Faqs
What is wheatgrass juice and why is it good for me?
Wheatgrass is the young wheat plant, a few days old, and the juice is obtained by carefully crushing the leaves. The juice brings you chlorophyll, amino acids, minerals, vitamins and live enzymes.
What is broccoli sprout juice?
The sprouts of broccoli seeds, juiced at their most nutritious (3-4 days old) and specially packed to maintain freshness.
Why is broccoli sprout juice good for me?
Broccoli sprouts contain significant quantities of SGS and antioxidants, and phytonutrients which scientific studies have shown can be effective agents against various conditions.
How are these juices different from supplements?
They are fresh, living, real juices with active enzymes - nothing added or taken away.
How much should I take at a time? And when?
As much as you like - but one 33ml bottle a day is a good start. Before breakfast is ideal - or before any meal.
Are your juices certified organic?
To be certified organic you must meet all the requirements of a government approved organic certifying body - such as OneCert. However, each country has its own certifying bodies and they have different requirements. This means that it is just about impossible for a product to satisfy the requirements for all the countries in which it sells its products, and Vegus do sell in several countries. We are working on a solution to this so that people will be able to see the Organic Certificate on our products.
At Vegus, they start with certified organic seeds. All the products are grown and bottled absolutely with:
NO genetically modified material
NO unnatural chemical fertilizers
NO hidden additives
ONLY natural nutrients (Ocean SolutionTM) See the Ocean Solution page for more information
ONLY safe gentle natural cleaning agents for the equipment
LOTS of love and care
This means that your juices have been produced all the way from seeds to whole, raw juice in a bottle strictly in accordance with the rules for organic production. That means: no GMO's, no nasty fertilisers that leave residues, only using certified organic seeds, making sure that all the way through the production cycle there are no unnatural contaminants.
What about the enzymes?
We know that the enzymes are important to you so Vegus take special care to ensure that they do not harm them as they make your juices. The plants get optimum nutrition, especially from the Ocean SolutionTM nutrients so that the plants have the best opportunity to do what they do best - convert light and water and natural fertiliser into nutrient dense bio-mass. When the juice is squeezed and pressed from the bio-mass Vegus are careful to use a low speed unit so that the enzymes are not sheared and so that the juice is not heated.
Next a pharmaceutical grade system is used for putting your juice in the little bottles and capping them.
Then to be sure that there are no pathogens such as e:coli or salmonella in your juice it is subjected to a lot of hydrostatic ultra pressure. This kills the bugs without hurting the enzymes. Best of all it does the job without heating the juice. (Remember that heat kills enzymes)
Why plastic bottles instead of glass?
We came to this question with open minds. Here's what we found. PET is the most recycled plastic out there - often it even has a Number "1" in the little triangle symbol. In terms of sustainability and carbon footprint it beats glass by a wide margin. All kinds of studies support this conclusion but we especially like the plain language but factual calculations and explanations given at:
http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/askpablo-glass-vs-pet-bottles-002415.php
This is not a Public Relations exercise from some murky group secretly funded by an oil company. (There are some out there!) Just good common sense merged with solid observation and maths. PET beats glass.
Why not one big bottle instead of seven little ones?
Remember, we said that enzymes don't like oxygen? Oxidation degrades the activity level of enzymes. If we used a nice big bottle we would save money but the juice would suffer. Every time you drank one serving you would be closing up the bottle with a fresh supply of air and as the bottle gradually empties there would be more and more air. More and more oxidation too. So that as you go down the bottle the quality of the juice would get worse and worse. So we use a small bottle.
Why hydroponic instead of in soil?
To get the full nutrient value from the plants we have to be sure that in their very short life span they get the optimum nutrition all day every day. In soil, that would be very difficult to manage but with the help of Ocean GrownTM nutrients and a hydroponic system we can be sure that every single seed gets what it needs when it needs it.
To produce a perfect crop every time and do it on a reliable schedule in soil Vegus would have to find a location that offers:
- a perfect climate - not too hot, not too cold, not too humid, not too dry, etc
- unpolluted water
- perfect soil that does not need amendment - and that never wears out or depletes
- regular hours of sunlight
- no animals to feast on the plants
The enclosed environment chambers at Vegus do all of that with a hydroponic system.
Why ultra high pressure?
After Vegus put the juices in the little bottles they put the bottles into the pressure system and pump it up to ultra high pressure (Think of four elephants standing on one strawberry.) This high pressure kills all the bad guys such as salmonella and e:coli but leaves the enzymes happy and smiling - and live! The survival of the enzyme is well documented and reported in peer reviewed scientific articles - such as: Effects of high pressure on amylases and starch in wheat and barley flours GOMES M. R. A; CLARK R; LEDWARD D. A. Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Reading. Food Chemistry 1998, vol. 63, no3, pp. 363-372 (18 ref.) And as regards harmful bacteria Vegus have an independent laboratory to test every batch.
Why add lactic acid?
First of all is the matter of how much do Vegus use. The answer is about 50ml of lactic acid in every 20,0000ml of juice. Not that much. This drop or two of lactic acid is added to prevent growth of botulin spores that could cause illness. We like our juice safe. Also to be noted is that there are two types of lactic acid. Our lactic acid is organic in origin and totally safe. (By the way, for those who wonder: lactic acid has nothing to do with milk or any other dairy products. The Vegus juices do not contain any milk products.)
What does the Best Before date mean?
Because of the pressure treatment the juice is safe to drink for years. (Vegus tested it at four years of age). We also protect the enzymes and other nutrient values but the passage of time will eventually have some impact on the juice. The little bit of air trapped in the bottle will cause some oxidation or browning of the juice. But this is limited by the very small amount of air in the bottle. The flavour can also change a bit over time. The chemistry of flavenoids is among the most complicated known to man. We could stabilise the taste for ever but the chemistry required to do that is appalling. We don't want to go there. So, we say that for up to about ten weeks the juice is good but that just like all living things it is not getting younger and some deterioration is inevitable. Please note that broccoli sprout juice is not very green to start with. The reason is the plant itself is not very green. Look at the picture on the bottle and it is clear that the roots and stem are white and only the little leaves are green.
All material on this website is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this information. You should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to your health and well-being.