On Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at 10:55:45 PM UTC-5, Nomen Nescio wrote:
> https://drhoffman.com/article/are-fruit-and-veggie-pills-really-as-
> effective-as-they-claim/
>
> drhoffman.com Are fruit and veggie pills really as effective as
> theyclaim?
>
> November 23, 2016 | By Dr. Ronald Hoffman
>
> It’s been a bad season for veracity (witness our recent political
> campaigns!): Unfounded claims abound. Product pitches assault us with
> no tether to reality. Science is misappropriated for commercial gain.
>
> Are fruit and veggie pills really as effective as they claim?One
> example of such things: fruit and veggie pills that claim they can
> take the place of the whole foods you’re not including enough of in
> your diet.
>
> Don’t get me wrong: I think there’s value in certain plant-derived
> nutrient supplements. Before it sounds like I’m dismissing an entire
> group of products, you should know that there are a few categories
> where these substitutes for fresh produce can have benefits.
>
> For instance, there are some phytonutrient concentrates with
> validated, standardized extracts of key plant constituents like
> resveratrol, EGCG, pomegranate proanthcyanidins, Broccophane,
> curcumin, quercetin and lycopene as found in my own formulation
> PhytoGuard. They are not merely ground up fruits and vegetables, but
> rather carefully distilled concentrates of specific, well-studied
> plant constituents.
>
> Then there are green and red powder products that deliver some of the
> benefits of the plants from which they are extracted. I’m particularly
> impressed by beet concentrates like Superbeets and green powder drinks
> like HeartGreens, which at least possess the advantage of delivering
> measurable amounts of dietary nitrates demonstrated to support the
> circulatory system. And, because you consume several scoops of the
> powder with each serving, they are more likely to provide significant
> plant nutrient benefits than a couple of pills. Additionally,for those
> who disdain the sometimes aversive taste of nitrate-rich veggies,
> these formulations are pleasantly flavored with natural ingredients.
>
> As usual with dubious marketing spiels, the “miracle” fruit and veggie
> pill promoters proceed from a kernel of truth. There really is a
> factual basis for concerns about fruit and vegetable consumption in
> the U.S. 87 percent of Americans don’t meet recommendations for fruit
> consumption, and 91 percent don’t meet recommendations for vegetable
> consumption, according to a new report.
>
> Moreover, a 2014 study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and
> Public Health found that people who ate seven or more portions of
> fruit and vegetables per day had a 42% lower risk of death at any
> point in time than those who ate less than one portion. The more fruit
> and vegetables you eat, the more protection you’re afforded from
> disease and death—what’s referred to in medicine as a “dose-response
> effect.”
>
> Compared to eating less than one portion of fruit and vegetables, the
> risk of death by any cause is reduced by 14% by eating one to three
> portions, 29% for three to five portions, 36% for five to seven
> portions, and 42% for seven or more.
>
> The illogical leap occurs when we falsely equate taking fruit and
> vegetable pills with eating actual fresh produce. They’re not the
> same.
>
> Are you old enough to remember the mid-twentieth century infatuation
> with the idea of “food pills”? It was a popular science fiction theme.
> Why bother with all the fuss of eating meals when science could
> provide you with all the nutrients you need in a concentrated pill?
>
> The issue is tackled in a recent Discovery Magazine article entitled
> “The Enduring Appeal of a Meal in a Pill.”
>
> The article states: “Food pills were heralded repeatedly and with
> certainty. So why don’t we have them? Because a meal in a pill is an
> impossibility.”
>
> A recent review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
> addresses this succinctly, insofar as the benefits of fruits and
> vegetables are concerned:
>
> “The key question is whether a purified phytochemical has the same
> health benefit as does the whole food or mixture of foods in which the
> phytochemical is present . . . We propose that the additive and
> synergistic effects of phytochemicals in fruit and vegetables are
> responsible for their potent antioxidant and anticancer activities,
> and that the benefit of a diet rich in fruit and vegetables is
> attributed to the complex mixture of phytochemicals present in whole
> foods [emphasis added].”
>
> Research indicates that the benefits of whole fruits and vegetables
> cannot be distilled down into a pill. Many of the health effects may
> be mediated by the impact of substantial portions of healthy fibers
> and associated phytochemicals on fostering a favorable intestinal
> microbiome, thus affecting metabolism, immunity, and even mood.
>
> Marketers of fruit and vegetable pills invoke reassuring words like
> “purity,” “real food,” “nature,” “superfoods,” and “balance.” They
> decry the use of “artificial” vitamins, although the ingredients of
> these supplements are chemically identical to the nutrients found in
> fruits and vegetables.
>
> They claim that their proprietary extraction methods—“flash-freezing”
> or “cold extraction”—maintain 95% of the nutritional potency of fresh
> fruits and vegetables, but without adducing any proof of that
> assertion.
>
> Unlike most supplements and foods, their labels usually do not
> indicate the specific amounts of vitamins and minerals in relation to
> the RDA.
