Juice Plus+ is a branded line of dietary supplements containing concentrated fruit and vegetable juice extracts fortified with added vitamins and nutrients. Introduced in 1993 by its manufacturer, Natural Alternatives International of San Marcos, CA; the supplements are distributed by National Safety Associates (NSA; Collierville, TN) via direct or multi-level marketing.
Marketing claims made about Juice Plus products suggest benefits such as reducing oxidative stress and promoting cardiovascular health. The supplements are advertised as "the next best thing to fruits and vegetables," a claim which some consumer watchdog organizations and governmental agencies consider to be misleading. Critics have argued that there is no scientific proof that Juice Plus offers significant health benefits, and that deceptive claims are used in the product's marketing information. Studies of Juice Plus' effects have generated conflicting and controversial results.
History
NSA was founded in 1970 and before introducing Juice Plus in 1993, was known for other multilevel-marketed products such as water filters, air filters, fire-protection equipment, and educational games for pre-schoolers. Naturopath Humbart "Smokey" Santillo is credited with having developed the Juice Plus “concept” and “nutritional philosophy” and for creating what has been described as the “original formula” for the product. According to Santillo, he has also worked with NSA to develop other Juice Plus products.
The primary products in the Juice Plus line are Orchard Blend (a fruit juice powder-based vitamin supplement) and Garden Blend (vegetable juice powder-based) capsules, which are sold together in four-month supplies at a cost, in 2009, of approximately $167 USD. Other supplement products in the Juice Plus line include, or have included, Vineyard Blend (grape/berry juice powder-based) capsules, Gummies, meal replacement powders (Juice Plus Complete), soft chewables, chewable tablets, wafers (Juice Plus Thins), and a vitamin formulation for dogs and cats.
Manufacturing
The main ingredients in Juice Plus Orchard Blend and Garden Blend capsules (vegetable and fruit juices, fibers, plant enzymes, and food actives) are reduced to powder through a proprietary process by an unrelated supplier, and are then blended and encapsulated by NAI who produce the finished product. Juice Plus capsules are “enriched with pure β-carotene, ascorbic acid, vitamin E, and folic acid”. According to the manufacturer these are added to restore the levels of micronutrients lost during processing and to ensure uniformity.” Two NAI-sponsored studies mention that the fruit and vegetable powders in Juice Plus include standardized levels of natural β-carotene derived from Dunaliella salina and soy-derived d-α-tocopherol (vitamin E), which are supplied by the Henkel Corporation (now doing business as Cognis Corporation), and ascorbic acid derived from acerola cherry, which is supplied by Schweizerhall Pharma.
Juice Plus Gummies, a candy-like supplement for children, were shown to consist of 85% corn syrup and 10% beef gelatin, plus added nutrients.
Sales
Juice Plus products are marketed by individual distributors who receive sales commissions ranging from 6% (for enrolling five customers in 30 days) to 14% (for enrolling twenty customers in 30 days). Detailed sales figures for Juice Plus are not publicly available but NSA representatives claimed that Juice Plus achieved monthly sales of $6 million USD in 1993 and that it was the company’s most successful new product.
Product research
National Safety Associates refers to Juice Plus as “the next best thing to eating fruits and vegetables” and describes the products as containing the “nutritional essence of 17 different fruits, vegetables, and grains”. NSA also claims that Juice Plus delivers key phytonutrients that are absorbed by the body, reduces oxidative stress, promotes cardiovascular wellness, supports a healthy immune system, and helps protect DNA. However, multiple studies of varying standards have produced conflicting results as to the truth of these claims. Doubts have been raised about the advertised benefits of Juice Plus by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, University of California Berkeley, Center for Science in the Public Interest, and other sources. The product has been criticized on the basis that: its marketing is unsupported by research data, it contains too little fruit and vegetable powder to offer significant clinical benefits, its effects can be attributed to the inclusion of added exogenous vitamins and micronutrients, and it is excessively priced relative to its potential benefits. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Clinic referred to Juice Plus as a ”pricey supplement” that is “distributed through a multi-tiered marketing scheme with exaggerated value and cost."
