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Juice Plus is a whole-food based product which provides the nutritional essence of fruits and vegetables in small capsules. Juice Plus+® was developed and is distributed by National Safety Associates (NSA) and claims, when added to a normal intake of fruits and vegetables, to be a sufficient supply of fruits and vegetables. Moreover, NSA claims that Juice Plus provides the nutritional essence of seven different fruits, eight different vegetables, and two grains in a convenient and inexpensive capsule. Juice Plus+® is distributed only through direct or multi-level marketing. Juice Plus+® has been the subject of several scientific studies and is available in two forms: the Juice Plus+ Orchard Blend® which is claimed to contain the essence of apples, oranges, pineapple, cranberries, peaches, acerola cherries, and papaya and Juice Plus+ Garden Blend® which is claimed to contain the essence of carrots, parsley, beets, kale, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, and barley and oat fibers.

Criticisms

While NSA maintains that a number of scientific studies establish scientific consensus for the efficacy of Juice Plus+®, a number of criticisms of Juice Plus+® exist from the scientific community. The most common criticism of the research performed is that the scientific research often claimed by the distributor does not establish a sufficiently strong causal connection for the stated benefits. Other critics focus on the economics which note that the pills are much more expensive than simply purchasing a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables. Most noted, critics claim that research does not establish that the essence of fruits and vegetables can be condensed into pill form. Also, critics claim that much of the scientific basis for Juice Plus+® is argued solely per an ad verecundiam argument, which is a logical fallacy which states that since an authority or Journal has done a study involving Juice Plus+®, then all marketing claims must be true.

Scientific Basis

10 studies on Juice Plus+® have been published in the following peer-reviewed journals: The Journal of Nutrition, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Nutrition Research, Journal of Human Nutrition and Diatectics, Integrative Medicine, and Current Therapeutic Research. Most of these studies were done using the following protocol: randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled. 13 more studies are in progress. These studies showed that Juice Plus+® is bioavailable, it increases antioxidant nutrients, protects and repairs DNA, reduces lipid peroxides (a key indicator of oxidative stress), reduces homocysteine levels, and it reduces the constriction of blood vessels after a high-fat meal ()

External links

• Juice Plus home page (which provides links to current research)
• Criticism of Juice Plus by Dr. Stephen Barrett
• Biography of Dr. Stephen Barrett (advocacy and criticism)
• An opinion about Juice Plus+®, prepared by Fudeko T. Maruyama and adapted by Mary A. Clarke.

• Business models
• Multi-level marketing