It Works Greens: 8+ Servings of Fruits & Veggies in 10 Calories?

[FlexGunship]

Did a quick search and didn't see this one. A friend recommended this product to me because she was concerned that I wasn't getting enough fruits and vegetables. When I asked a few questions (how it worked, what the ingredients were, etc.) she became defensive and basically said I was being a jerk. Once again, Flex fails with a girl.

Anyway, here's the product: https://static.myitworks.com/PublicFacing/productinformationsheetenhancedgreensorangeusl.pdf

Some claims that don't quite compute for me are:

• the "8+ servings of fruit and vegetables" - is it 8 servings of each? 3 of one and 5 of the other?
• the "10 calorie" claim - what "serving" contains only 1.25 calories?
• obligatory use of "detox", "antioxidant", and "pH balance" - often associated with woowoo products
• specifically says it's not a replacement for fruits and vegetables - so what's the point of the product? If it contains 8+ servings of fruits and vegetables, then why do you still need to eat fruits and vegetables? Surely that's what a "serving" is meant to convey.

I haven't found it listed as a scam. Am I wrong? Is this a viable nutritional replacement?

 

[phinds]

Just eat your fruits and vegetables and forget crap like this.

 

[FlexGunship]

Just eat your fruits and vegetables and forget crap like this.

Well, fair enough... but I always think to myself "there must be something here." If you have a "Serving" of vegetables, doesn't that imply a general number of macronutrients and calories? If a serving is measured as a specific amount of potassium, then they might be making a perfectly legitimate claim, right?

 

[phinds]

Well, fair enough... but I always think to myself "there must be something here." If you have a "Serving" of vegetables, doesn't that imply a general number of macronutrients and calories? If a serving is measured as a specific amount of potassium, then they might be making a perfectly legitimate claim, right?

It's possible, but several doctors have told me that nutritional supplements and/or replacements just don't product the chemicals in the way that our bodies are best suited to digest them and make use of them. Natural foods do. Eating X grams of something raw does NOT mean that you body will get the same use out of it as you would if you at a natural food with the same amount.

 

[FlexGunship]

It's possible, but several doctors have told me that nutritional supplements and/or replacements just don't product the chemicals in the way that our bodies are best suited to digest them and make use of them. Natural foods do. Eating X grams of something raw does NOT mean that you body will get the same use out of it as you would if you at a natural food with the same amount.

What would vegetables look like if you just removed the water? Surely water doesn't really add or subtract from the nutritional value (beyond standard hydration).

What if you then chemically extracted all of the fat, protein, and carbohydrates? Yes, there are many types of these macronutrients, but from a 20,000ft view you can imagine getting these from other parts of your normal diet (meat and grains).

What you're left with is a pile of vegetable matter that's dry and contains almost no calories.

Could this be what this product is?

 

[Evo]

What if you then chemically extracted all of the fat, protein, and carbohydrates?

You could also be removing the ingredients that make the food beneficial. We honestly do not know enough about how our bodies use everything we eat in combination.

 

[FlexGunship]

You could also be removing the ingredients that make the food beneficial. We honestly do not know enough about how our bodies use everything we eat in combination.

Sure. I guess I'm playing devil's advocate. My friend believes in this product. I don't know why, though.

I think what gets me if the boldness of a claim like "contains 8+ servings of fruits and vegetables." Surely there's something behind this statement. Given that this product contains 10 calories, what constitutes a "serving" or vegetables?

 

[Evo]

Sure. I guess I'm playing devil's advocate. My friend believes in this product. I don't know why, though.

I think what gets me if the boldness of a claim like "contains 8+ servings of fruits and vegetables." Surely there's something behind this statement. Given that this product contains 10 calories, what constitutes a "serving" or vegetables?

The FDA has guidelines that dictate what a "serving" is.

See box 8

http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2000/document/build.htm

 

[FlexGunship]

The FDA has guidelines that dictate what a "serving" is.

See box 8

http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2000/document/build.htm

Box 8 really only gives examples... it doesn't tell you how to determine what a serving is on your own.

 

[Evo]

Box 8 really only gives examples... it doesn't tell you how to determine what a serving is on your own.

It tells you exactly what a serving is in US measurements. What do you think a "serving" is?

Vegetable Group

1 cup of raw leafy vegetables
1/2 cup of other vegetables cooked or raw
3/4 cup of vegetable juice

If you want more precise measurements

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=101.12

 

[phinds]

... Surely there's something behind this statement ...

There absolutely is. It's called "marketing hype" and it's the basis behind all such claims.

