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GREENS AND WHOLE FOODS POWDERS

THESE 2 PRODUCTS FAILED

InnerLight™ SuperGreens [1 scoop (3 g), 3 to 4 per day] Found 14.7 to 19.6 mcg lead per daily serving

Nature's Way Alive! Whole Food Energizer Ultra Shake Vanilla [1 scoop (39 g), 1 per day] Found 4.3 mcg lead and 12.8 mcg cadmium per daily serving
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you're right :>)
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Even the glue factory would reject us -- I don't think our remains would stick anymore!
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pax "I'm healthy as a horse" sure you are! you and I are ready for the glue factory! :>)
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Okay, I looked on the original, which contains the soil organisms, but it appears they eliminated it when they formulated the powder and the caplet.  You're probably taking the powder, and you're right, it doesn't have the soil organisms.  My bad -- but it is in the tablets.  Odd, but there you go.  As for kale, I'm sticking to my guns, the fibers in it are too complex to digest raw, though juicing will break up most of them.  This is also true of collards, mustard greens, and other tough greens, and if I had colitis I'd cook them.  But I also know people eat them raw, it isn't recommended to do that, but people will do what they will do, and it's not a big deal, it's just tough to digest that way.  Sorry about your Hasmimoto's -- my wife has that as well.  Me, my problems are pretty well documented on here.  Other than Paxil ruining my life and my aging body falling apart from too much physical activity, I'm healthy as a horse -- for all the good it's done me.  But I didn't get the good start you did with your family, we grew up on the standard American diet of meat and potatoes and drowning ourselves in milk.  That plus growing up in LA is probably the reason my brother and I are the only ones left alive!  Anyway, I just read the label on the wrong product, because when they originally tried to get me to carry their products they all had the soil organisms in them -- that was their calling card originally.  Good health to you!
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Ok.. Paxiled.. lol.. thankyou for your kind words..but.. I must state to you.. that Garden of Life Brand "Perfect Food, super green formula, does NOT contain Bacillus subtilis. It simply doesnt.. There is a product that Garden of Life makes, and some others as well... that this soil based gram positive bacteria contains.. mainly.. Primal Defence.. yes I know.. the name sounds pretty corny.  However, I must stand firm as to the ingredients of Perfect Food, Super Green Formula, as, before I started taking it, I found out exactly what was in it, as I am allergic to many strange things. the ingredient list I gave you above.. is all thats in it. Lactobacillis plantarum, bifidobacterium longum,( maintains a normal digestive tract, inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria, and also boosts the immune system) bifidobacterium lactis, bifidobacterium bifidum lactobacillus rhamnosus, bifidobacterium breve( colon health) ,lactobacillus paracasei, casei, salvarius, and acidophilus.  Now, I have been researching any other common names for the above probiotics.. and have yet to match the ones in super green with Bacillus subtilis, as well as speaking to the company itself before i began taking this particular supplement.
Now, as to the raw kale... most of the time.. we would steam it.. or boil it.. eat the kale, then drink the juice from the pot the kale was steamed or boiled in.. there are healthful benfits to eating it raw as well.. but i will agree with you .. its good both ways.. I enjoyed it raw alot of the time.. I like the taste. and found that it helped me with my digestion, and kept my colon in good clean health. Steam cooking significantly improves in vitro bile acid binding of collard greens, kale, mustard greens, broccoli, green bell pepper, and cabbage.
: This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.. and you can eat it raw.. and recieve these benefits.. just not as much as boiling.. and drinking the jiuce.. each to his own on that one...
Natren.. has been served many times for false advertisement, falsifying statements.. and so has Garden of Life.. Natren has also been accused to making claims about probiotics, and as a result.. many people are over taking them.. This can occur with ANY company.. not just Natren. and I am sure that it has..

Also, I think one thing that we both are not taking into consideration.. is that certain diseases and conditions of the body dont facilitate just one type of therapy.  I  have Ulcerative colitis, but have been in remission for some time now, however, I must watch the intake of greenleafy foods,,, as these drag down my thyroid.. and I also have Hashimotos Thyroiditis.  You on the other hand.. may have other conditions and or diseases that may react differently towards what you take..be it a typ eof probiotic.. be it a raw or cooked food.. you get the idea I am sure.. Its all about structuring a healthy diet for the person that needs it. It just for an individual. I am not saying that what I take is any better than what you take.. what I take is better for ME, and treating the conditions I have ..  hope to hear from you soon... take care.. PS. I like hockey.

