Comments on MonaVie Training Guide: MonaVie vs. The Red Delicious Apple

Food Tech, I posted MonaVie's response to your sta...

2009-10-12T22:12:54.139-07:00

Food Tech,
I posted MonaVie's response to your statements above in a new post on this blog titled "List of MonaVie's Approved Claims For Benefits of MonaVie". This is all they said in response to your comments.

I also thought it was interesting that the company...

2009-08-21T09:45:14.000-07:00

I also thought it was interesting that the company's response emphasized fatty acid content. Monvie has never been claimed to contain high levels of fatty acids and the label shows the overall fat content to be extremely low. Looks like yet another ruse.

The response also falsely claimed that one of the AIBMR studies showed that "individuals who drank MonaVie had an increase in the amount antioxidants". In fact, the AIBMR study did not measure antioxidant LEVELS; it measured antioxidant ACTIVITY -- these are two very distinct types of tests.

It's amazing to see how fast and loose the company plays with the facts.

My advice would be to google "placebo effect". It...

2009-08-09T22:39:28.801-07:00

My advice would be to google "placebo effect". It is a well-documented phenomenon, and yes, the effects are physical and measurable. One of the trigger points is when a person believes that a product works so much, it actually does!! Another point is if you are buying a product in high-quality packaging, and you pay a high price for that product, you make yourself believe that it must be doing something special.

The problem with the placebo effect is it almost always wanes over time.

The diet that you mentioned sounds wonderful. Go to http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12354500/Data/ORAC/ORAC07.pdf There you'll find the USDA ORAC Table of Selected Foods. Most of the results are for 100 gram servings, so divide by 100 to compare to MonaVie, which is expressed in milliliters (close to a gram). Look for Total ORAC, and Total Phenolics (noted as TP on table).

Make a list and send that to MonaVie.

If you want to compare MonaVie to various other juices, go to: http://www.pomwonderful.com/pdf/Antioxidant_Beverage_Study.pdf Use table number 4. THis study was conducted by UCLA.

Remember MonaVie's numbers are 22.81 umoles/ml ORAC, and 1.48 mg./ml. for total phenolics (all plant-based antioxidants) (AIBMR Study - Dr. Schauss)

If anyone has questions about this, feel free to contact me at: Foodtech101@Yahoo.com

FOOD TECH IN CA

Thanks for your insight. I will send your comment...

2009-08-09T20:44:17.554-07:00

Thanks for your insight. I will send your comment to them and I will post their answer for you. However, I still don't understand then why MonaVie has made such a difference for me and my husband.

I am a vegan and I eat tons of fruits and vegetables - my daughter and I were just snacking on an organic peach, dried cranberries, walnuts, pineapple and a piece of sunflower seed loaf from TJ's. We had an early dinner tonight of steamed broccolli, whole wheat pasta with homemade heirloom tomato sauce and salad.

We get our fair share of antioxidants from our diet. So why have my energy levels completely increased, my memory has improved vastly and overall I just feel more clear headed? What is that about? Do you think it's the resveratrol or plant sterols or liquid glucosamine in the MonaVie? Or what do you think it is? If all I had to go off of is what you have said and what MonaVie has said I would likely discontinue drinking it based on the points you have made, yet, it has made such a difference for us that we don't want to stop drinking it.

What are your thoughts on the physical effects we have been feeling since we started drinking MonaVie?

As I suspected, MonaVie totally avoided my questio...

2009-08-08T22:41:01.323-07:00

As I suspected, MonaVie totally avoided my question: Why a single red delicious apple has a far higher ORAC and total phenolics level than MonaVie. They said everything but an answer.

The points that they make about MonaVie and phytonutrients are moot, because they don't have any studies testing the phytonutrients in MonaVie. And it must be tested using a 4 oz. daily serving size. You can add 100's of different plants, but remember each ingredient added dilutes the remaining ingredients.

I'm glad they mention the in vitrol/in vivol study sponsored by MonaVie and conducted by AIBMR (Dr. Schauss). The study starts out flawed. They give each of the test subjects 4 oz. of MonaVie as a single dose. The label clearly states 2 oz. twice per day. So, the blood levels of the test subjects were inflated to start.

Next, they test the antioxidant bioavailability levels every 30 minutes for 2 hours then terminate the test???? So, all that they've proven is a double dose of MonaVie's antioxidants stays in your blood for two hours.
What about the other 22 hours in the day? The free radicals are still active for 24 hours.

I'm sorry you were duped by this company, but the facts remain as I previously posted. A single red delicious apple gives you a higher ORAC of 6,413 to MonaVie's 2,698 umoles and total phenolics of 520 mg. to MonaVie's 175 mg.

No amount of pseudoscientific double-talk can change that. They did not, and could not dispute that fact. Plus, I can list name after name of foods and produce that easily scores higher in ORAC (MonaVies selling point). Check out the USDA ORAC Table of Selected Foods - 2007

and no, there is no juice or supplement that I recommend instead of MonaVie. Eat your fruits and veggies. You'll get far mor antioxidants that'll stay iin your system much longer, and save a ton of money.

FOOD TECH IN CA