C-Booster rockets, ignite!
The other night, I picked up a bottle of Bolthouse Farms' C-Boost from a grocery store near the hospital. I'd been a fan since Matt was here — he couldn't eat much solid food and subsisted on their Perfectly Protein drink. (What do you think of that, Sol?)
I was quite impressed with C-Boost, so much that it prompted me to make an unscheduled stop at the grocery store to buy more — a totally uncharacteristic move on my part.Since you can't taste it via your Web browser, here's what the bottle says:
Why you should feel good about what's in this bottle. C-Boost ingredients were thoughtfully selected to support your body's immune system and to delight your taste buds. Each bottle brings together hand-picked acerola cherries, and camu camu, two of the world's most vitamin C rich fruits. We then blend in delicious mango puree and apple juice to round out this unique tropical flavor. Finally, the added benefits of zinc, vitamins A and E, as well as the addition of echinacea and astragulus help to give your body's immune system the support it needs each day.Sounds good, huh?
Yeah, I thought so too until I read the ingredients list. The juice description quietly omits the inclusion of maitake mushrooms. This is a big deal because I have a huge aversion to the gag-inducing fungi. It's all because of this picture book called Oliver's Picnic by Pierre Le Tan that Mom read to me when I was a kid. So strange that Oliver's little run-in with mushrooms has scarred me for life. :-)
I can't taste the mushrooms, so I guess it's okay ... but come on — where's the truth in advertising?! When I'm choking down spores, I want to know it! Fortunately for Bolthouse, it's so good that I'll probably keep their bottom line in the black in spite of the mushrooms. And they're gross-looking ones, too. Sigh.
P.S. Yes, I snuck in a photo of Cranbeary. I couldn't resist. ^_^
posted by Kate at 6:43 PM
Copyright 2001-2009, L.K.C.S. It's MINE, all MINE. If you wanna use it, gimme credit and a link, okies? And don't run with scissors, because you're just going to poke somebody's eye out with that thing. No, really. 
13 Comments:
I guess it really does take different strokes to move the world. Cherries, camu camu, and mangoes? Blech.
you also snuck in a l33t liek jeffk picture too!
(which is way more important ^_^)
ew, gross. I'm with you --- if there's veggie or fungus in my fruit juiced, I want it proclaimed right there on the bottle.
(But what on earth's wrong with cherries and magoes?)
At least they're good for you, although it sounds pretty sick to put mushrooms in a drink.
It all remindes me of that Monty Python sketch...
*********************
Mr. Hilton: Oh, we use only the finest juicy chunks of fresh Cornish Ram's
bladder, emptied, steamed, flavoured with sesame seeds, whipped
into a fondue, and garnished with lark's vomit.
Inspector: LARK'S VOMIT?!?!?
Mr. Hilton: Correct.
Inspector: It doesn't say anything here about lark's vomit!
Mr. Hilton: Ah, it does, at the bottom of the label, after "monosodium
glutamate".
Inspector: I hardly think that's good enough! I think it's be more appropriate
if the box bore a great red label: "WARNING: LARK'S VOMIT!!!"
Mr. Hilton: Our sales would plummet!
I'd rather stick pickle juice and glue in my eye than drink that. But if you enjoy it........carry on. :D
ss
Okay dear..
First off, the thing has been flash pasteurized. Not good news. Remember, the longer something takes to cook or freeze, the better it is for your body. We're not trying to build a bridge or kill bacteria here.
Secondly, if mushrooms are an issue with you, avoid them. Some people are more sensitive than others. That particular type of mushroom does not normally carry adverse side effects. However, if your gonna use it, do the homework.
Thirdly, Matt subsisted on this stuff for the duration of his stay at the hospital. Amazing as that seems, the long term effects of relying solely on this mixture is unknown. Chances are something may go wrong.
On the other hand, given that the product contained enough usable vitamin C to sustain the guy for the whole of his stay and maintain reasonable levels of blood proteins, it may prove an interesting, maybe even healthful supplement to an already great diet.
By supplement I mean addition, not substitute. And by diet I mean nourishing foods, not starvation rations. Let a doc monitor blood over the long term for changes in hormones, etc.
Bon appetite. ;)
why is flash pasteurization bad.
It kills the bacteria that make it go bad, and thus undrinkable.
I fail to see how this is a bad thing.
Considering that the vitamins are left intact, where is the bad here?
oh yeah, how does the length of time it takes to cook or freeze something relate to how good it is for your body.
In fact, for some vitamins, you do not want to cook it too long as that will degrade them.
Anonymous ~ When organic substances are heated or cooled very quickly, there is degradation on a molecular level.
This does not apply to non-organic substances. Something to do with the genetic structure of those cells and how it affects the body's utilization of them. I haven't researched that deep yet..
eg. Irradiation treatment kills bacteria even more effectively but renders food even worse for consumption.
Glad you asked. ;)
Anon was being snarky. Please don't go head to head with a chemist. Please.
sol:
the degredation due to quick heating or cooling just isnt true.
chemical degredation comes about due to inputing more energy than bonds can handle, and thats just unlikely, considering air is just about the worst conductor of heat. About the only way i can think of getting THAT much energy into your food system is to use a blow torch, which can reach temperatures approaching 1500C (2700ish F)
Thats far beyond a typical oven, in terms of speed and temperature.
Its even more opposite for cooling, the biggest thing with rapid cooling, would be below freezing temperatures, where a flash freeze can possibly break cellular walls. But, i have a protip for you, your body gives two shits about cell walls, its all about nutrients, and ill be frank, there are very very few (if any) chemicals/amino acids/vitamins/proteins that react negatively when exposed to cold temperatures. In fact, cold is almost always a preservation process because it keeps degradation from occuring.
And as far as radiation goes: yes it kills bacteria very well. Im not going to comment on its food killing properties, mainly because that is out of my expertise as a chemist. But, ill tell you this, i would MUCH MUCH MUCH rather eat food thats been irradiated rather than eat a food thats been fumigated.
Kate ~ This means I'm either incredibly brave or incredibly dumb, eh? ;)
Won't rub him the wrong way, promise! Wait, that didn't sound right..
Anonymous ~ Okay..what we have here is a difference of opinion.
My expertise is *unfortunately* limited to what I've gleaned from reading other people's research and experimentation on myself.
Yours is more thorough by far.
I can say with certainty though that living things react to intake of nutrients in a way that sometimes defies theory. When cells absorb nutrients they do so efficiently, but at a cost that can only be ascertained from long-term exposure.
And for multicelled creatures, the more complex they are the more complicated the interaction.
Meaning..even if you could come up with something that looks..plausible on paper, it may not work when applied in the real world.
I mean this respectfully, taking my personal experience into account with these things. For example, eating microwaved meats make me feel sick and lethargic.
Of course, one has to draw the line somewhere between food sanitation and a safe level of bacteria. I'm no fan of fungus either.
Problem is, bacteria has been villified and the current medical opinion is that most strains are intrinsically pathogenic. Is it true? Not when I tried it on myself..
Of course, this could take us deep into the matter and cannot be resolved by simply discussing. Results are what matters, eh?
I'd be pleased to work *with* you to ascertain the truth/falsehood of these things..in some form or another.
But we'll need more space than this blog.
Post a Comment
<< Home