Juice Plus??? (reviews, research)

[LanceZ]

Originally Posted by Healthy person

Shaklee has a plethora of products. Any one item in their catalogue may not have
10 or 15 individually published studies on what' in it, how bioavailable is it, what effect might it have on DNA damage, what effect it may have on endothelial tissue etc.
Also you would want to know if a study was performed on components of the product by others or on the whole product.

I'll leave it up to you to debate one of their representatives. I'm simply quoting a distributor site: "In the past decade alone, over 100 Shaklee-sponsored research papers have been published in major medical and nutritional scientific periodicals throughout the world, such as The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and The Journal of Applied Psychology." Scripps Tips Business Networking Group - Nutritional Products (broken link)

True? Who knows. MLMs tend to stretch the truth to the breaking point. Or just flat-out lie. You be the judge. (My opinion? Shaklee sells snake oil. Translated: truly average nutritional supplements that are price-inflated and fact-inflated.)

Here's a quote directly from the Shaklee site about their Vitalizer product. Tell me if this sounds familiar: "Don't be okay with feeling just okay. If you’re like nine out of 10 Americans, you don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, which can really effect your health down the line. That’s a great reason to supplement what you eat. But the important question is, how do you feel today? Your answer should be nothing short of fantastic." Shaklee Corporation: Providing a healthier life for everyone and a better life for anyone. Health, Wellness, Nature, Opportunity

My point is that I believe that "the most researched" claim of Juice Plus+ representatives is bogus.

[KarenMcD]

Originally Posted by Healthy person

…Dr.Watzl of Germany who has done a lot of studies of the effects of various plant nutrients in the body. He may have been unhappy that none of his articles were listed in the bibliography of the study --he did cite three items in his letter --one of them being one of his own articles. I was in academia for many years so I know how all that works.

One can't reasonaby expect to deflect criticism with wacky conspiracy theories. What we do know for sure is that experts that aren’t paid to say good things about Juice Plus have a very different opinion of it than the [mod]not allowed[mod]on the Juice Plus brochures. Bernard Watzl and Achim Bub (two independent academic researchers from the German Federal Research Center for Nutrition) harshly criticized Juice Plus for what appear to be very good reasons (Fruit and Vegetable Concentrate or Vitamin Supplement? -- Watzl and Bub 133 (11): 3725 -- Journal of Nutrition)

Originally Posted by Healthy person

It has been public knowledge since 1996 or so that Juice Plus contains some added micronutrients --such as b-carotene from Dunaliella salina, ascorbic acid from acerola cherries and soy-derived d-alpha-tocopherol (I'm quoting this from the 1996 pilot.

A critical detail buried in the Methods section of an obscure journal article in 1996 (Wise et al. Curr Ther Res. 1996;57:445-61.) is not exactly “public knowledge” is it? If it were truly public knowledge, NSA’s Juice Plus website would openly admit that the products contain vitamin additives instead of pretending that they contain only fruit and vegetable juice powder. Furthermore, the study on which Watzl was commenting (Samman et al. J Nutr. 2003;133:2188-93) did not disclose that vitamin additives are used in Juice Plus, and what was most notable about Watzl’s commentary was that all of the product’s effects are attributable not to the paltry whiff of fruit and vegetable powder they contain, but rather to the vitamin additives. This is what Watzl said:

“Our major criticism relates to the fact that the fruit and vegetable capsules used in this study, according to the manufacturer, were enriched with pure beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, vitamin E and folic acid, which was not stated in the article. The only significant changes due to the intervention were an increase in beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, vitamin E and folic acid. The supplemented micronutrients explain much of the reported effects and leave the question open as to whether the fruit and vegetable supplement itself induced any significant effects……the native carotenoids from the vegetable capsules were either not contained in the capsules or were not bioavailable. The reported physiological effects can be explained solely by the added micronutrients. Overall, the conclusions of this article mislead the reader by suggesting that the mixed fruit and vegetable concentrates increase plasma antioxidants and reduce plasma homocysteine, and subsequently cardiovascular disease risk.”

Originally Posted by Healthy person

The fruit powder content was noted as 850 mg per capsule and the vegetable powders as 750 mg per capsule

Incorrect. These were the reported weights of the capsules, not the weight of the fruit/vegetable juice powders in the capsules (the capsules contain only 25% juice powders by weight, which is about 190 mg per capsule). This raises another important point: the capsules mentioned in the 1996 study weighed 850 mg, but the current bottle labels show the capsule weight as 750 mg. What happened to the other 100 mg since 1996? That’s a pretty large reduction in weight (greater than 10%). Why would they arbitrarily change the composition of the product? Presumably to cut production costs and maximize profit. How can we know that the 750 mg capsules have the same effects as the 850 mg capsules used in earlier research? At the very least one would assume that the capsules are now at least 10% less effective than they were in 1996, although 10% of nothing is still nothing.