Of the published peer-reviewed studies on Juice Plus products, seven were funded and/or authored by the manufacturer, Natural Alternatives International (NAI); six were funded by the main distributor, NSA; two were funded by individual Juice Plus distributors; and one was conducted independently. The products examined in most of the studies were Garden Blend and Orchard Blend; three studies were performed on Vineyard Blend (a berry juice powder-based version) taken in combination with Garden and Orchard Blend, and one study was on Juice Plus Gummies.
In a critique of Juice Plus, Stephen Barrett of MLMWatch remarked upon the previous association between two authors of a 1996 Juice Plus research study and United Sciences of America, Inc. (USAI), a multilevel marketing company that sold vitamin supplements with illegal claims that they could prevent many diseases. In 1986, lead author John A. Wise, who later co-authored several other Juice Plus research studies, was USAI's Executive Vice-President of Research and Development; and second author Robert J. Morin was a scientific advisor who helped design the products. State and federal enforcement actions drove USAI out of business in 1987. Wise became a consultant to Natural Alternatives International (NAI) in 1987 and a company executive (Vice-President of Research and Development) in 1992. Barrett noted that Wise was also an NAI shareholder and that production of Juice Plus for National Safety Associates (NSA) was responsible for 16% of NAIs sales in 1999. In 2006, NSA accounted for 38% of NAIs sales. Wise was appointed Chief Scientific Officer of NAI in 2002 and resigned from the company’s executive board on June 30, 2007. Wise then entered into a consultancy agreement with NAI stipulating a fee of $10,000 USD per month, and as of August, 2007, was listed as an NAI insider, with direct ownership of 59,600 shares of NAI stock and short-term vested options to purchase an additional 130,000 shares.
Nutritionists Bernhard Watzl and Achim Bub commented that a Juice Plus study published by Samman and associates in 2003 was flawed and misleading because it failed to mention that Juice Plus Orchard Blend and Garden Blend capsules were enriched with supplemental micronutrients. They noted that native carotenoids from vegetables (e.g. lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin) were either absent from the capsules or were not bioavailable, and that the reported physiological effects of Juice Plus can be explained solely by the micronutrient additives, raising doubts as to whether the fruit and vegetable component itself had any significant effects. According to NSA executive John Blair, the company adds extra vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and folate to Juice Plus to achieve uniform levels, but it won’t say how much, and the extra vitamins aren’t listed on the label as added ingredients, as required by law.
Nutrient absorption
Though Juice Plus contains some nutrients, concerns have been raised that these nutrients may not be bioavailable, meaning not effectively absorbed by the human body, and that some of the nutrients claimed to be in the products may not be present in significant amounts. Studies on nutrient absorption showed that subjects taking Juice Plus had elevated blood levels of folate and β-carotene but the effects on blood levels of vitamin E and vitamin C were inconsistent. Some studies have shown significant increases in vitamin E and C levels, while other studies have shown much weaker effects on vitamin E and C levels, and that the levels of vitamin E and vitamin C are not significantly increased. Juice Plus was found to increase blood lycopene levels in several studies, while other studies have indicated that Juice Plus does not raise the blood levels of lycopene or other key phytonutrients from fresh fruits and vegetables such as lutein, zeaxanthin, and β-cryptoxanthin.
Concerns have also been raised about the accuracy of product labeling. Three studies which included chemical analyses of Juice Plus have indicated nutrient amounts that differ from the amounts listed on the product labels.
In a January 2007 article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch , dietitian Renee Schwendinger said, "the average person should eat actual fruits and vegetables, not take a supplement such as Juice Plus," and that barring that, "a single multivitamin will give you all the nutrition you need if your diet is lacking, and it's less expensive."
Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton echoed similar sentiments, stating “Juice Plus…contains added vitamins, and as
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