Ultimate Friendly Flora and/or Cranberry Today’s Specials. Speaking of Cranberry…Is Fruit Juice Really Healthy?

Tomorrow evening the 18th of July midnight Eastern Time, I am back at HSN with two products that have never been offered together as a Today’s Special (Ultimate Friendly Flora and Cranberry Benefits).  Both are among our most popular reorder products and Ultimate Friendly Flora was a Today’s Special once before, but tomorrow will be the debut of Cranberry as a Today’s Special.  Of course, both products will be offered at their best pricing ever and as usual, you can choose to try either one on them on their own or you can save even more with multiple size options on bundles of both.  I will start with a Variety Hour at 11 PM that will include several of everyone’s favorites at Birthday Pricing.

As far as our Ultimate Friendly Flora, it has long been one of our most popular and best reviewed formulas, but suddenly it seems that Probiotics are receiving newfound praise and popularity in the scientific literature and the mass media.  Our Ultimate Friendly Flora is a uniquely balanced and comprehensive blend of microflora to provide your digestive and immune systems precisely what they require.  During my shows, I will also spend some time discussing the role of healthy microflora and its connection to virtually every system in our body – including our brain.  If you perform an internet search with the phrase “gut brain connection,” you might be surprised by what you read.  The science is rapidly expanding regarding the role that the healthy microflora in our gut plays in the function and emotional balance of our brain.  Truly everything is connected.  Believe it or not, the trillions of flora that populate our body actually outnumber our own cells!  That being the case, doesn’t it make sense that we choose the microflora to be the “friendliest,” healthiest and most supportive possible?  Speaking non-scientifically, so long I am going to be outnumbered by the microflora in my body, shouldn’t I be the one choosing them?  We often tell our kids to choose their friends carefully, since the people we surround ourselves with determine our health, happiness and safety.  The same goes for the microflora that outnumber our own cells, we should be smart enough to make that choice ourselves and not leave it to chance or all the negative influences in the world.  Making the proper choice in terms of our Friendly Flora will have an enormous impact on more than just digestive and immune system function, but on virtually every system in our bodies.  I look forward to discussing this fascinating subject during my shows this weekend.

One of the basic rules of the products we make is that Mother Nature is the Master Creator, so if we just pay attention and let her do her thing, she creates some amazingly effective ingredients.  In fact, when we make our Cranberry Benefits product, the best thing we can do is to simply stay out of her way and let the pure, natural, protective compounds in Cranberry go to work on your behalf.  We deliver these beneficial compounds in a fashion where they can deliver their benefits to your urinary tract health, but we do so without all the sugar, calories, additives and bitter taste of typical cranberry juice and cranberry products.  Mother Nature is apparently doing a very good job with the design of our product, since approximately 90% of its reviews are perfect 5-Star Reviews.  When you read the reviews you will be left with no doubt that you can trust our Cranberry Benefits to promote the healthiest urinary tract, bladder and kidneys while also helping to protect us from UTIs.  Most folks do not realize that urinary tract infections are among the most common bacterial infections accounting for millions of doctors’ appointments and emergency room visits per year.  Also, as a result, there are hundreds of millions of antibiotics consumed annually.  We all know the impact that antibiotics have on our bodies, our environment, bacterial resistance and, of course, our internal population of Friendly Flora.  Yes, antibiotics are effective, but they come with side effects and risks, so wouldn’t it be nice to create circumstances and an environment where they are less necessary?  I have always felt that if there were a simple and affordable way to promote and maintain a healthier bladder, kidneys and urinary tract that everyone would embrace it.  Unfortunately, in the past, the only way to accomplish this was with Cranberry juice that was extremely expensive (almost $5 per 32 ounces) and outrageously high in calories and sugar.  Just a cup of Cranberry juice contains more than 30 grams of sugars and more than 100 calories and will about $1.  On the other hand, our Cranberry Benefits cost just over 10 cents per capsule and contains NO sugar and NO calories.  At one or two capsules daily, it is far more affordable than even the cheapest Cranberry juice and it does not load you full of calories and sugar.  I will get into more detail tomorrow about the benefits of Cranberry for urinary tract health, but this seems to be an appropriate place for me to briefly discuss some of the myths and misconceptions about fruit juice.

During my shows last week, I mentioned the huge burden that sugar-based soft drinks place on our health due to their impact on overweight, obesity, hypertension, Type-2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc, etc.  I have often said that one day in the not too distant future (if it is not already here) the big soft drink companies will be viewed no differently in terms of their horrible burden on public health than the makers of cigarettes.  These companies do NOT care about you or your health at all.  The soft drink industry is no different than the tobacco industry proceeding with no conscience and preying on our lack of willpower, while knowingly profiting from products that contain addictive harmful ingredients.  In fact, there are many researchers who argue that sugar can be more addictive than nicotine or even cocaine.  It is crystal clear that sugar-based soft drinks are harmful and to the extent we can, we must remove them from our diets.  However, there is a more important point that I feel many folks have missed of late and that is the misconception surrounding the health of fruit juice.  This topic came to mind because when one talks about a cranberry capsule, one must also consider the other common source of cranberry, which would obviously be a glass of sugar-laden cranberry juice.  I would mention eating the cranberry fruit itself, however, they are incredibly bitter and are rarely consumed, except with an abundance of sugar or sweeteners.  As far as the all too common cranberry juice, even a cup of unsweetened cranberry juice contains approximately 30 grams (almost 8 teaspoons) of sugar per cup!  That is why I have said for decades, “eat fruit – don’t drink juice.”  Certainly fruit juice is not completely nutritionally deficient like a soft drink, but it is not nearly as nutritious as the fruit itself and becomes far more calorically-dense and sugar-dense while being far less nutrient-dense than the fruit itself.

