them for all your health needs. The body doesn't work that way. Your body benefits from all the nutrients in the whole food. That's why if you do need a supplement, we recommend Juice Plus+ since it is made using 7 different fruits, 8 different vegetables, and 9 different grapes and berries.  Of course, the whole food is always going to be better. The problem is: maybe those foods are not always available.

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