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Vega - Questions and Concerns


nik
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So I'm really interested in trying this Vega powder everyone's always talking about. But I looked at it and it seems to have a lot of isolated and/or synthetic vitamins and minerals in it etc. I thought it was supposed to just be a whole food product. I love the superfoods in it, just not sure about the added vitamins and minerals.

 

I know it's vegan but does anyone know anymore about these isolated vitamins and minerals and what they are from? If they're healthy? I'm so used to only eating whole food and whole food supplement/superfoods and am not really into the isolated stuff or inorganic minerals and all. And I also read an article of Brendans where he said he was against supplements, did he change his mind?

 

Here is the article: http://www.vegparadise.com/athlete2.html

 

Also, does anyone know if this is all organic? Only a few of the ingredients are listed as organic, yet it says that it's all pesticide free. Thanks.

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Hey Nik,

 

Sorry nobody got back wtih you. I've got a bunch of Vega at home. I'm looking at it right now and don't see "isolated" anywhere on the ingredients list for the berry powder.

 

It is a whole food meal replacement. Brendan doesn't consider it a "supplement." He even mentions that in my movie. He says, "I don't use any supplements at all, just whole foods 80% from raw foods."

 

He considers Vega a whole food meal replacement, not a supplement. But we all call it different things, and I often refer to it as a supplement.

 

Brendan is a member of the forum and a friend of mine (I'll see him again in a couple of weeks). I can ask him some of these questions for you.

 

Here is some info he posted about the bars:

 

Hello, Brendan here...

 

I (and everyone else at Sequel Naturals) spent the better part of the summer getting the first line extension of the Vega whole food meal replacement formulated and to market - the 100% raw Vega Bars! I've made them for myself in a food processor for about eight years now, so once I decided to get them to market it went quite quickly. As with the Vega meal replacement, the bars are of course vegan and packed full of whole foods for usable nutrients.

 

Each 63g Vega bar contains:

 

•10g of complete raw protein for easy digestion (hemp, sprouted mung bean)

 

•6g of both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber (sprouted flax)

 

•6g of sprouts, rich in enzymes and phytonutrients (flax, wheat grass, mung bean)

 

•4.5g of omega 3 & 6 essential fatty acids (hemp, spouted flax)

 

•dulse for natural source electrolytes

 

•agave nectar for easily digested, low glycemic carbohydrate

 

240 calories

 

Here's the list of ingredients (natural flavour):

 

Dates, hemp protein, organic sprouted flax seeds, almond butter, agave nectar, almonds, sesame seeds, raisins, organic sprouted mung beans, organic wheat grass, lemon juice, organic dulse

 

Unlike traditional cooked and processed bars, Vega bars are 100% raw, alkaline and enzymatically alive, requiring less energy to digest, therefore provide a greater net energy gain.

 

They‘re available at most health food stores in Canada

 

The best part is that both Vega products are now also available to be ordered on-line!

 

http://www.oceansidepublishing.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=22_45&sort=5a&page=2

 

So far the berry seems to be the most popular. The natural has a bit of a ‘green’ taste (that I really like) because of the wheat grass. The chocolate also contains coconut and tastes like a raw chocolate brownie.

 

I'd be interested to hear feedback from those of you who have tried them.

 

We are having the Vega site completely rebuilt, should be done by mid December…

 

www.myvega.com

 

In January both the bars and meal replacement will launch in the US (Sequel is a Canadian company from Vancouver)

 

Hope you like them,

 

Brendan

www.brendanbrazier.com

 

 

Here is another post he had:

 

Hello,

 

Just thought I’d clear a few things up myself. I did formulate Vega; it’s not something I just endorse. I’ll admit that $80 Canadian is much too high. There should never be a store in Canada that sells it for more than $75, that’s suggested retail. Most sell it for $67, that’s standard. Here’s one selling it for $69.99 CDN:

 

http://www.aviva.ca/shop/products.asp?itemid=2309&catid=268

 

A serving is 500ml, a pint. So it’s really quite large, most people will be full on ½ a serving.

 

Its price is also a reflection of attention to detail and quality. It’s certainly not just a protein. It eliminates the need for several products. Many people have indicated that they no longer want to take several pills a day. It eliminates that need and provides food-sources nutrients in a convenient form. It also has 2.5 grams of maca which is an excellent vegetable for the adrenal glands to provide energy by nourishing the adrenals as opposed to stimulating them which refined sugar and caffeine does. I used to buy all of these foods separately and blend them together – now that was expensive and time consuming. However it was worth it since my performance improved dramatically.

