Juice Plus, a lack of common sense = $$$

Sorry Lynn but what Wink J posted, with examples, is *exactly* what Juice Plus marketers and hacks are doing. The company (NSA) is coming down on some reps who were claiming miracle cures for cancer, etc. on their websites, not because the company cares so much, but because they are being closely scrutinzed by the FDA and FTC. So without that avenue of false testimonials on their webistes, they choose to place the false testimonials on every blog they can.

Wink J., you give NSA too much credit when you said they don’t tout “limited availability”. That in fact was done here on this blog, by a few people, a few posts back, where one said that the demand for Juice Plus was exceeding their ability to manufacture it and someone else said tons of people are clamoring after him to order some. So indeed, they *are* guilty of #6 on your list!

An example of some of the dishonesty posted here is right in front of our faces. Look at the 2 posts by “Val”, an obvious Juice Plus salesperson who has their party line down pat, complete with testimonials. Many probably skipped through the mindless drivel, but if you look at the 2 posts, they are almost identical, save for a few differences. “Val” originally posted one reply, and then when he/she didn’t see it appear on the blog, he/she posted another, almost identical reply a few hours later. BUT, Val changed and doctored his/her testimonial a bit between the first and second posts! It went from claiming his/her eyesight was unchanged, to his/her eyesight actually improved!!!

1st post:
“I’ve been taking Juice Plus for four years. Prior to that every year when I’d see the eye doctor my eyes were worse than the year prior. The last three visits to my eye doctor (the last three years) my eyes have been unchanged.”

2nd post, only 12 hours later:
“My eye doctor was so impressed with my test results last week that he now wants information on Juice Plus. My eyes have actually IMPROVED over the last 3 years. It used to be that every year when I visited my eye doctor my vision would be worse than the year before. You know what the doctor told me last week when I went in for my yearly check up? My eyes have actually improved since 3 years ago! And, when he did a more extensive test to determine my eye health, he said my eyes were so healthy that it was remarkable.”

So Val, in 12 hours, did your eye doctor’s opinion from the visit THE WEEK BEFORE change, or did you just realize that “eyesight improving” sounded better than “eyesight unchanged”?? You thought no one would see your first post, so you decided to change the 2nd version of your testimonial. OH well, you were caught in the act of lying!! I can’t see how anyone would believe any of your testimonials when the one about the eyesight is clearly fabricated.

Just more examples of having a problem with the truth.

This is AWESOME! I really enjoy reading your blog. I was approached about JP only yesterday at my health club. I decided to take a look around to see what information was out there. Prior to reading the blog (and other websites as well), the first thing that I wondered about was “if JP is so good, why isn’t it sold at Walgreen’s or Target? I still don’t know that answer but the trainer at my club said that “JP puts it’s money into research, not marketing”. Just knowing that there is so much contradictory information out there leads me to believe that I should simply steer clear of JP and just try to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet.

Thanks for all of the information everyone.

Gee “curious” — are you really just “curious” or could it be that the powers that be don’t have any way to respond to the lies I exposed, so now the strategy is to pose as a disinterested third party who doesn’t care about Juice Plus one way or the other? It is blatantly obvious that there is indeed an agenda in your post, since you only address the “Anti-fanatic fanatics” as you call us, and even call us a profane name. That doesn’t sound like a neutral person to me!

Whether or not I have tried the product is irrelevant. Even if it cured every ailment I ever had, my n=1 (it’s called statistics — learn about it) doesn’t mean a whole lot if other studies are shown to be flawed. That would also not change the fact that many people who sell this product choose to lie about it and use false testimonials, as did Val, on this blog. Any company that encourages unrealistic and FALSE testimonials is not reputable, and if they really had a great product, they wouldn’t need people to lie about their results!