You have surely challenged me as well..lol.. and I do hope that you and I continue to share knowledge, and aid each other in educating ourselves.. and hey.. theres nothing wrong with taking each others advice.. and agreeign to disagree..lol..
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This is just to say that while kale is a great source of calcium, it is also loaded with other minerals, but it is also high in lutein, which gives it its rich green color.  This nturient, a carotenoid, is very important particular to the eyes, and is made much stronger through cooking.  If you eat raw kale, even juiced, you don't get that benefit.  And the soil organism I mentioned isn't in the wheat and barley grass, it's added in the probiotic complex.  You wouldn't find it still alive in wheat or barley grass.  But I agree totally that people digest things differently and we are all individuals, and I really do appreciate these types of back and forth where readers can see how many different theories there are of nutrition.  Much more educational for me than posts that don't get challenged.  Keep contributing, and keep attacking what I say if you think I'm wrong, it's the only way I'll learn.   You're a good addition here.  But I do admit ignorance of Natren being in trouble with anyone.  She's so conservative -- only does three organisms because she doesn't believe the others have sufficient proof of safety behind them.  I disagree on some of them -- I use some she doesn't use, such as reuteri.  And that's baseball.
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Avatar universal
I have to admit, when I read what you said.. I just took a deep breath.. and let it all go... .. being that my mother was a holistic healer/botanist for more over 47 years. My father, an acupuncturist/massage therapist we lived off our land.. we enjoyed wonderful health.. soil, broccoli, kale, unpasteurized goat milk/cheese and kefir....ect ect .Now, we both could sit here.. and go back and forth, about this company, that company.. blah blah.. and you know as well as I do, that Natren has has its share of problems with various agencies.. but you know. its ok .. all companies have things.. just as we as humans do.. so.. with that said.. thankyou for your input!! I know what works for me, and you know ... what works for you. Take care.. and good health to you!
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If you are referring to the first named probiotic you named.. Yes.. i get that through the wheat grass and barley grass... ...I do drink getting  raw goat milk. as well as cheese, and kefir. non pasteurized. .. well.. every human being is NOT the same.We do not digest foods the same.. this has been proven.. time and time again, different cultures.. races... and everything in between... digest differently.. now, on the whole.. many find broccoli to be varied things.. hard to digest... gas producing.. ect.. I digest broccoli just fine.. as well as kale.. which by the way.. is primarily for the calcium.. ( more than a glass of milk)
I know more than you think I know about probiotics, soil organisms.. and even juicing. Juicing has been around since around 1930..  ( the actual machine) I can remember being a little girl, and drinking carrots, squashes, beets.. everything from the garden..Now, I never stated that I juice barley grass.. and wheat grass.. however,, when i was little.. we ate it alot.. as well as alfalfa.. I do get my own facts.
what we have here.. is simply two differing opinions.. and we both have that right. you know what works for you,.. i know what works for me.
Good health to you too.
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Avatar universal
The probiotic blend contains soil organisms.  Sorry, it just does.  Bacillus subtilis, for one.  The other probiotics you mentioned, from yogurt and such, don't contain the organisms you think they do.  Also, unless you're getting raw milk yogurt somewhere, yogurt too is pasteurized after fermentation, so to get live organisms in it you have to add them back in.  Yogurt and kefir (the fermented milk you're talking about) typically only contain acidophilus and one other culture to make the yogurt; when they have more than that, it's because they're added in after pasteurization as a supplement, not in order to make the yogurt or the kefir.  Stoneyfield, for example, adds in six probiotics after pasteurization, and most of the better yogurts found in health food stores add in cultures as well.  