I don't mean that there is necessarily no truth to such claims but it's likely there is relatively little truth.

 

[FlexGunship]

It tells you exactly what a serving is in US measurements. What do you think a "serving" is?

I meant that it doesn't tell you how to formulate your own measure of a serving for a vegetable that's not in one of those three forms.

If you want more precise measurements

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=101.12

I think those are just rules governing "serving size" which is kind of different, right? V8 is said to have two full servings of vegetables per serving of V8. I guess a "Serving of vegetables" is pretty subjective if it doesn't come in one of the predefined formats. That might be why "It Works" can say their "Greens" product has 8+ servings of whatever.

 

[Evo]

I meant that it doesn't tell you how to formulate your own measure of a serving for a vegetable that's not in one of those three forms.

No, it's for "real food".

I think those are just rules governing "serving size" which is kind of different, right? V8 is said to have two full servings of vegetables per serving of V8. I guess a "Serving of vegetables" is pretty subjective if it doesn't come in one of the predefined formats. That might be why "It Works" can say their "Greens" product has 8+ servings of whatever.

There is a breakdown of the percentage of the vegetables in V8, saw it not too long ago, I'll see if I can find it. It was something like 72% tomato.

I would suggest that you contact the manufacturer and demand to know the percentage of each vegetable in each serving and weight before dehydration of each vegetable.

 

[D H]

This appears to be yet another multilevel marketing health scam. The FDA has become an eviscerated agency thanks to being hit by both the wacko left and the wacko right. This product isn't "food", and it isn't a "drug", so the FDA is pretty much powerless to stop the false claims.

 

[Pythagorean]

One advantage of fresher (less-processed) foods may be contributions from their less obvious constituents, like mRNA:

http://www.nature.com/cr/journal/v22/n1/full/cr2011158a.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22354805

Which may not stick around in post-processing (such as dehydration). Dehydrated foods may not be as easy for your body to absorb nutrients from.

What would vegetables look like if you just removed the water? Surely water doesn't really add or subtract from the nutritional value (beyond standard hydration).

"The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it, but the way those atoms are put together."
-Carl Sagan

 

[Enigman]

One advantage of fresher (less-processed) foods may be contributions from their less obvious constituents, like mRNA:

http://www.nature.com/cr/journal/v22/n1/full/cr2011158a.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22354805

Er...miRNA(micro RNA) you mean? mRNA(messenger RNA) can be synthesized in our cells and won't needed to be taken as a nutrient (as far as I know).

 

[Pythagorean]

Er...miRNA(micro RNA) you mean? mRNA(messenger RNA) can be synthesized in our cells and won't needed to be taken as a nutrient (as far as I know).

All mRNA is not the same. They're each their own little bit of code that act as a blueprint for different proteins. The proposal here is that consumed plant mRNA can regulate the expression of mammalian genes.

 

[Enigman]

All mRNA is not the same. They're each their own little bit of code that act as a blueprint for different proteins. The proposal here is that consumed plant mRNA can regulate the expression of mammalian genes.

Ah, okay got it.
need some clarification:
the miRNA the Nature article talks about (MIR168a) is complementary to mammalian mRNA (LDLRAP1) and will bind to it inhibiting translation of the RNA so the proteins that it codes for won't be formed- have I got that right? (got a bit lost in the jargon)
And a question:
What is the difference between miRNA and mRNA? While they are being synthesized, I mean. Is the transcription different or is it just a difference in number of base pairs?
Thanks!

 

[Pythagorean]

I think so, but be warned I'm not a molecular biologist, so I get lost in the jargon too.

miRNA is "non-coding" RNA. It's not translated into a protein like mRNA, it participates in other ways (signaling, modulating, etc).

 

[MrTheBard]

To answer your question, no it is not a viable nutritional supplement. It won't do you any harm, but those claims are outrageous. I've tried several of those miracle supplements for no reason, and every time that I read the claims, I chuckle. There is no way that drinking something that usually tastes rather pleasant can replace eating vegetables and fruits. As aforementioned, I doubt that they're bad, but I also doubt that they're even close to as good as they say they are.

 

[DrClaude]

This appears to be yet another multilevel marketing health scam. The FDA has become an eviscerated agency thanks to being hit by both the wacko left and the wacko right. This product isn't "food", and it isn't a "drug", so the FDA is pretty much powerless to stop the false claims.

Indeed. In addition, if herbal products are anything to go by, you don't even know what you are buying, regardless of the labelling:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/11/222

 

[FlexGunship]

Yeah, I just force down a couple of cans of V8 each day now...