“Was” is the keyword there.

MonaVie, in what seems like an admission of guilt, has decided to fortify the juice with Fibersol-2. Their claim: “With Fibersol-2, you can drink to your health with the confidence that the MonaVie juice you love is fortified with soluble fibers.”

Problem solved, right?

Well it doesn’t seem to be true. What is Fibersol-2? The company that makes Fibersol says, “Fibersol-2 digestion resistant maltodextrin is a spray-dried powder produced by a proprietary method of controlled enzymatic hydrolysis of cornstarch.” Cornstarch? A product used as a thickening agent doesn’t seem to be like drinking fruit.

More concerning though is the Maltodextrin. Looking at the Wikipedia page, you find the following information, “It is commonly used for the production of natural sodas and candy.” That’s not necessarily bad, but it hardly a good thing. Later on in the article there is, “While wheat-derived maltodextrin may cause concern for celiacs that it may contain gluten, maltodextrin is such a highly processed ingredient that the protein is removed, rendering it gluten free.” I highlighted the point that it’s highly-processed and hence has the protein removed.

I’m sure a lot of MonaVie distributors are thinking that this is a lot of opinion and surely the people who make Fibersol-2 have far more qualified food scientists than some anonymous guy on the Internet like myself. I’ve heard that before. So I’m going to thwart that defense from the get-go:

It seems that I’m not the only one concerned about these fiber additives, Jacob Gershman for The Slate says Don’t be fooled by polydextrose and other fiber additives. In that article we have the following quote:

“Companies are putting fiber into foods like cookies and ice cream and making people think these are healthy foods, when in fact they should be eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It’s dressing up junk food as health food,” says Bonnie Liebman, director of nutrition at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C. “We have no idea if polydextrose has the same benefits as bran. It’s deceptive.”

I’m not saying that MonaVie is a junk food, but that misses the point. Here is a very, very reputable person specifically saying that companies like MonaVie are adding this to deceive people despite the fact we don’t know the benefits of these additives.

The rest of the Slate article makes a very important point with MonaVie in mind:

Ironically, the rise of these faux-fibers is driven by the greater attention that consumers are paying to nutrition labels. The food companies, in other words, are teaching to the test. Whether it’s reducing fat and calories or adding fiber and vitamins, the industry is getting ever more clever at manipulating ingredients of snacks and other treats so that the stats mimic the nutritional data of fruits and vegetables.

Adding fiber and vitamins? Isn’t that exactly what MonaVie says it is doing here?

But what does Bonnie Liebman (again the very, very reputable Bonnie Liebman) have to say about maltodextrin? She uses polydextrose as the example in the quote. Well fortunately you can read her article here. To save you some time, I’m going to quote page 5 where she gives the bottom line about fiber additives:

• Isolated inulin, polydextrose, and maltodextrin are soluble fibers but they’re not gummy, so they probably don’t lower blood cholesterol or blood sugar.
• Isolated oat fiber and soy fiber are insoluble, so they may help keep you regular. Polydextrose may also help, but inulin and maltodextrin don’t seem to.

So Fibersol-2 / Maltodextrin may help the nutritional label look good, but it doesn’t look like it will blood cholesterol, blood sugar, or help keep you regular.

The question is whether MonaVie will address this issue? Or will they do what they’ve always done in the past and pretend it doesn’t exist?

As recently as last September we have “monavieteam” saying: “At first his body might not react like it is suppose because no body are used to 13 fruits per day (4oz). But Id say try it for more than 1 week.. and from there you’ll have a better idea about all this.” (source).

This is a direct result of MonaVie saying: “Delivers the antioxidant capacity of approximately 13 servings of fruits and vegetables in just four ounces.” (source)

However, if you ask MonaVie’s Product Specialist Sarah Brown has gone on record as saying:

“By consuming four ounces, you receive the approximate ORAC equivalent of 5 to 13 servings of commonly eaten fruit and vegetables. Please understand this refers to the antioxidant value (ORAC) and not to specific vitamins, minerals or other nutrients your body needs. Different fruits and vegetables have different ORAC values. If you drink 4 ounces of MonaVie it could be comparable to eating 5 fruits or vegetables with high ORAC values or 13 with lower ORAC vales.”