Which is great, though they're aren't very many of them that survive.  The larger benefit of fermented foods, including yogurt, sauerkraut, kim chi, etc., is the food they provide to the organisms in your intestinal tract, not the small amount of cultures in them.  Those cultures are more beneficial in yogurt and kefir to allow the body to digest something that is not digestible by adult mammals, namely, dairy.  But again, I personally don't object to you using yourself as a guinea pig.  And if this product and only this product has helped you, I'm happy.  Again, I just said I wouldn't use it, for several reasons, one of which is the soil organisms, another is I don't trust the company hype, another is I don't take super food combinations that contain too many foods in them.  The body can't digest that many foods at one time very efficiently.  Algae is hard enough to digest by itself, let alone with twenty other foods in there.  I alternate one at a time.  Right now I'm taking barley grass.  When that's done, I'll do spirulina.  Red algae is generally considered not digestible by humans, so we usually get that from eating fish that eat red algae.  There is one red algae that is used as an anti-viral, but generally these are not broken down by the human digestive system, though wild salmon do quite well with them.  But if you do well with it, fine.  I'm very happy for you.  Really.  And by the way, kale, cauliflower and broccoli are very hard to digest raw.  Juicing them does break down the fibers, but not as much as cooking does.  Cooking also increases the amount of carotenoids, which is one of the main reasons for eating colored foods.  Which is just to say eating is complicated; the more you learn about it the less you know, really, but the more information you collect.  When I managed health food stores I wouldn't carry Garden of Life products, but they have proven to be very popular.  I also notice you haven't looked up the information from the owner of Natren about some of the probiotics, including soil organisms, people are now eating that have never been consumed before in such quantities and have either poor research, no research, or research showing some have harmful qualities.  As for grass juices being a traditional food, I guess you're definition of traditional covers a very short period of time, given that juicers have only been around that were capable of juicing cereal grasses for a very short time period.  Not that I'm opposed to them -- I use wheat grass and barley juice, so I'm a guinea pig for a lot of things, too.  As I said, to each their own preferences, but you don't get your own "facts."  Peace and continued good health, and I've enjoyed the discussion.  Now everyone can make up their minds better than they could before, which is the point.  
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LOL.. I'm not angry.  My average blood pressure is about 104/58 while just sitting. Just because someone is passionate about something doenst't mean that they are angry, there is a big difference.  I thank you though, for the the concern!  Plus, I see no anger in my statements...maybe you should ask others why they are so angry.. or maybe... they are just as passionate about how they feel as I am .. We are all entitled to how we feel, and how we state it... itf you took the capitals as anger, I do digress. It's nto anger, it's feverent passion about something that saved my life. Again, thankyou for your concern, but your feelings that I am angry are unfouded, and displaced.  
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Why are you so angry? have you tried the anger management forum? your pressure must be high! try doing yoga and meditation.I'm trying to be helpful.  
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Oh.. just for you Paxiled... here is a complete list of ingedients of Super food:
Barley Grass..Oat grass, Sprouts of amaranth, Quinoa, Millet, Buckwheat, Adzuki Beans Garbaonzo beans, Kidney beans, lentils, Flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, Sesame seeds, Barley grass juice, alfalfa grass juice, wheat grass juice, oat grass juice, Spirulina, Chlorella, Calcified red algae, various kelp species, acerola cherry extract, Beet, carrot, broccoli, cucuumber, tomato, kale, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, parsley, asparagus, brussel sprouts, bell pepper, garlic, ginger, onion.  oh.. and the probiotic blend.  

