On my first visit to NYU Center for Surgical Weight Loss I received a letter about juice Plus from the doctors strongly suggesting that I use it and a pamphlet describing the product. On the surface, Juice Plus sounds great--pills instead of fruits and veg?!--but the pamphlet does not contain the standard RDA chart that label Vitamins and the doctors' letter included the distributor's contact information which, to me, reeks of kick-backs for referring customers. I was wary of a scam and did some research about the product. My suspicions were confirmed.
My go-to source for nutritional information is the Center for Science in the Public Interest's Nutrition Action Healthletter because CSPI does not accept advertising, or funding from industry and their work is grounded in science, not marketing. Read their findings in the December 2007 issue (.pdf). Here is an excerpt from "Juice Plus Commission":
Bottom line: there’s no way to know how much of the 12,500 IU of beta-carotene, 230 mg of Vitamin C, 45 IU of vitamin E, and 420 mcg of folate in a daily dose of Juice Plus+ comes from its fruit and vegetable powders and how much is added by NSA. (If those nutrients matter, you can buy them far more cheaply elsewhere.)
I won't be using Juice Plus, and I will tell my surgeon about the information I found. IMO, endorsing Juice Plus reflects poorly on the practice. I'm meeting Dr. Kurian Monday, and she may have an explanation, in which case, I'll post that too.
All the best,
Rachel