 

Also, where else can you get a ready-to-eat nutritionally complete meal with 25 grams of protein from five sources (hemp, pea, rice, flax, chlorella - synergistically combined to create a “flat line” amino acid profile), 7 grams of essential fatty acids, 9 grams of fibre, enzymes, probiotics and a berry complex from antioxidants for lest than $5? A starchy muffin and a coffee cost that. I’m certainly not suggesting that everyone must consume Vega to be healthy or perform well, but as with all premium foods – especially in a convenient form – the price will be higher than some. In Canada many health food store workers are reporting that one of its biggest selling features is that it is considerably cheaper than buying all of what it replaces. One can certainly take the time to make healthy meals, but not every one has that option – Vega is one solution.

 

As far as supporting athletes such as Robert by providing them with product; it’s something I’m happy to do. As a professional athlete I appreciate how long it takes to get to a high level. It’s a way for me to give back to sport in general. When I see someone like Robert who puts so much time and effort into his training and promoting a vegan lifestyle, I like to be a part of it and support it however I can. Plus of course it helps spread the word about Vega.

 

I know I’m going on here but…

 

You may be interested to know that it’s been reported that between 70%-80% of regular Vega users have replaced their whey-based meal replacements or protein drinks. I’m sure I don’t need to explain the environmental implications of that. Not to mention the “real cost”, referring to the amount of energy needed to produce the ingredients. Hemp (the number one ingredient in Vega) is an extremely efficient crop and is the 2nd most efficient way to produce protein known. It is followed only by chlorella, an algae from Japan that quadrupeds every 24 hours and is 70% protein. One bottle of Vega contains 42.5 grams of it. It’s being studied by NASA for astronaut nourishment during extended space flight since it does not require soil to grow, just water and sun. No soil also means it does not stretch out already “tired” arable land further. Meaning that it is also not subject to low nutrient levels produced by over farming – big bonus. Anyway, its monetary cost is in sharp contrast to its “real cost.” I write about this in detail in my book Thrive: A guide to optimal health and performance though plant-based whole foods. (the Vega formula was actually based on my book http://www.brendanbrazier.com/book/index.html ).

 

By supporting the kind of agriculture that I have chosen to do by formulating Vega, it will bring the future cost of these “undervalued” crops down, so will actually make them more available. Yes, this is still a ways in the future but within 25 years these high-end ingredients will be cheaper than the “artificially” cheeped commodity prices charged for soy and whey. Big companies would not take a chance because the margins are so low, but I did. Someone had to do it.

 

That’s it for now…

 

Brendan

 

Here is a link to other posts about Vega within the forum:

 

viewtopic.php?t=120

 

viewtopic.php?t=1084

 

-Robert

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Thanks Robert. I would appreciate it if you could ask him those questions for me. Thanks.

 

I know that the bars don't have any of that stuff in them, they are just food only ingredients. As far as the VEGA goes, nothing ever says or uses the actual word "isolated" in it when it comes to vitamins and minerals. The way to tell though is if they are listed just as the nutritional facts or if they are listed as part of the actual "ingredients" as they are with VEGA. Sure it does have whole food ingredients such as hemp and maca etc. etc. but it also has ingredients that are just the names of vitamins and minerals. That indicates that it is an isolated vitamin or mineral SUPPLEMENT added to the product. It means that the product is "enriched" just like they do with soy and almond milks when you read the ingredients and see things like vitamin D, A, B12 etc. etc. Those are isolated supplements added to the product, not a whole food. Even though it does have the whole food ingredients of soy or almonds in addition to the vitamin and mineral supplements in it.

 

Vega has things listed on it's ingredients like:

 

"iron HVP chelate, zinc HVP chelate, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), molybdenum HVP chelate, manganese HVP chelate, vitamin B3 (niacin), natural source vitamin E (d-alpha tocopheryl acetate), copper HVP chelate, potassium iodide, biotin, vitamin A (palmitate), selenium HVP chelate, calcium D-pantothenate, vitamin D (ergocalciferol), chromium HVP chelate, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B1 (thiamine hydrochloride), folic acid, vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin)."

 

All of those are NOT food or whole food ingredients. None of them grow in nature. And if they are listed on the ingredients like that it means they come from a lab somewhere and are isolated, usually extracted from something else. Who knows what though. I have heard that all Vitamin C for instance is extracted from GMO Corn these days.

 

Here is an excellent article on the differences between whole food "supplements" and isolated vitamin/mineral ingredients in supplements.

 

"Nutrients never occur as isolates in natural foods. They are integrally related with many other natural molecules that are required for their absorption, assimilation and non-toxicity. The traditional vitamins and minerals that are offered are only a part of the whole vitamin or mineral complex. Isolated and synthetic nutrients are foreign to the body, completely unnatural, are poorly absorbed, offer incomplete results, imbalance body chemistry, deplete the body of co-factor nutrients, and usually have significant toxicities.