there you go.!! Oh.. and.. theses.. are all traditional foods.. traditional medicines.. used as tinctures,,, ect ect.
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Avatar universal
hello.... read what I said again.. you missed what I said. People have been eating soil unintentionally for thousands of years. Fermented milk products which contain probiotics have been used for centuries. According to Persian tradition, Abraham of the Old Testament owed his longevity to ingestion of fermented milk.

Dont tell me to do my homework. This is not a new product. IT IS traditional medicine. I guess you are going to go on some rant about the dangers of probiotics now.

This is not an experiment.. this is my life. do with yours what you will. I will do with mine.. what I will. You are correct.. more power to me. Thankyou!!

You are incorrect about all Garden of life products containing soil based organisms.  Super food probiotics do not contain soil based organisms. You can however... purchase them from Garden of Life.

Lacrobacilllis Plantarum,
bifidobacterium longum Bifidobacteria are probiotics that naturally colonize in the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and vagina. They were first isolated over a hundred years ago from human feces. Bifidobacterium longum is one of most important inhabitants in the human body. This bacterium is very helpful because it maintains a normal digestive tract, inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria, and also boosts the immune system.

Lactobacillis paracasei:
Lactobacillus paracasei is found naturally in fermented products, yogurt and natural diary products like raw milk. You won't find this friendly flora in pasteurized milk, because the manufacturing process actually kills all good and bad bacteria in addition to other nutrients.

lactobacillis salivarius: Lactobacillus salivarius (L. salivarius) is a gram-positive, non-spore forming bacillus bacteria. It is
a homofermentative organism (only produces one byproduct of metabolism—lactic acid) that is
found occurring naturally in the human oral cavities, intestines, and vagina. It is considered to be
non-pathogenic and is sometimes used to produce lactic acid in fermented foods and is used as a
probiotic to help prevent infections by other microorganisms

There are others as well.. .. probiotics... I suggest.. that you do your homework paxiled.. please feel free actually read the ingredients of Perfect food, Super Green Formula. Oh.. and have I ever  at any time.. stated that taking large amounts of dirt is a good thing? Read more please... do your homework.  Um .. and while my mother.. who was a naturalist, botanist and a holistic healer for more than 47 years.. I can state with no sway what so ever that what I am taking.. is a traditional medication. It just has many traditional medicines in one pill.
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The probiotics in all Garden of Life products contain soil organisms.  Playing in the dirt will not allow these to lodge in your intestinal tract; they have to be enteric coated so stomach acid doesn't kill them, just as with other probiotics.  The main experts on probiotics, who have been in the field the longest are skeptical about soil organisms, as people have never eaten them intentionally or in large quantities.  Natren, the most respected manufacturer of probiotics, has data showing that at least three of them have research showing toxicity.  I'm not telling you what to do, but please, do your homework before shouting with your capital letters at someone who urges caution with new products.  This is not traditional medicine, it is very very new.  I have no objection with you being a guinea pig for it; I just said I wouldn't do it.  There are so many good green foods out there that there is no reason to experiment with this one, but if this is what you find suits you, more power to you.
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And PS.. I dont take the soil based pills..LOL.. I take the Perfect Food.. which.. by the way .. contains.. things such as Barley grass...Chia seeds..Probiotics..Adzuki beans, Beet, carrot, Quinoa,Millet, Alfalfa. ECT ECT.. holy cow.. those things I just listed above also come from the earth!! Minus the probiotics)   I do also garden!!  My children are allowed to play in the mud after a rain.. ( they have never had a ear infection, the flu, and rarely a cold) they are allowed to play with mud.. guess what.... we have all  had our lead levels checked.. we are all quite lovely thankyou.  I will continue taking Perfect food from Garden of Life. I will continue to be healthy, and remain in remission from ulcerative colits. I wish everyone the best out there.. and hope that they also find the right combination, the right thing to take, ect ect.. to each his own, for that is our choice, and our freedom..its what makes us who we are. Viva La difference!
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Avatar universal
WOW.. thats NOT what I am saying. Are YOU saying that your parents... your grandparents.. and so on so forth have all had lead poisioning? BULL!!!   while i will admit that there is lead in the soil.. it also comes from many other places as well...HERE: Routes of exposure to lead include contaminated air, water, soil, food, and consumer products. Occupational exposure is a common cause of lead poisoning in adults. One of the largest threats to children is lead paint that exists in many homes, especially older ones; thus children in older housing with chipping paint are at greater risk.

