In response to the post – Check the ingredients before drinking! – I received a question via email. I’m so happy to communicate with people as a result of this blog. My main desire in relation to this blog is for me to keep learning, and learning from you is particularly satisfying. I want to learn how to treat my body correctly, how to treat my fellow humans correctly and how to treat the planet correctly. I’m guessing if I do this, then my life will be going in the right direction.
A question about Uber Loaded Shakes-Potions
The question I received via email was this;
I was thinking about ordering the SUJA TWELVE ESSENTIALS that you mention in your blog, but am unsure. I have always been skeptical of this mass produced stuff… I used to take Greens for Life – http://www.aggressivehealthshop.com/270g-greens-for-life.html – the fact it is not endorsed by the British Medical Society or anything has stopped me buying it – it claims to give you twelve bowls of vegetables in one portion. Surely a healthy balance of exercise and sensible eating is better than these uber loaded shakes-potions?
I agree with the sentiment expressed here and am generally skeptical of “products”. The best juices would be one that you’ve juiced yourself from local organic produce. But, the Suja drinks seem to be close to the next best thing. They juice using only cold pressing and they store it quickly under pressure in plastic bottles to keep it safe from bacteria. There’s some interesting information on their FAQ page – http://www.sujajuice.com/faq/. They seem like a fairly small company that is trying to do all the right things to get a good juice to us. Even so, it can’t be as good as freshly juicing our own locally-sourced organic fruits and vegetables.
I’m quite skeptical of the Greens for Life product mentioned above. Sounds a bit like overkill and it’s hard to see what’s really in it. I’m a fan of trying to do things naturally and the name of the website, “agressivehealthshop”, alone rings warning bells for me.
I’d like to reinforce that I’m not supporting Suja specifically. I just happened to find their products in the store and they appear to be good. My message is really just to be careful when buying products. There are lots of good options and lots of bad options, and nothing replaces making your own juices from fresh, whole, locally-sourced, organic ingredients.
Love to hear your opinion. Have you any advice on what to look for and what to avoid?
Hi Dad,
I share this reader’s concerns. Do we really need twelve bowls of vegetables in one portion (as is provided by Greens for Life)? Is that wasteful? In Australia, we’re encouraged to eat five portions of vegetables and two portions of fruit each day and, in France and the UK, we’re encouraged to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. I’m unsure of what is considered to be a portion but I expect that I eat at least seven of vegetables and three of fruit on an average day. Do you know if it is possible to consume more nutrients than the body needs? And if so, does the body just excrete them?
The reader suggested that ‘surely a healthy balance of exercise and sensible eating is better than these uber loaded shakes-potions?’ and I agree. These uber loaded shakes-potions should not replace a healthy balance of exercise and sensible eating in the long-term but they can perhaps replace a healthy balance of exercise and sensible eating in the short-term (when traveling, for example). Do you agree? I certainly only invest my precious dollars in them when I’m traveling and have been unable to have my 2+5.
Love,
Jess.
Some good points, thanks Jess.
Firstly, I read more about the difficulty of getting enough nutrients rather than getting too many, so I suspect we need to worry about the former the most. In the Foodmatters film, Dr. Andrew Saul stated a fact along the lines of there being only 2 suspected deaths from misuse of vitamins in the past 20 years (details are probably wrong), he also said that most trials of vitamins use doses that are way too low. In the same film, Dr. Ian Brighthope talks about the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of vitamins are the bare minimum to avoid vitamin deficiency and how he administers 100′s of times the RDA of vitamin C to help cancer patients.
But your question is still a good one. We know that too much water can kill you, and water is something we need everyday just to survive. So is there a point where too many vitamins can kill? I don’t know, but I suspect it’s not in any dose we could consume easily.
I heard a talk by David Wolfe sometime ago where he described how plane travel can have a bad effect on the body and when he lands, he tries to consume a green super-smoothie as soon as he can. I agree that there are times when a super shot of nutrition can help your body out, but that a consistently nutritious diet and lifestyle would be preferable.
To be honest, my concern is more about money. I often wonder if my decision to buy as many fruits and vegetables as I do is justified. I eat (and enjoy) all of them but can’t help but wonder if I could buy fewer whilst remaining as healthy as I am.
I think you should buy and eat what makes you truly feel good from a health point of view. Only you can determine what’s right for you.
It’s an interesting thought though to ponder how we’re happy to spend money on “things” like TV’s, cars, etc., but often do not consider spending money on good foods that are the foundation of our health.