[KarenMcD]

Originally Posted by jenniferdpt

The people who have answered this question are correct in stating that Juice Plus+ research is funded by NSA (the company who produces it), however, what they don't state is that the NSA has no control over the results that are printed...

Actually, NSA financed some of the research but the manufacturer (NAI) funded most of it. An executive of NAI (John Wise) was an author on about 7 of the studies, including one that was just published this year (Kawashima et al. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2007;16:411-421). As an author, Wise would definitively have control over the results that are printed, so the implication that the research was free from company input and control is totally false and misleading.

What’s worse is that up until 1987, Wise was an executive for United Sciences International. This MLM company also sold vitamins with fraudulent claims that it could cure pretty much any disease – that is until the FDA shut them down in 1987 for illegal sales practices. Wise joined NAI/Juice Plus that same year. Like Juice Plus, USAI’s products were also sold with florid testimonials from physicians and scientists who were on the company payroll or were being manipulated with large research grants.
United Sciences of America
USA: The strange rise and fall of one MLM - June 1, 1987

[Healthy person]

I read throught the Sloan-Kettering comments and I don't think they are negative. They take a skeptical attitude which is good and cite some of the early reseaarch and opine correctly that additional research is needed. High intake of nutrition/antioxdants is of course a concern during chemotherapy because chemotherapy is attempting to kill cells and nutrition/anti-oxidants does the reverse. Under adverse reactions a "hive-like rash" is mentioned --- a small percent of people will get a rash for a few days as is well known as they are not used to so much dense nutrition. Overall it is a summary I would anticipate from any health editor or whoever does their website.

[Healthy person]

Shaklee has so many products that it is quite possible they have contributed to research that resulted in 100 papers. I used to have a patient that was a distributor for Shaklee. The products appeared to be of sound quality. You do not appear to like the multilevel marketing aspect of some companies. Personally I like having a personal relationship with people I buy from. For many years I bought my soap from an AMway distributor -- a nice elderly lady -- the quality of the soap was excellent and was not related to the method of marketing. I used to get some great products derived from Amazon plants such as stevia (sweetener) -- forget their name -- I don't see those folks anymore but I sure did like supporting their endeavors. People used to be grumpy about franchises and COngress even wanted to make franchising illegal -- now it's hard to find stores that are not franchised...

[Healthy person]

The UC Berkeley Wellness Letter basically says gee the JP capsules can't be as good as the real thing so stick with the real thing. That's pretty much what NSA says in 'it's the NEXT best thing...and "it's not a substitute..." although the Wellness editor does have a hard time understanding how so many nutrients can be in capsules. The editor was incorrect on some minor points and offerred opinions on everything else. Nothing substantial or substantiated.

[LanceZ]

Originally Posted by Healthy person

Shaklee has so many products that it is quite possible they have contributed to research that resulted in 100 papers.

I simply challenged the Juice Plus+ "most researched" claim. It is a silly claim at best. It is an oft-parroted phrase used by representatives/distributors and echoed around the web on distributor sites.

Note that the "most researched" claim appears nowhere on the official Juice Plus+ site. Nor do other oft-repeated buzzwords like "raw", "organic" and "vine-ripened". Nowhere.

Originally Posted by Healthy person

I used to have a patient that was a distributor for Shaklee. The products appeared to be of sound quality.

I stated that Shaklee's nutritional products are truly average compared to nutritional products that I can buy at the vitamin store. If you want to buy average quality products from an MLM distributor, please do.

Originally Posted by Healthy person

You do not appear to like the multilevel marketing aspect of some companies.

MLM companies get their reps to repeat buzzwords and phrases that do not appear in the "official" company sites or "official" materials. Yet, the disclaimers on the "official" sites divest them of responsibility for any information found outside the "official" site or materials. How convenient.

Originally Posted by Healthy person

Personally I like having a personal relationship with people I buy from.

I have friends who are MLM people, and I think the world of them. I have nothing against the people. I do not like how MLM companies often "use" their downline reps by feeding them misleading information and getting the reps to repeat that information.

[Healthy person]

JP is the most thoroughly researched nutritional product I've come across when you consider that the research is on the whole product not components. How many nutritional products have been tested on children, smokers, the elderly, the pregnant, athletes...