Without digressing too far on this issue, what Muriel and I do at home when we want any kind of fruit juice, we simply put the fruit we would have eaten in our blender and then we add just enough water to blend and it is absolutely delicious.  When we serve it at home, everyone just thinks they are drinking the richest and most delicious fruit juice they have ever had.  So, instead of drinking some sugar-rich juice, we are now truly drinking a delicious, healthy fruit cocktail.  In short, fruit juice is not your friend.  Like soft drinks, they are just another source of highly habit forming, concentrated sugars.  Fruit juice is also easy to abuse because it lacks fiber and it is full of satisfying, tasty (and arguably addictive) sugar.  It goes down like sweet water, but with ultra-high calorie and sugar levels.  At home, a simple, healthy and low calorie secret to enjoying ALL the benefits of fruit (and also vegetables) is to avoid juice completely and if you want to “drink them,” then simply blend the whole fruit retaining all its fiber and capacity to create fullness, along with all its vitamins, minerals and naturally abundant phytonutrients.  Muriel and I do this at least twice each day.

I will discuss all this in more detail during my shows and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Best of health.

Andrew

20 thoughts on “Ultimate Friendly Flora and/or Cranberry Today’s Specials. Speaking of Cranberry…Is Fruit Juice Really Healthy?”

  1. Thanks Andrew!! I look forward to your TS this weekend. I don’t drink to many sodas, however I LOVE sweet tea. I am trying to cut back though. Thank you for always caring about the customer and not the mighty dollar. 🙂

  2. Hi Andrew, you were talking about the “brain gut connection” with the friendly flora. Would you say this could be beneficial for those that suffer with depression? My husband and son both deal with this. They do take your ultimate omega 3 every day. Any info would be great!

  3. I LOVE EVERYTHING YOU MAKE…I AM GOING BLIND, CAN YOU HAVE ANOTHER SALE ON BOTH EYE VITAMINS, PLEASE

  4. Can I give cranberry and friendly flora to my 8 yr old. He is very tall for his age and about 95 pds. I have wanted to start them on your vitamins but I was afraid they were too young and the dosage would be too high

  5. My son takes a 100 billion probiotic. Is a higher amount better? Is there an amount someone should get based on health issues?

  6. I also would like to hear more about what level/dosage of probiotic a person should be taking daily – 5 billion vs 25 billion. And can a person be taking too much? What happens to the excess flora your body doesn’t need?

    You also mentioned above that it’s wise if we choose our own flora for our body. So that leads me to wonder – if someone isn’t taking a probiotic supplement then where does their flora come from? What other sources provide flora for our body?

  7. I live in hot humid Florida. Ultimate Friendly Flora hardens in the capsule after several months and doesn’t seem to be effective anymore. Any idea on how to prevent this from happening short of moving?

    1. Try refrigeration. Other than Andrew’s, most health food stores keep their probiotics refrigerated. Ask Andrew first, of course, whether it would hurt his Friendly Flora to keep it cold, but I would think that would be preferable to hot & humid. Even here in middle TN, with “feels like” temps of 100°+! most of July, I’ve tried putting more than one of the little packets that are supposed to absorb excess moisture in the bottles, but with little success. I really only have issues with the gel caps, like Omega-3 & the Vitamin E formulas. Those bottles always have to be shaken to unglue the gel caps from each other. Even 3-4 of the “dry packs” doesn’t help, but that’s mostly in the spring & late fall, when we turn off A/C & open house @ night, using the attic fan to bring in cool night air. 🙂 Hope this helps.

  8. Hi Andrew, I have been using several of your products the last few years and really enjoy them, especially the Glucosamine with Chondroitin, its the first of your product I ever tried, I take 6 a day and it is all that keeps me walking, as I have barely any cartilage in my knees anymore and have had arthroscopy on both knees. I also have high blood pressure and type II diabetes am trying to get them under control so I don’t have to take so many meds. I am interested to know what you think about the L-Arginine products on the market, what your opinion of this product is and do you have anything like it or are you considering an L-Arginine Product? I am a 72 year old female and i try not to ever miss one of your shows…

  9. I have been ‘researching’ probiotics for some time now and comparing the types of strains in each of them as well as the number of CFUs. There are advantages to each strain. I am wondering why you have chosen not to include bifidobacterium longum when it offers so many benefits.

  10. I know that cranberries have some of the highest pesticide levels. Are you using organic cranberries for your product?

  11. I purchased ultimate friendly flora during your last visit. I see it contains the ” food required to sustain a healthy balance.” Why no FOS in the today special value ultimate friendly flora? Thank you. I only buy your products and am curious on this question.

  12. My doctor has recommended that I take probiotics and Zinc; I take a lot if your vitamins; do you have any of these? He also suggested B12 sublingual; tell me what you would suggest.

  13. Keep up the free shipping and reduction of soy and increasing organic fair trade sources. Also please tell me your organic sunflower lecithin in ChocoN is not sourced from China?

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