Have you see what has been happening with Airborne? They are having to pay through the nose for their false claims through the years. They have touted their product as a “cure”, which is untrue, so it has finally caught up with them. What is sad is Airborne only purports to cure the common cold — whereas Juice Plus posts and some distributors’ websites, and their speeches, claim that their product “cures” everything and anything that could ever ail a person. Sounds to me like the FDA will probably be coming down hard on Juice Plus/NSA fairly soon.

It sounds like the Juice Plus ship is sinking, and no amount of personal attacks on your part will change that.

Okay…there was a time I didn’t buy into the Juice Plus thing either. I admit that I was completely skeptical even when I did start purchasing it. For my family…the proof is in the pudding. When my 18 month old son came down w/ an ear infection that the antibiotics wouldn’t touch…and in the process we found out he was allergic to most all antibiotics in the cefalosporin family, Omnicef, Zithromax, Augmentin, and Amoxicillan. He wasn’t getting well and nothing was touching the ear infection. He would start wheezing, break out into hives and become completely lifeless. I was sick to my stomach because I just couldn’t do anything for him. We took him off of all the antibiotics and let his ear drum rupture…after all it will heal.

Then as skeptical as I was I knew I really had to bolster this little guys immune system and it seemed to work like a charm for my friends two boys…so I ordered it. My son is now 4 1/2 years old and hasn’t had a single ear infection since. He goes to public daycare and I see the notices on the door all the time about pink eye, and various other highly contagious illness that have been diagnosed to other children in his class…he is never ill. As a matter of fact he went for his 2 year well care, 3 year well care check and 4 year well care check and other than that he hasn’t needed to go to the doctor. His doctor has noticed, his teachers comment on it and I have noticed that I have a child that is rarely ever ill. I started on it once I realize what it was doing for him and I had never felt better. Then I stopped taking it for about 4 months and I can honestly say there was a huge noticeable difference. I am back on it now and will remain there! I love Juice Plus and yes….I have now become a distributor…not for the money but for the love of children and parents struggling with a sick a child like mine use to be!!

To Diane:

Similar to Val (see the dishonest post above from Val, where he/she changed his/her testimonial to sound more slick, not thinking that the first testimonial would be posted, so we can see that he/she changed the testimonial and lied!) You say your 18 month old son had an ear infection that wouldn’t get better with any medicines. You let the eardrum rupture and he got better. He got better on his own. Doesn’t sound like Juice Plus “cured” his ear infection like you are trying to insinuate. Also, your son is age 4 and now has no ear infections. Hmmmm — have you ever met other parents of 4 yr olds?? I’m sure you must have! Many 4 yr olds “used to” have ear infections, but are now 4 yrs old and have none, because most kids grow out of ear infections after their first 2 years! And those 4 yr olds are NOT on Juice Plus!! Also, if he is in daycare, he would be bound to get sick earlier in childhood, but then due to the continued exposure to viruses and germs, would develop a resistance, a NATURAL resistance, on his own. Talk to other parents and you will see a similar pattern.

Atttibuting the natural course of childhood illnesses (that is, they get less of them over time, especially with regards to ear infections) to Juice Plus use is utterly and completely ridiculous.

But then again, now that you’re a distributor, and “care about parents” soooo much (along with some nice commissions for yourself), I’m sure attributing your son’s good health to Juice Plus comes naturally, just as Val stretching the truth (in Val’s case, outright lying) helped him/her sell more product too.

Give me a break.

Well put Kittygirl. The only thing that I would add is to point out that Diane is illegally marketing Juice Plus as a disease treatment/preventive measure in violation of Federal guidelines. This kind of claim would never be made by anyone with a modicum of integrity and respect for the law. It is simply pathetic that Juice Plus distributors seem to be incapable of respecting the regulations. I hope you distributors are hearing this. If you keep it up I will personally report you to the FDA.

Heather, I’m glad you brought up the point about John Wise again. Interesting how the Juice Plus distributors consistently gloss over this fact — don’t any of you feel that this is worthy of a response? Wise was an executive of the company that manufactures Juice PLus and wrote most of the studies on on the product, and yet the advertising misleadingly refers to “independent third-party” research. In fact, this research was neither independent nor conducted by a third party The FDA will not take this deception lightly either.