Honestly. if you are going to sit there an accuse me of stating that its ok to consume products with high lead content.. then I have to come to only one conclusion.. You, gymdandee... are only looking at ONE side of this entire conversation.
Do your children get shots? do they eat out? do they wear clothes that have been washed with detergents? do they touch their hands to ANY PAINT AT ALL ???
come one.. give me a break. lead is EVERYWHERE.  If what you are obviusly saying, by the very childish remark concerning consuming lead products..is that your parents... your grandparents.. ect ect all died from lead poisioning.. RIGHT????? what do you think your grandparents did for food? your great grandparents.. they were all outside.. working the ground.. are you going to tell me that every gardener is poisioned?? HOLY COW!! Gardeners everywhere!! Stop!! dont garden anymore!!! Dont go near the soil!!
Right. come one.. look at this objectively.  Im not saying everyone go out and eat piles of dirt.. im saying.. exposure to soil is good for you.. sheesh.
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what you are saying is it's OK to consume the products with high lead content
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Um.. lets all stop for a moment.. everyone eats soil organisms. you breath them in, you eat them everyday.. unless of course you clean your raw vegetables with bleach.  
We as humans.. NEED and REQUIRE soild organisms.  period. why do you think so many people are sick now? Because all the hype all bull crap about cleanliness.  

if you coop up your children... never let them outside to be exposed to the dirt, good luck!!  

I had bleeding ulcerative colitis and proctitis.. i was in and out of the ER and hospital all the time. the second day i started on super food.. the bleeding stopped.  no way in heck would anyone ever tell me that garden of life should not be trusted.

I even stopped taking superfood, to see what would happen.. and the bleeding began again, as well as the pain, the constant rushing to the bathroom, ect.

This is what makes the world interesting..lol..
You need to understand that many years ago.. when your mother and her mother were children.. they were allowed to play in the dirt.. to get dirty.. thus ingesting soil based organisms.... today.. we live in a world where everything has to be clean.. where people freak out when their kids gets dirty... look at what its doing!!!

I DO trust Garden of Life.    because.. it saved.. MY LIFE.  JUST GOES TO SHOW!
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I haven't had a bad experience I don't use those products! I just read the tests and pass it along
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See, this is what makes the world interesting.  I wouldn't trust Garden of Life.  Their big selling point are soil organisms, which nobody has ever eaten, there's no independent research, and some of the most knowledgeable experts on beneficial bacteria believe some of them are toxic.  Just goes to show.
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Avatar universal
THIS PRODUCT SAVED MY LIFE

Garden of life SUPER FOOD.

do the research... its there.. sorry that you had a bad experience with the inner light and natures way. i dont trust those anyway...give garden of life brand a chance!!
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Thanks for the answer.  Don't take either of them, but wanted to know exactly what you told me.  Keep posting this stuff, Gym.
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Contaminated products

     InnerLight SuperGreens contained 19.6 mcg of lead in a 4-scoop daily serving.  The amount of lead was surprisingly high for a relatively modest amount (12 grams) of powder.  Toxicity from lead is a function of total exposure to all foods, beverages and your environment. The amount of lead in InnerLight SuperGreens alone exceeds the FDA’s provisional total daily tolerable intake limit for children (6 mcg) and approaches the daily limit for pregnant women (25 mcg).  For other adults (for whom the FDA tolerable limit is 75 mcg of lead) it represents a significant and unnecessary exposure to lead.   The amount of lead found is many times higher than the California Proposition 65 limit (0.5 mcg per daily serving), above which a warning label is required on the product.  It also exceeds a proposed US Pharmacopeia limit of 10 mcg per daily serving (a limit which this Lab has criticized for being too lenient). It is difficult to know the source of lead in this product as it lists over forty different plants in its “rich herbal blend of grasses, leafs, vegetables, and sprouts.”

     Nature’s Way Alive! Whole Food Energizer Ultra Shake Vanilla contained 4.3 mcg of lead and 12.8 mcg of cadmium in a 1-scoop daily serving. This product is different from the others tested in that it contained a large amount of protein (primarily as rice and pea protein) and its daily serving amount was by far the largest (39 grams). Although the amount of cadmium would not be expected to cause an immediate problem, long-term exposure may pose unnecessary risk to the kidneys. The federal cadmium limit in drinking water, for example, equates to 10 mcg per day in two liters of water (the typical daily consumption of water by adults).
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Avatar universal
Is that a lot?  Algae, if that's what's in these, will always contain some cadmium and some lead, since it will contain all minerals that have ever been on Earth if it's sea water algae.  The question is if these are excess amounts.  Haven't a clue what a proper dose is, so I don't know the answer.
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