Monavie

My dentist recommended Monavie on one of my regular visits. He said its a health juice packed with fruits high in anti-oxidants and works like a miracle! A bottle cost close to RM100. At the time i was desperate to try anything ( being just diagnosed with cancer) so i bought a bottle. A small cup twice a day.

The website states Monavie has the antioxidant capacity of approximately 13 servings of common fruits and vegetables in just four ounces.( http://www.monavie.com/). As i was drinking i noticed a thick residue at the bottom of the bottle. Well its imported and would have added preservatives to ensure longer shelf life.

You see I am all for healthy juices but without the additives or preservatives. Whats wrong with buying a juice extractors and making your own anti-oxidant drink. You could do carrot,celery and apple for instance. You could google and find combination of fruit juices that would deliver optimum amounts of anti-oxidants. I believe fresh juice is better than bottled juice unless your pressed for time and you want something fast without the hassle. The less we consume products packed in bottles and cans the better off we will be.

Further reading i discovered that one of the ingredients in Monavie is sodium benzoate which is a preservative that helps maintain a products freshness. Now Sodium benzoate and Vitamin C in Monavie reacts to form Benzene which is a known carcinogen. Below is an extract from Monavie website:
In the presence of trace amounts of certain metals, which act as catalysts, vitamin C can produce free radicals that convert benzoate into benzene. The FDA and World Health Organization have set a standard for benzene levels in water and that level is 5 parts per billion. MonaVie tests its MonaVie juices for benzene regularly, and we are always well below the FDA’s and World Health Organization’s acceptable levels for benzene.

OK so its within the acceptable standard levels however i firmly believe if we can reduce the consumption of preservatives we should endeavour to do so. What troubles me most is the number of young children drinking these "miracle" juices. I think we should educate our kids to drink fresh fruit juices and use Monavie as a last resort only.