 

How do you know if a supplement contains isolates and/or synthetics? If the nutrients themselves are listed as actual ingredients (i.e., Thiamin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Chromium Picolinate, Calcium, Magnesium, etc.), rather than constituents of the ingredients, they are isolated and/or synthetic. Synthetic and isolated vitamins and minerals are used almost exclusively for traditional vitamin and/or mineral products! There are problems when using this type of material. Please read on.

 

Although some isolated/synthetic nutrients can and do have benefit, and there definitely are cases that the benefits out-way the risks (especially when compared to the use of drugs), they are a vastly inferior, incomplete, and sometimes worthless way to get nutrients into the body. The body can not absorb and utilize a synthetic or isolated nutrient as is. It must reform them into organic complexes (as they are in whole foods). Only a small percentage is able to be re-formed (by drawing the synergistic nutrients from the body) into absorbable, usable matter. The remaining unusable portion either, at best, settles out in the tissues as harmful deposits, or taxes the liver and kidneys before it is excreted in the urine. And that's mighty expensive urine, with most of your supplement dollar going straight down the drain! Furthermore, when the body attempts to reform isolated/synthetic nutrients into absorbable, usable nutrients, it nutritionally depletes the body of these other nutrients (many of which are other vitamins and minerals). This causes widespread deficiencies. At worst, some isolated and/or synthetic nutrients actually cause you to excrete more than you took of them, adding to a nutritional deficiency (while draining the body), rather than correcting one. Many synthetic and/or isolated nutrients actually suppress beneficial (and vitally essential) bodily cleansing methods, and can be quite toxic and inbalancing!

 

If an isolated or synthetic nutrient is an antioxidant, it may actually weaken the body's immune system. The body's white blood cells use free radicals to destroy foreign bacteria. Isolated or synthetic antioxidants (including preservatives) may weaken the body's ability to do so. They can also interfere with the body's use of oxygen. Antioxidants in whole foods (in addition to being much more effective), do not interfere with the body's ability to use free radicals constructively or it's ability to use oxygen (they enhance both).

 

Despite modern advances in the health field, the best source of nutrients, by far is food! However, almost no one is totally nourished today. Commercial agriculture and depleted soils have resulted in far less than ideal nutrient levels in most foods. If the soil is deficient (as it almost always is today) then the food is...and therefore you are deficient too! Even today’s organically grown produce (although vastly superior to commercial produce) is still not nearly as nutritious as it was 100 years ago. Furthermore, few people are consuming ideally grown, raw foods from the vegetable kingdom 100% of the time, and all of us are exposed to a tremendous amount of stress due to living in our modern world. Click HERE for a list of nutrient drainers."

 

http://www.healthforce.com/wholefoods_vs_isolates.htm

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  • 5 months later...

Nik,

 

Did you ever get an answer to your question because I would be curious to know also. I've tried the berry vega meal replacement before and for some reason, I wouldn't feel more energetic after using it. I would feel kind of the opposite (lazy, little drowsy, etc.). I would then try a day without it and feel normal again, so I don't know if there's just something I might be allergic to in the ingredients.

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I will attempt to answer your questions. I do not work for nor represent vega in anyway. However, I manage a vitamin department in my local health food store for 2 years and I use vega on a regular basis. I am a very large supporter of whole food based supplements. I like the performance I get from vega on a daily basis thus I continue to use it. Although normally I stay away from conventional vitamin isolates with vegas added ingredients I feel that it provides enough of a food base to atleast make it partially whole food. I would suggest trying vega on your own and seeing how you feel on it. Supplements can be very personal and you have to find what works best for you. May I also suggest two alternatives that you may find more to your liking.

 

in a powder form my favorite would be HealthFroce Nutritionals Vitamineral Green. In a pill form New Chapter has a great probiotic whole food multi called every man or every woman.

 

http://www.livesuperfoods.com/store/html/large_images/vitamineral_green.jpg

 

Ingredients: v 3.55 100% Organic/Wildcrafted

 

Land Vegetables:

 

• Whole Leaf Barley Grass

 

• Whole Leaf Wheat Grass

 

• Nettle Leaf

 

• Shavegrass (Horsetail)

 

• Alfalfa Leaf Juice

 

• Dandelion Leaf Juice

 

• Kamut® Grass Juice

 

• Barley Grass Juice

 

• Oat Grass Juice

 

• Burdock Root

 

 

 

• Broccoli Juice

 

• Kale Juice

 

• Spinach Juice

 

• Parsley Juice

 

• Carob Pod

 

• Ginger Root

 

• Nopal Cactus

 

• Amla Berry

 

Algaes:

 

• Spirulina

 

• Broken Cell Wall Chlorella

 

 

Wildcrafted Aquatic Vegetables:

 

• Icelandic Kelp

 

• Nova Scotia Dulse

 

Enzymes:

(optimum absorption, cleansing +)

 

• Amylase

 

• Lipase

 

• Protease

 

• Alpha Galactosidase NEW!

