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A day doesn’t go by that you don’t hear or read some new claim about how a particular food can help you live a better life. Well, here are a few we investigated to find out if they actually live up to the hype.

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Promise activ SuperShots www.promisehealthyheart.com/products_supershots.asp 

Claims: Promise, the manufacturer of this drink, claims that these ingredients are “clinically proven to help remove cholesterol from your body” and states that drinking it “at least once a day with meals, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, could reduce your LDL (bad) cholesterol level.”  

Facts: Foods containing at least 0.4 grams per serving of plant sterols, eaten twice a day with meals for a total daily intake of at least 0.8 grams, as part of a low-saturated-fat, low-trans-fat and low-cholesterol diet, may reduce the risk of heart disease. A serving of Promise activ SuperShots provides 2 grams of plant sterols. According to Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, the “claims are true. Plant sterols are a part of the American Heart Association Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations, 2006. The intake of 2 grams of plant sterols daily may reduce LDL cholesterol by 6 to 15 percent.”

Fiction: That we all need to be drinking this daily. It might help — but only if you have high LDL (bad) cholesterol.  

Concerns: “It’s not magic in a bottle; this product is merely meant to be added to other heart-smart behaviors for enhanced results. Furthermore, it has to be consumed regularly, like medication, in order to maintain the effects,” says Blatner.  

Another concern: The ingredients list is certainly not for “purists.” The drink contains added sugar, canola oil, citric acid, mixed tocopherols, guar gum, xanthan gum, natural and artificial sweeteners, sucralose, maltodextrin, yellow and red dye, etc.

Also, “From first glance, this product is high in fat, based on the small calorie load (only 70 calories per bottle), and it provides 8 grams of sugar from a combination of the milk, fruit purée and some added sugar. It has little fiber or protein (less than 1 gram and 1 gram respectively, which is far less than a cup of skim milk or yogurt would have). It does pack in some notable vitamins (A, E, B6 and B12) in decent amounts, but the long ingredients list is something I often tell people who want to get healthier to avoid,” says Elisa Zied, M.S., R.D., and author of Feed Your Family Right(Wiley, 2007).  In terms of calories, “People who consume these need to make up for the extra calories they provide by cutting back on something else — preferably something high in sugar or fat,” adds Zied. 

The Bottom Line: While it could help those with elevated LDL cholesterol, the drink does require a commitment to daily use and will potentially add unnecessary calories.

Minute Maid Enhanced Orange Juices (Heart Wise, Active, Enhanced Pomegranate Blueberry) www.minutemaid.com/NewProducts.jsp     

Claims: Drinking Minute Maid enhanced juices offers health benefits such as improved joints, reduced cholesterol, nutrients to benefit the brain and body and overall better nutrition.  

Facts: The Active product is made with 750 milligrams of glucosamine HCl per 8-ounce serving.  Heart Wise contains 1 gram of naturally sourced plant sterols, per 8-ounce serving. And the Pomegranate contains 50 milligrams of DHA omega-3 per 8-ounce serving, along with these four nutrients: 

-Choline and B12, which play a role in brain and nervous system signals

-Antioxidant vitamin E, which helps shield the omega-3s in the brain from free radicals

-Antioxidant vitamin C, which is highly concentrated in brain nerve endings

Fiction: That your body is missing these important nutrients, and if you drink this “enhanced” orange juice you’ll be OK. With reference to the Active juice, there is still very little proof that glucosamine helps with joints — the evidence is mostly anecdotal.

In addition, in terms of all the juices mentioned, scientists aren't sure why, but it appears that getting nutrients in their natural state helps promote good health. Thus, we’re not sure that “enhancing” foods has the same effect.

Concerns: Heart Wise: “Drinking enough to get a therapeutic dose of plant sterols (two 8-ounce glasses) would add 220 calories to your diet — which most waistlines can’t afford. Adding an extra daily dose of 200 calories to your typical diet could theoretically add 20 pounds in a year,” says Blatner.

Active: “Typically people take 1,500 milligrams of glucosamine for joints daily. If they started to drink the juice instead, they would need 2 cups daily, which is 240 calories. Beware that you don’t add extra pounds drinking your joint supplement, because added weight makes joint pain worse, not better,” says Blatner. 

Pomegranate: Research on omega-3/DHA and beneficial brain protection is looking strong, but 50 milligrams in a glass of juice is equivalent to only about a teaspoon of salmon. If you want to really get the omega-3 health benefits, include two fish meals each week, says Blatner. Furthermore, while the Heart Wise juice does provide many of the healthful vitamins and minerals you’d find in plain old orange juice (potassium, folate, vitamin C), the pomegranate variety lacks folate and has a lot (about 40 percent) less potassium than regular orange juice. The addition of DHA, a potent omega-3 fatty acid, can be a good thing for those who don’t consume enough cold-water fatty fish (like tuna, salmon, herring, etc.), but is not necessary for those who do consume enough via two to three fish meals per week (8 to 12 ounces), says Zied. 

Bottom Line: You’re better off eating an orange, and if you’re thirsty, drink water. However, if you’re already drinking fruit juice, this might not be a bad replacement. “Replacing fruit juice with an enhanced version to boost your intake of plant sterols (Heart Wise) or glucosamine (Active) or DHA (Pomegranate Blueberry) may not hurt, but it may not give you the magic bullet you’re looking for,” says Zied.

Welch’s Grape Juice  www.welchs.com 

Claims: It has twice the antioxidant power of orange juice and will help protect your immune system. “Welch’s 100% Grape Juice was ranked the #1 Antioxidant Beverage among over 1,000 commonly consumed foods and beverages in an independent study measuring antioxidant capacity per serving. Raise a glass for a healthy heart and strong immune system!” 

Facts: Grapes are a powerful source of antioxidants — as are certain other foods, such as blueberries, coffee, pomegranates, etc.

Fiction: Grape juice will help protect you from disease. “Grape juice alone will not protect your immune system and promote heart health. It is one food that can be added to a balanced diet of other fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans to prevent disease,” says Blatner.

Concerns: “Juice is high in calories and low in fiber. Grape juice has 170 calories per 8 ounces and 0 grams of fiber, whereas a cup of blueberries (similar in antioxidants) has only 84 calories and 3.5 grams of fiber,” says Blatner.  Also, while it is a good source of antioxidants, “It’s missing things like potassium, folate and other nutrients found in orange juice — and has 50 more calories per cup than orange juice and a whopping 40 grams of sugar (about 60 percent more than in orange juice, which has 24 grams),” adds Zied. 

Bottom Line: You’re probably better off eating grapes. 

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CHARLES STUART PLATKIN is a nutrition and public health advocate, founder and editor of DietDetective.com, the health and fitness network and author of The Diet Detective's Calorie Bargain Bible (Simon & Schuster, 2007). Copyright 2008 by Charles Stuart Platkin. All rights reserved. Sign up for the free Diet Detective newsletter and iTunes podcast at www.DietDetective.com

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