Monavie : The Healthiest Amazing Journey Ever

The 2005 USDA Food Guide Pyramid has increased the recommended servings of fruits to 2-4 daily and vegetables to 3-5 daily, spearheading the change with their "5 a day" campaign and noting that we are particularly deficient in consumption of fruits.

Current food consumption estimates for Americans

* Only 10% eat even 5 daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
* Average fruit consumption is only 1.4 servings daily.
* Only 17% eat 2-4 fruits daily.
* Only 12% have what could be called a "good" diet.

Faculty members in the Harvard School of Public Health feel the revised government recommendations still fall short, are much too heavily influenced by powerful food lobby groups, and do not put into perspective the wealth of research conducted during the last ten years that has reshaped the definition of healthy eating. Their statement:

[If there's anything close to being "proved" in nutrition research, it's that eating lots of fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of heart disease, some types of cancer, and other chronic diseases. The U.S. government's "5 a day" campaign makes five servings of fruits and vegetables look like a goal when it should actually be a lower limit.]

THE PHYTONUTRIENT REVOLUTION

Phytonutrients have catapulted to the top of nutritional science research. "Phytonutrients Take Center Stage" was published in the December 1999 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

Phytonutrients are a class of health-promoting, bio-active compounds with many sub-categories. By some counts, more than 100,000 phytonutrient compounds have already been identified and catalogued. Around the world, new discoveries are being continually made by health scientists. Some of the more common class names are Carotenoids and Flavonoids (Polyphenols).

Most known phytonutrients are strongly related to pigment. Dark red and blue pigmented flavonoids, with names like isoflavones, anthocyanins, flavinols, catechins and phenols are dominant in fruits. And richly colored fruits are considered the most potent source of anti-aging antioxidants of any commonly eaten foods!

(And no, this does not mean that drinking darker colored soft drinks is healthier than the lemon-lime varieties! We should banish them all from our diets!)

According to Dr. Ralph Carson, the company's Chief Science Officer and primary formulator of MonaVie, research shows free radicals may be largely responsible for chronic illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. Once the ORAC test (oxygen radical absorption capacity) was perfected, some companies touted high ORAC ratings to make their products appear better than others. Later research has shown that a higher ORAC value does not necessarily equate to better or more effective. On the contrary, too much of certain substances can have detrimental effects.

Perhaps most important to know about phytonutrients and fruits is that they appear to be far more beneficial and effective in promoting health when a combination of fruits (not just a single fruit) is consumed.

Unlike many products that are rushed to market because someone spots a trend and tries to quickly cash in on it, MonaVie's entry into the Wellness arena came slowly and meticulously. Its creators spent many long months formulating MonaVie and making it palatable -- knowing that only if it tasted good would people be likely to try it and thus discover its profound benefits.

The scientific team's efforts were based upon and supported by more than two decades of nutritional science evolution related to the role of antioxidants and more recent years of discoveries about phytonutrients and the crucial roles they play in health.

The Medical Advisory Board agreed that a product that addressed chronic inflammation was MUCH needed and concurred that the use of fruits, glucosamine and a proprietary blend of fatty acids could target what has become a global health issue of pandemic proportions.

Balance, Moderation and Variety--Keys to Effectiveness

Fruits are an abundant source of many thousands of phytonutrients as well as at least 8 Vitamins and minerals -- including Vitamin C which is known to be a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. According to Dr. Mary Ann Lila, University of Illinois, although the most publicized property of bioflavinoids is their antioxidant capacity, they also serve as anti-inflammatory agents.

Many of the 19 fruits selected for the MonaVie formula, starting with legendary Acai Berry from the Amazon Rainforest, have centuries-old traditions of being used as medicines by the indigenous people of their respective regions. More recent years of scientific research have validated the phytonutrient content and health benefits of these fruits. (Hippocrates was RIGHT!)

Because of the extremely powerful yet sensitive phytonutrients in the Acai Berry, MonaVie uses Acai as its headline ingredient--to keep intact all the health promoting characteristics of this wondrous fruit.

Most known phytonutrients are strongly linked to pigment, Mother Nature's way of protecting botanicals from intense sunlight and other harsh conditions. Health experts today agree it is best to consume a color spectrum VARIETY of fruits to gain greatest advantage from their respective phytonutrients.

The fruits of MonaVie give us this spectrum: Acai Berry, pomegranate, white grape, nashi pear, acerola, pear, aronia, purple grape, cranberry, passionfruit, banana, apricot, prune, kiwi, blueberry, bilberry, camu camu, wolfberry and lychee.

New Research Explains How Plants Protect Humans from Cancer and Heart Attacks and strokes.
Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help, but remain responsible for it.