 

• Cellulase

 

• Bromelain

 

• Papain

 

Comprehensive Probiotic Mixture - Beneficial Organisms. Includes Exclusive NSO™ (Natural Soil Organisms) and Implantable Species.

 

A. Agilis, L. Acidophilus, R. Arrhizus, DDS-1 Acidophilus, Bifidus, L. Bulgaricus, A. Brasilienese, B. Brenis, P. Chrysosporium, A. Citreus, L. Casei, P. Calcis, S. Cellulasae, P. Denitrificans, S. Faecium, S. Fradiae, P. Flourescens, A. Globiformis, S. Griseoflavus, P. Gelatic, B. Lipolyticum, A. Luteus, A. Lipoferum, A. Lwolfii, B. Laterosporous, P. Marinoglutinosa, , B. Macerans, P. Nigraclens, P. Putida, L. Plantarum, B. Pumilus, B. Polymyxa, B. Stationis, L. Salivarius, B. Subtilus, B. Succinogenes, A. Simplex, B. Subtilus, S. Thermopolis , A. Terreus, M. Verrucaria, T. Viride. , K. Zopfit.

 

http://www.vnfnutrition.com/phpshop/shop_image/product/a9e1678b51d440b8c3cf5c6c738c59d8.jpg

 

Every Man®

 

Nourishing Power and Protection for Men

 

* Supports dynamic male energy*

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* Delivers the essential vitamins and minerals that a man needs within the infinite complexity of food

 

Every Man® delivers 23 different vitamins and minerals as well as 13 stress-balancing and free-radical scavenging herbs cultured for maximum effectiveness. Herbs like schizandra and maca have long been revered for supporting a man’s vitality while other free-radical scavenging herbs like cinnamon, oregano and rosemary protect and sustain.*

 

Your health, and the health of those you love, are precious and deserve the finest nutritional support. We welcome you to the living world of New Chapter’s Probiotic Nutrients™—a vital organic choice for the fullest potential of life.

MADE WITH ORGANIC INGREDIENTS

 

Certified Organic by International Certification Services, Inc., USA

Suggested Use

Three tablets daily. Can be taken anytime, even on an empty stomach.

Supplement Facts

Three tablets contain

Probiotic Nutrients %DV

Vitamin C * † 150 mg 250%

Vitamin D * † 400 IU 100%

Vitamin E * † 75 IU 250%

Vitamin K * † 50 mcg 63%

Thiamin-Vitamin B1 * † 9 mg 600%

Riboflavin-Vitamin B2 * † 10 mg 588%

Niacin * † 30 mg 150%

Vitamin B6 * † 10 mg 500%

Folate * † 400 mcg 100%

Vitamin B12 * † 30 mcg 500%

Biotin * † 300 mcg 100%

Pantothenic Acid * † 25 mg 250%

Calcium * † 8 mg 1%

Phosphorus * † 5 mg 1%

Iodine * † 135 mcg 90%

Magnesium * † 15 mg 4%

Zinc * † 15 mg 100%

Selenium * † 100 mcg 143%

Copper * † 100 mcg 5%

Manganese * † 3 mg 125%

Chromium * † 100 mcg 83%

Molybdenum * † 10 mcg 13%

Mixed Carotenoids * † 10,000 IU •

Organic Cultured Herbal Extracts (Proprietary Blend) %DV

Men's LifeShield® Response †[schizandra (berry)‡, Maca (root)‡, Artichoke (leaf)‡, and Fenugreek (seed)‡] 267 mg •

Antioxidant Response † [Cinnamon (bark)‡, Fenugreek (seed)‡, Oregano (leaf)‡, Cumin (seed)‡, Coriander (seed)‡, Rosemary (leaf)‡, Clove (bud)‡, Allspice (berry)‡, Peppermint (leaf)‡] 81 mg •

Superfoods and Spices (Proprietary Blend) %DV

Organic Spinach (leaf) 261 mg •

Soy Lecithin (non-GMO) *†*** 77 mg •

Organic Blueberry (fruit) 69 mg •

Turmeric (rhizome) 9.6 mg post-supercritical hydroethanolic extract, 2.4 mg supercritical extract 12 mg •

Ginger (rhizome) 4.8 mg hydroethanolic extract, 1.2 mg organic supercritical extract 6 mg •

• Daily Value not established

* As a glyco-protein matrix

‡ Organic

† Nutrients are cultured in organic media that may contain: organic milled soy, organic yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) - a natural source of PABA and SOD, organic maltodextrin, organic gum Arabic, organic orange and lemon peel - natural sources of bioflavonoids, organic carrot powder, organic alfalfa powder, enzymes and Lactobacilli (L. acidophilus, L. bifidus, L. rhamnosus)

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* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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