I've only seen a few JP websites and they looked generic to me. I've never had the time to web surf JP web sites. I suppose one could call NSA and ask them if they cook their fruits and vegetables prior to the extraction process. I'm sure there is some reason for not including raw in their home site. If you were attempting to imitate JP and extract nutrients from fruits/veg ---would you cook yours? If even less than 100% of the growers were organic no company would say "organic"-- same as for for vine-ripened- heaven forbid a green tomatoe or unripened cherry slip through -- why with the internet it would be the talk of the day. I have heard distributors say the produce is "mostly organic". I think the company does say the produce is tested for purity which is the point of organic farming --to have a product free from pesticides, fungicides etc. On the other hand, I do see your point -- if you feel some distributors use buzz words -- JP is not for you.

[PinkString]

I think the only way to be 100% sure how Juice Plus creates their product is to be there and watch them from step 1 to the last step.
Then someone can really make up their mind if they want the product or not.

[KarenMcD]

Originally Posted by Healthy person

I read throught the Sloan-Kettering comments and I don't think they are negative.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Clinic, under the “Warnings” section of their article, referred to Juice Plus as a ”pricey supplement” that is “distributed through a multi-tiered marketing scheme with exaggerated value and cost." They reviewed and criticized two of the studies for being poorly designed and essentially useless. They said that there is no evidence to support the use of Juice Plus for cancer or heart disease, in contrast with the claims often made by distributors, and they specifically stated that the product should not be taken by cancer patients undergoing chemo or radiation therapy, which also directly contradicts promotional claims that Juice Plus is ideal for cancer patients (claims made by spokesperson/distributor Delia Garcia on NSAs audio promos). Sloan-Kettering also said:

"This product is regulated by the FDA as a dietary supplement. Unlike approved drugs, supplements are not required to be manufactured under specific standardized conditions. This product may not contain the labeled amount or may be contaminated. In addition, it may not have been tested for safety or effectiveness."

That all sounds pretty darn negative to me and Sloan-Kettering definitely didn’t say anything at all favorable about Juice Plus

http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69270.cfm

Originally Posted by Healthy person

Under adverse reactions a "hive-like rash" is mentioned --- a small percent of people will get a rash for a few days as is well known as they are not used to so much dense nutrition.

Well known to whom exactly? This may be well known by the company that makes Juice Plus but it is certainly not well known to consumers. Where on the the Juice Plus website or bottle label do they warn consumers about the possibility that they will develop a hive-like rash from taking Juice Plus. And where exactly is the data that supports the claim that this occurs in “a small percent of people”. That is a completely arbitrary assumption, as is the idea that the rashes are due to “so much dense nutrition”. Also, despite all of the lame studies that have been performed on Juice Plus, none have tested the product’s safety, so no claims can be made that it is safe or free from side effects.

Originally Posted by Healthy person

The UC Berkeley Wellness Letter basically says gee the JP capsules can't be as good as the real thing so stick with the real thing. That's pretty much what NSA says in 'it's the NEXT best thing...and "it's not a substitute..."

Actually, this is what UC Berkeley Wellness Letter said in their two articles on Juice Plus:

“No capsules can substitute for fruits and vegetables, which contain the best balance of nutrients and phytochemicals. You cannot “concentrate” significant amounts of them in a capsule, a chewable, or a gummy. You cannot turn a blueberry or an orange into a magic bullet in a pill. Stick with the real thing. No studies exist to compare the physiologic effects of supplementation with Juice Plus+ and eating whole fresh fruits and vegetables. Moreover, Juice Plus is distributed through a multi-tiered marketing scheme with exaggerated value and cost.”
http://www.berkeleywellness.com/html/ds/dsJuicePlus.php

"National Safety Associates (NSA) and Natural Alternatives International (NAI)—which almost sound like government agencies—make Juice Plus and sell it via a multi-level marketing program. Among the claims: These products boost the immune system. This is a meaningless statement—and the studies on the Juice Plus website in support of the claim are not good ones. Small increases in immune function do not mean you’re less likely to get sick. Boosting immunity is not that simple…”

"No matter how compressed these capsules are, or what they contain, it’s impossible to deliver the nutrients of five to ten servings of fruits and vegetables in several capsules weighing 800 to 850 milligrams (about one-thirtieth of an ounce) each. It would take two dozen 800-milligram capsules just to provide all the nutrients in six ounces of carrot juice."

"Juice Plus relies heavily on anecdotes. One big endorser used to be O.J. Simpson, who testified in a tape for the company that the capsules cured his arthritis. But at his trial he claimed that his arthritis had made it impossible for him to have committed a double murder, so Juice Plus stopped using the Simpson tape."

In closing, UC Berkeley said simply “you don’t need Juice Plus”.
http://www.berkeleywellness.com/subC.../2000/0011.pdf