Our mission is to optimize
the quality of life of cancer survivors.

Cancer Survivor (n): "any individual that has been diagnosed with cancer, from the time of discovery and for the balance of life"-- National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

At the Cancer Survivor Center, we are often asked about commercial products that make claims to cure and/or treat chronic health conditions and we wanted to take this forum to explain our position about so-called "super foods".

I am specifically talking about the "superfruit" drinks that contain high levels of anti-oxidants and others (proprietary blends) that claim to be miraculous in curing a host of chronic ailments. There is no question that the reductionism ideology of nutritional science has been able to isolate a number of chemicals that work well in experiments to scavenge free radicals. HOWEVER, claims made by many of the companies selling these products (Noni, Vibe, Mangosteen, Mono Vie, Grape fruit diet among a host of others---we are not targeting any specific company) is based on sketchy clinical science (we encourage you to review their science directly as we have done). Vitamin C, E and beta-carotene among many other antioxidants are in these products (it is often difficult to determine the actual amounts because their products are of a proprietary blend) so juices with these constituents can be marketed as a potentially healthy drink that MAY reduce the chance of getting a chronic disease. The fruit juice may actually even do that.....but we really don't know if a commercially prepared (processed) fruit delivers the same nutrient and protective effect as simply eating the un-processed fruit itself.

FDA Regulation of Health Claims

Federal law allows for certain claims to be made in the labeling of food and supplements. These include claims approved by the Food and Drug Administration that show a strong link, based on scientific evidence, between a food substance and a disease or health condition. These approved claims can state only that a food substance reduces the risk of certain health problems - not that it can treat or cure a disease. Two examples of approved claims are: "The vitamin folic acid may reduce the risk of neural tube defect-affected pregnancies," and "Calcium may reduce the risk of the bone disease osteoporosis."

Dietary supplements also may carry claims in their labeling that describe the effect of a substance in maintaining the body's normal structure or function, as long as the claims don't imply the product treats or cures a disease. The FDA does not review or authorize these claims. An example of such a claim is, "Product B promotes healthy joints and bones." When a dietary supplement is promoted with a claim like this, the claim must be accompanied with the disclaimer, "This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease."

To learn more about the kinds of labeling claims that can be made for foods and dietary supplements, see www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/hclaims.html.

Superfruit juices all build their claims about their product on the same central idea. They contain large amounts of antioxidants, which fight the free radicals that cause aging and/or contribute to disease.

Free radicals are complicated. The 25¢ definition is a molecule with an unpaired electron that allows it to easily form a covalent bond with one of your good molecules, thus oxidizing it. This is one way that cells can be attacked, and this effect can and does lead to a number of age-related diseases. At first glance, this makes the role of antioxidants obvious. Eliminate those oxidizing molecules, and help prevent age-related diseases. Right? Not so fast. Human biochemistry is not as simple as the linguistic dichotomy of oxidation vs. antioxidant. It's extraordinarily complex. The oxidation from free radicals also has important benefits to the body: Converting fat into energy and attacking bacteria, just for a start.

Dr. Stephen Barrett sums it up quite aptly in an article about antioxidants (which also lists this and many other clinical trials if you want to see for yourself):

"There is widespread scientific agreement that eating adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables can help lower the incidence of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. With respect to antioxidants and other phytochemicals, the key question is whether supplementation has been proven to do more good than harm. So far, the answer is no, which is why the FDA will not permit any of these substances to be labeled or marketed with claims that they can prevent disease."

Choice, the publication of the Australian Consumers Association, undertook a major study to answer this question in 2007. They bought virtually every superfruit juice that's commercially available. In their labs, they tested all of them for their total antioxidant capacity using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay test, laying out their methodology in detail — which you'll notice the promoters of these products never do.

As a baseline, Choice measured the total antioxidant capacity, or TAC, of a common apple — a Red Delicious Apple, to be precise — and got a reading of 5900. This number was then compared to the TAC measured from a daily serving of each superfruit juice.

• The first type of superfruit juice tested was goji, a berry from Asia also known as the wolfberry. Servings of four different goji-based superfruit juices were found to have TAC measurements ranging from 570 to 2,025 for a product that is a 100% purée of the berry, in other words, from 10% to 34% the TAC of a common apple.
  
• Next, they tested two brands of mangosteen superfruit juices. Mangosteen is claimed to have double the antioxidant capacity of goji. The results? Two two juices came in at 1,020 and 1,710, or 17% and 29% of the TAC of a common apple.
  
• Next, they tested two brands of noni superfruit juices. Noni comes from Polynesia, and is frequently used in Hawaiian traditional medicine. The two brands measured 540 and 525, each about 9% the TAC of a common apple. In other words, a $7 cup of noni juice contains as much antioxidants as a thin 5¢ slice of apple.
  
• Finally, Choice put açai to the test. The açai is a small purple berry from the Amazon, and Oprah calls it the "#1 food for anti-aging." Açai is the headliner ingredient in MonaVie, but since they do not disclose their formula, the percentage is unknown. Choice tested a similar product from RioLife containing 14% açai pulp. It measured almost as well as the best goji juice, with a TAC of 1,800, or about 31% as much as a common apple.

Choice also added several more common fruits to the mix. A single navel orange was found to have a TAC of 2,540. A cup of strawberries has 5,938. A cup of raspberries has a TAC of 6,058. And the overall winner was a cup of cultivated blueberries, with a total antioxidant capacity of 9,019.

But how can this be? Choice magazine found that the marketing literature says that goji berries have ten times, and açai berries six times, the antioxidant capacity of blueberries. Well, this might well be true. The difference is due to the fact that you're drinking a juice made from the fruit, you're not eating the whole fruit itself. For example, the mangosteen fruit has a huge amount of antioxidants and other nutrients. However, it's all contained within the inedible rind. The edible pulp of the fruit has only a negligible amount of either. This is how it's possible for the marketing claim to be, well, accurate if misleading; but the product itself to be devoid of the claimed benefits.

Superfruit juices may be good sources of antioxidants compared to, say, spaghetti or a cheeseburger; but if you want antioxidants, you'll get far more of them for about 1/100th the price by simply eating common fruit from the supermarket.

Commercially available superfruit juices may be good for you but at $200/month that is a lot of money for something you can simply walk down to the supermarket and buy for a lot less money.

Our position is clear. A diet high in fruits and vegetables and whole grains while reducing animal products (meat) and overall fat is the best and most effective way to prevent disease and stay healthy.

We look forward to your comments.

Riggs Klika