Looking for a Nutritional Plan That’s Juice Right?

By Tracy Thomas

As you know from my husband’s Feb. 22 blog,  we believe that dietary supplements are a great way to address deficiencies in the body.  Let’s face it, the modern American diet leaves a lot to be desired.  High in fat and low in fiber, what most Americans eat on a daily basis is at the root of many health issues.  The problem is that while most people recognize the fact that their current diet is lacking nutritionally, many are reluctant to alter their eating habits. But what if there was a way you could help balance the books nutritionally by taking a capsule or two every day?

Image by commons.wilimedia.org

Eat Your Veggies

Most of us can remember our mom telling us to “Eat your veggies” when we were little.  Now that we are all grown up, we have nobody to remind us and as a result most of us eat far too little fruits and vegetables.   If you cringe at the thought of bellying up to the salad bar, I might have the solution you seek. 

Juice Plus supplements are dietary supplements made by juicing and then dehydrating fruits and vegetables.  The resulting powder is then turned into capsules, chewables and powders which can be taken with meals.  Currently Juice Plus offers three different kinds of supplements:

·         Orchard Blend (fruit): Contains 30 fruits including apple, peach, cranberry, orange, papaya, acerola cherry, pineapple, prune, date and beet.

·         Garden Blend (vegetable): Contains 20 fruits, vegetables and grains including broccoli, parsley, tomato, carrot, garlic, beet, spinach, cabbage, oat bran, rice bran and kale.

·         Vineyard Blend (berry): Contains 30 fruits and vegetables including raspberry, bilberry, blueberry, cranberry, pomegranate, concord grape, blackcurrant, blackberry, elderberry, artichoke and cocoa.

Unlike many dietary supplements that are classified as medicine, Juice Plus is classified as food.  Additionally, these capsules are fortified with Vitamin C, Vitamin E and beta-carotene.  So, if you feel guilty about not eating all your vegetables, this could be the dietary supplement for you.

Image courtesy of Juice Plus

Introduced in 1993 when the medical profession was just beginning to get its head around whole food nutrition, Juice Plus has been a favorite for on the go families for 24 years.  Not only is this a great way for adults to enhance their nutrition, but it’s great for children as well. If you have to nearly force feed vegetables to your kids, the company makes a gummy form of their product.

My husband, who is a chiropractor and trained nutritionist take Juice Plus on a daily basis.  And why not, since it makes supporting healthy eating habits much easier. 

Farm Fresh Nutrition

Unlike grocery store produce which is picked before it is ripe so that it won’t spoil on the shelves, all the fruits and vegetables used to make Juice Plus is picked at the height of ripeness. This means that when you consume either the capsules or the chewables, you will get all the nutrition that these fruits and vegetables have to offer, since many plants don’t achieve their full nutritional value until they ripen.    The only way that most people can get the same effects from their produce would be to grow it themselves. Unlike the produce you bring home from the market or grow in your backyard, Juice Plus products also include the peels, leaves and seeds.

The way that Juice Plus is made is by working with specialty growers who have facilities to grow, clean, wash and juice the produce on-site.  This juice is then shipped to Juice Plus where it is blended and dried in specially designed equipment that is chilled to preserve the juice’s nutritional value until the point when it is dried.

Check out this video that tells you more about their manufacturing process: https://youtu.be/jzWHTGc9Wmc?list=PLC3386EAEA57BA722

From a Nutritional standpoint, Juice Plus not only helps busy Americans increase their intake of nutrients, studies have shown that it can also increase the levels of antioxidants in the blood. A 2011 study, entitled “Health Effects of Mixed Fruit and Vegetable Concentrates,” stated that:

“Diets rich in fruits and vegetables (FV) have been associated with a reduced risk of chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, public health campaigns to increase FV intake have had limited success. A number of mixed concentrated FV products have been studied, which may help certain individuals improve nutrient status. Current research indicates that fruit and vegetable concentrates significantly increase serum levels of antioxidant provitamins and vitamins (β-carotene, vitamins C and E) and folate and reduce homocysteine and markers of oxidative stress.”  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22081614

Other studies have indicated that nutrients derived by consuming plants can also have beneficial cardiovascular effects.  This can include reducing levels of homocysteine, high levels of which have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease. Several studies have also linked shown that ingesting fruit and vegetable extracts has been shown to boost immune response.  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096219099000104

Does this mean that by taking Juice Plus you can stop eating your veggies? No, but it does mean if you aren’t getting enough fruits and vegetables in your diet, by taking a couple of capsules daily, you can increase your antioxidant levels, reduce homocysteine in your blood and give your body a fighting chance to fight off disease.  For most busy Americans, that’s a nutritional plan that’s juice right.

 Tracy Thomas is the Vice President of Vibrant Life Health Center. Tracy’s personal experience with chiropractic and nutrition has allowed her to watch many life changing transformations.  This is what drives her complete passion to devote her life to the mission of true Health & Wellness. Tracy’s life was changed drastically over 15 years ago and  her intensive transformation stands as a testimony to the life changing value of what we do at Vibrant Life Health Center today.   Tracy’s passion to educate families is what drives her on a daily basis! Being married to Dr. Jon for 18 years and raising 4 children has allowed her to continue to grow and master her holistic skills. Her family shares in the joy of Health and Wellness as she has made it a priority to pass on her wisdom of healthy living to her family and everyone who knows her. For fun Tracy loves scrapbooking, taking Sunday trips with her husband, reading and photography.