Just to clarify here, every distributor has access to a handout for anyone asking about the ingredients. Just as a department in a grocery store does they also have to have it available if asked. Also to make note, the added vitamins ARE listed on the label if you would but look. It is a supplement not a replacement for food.
Some people do not eat any fruits or vegetables so, in my opinion as well, supplementing with JP is a good choice for them. Some is better than none.
And, no, you cannot get the same from vitamins. Where have you been for all the recent studies done by the FDA and others worldwide? Some of those vitamins can actually CAUSE death. One such study had to be discontinued because one group had a high fatality rate. You bash JP so vehemently but then sidle up to the conglomerates who mass-produce low-cost, possibly dangerous, pills to be bought off of store shelves by unsuspecting people.
Personally I am glad I do not back them. I take JP every day month after month rather than just one meal from a restaurant.

I don’t know what ingredient list that you are referring to but the one that I am looking at right now has everything listed. By the way, I’m located in Canada and the guidelines for labelling and ingredient listings that have to be followed here are stricter than in the US.
I also said that it was MY OPINION that some fruits and vegetables are better than none. I never suggested that JP would compensate for a deficient diet. Trying to find anything in my posts that suggest ‘clouding the issue’ is just grasping at straws. I am being very honest and blunt. Nothing I have written has been ‘invented’.

Than obviously you are looking for ‘conspiracies’ where none exist, Wink J.

Back of one Garden Blend label:
Vegetable Juice and Pulp Powders (includes carrot, broccoli, spinach, tomato, parsley, beets, kale, cabbage) 868 mg
Vitamin C 42 mg
Vitamin E 8.7 mg
Beta Carotene 1.8 mg
Folic Acid 300 mg
Garlic Powder 20 mg
Parsley Powder 200 mg
Green Tea Extract 5 mg
Lactobacillus Acidophilus 30 mg
Oat Bran Powder 20 mg
Barley Bran Powder 20 mg

I could list off the ingredients printed on the Orchard Blend label but I think you get the idea. In Canada we do have to have everything on the label before it can be sold to anyone. I guess I do ‘have a clue’ then since I can answer the questions about amounts contained in Juice Plus+. The handout I have breaks it down even further by including calories, total fat, cholesterol, sodium, dietary fibre, sugars, and protein.

I didn’t ignore your comments on the amounts of vitamin additives being greater than retail multivitamins. I just didn’t think that it needed to be repeated. There’s nothing ‘erroneous’ about my comments. The research was released and available to anyone months ago. There was a documentary on CBC News about the results. It is widely known and doctors here have changed the recommended vitamin intake to reflect that. Vitamin D was the main concern. Taken in very high doses it can cause damage which can then lead to death. There, is that worded better for you.

I’m not arguing semantics with you either. You are reading into my words what is not there. Again, my posts are to be taken literally. There is no twist or hidden agenda in anything here.

I went to the doctor in January for a complete hormone panel. I had to complete a questionaire which included the supplements I take. I take a Fruit and Veggie product (not JP brand). I simply listed Fruits and Veggies on my form. My doctor freaked out because she thought it was JP. I told her it was not and she told me the next time I can back to discuss my results to bring in my actual bottles. I asked her why she was making such a big deal about it. She pulled open one of her desk drawers and she had a six inch stack of papers on JP research! She said that was proof that their studies are faulty, they do not use organic fruits or vegetables, they are processed at too high of a temperature which kills all nutrients and live enzymes. I said OK but why have you done this research and she said she has had dozens of JP customers and distributors who believe all of the company propaganda and she needed to be able to back up her claims when she told them to stop taking the supplements. Also, she said any doctor with a medical degree would not recommend the product because of the fillers listed on the actual bottles. I did ask her why people have results when taking the JP product and she said that people have experienced results on pacebos also. It is all in their mind and beliefs. Just thought I would pass this on.