>
> The marketers claim that a few pills yield the equivalent of “the real
> nutrition of over 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.” But how
> can that be, when hundreds of grams of fiber, polyphenols, live
> enzymes (which may not survive the dehydration process) and other
> crucial health-supporting substances are not present? Remember, each
> capsule is about 1 gram (1000 milligrams); a small 2 ounce serving of
> a fruit or vegetable is equivalent to 57 grams! Don’t tell me that 56
> grams or so of that weight is simply worthless water!
>
> With the exception of just one company, the “evidence” they present
> for the effectiveness of their products is purely anecdotal, based on
> testimonials that are difficult to authenticate—and sometimes strain
> credulity. Fruits and vegetables are healthy, but by what means does
> their consumption result in rapid, dramatic reversal of weight gain,
> cancer, high cholesterol, infectious diseases, venous stasis ulcers,
> or even brain lesions?
>
> In science, double-blind placebo controlled trials are considered the
> “gold-standard” for proving efficacy. Testimonials are considered the
> most unreliable form of proof, and no good researcher would base a
> conclusion on them.
>
> To its credit, one company did undertake some small studies which
> demonstrated treatment effects of their supplements: Juice Plus. But
> their studies are of poor quality, at best are only single-blind, and
> were underwritten by the company that makes Juice Plus, which can be a
> potential source of bias. It may be that for some people who are sick
> or don’t eat many fruits and vegetables, taking a few dehydrated plant
> concentrates provides them with just enough basic nutrients to upgrade
> their health—lower their cholesterol a few points, or slightly shorten
> the duration of their colds, for example.
>
> But nowhere is there evidence that such an effect could not be
> achieved with a basic multivitamin/mineral supplement. Nostudies have
> been performed that offer a head-to-head comparison of fruit and
> veggie supplements vs. conventional multis. Had they been done, it’s
> quite likely the multivitamins would have conferred similar or
> superior benefits—as they have already demonstrated in many properly
> conducted studies of multis vs. placebo.
>
> Of additional concern is the exorbitant price of these fruit/veggie
> pills. When formulating vitamin supplements, there are real costs
> associated with the ingredients. For example, a kilo of vitamin C goes
> for about 3-5 dollars on the open wholesale market. Admittedly, the
> markup is enormous when that raw material is formulated into a tablet
> or capsule or incorporated into a multi. But with fruits and
> vegetables, especially in a proprietary blend whose constituents might
> vary accord to market prices, there’s no certainty as to the cost of
> the raw materials, which might be sourced from cheap produce deemed
> unacceptable for supermarket shelves. Imagine paying 70 dollars
> (“preferred customer” price) every month for your daily dose of a few
> capsules of powdered fruits and vegetables?
>
> Worse yet is the false sense of security these pills impart to those
> who don’t eat their fruits and vegetables!
>
> So, what’s the answer? If you want to boost your health, take the time
> to eat the recommended 7-10 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables.
> Saving high double digits of money per month should get you most of
> the way there if you shop seasonally.
>
> Or, if you want a short-cut, blend (not juice) whole fruits and
> vegetables into a delicious smoothie. Add whey, rice, or hemp powder
> if you want added protein, and some coconut oil, avocado, or flax oil
> for healthy fat.
>
> Alternatively, take supplements with standardized amounts of
> recognized phytonutrients, or with documented attributes like raising
> nitric oxide. And steer clear of expensive pills that claim they’re
> all you need to take—to the exclusion of vitamins, minerals and other
> supplements—or that make outlandish claims of reversing serious
> diseases using dubious testimonials.
> =============
> https://www.truthinadvertising.org/?s=supplements
>
> Balance of Nature | Truth In Advertising balance-of-nature-image
>
> UPDATE 11/7/17: The National Advertising Division has referred Balance
> of Nature’s internet advertising to the FTC after the company failed
> to respond to the group’s inquiry despite repeated attempts to engage
> the company in the self-regulatory process. Claims at issue mirror
> those that comprise the following ad alert, published nearly a year
> ago, including the implied claims that the health benefits in a
> serving of Balance of Nature are equivalent to 10 servings of real
> fruits and vegetables and that Balance of Nature prevents cancer.
>
> Why stop at an apple a day? To truly keep the doctor away, take
> Balance of Nature, which boasts that its supplements contain a
> prodigious 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per pill.
>
> After two readers alerted us to Balance of Nature’s health claims, we
> visited the company’s website and found a stream of testimonials
> touting the supplements as a treatment for everything from balding to
> diabetes to advanced stage cancer.
>
> balance-of-nature-cancer-testimonial
>
> But as testimonials, these personal accounts do not fall under the
> category of “proven results” — despite the company’s exact
> categorization of them as such on the site.
>
> In addition, while Balance of Nature claims on its site that the USDA
> recommends “9 to 11 servings of fruits and vegetables every day to
> strengthen our immune system and prevent disease,” actual USDA
> recommendations vary depending on age, sex, and how much daily
> exercise a person gets.
>
> TINA.org readers have also pointed out that Balance of Nature has an
> “F” rating with the BBB.
>
> Remember, readers, marketing supplements as having the ability to
> treat, cure, alleviate the symptoms of, or prevent developing diseases
> and disorders is simply not permitted by law. If a supplement really
> could do all that, then it would be a drug subject to rigorous study
> and testing to gain FDA approval.