Juice Plus: Candy masquerading as health food
The other day while getting my hair cut, I mentioned I was hungry and a little spacey from low blood sugar, and the nice Marin lady in the chair next to me shared a bite to eat.
I’d never heard of Juice Plus before, so I didn’t realize I was about to get a sales pitch. I opened the package and ate what tasted like fancy fruit snacks. I checked out the ingredients on the back, which were, in order:
- Tapioca syrup
- Maltodextrin
- Organice evaporated cane juice
In other words, the first three ingredients are: sugar, sugar, and sugar.
Dear reader, anything that’s made of mostly sugar fits neatly into a food group that we might call “candy.” Seriously, even a Snickers would be preferable — its main ingredients are milk chocolate, peanuts, and corn syrup. At least you get some protein with your sugar and sugar!
I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that someone from the epicenter of antivaxxers and unflouridated water would believe that these gummies are nutritious.
Here’s the two-minute video my new salon friend had me watch on her iPhone, in which an obviously well-educated M.D./Ph.D. tries to convince you that Juice Plus fruit snacks and chocolate shake powder are “whole foods” that contain more servings of fruits and vegetables than you’d ever be able to eat in a day. LOL.