Has anyone conducted a study of the differences between juice plus results vs MonaVie?

My family took Juice Plus for 5 years and then stopped for some reason. We were all very healthy while taking it and my oldest son who has food allergies and asthma was actually getting much better. His food allergies were getting much less severe and was able to eat things with allergens in it. His asthma was also under control and only needed asthma medications in autumn. Then we stopped taking it for the last 3 years. In that time my son’s allergies became much worse and for the last year required asthma medication year round and could not run around the house without wheezing.

I finally put my family back on Juice Plus in January and now my son’s asthma is in remission. I took him off all asthma medication in March. This August the allergist was shocked that he could not get a wheeze out of my son and his pulmonary function tests were normal. So we are so happy to be back on Juice Plus and it is much cheaper than paying for the doctor visits for acute asthmatic attacks and all the prescription asthma medications that were causing my 10 year old son to become depressed. He is back to his normal happy go lucky self and just ran for a 60 yard touchdown in his football game. He is doing so much better in sports as well because he can run without wheezing.

Juice Plus may not be for everyone but it works for us. Even my husband who was a big skeptic for the first 5 years is now a believer after seeing the change in our oldest son.

I had agreed to start taking juice plus a couple of years ago because a friend of mine, a nurse practitioner, was a top distributor. She is a very knowledgable person; intelligent and someone I hold in high regard.

However, with the complete economic meltdown luming I decided to slash some spending. Of course, Juice Plus was the first to go. Before ditching it completely I surfed the net for more information. I seriously could kick myself for spending so much money on JP and for not having listened to the more reasonable, skeptic inside of me: the one with the critical thinking skills and the brains. What is also disturbing about the MLM is your distributor is often your friend. You drop the product and start telling others what you have learned about the deceptiveness of JP, you directly affect your friend’s livelihood. That realization kept me from dropping the product in the past and has prevented me from telling everyone I know about the deceptive practices of NSA, NIS, USA.

In any case, I have chosen to focus all of my money and attention on providing real, organic, whole fruits and vegatables. Not the kind that are packaged in a gelatin capsule (not vegan, by the way).
I never did feel “better” while taking juice plus. In fact, since really focusing on eating foods and making meals that consist mostly of whole grains, fresh organic fruits and vegatables, and eliminating many processed foods (ie: making my own granola; sauces; soups) I have more energy and feel lite. (Lite, as opposed to that heavy feeling you have after eating a crappy carb-filled, flesh-filled, fat-filled meal).

I never relied on JP as a supplement to my children’s diets. We always make them eat vegatables and fruits and often make a salad as a main course. Contrast my children’s diets with my neighbors and my children are eating a larger variety of whole, pure, organic foods. Several neighbors rely on JP as a dietary supplement because they complain that the kids won’t eat the necessary number of servings of fruits and vegatables per day. Yeah, of course they won’t because the cupboards are stocked with crap (they are, I’ve seen them) that is easy to grab and eat like zone bars (just a more expensive version of a candy bar). My kids crave lettuce and carrots and broccoli bacause that is what we feed them and that is what the body has learned will provide them with the nutrients they need.

JP does well because it plays on people’s fear and laziness. If consumers of JP dedicated the same kind of energy to the health and well-being of their families and themselves as they do to their favorite television shows, then things could change for them. It takes some diligence and people just don’t want to work that hard.

I don’t know who’s right about the research. It’s weird that both sides sound so convincing. All I know is that I take it religiously. My kids are taking it too. I know that my health has improved greatly since I started. Early into taking it, I was thinking about recording my health benefits in a journal, but I didn’t and now I have forgotten the benefits. I’m not going to be much help to anyone regarding this debate, but I can tell you this. I intend to take Juice Plus the rest of the life. I believe in the product and I am convinced it has helped me. I have however increased my pills to three a day. I don’t think that two are enough for an adult.