(Source: MonaVie Archive Comment #472)

Note, you never see someone quote the 5 number in the range that MonaVie officially states. It’s always the top end of the range. It’s another case of MonaVie distributors obscuring information to make the product seem better than it is.

It’s important to note that antioxidant capacity in this case is measure in ORAC units. MonaVie is referring to the 5,000 ORAC units in 4oz of MonaVie (though MonaVie lies as their scientists show it has about half that amount). They’ve translated 5,000 ORAC units to some combination of 13 fruits (which combination of fruits this is unknown). According to the USDA, two grams of ground cinnamon (see “Total-ORAC, umol TE/100g, 267,536″ on page 28 of the PDF report) has more than the “antioxidant capacity of 13 fruits.” By this measure, the $1.99 bottle that I have in my spice rack has approximately 32 days worth of “antioxidant capacity”. A year’s worth would cost me around $24 instead of $2400 of MonaVie. Clearly MonaVie’s logic of using “antioxidant capacity” is flawed… or if you accept it, you’ll save your money and buy cinnamon.

MonaVie is negligent for not putting a disclaimer in there saying that drinking 4oz. of MonaVie is not equivalent to eating 13 fruits. This is a mistake we’ve seen a dozens of times before. (Here’s another example if you don’t believe me.)

Once you discard MonaVie’s misleading marketing practices of using the “antioxidant equivalent” modifier, you are left with the question of, “How many of servings of fruit is there in 4 ounces of MonaVie?” The answer is 1. MonaVie distributors may dispute that number, but here is the irrefutable evidence that it is indeed just 1:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (commonly known as the CDC) has created a website called Fruits and Veggies Matter. As you can see the website’s “.gov” domain indicating its affiliation with the US Government. This website partners with other government organizations such as the USDA and the FDA to ensure that information on it is accurate and reputable. In short, this reference should serve as the highest standard of evidence available.

There is a FAQ on the website designed to help consumers make wise choices about fruits and vegetables. One of the questions is:

“Q: Does fruit juice count towards my recommended fruit intake?
A: While 100% juice can count towards your intake, the majority of your choices should be whole or cut-up fruits (fresh, frozen, canned, or dried). These fruit choices are better options because they contain dietary fiber. ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) of 100% fruit juice does count as ½ cup of fruit in meeting your requirements.”

Also, from the program guidelines:

“One portion of product must contain at least one serving of fruit or vegetable. One serving of fruit or vegetable is defined as… 4 oz/½ Cup 100% fruit or vegetable juice.”

I’ve highlighted the important parts in bold. MonaVie is 100% fruit juice. Thus four ounces of MonaVie is a single serving of fruit.

Now that we’ve solved that important question, let’s look back on the other things that came up in the research. There was this quote, “majority of your choices should be whole or cut-up fruits (fresh, frozen, canned, or dried). These fruit choices are better options because they contain dietary fiber.” It is important to note that while 4 ounces may count as a single serving of fruit, it is considered to be less beneficial than other forms of fruit because MonaVie contains very little fiber.

Furthermore it was mentioned that “½ cup (4 fluid ounces) of 100% fruit juice does count as ½ cup of fruit.” Here are some examples of what the reputable government website listed as equal to a 1/2 cup of fruit/veggies:

• 1 snack container of applesauce (4oz)
• 6 baby carrots
• 1 small box (1/4 cup) of raisins

Four ounces of MonaVie can cost anywhere between $3.20 and $7.20 depending if you buy a bulk order of it at around $1,000 or if you buy a single bottle at the suggested retail price. Since most people don’t buy $1,000 of the juice at one time, a reasonable average is around $5 (about $32 a bottle). How much does a small box of raisins, 6 baby carrots, or a snack size container of applesauce cost? For a lot less than a dollar you can save $4 and get all that fiber that you are missing out on when you choose MonaVie.