Antioxidants

The chemical compounds that make cherries red, blueberries blue, and spinach green also serve to protect human health. These "phytochemicals" ("phyto" is the Greek word for plant) contain antioxidants (Polyphenols) that fight cell-damaging free radicals, those oxidizing ogres that accelerate the aging process and cause disease like cancer. Plant chemicals fight cancer (Plants can get cancer so they are given anti-cancer chemicals by Mother Nature), for example, in different ways: Some suppress cancer activity; others encourage precancerous cells to morph into a non-cancerous form; still others suppress tumor development, block hormones that promote cancer, or stimulate protective enzymes. Now, thanks to a new French study discussed below, we know they do even more.
Polyphenols can generally be found in the fruit skins. The color of the skin is very important and each color has different characteristics. This is why eating different colors daily is important.

A NEW STUDY TELLS US MORE

According to new research published in the November 2007 issue of The FASEB , Journal, a common ingredient in the skin of fruit such as the Acai berry or dark grape (red wine), and other fruits and vegetables, has the ability to shut down cancerous tumors, and can battle heart disease.

The French team found that high and low doses of polyphenols have different effects.

Very high doses of antioxidant chemical called polyphenols (or ORAC's--Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity units) can stop tumor growth. The serving level that had anti-cancer potency was equivalent to 6 oz's of Acai berry juice in MonaVie (6,000 ORAC Units) or a entire bottle of red wine**/grape juice (750 ml) 6,127 ORAC, per day were able to shut down and prevent cancerous tumors, by cutting off the formation of new blood vessels needed for tumor growth.

**(I am not suggesting drinking wine to get your ORAC's?alcohol is not helpful and destroys health beyond a single 6 oz glass of wine a day, and cancer researchers' advised against drinking wine if you have cancer because of the high sugar levels and suppression to your immune system by alcohol)

Alternatively, relatively low doses of polyphenols ? equivalent to approximately one glass of wine or grape juice a day (1,416 ORAC's)-- were found to play a beneficial role in combating heart disease, benefiting your circulatory system by facilitating blood vessel growth. Quite the paradox.

Notable sources of polyphenols include berries in general and the Acai berry specifically which has the most ORAC's of any known food, along with green, black, and white tea, grapes/wine, olive oil, chocolate/ 88% cocoa, walnuts, pomegranates , wild blue berries, wild black berries and other fruits and vegetables.

What Is a Free Radical?

Free radicals are damaged atomic particles that have lost an electron and become an unstable radical. To correct the balance, a damaged molecule will steal an electron from another molecule in a nearby cell. This is what causes us to age and get sick. There are over 1,100 different families of free radicals attacking our bodies in different ways on a daily basis ? they are in the air, your food and drink, tobacco smoke, pesticides and other pollutants.

The best description I have read about describing this process is by Stephen Cherniske in his book The Metabolic Plan: "Imagine there's a dance where everyone has a partner. The room is "stable", and everyone is happy. Suddenly the door opens, and here's this fellow without a date. Not only is he alone (unpaired), but he's incredibly good-looking. So this guy goes over and steals some other guy's date. That guy is now unpaired (and angry), so he tries to cut in on another couple. And before you know it, the entire dance floor is filled with guys fighting over the available girls. In your body, free radicals wreak similar havoc."

The really bad news is that we also produce these free radicals ourselves. Controllable amounts of free radicals are formed during normal cellular functions ? basically, they are exhaust fumes. Excess free radicals can result from allergic reactions, emotional upsets, overexposure to the sun, excessive exercise and even an excess of fats and alcohol.

Free radicals are known to be the most common cause of tissue damage and in more than 6000 scientific studies; they have been linked to every known disease. This damage is also visible in our skin as it also causes the signs of ageing.

Beyond Cancer

Plants and vegetable chemicals protect against heart disease, stroke, and other conditions, according to a recent study of 9,000 people by researchers at Tulane University. They found that people who ate at least three servings a day were 27 percent less likely to have a stroke or develop cardiovascular disease; they were 47 percent less likely to die of a stroke if they had one.

ORAC Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity

The US Department Of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research

Center on Ageing (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts,

has been studying the antioxidant properties of whole foods. They set out

to measure the total antioxidant power of individual foods. They established

the Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity. the ORAC score. a measure

of each food's ability to neutralize free radicals and protect the body from

ageing and degenerative disease.

According to the researchers, we should be aiming for at least 3,000-4,000 ORAC's daily, and for a maximum protection or if seriously ill, 5000-8000 ORAC units every single day.

26,000 ORAC's in 26 oz (750 ml) of MonaVie Acai Berry Juice, 1,000 ORAC's per oz.

6,136 ORAC in 26 oz (750 ml) of wine/dark grape juice, 236 ORAC's per oz.