Where did Val go…I miss all her one-liners. GAD

I take juice plus because my friend thinks it does wonders. I am generally in good health and active. However it did not lower my high blood pressure even one point, I am a pre diabetic and was before I took it. My blood sugar level had remained the same. I have good cholestral numbers and seldom have colds and flu. But I did before I took it too. Is it helping? I don’t know? But I doubt the people who say their blood pressure or blood sugars were drastically changed. It may lead to more general well being but it isn’t a cure all.

Hi all,

I know a lot of these posts are a couple of years back, but for anyone who comes upon it, here goes one more – For starters, I’m a Certified Fitness Trainer & Specialist in Nutrition, so as far as wellness & health is concerned I know my business…

I also had the opportunity to tour the NAI (location where Juice Plus is made) building back in January 10′. Not only is Juice Plus what it says it is, but the standards for the building & what it tests for was really amazing. (Like pesticides, heavy metals, mold, etc. So that makes it better then “organic” for those who ask)
*By the way the building where it’s made is a FDA & GMP Approved Building.

Juice Plus is also now Sport Certified, which if anyone knows athletes, knows that’s a big deal. (Anti-doping laws & such) Don’t mess with those guys, they’re serious!

Testimonies are nice & all, but science gets true recognition in my book & should for everyone else.
People should yes go check out the medical journals (although no one usually does), and go to the Universities websites & read what the tests results & research says. It’s public information, go for it.

A lot of the negative verbage out there seems to come from any MLM concerns, which is funny because the MLM watchdog doctor is now in jail for slandering several companies including NSA/Juice Plus. (At least that’s the last I heard of him, don’t have an update – but still proves my point)

So do your own research, use your brain. And last point; being a Nutrition Specialist I’ve also seen the affects of “Trader Joe’s Vitamins” – ever hear of “bed-pan pills”? Use your imagination, that’s where they end up. Not to mention the shellac coating, and the only 5% absorption rate, etc. Mega-dosing is scary, harmful & a waste of money.

Take care all,

Alisha
(Aka: HealthyAli.com)

I have a testimonial…

I have taken Juice Plus for a year now and have noticed that I great BM’s(aka a nice poo)

I am going to cancel my JP for this time around and see if I feel a difference. I want to see if things change. I will post in 3 months.

I used to be a distributor for JP+ but quit the business three years ago. The differences in prices from country to country (having nothing to do with currency) was a major concern, given that I was marketing to worldwide consumers. When people see a price tag of $45 in the USA compared to $110 in the UK, that’s a concern.
Also, what JP+ doesn’t inform users of, is the ‘agent’ in each capsule that is supposed to ‘bind’ the contents of the capsule to blood cells. Well, actually they do mention it, but what they fail to mention is that this ‘binding agent’ is NOT digestible by the body, and nor can the body get rid of it! Over a long period of use, the agent will start to clog veins and passages where blood travels.

Thirdly, I’m sick to death of hearing from JP+ reps that this expensive, untested product, can cure ills! What a load of crap! One guy even had the audacity to try and get me interested in the products after I quit the business side of it, by telling me it was the best thing he ever used! Two months later he was in hospital to have a growth removed from his body, despite claiming that JP+ was ‘killing it off slowly’!

NSA – ah yes, those inglorious basterds who scammed the world with water filters and fire extinguishers which didn’t do what they were supposed to! This company is BANNED from producing JP+ so had to get an outside company to make it for them!

Lastly, IF I wanted JP+ (which I don’t), I can buy it from ebay at a fraction of the price and still have it shipped to my country! Try a FOUR MONTH SUPPLY for just $59 + shipping! However, as a regular gym user and supplement taker (Weider products), I found absolutely ZERO benefits to taking JP+ in over three years! Does having smoother poop count? Because that was about the only difference! And I DO eat enough fruits and veggies everyday and at a fraction of the cost of this ‘miracle powder’!

What a great blog this is! Finally, someone with balls to stand up to the JP+ lovers! Ever notice how those that defend it are all reps or customers?