Ingredients in Vital Reds - There is a lot to scrutinize about this product.
My husband and I have been using Vital Reds in our morning protein drink for more than a year. When the supply was nearly gone, I ordered more. This batch is different, however, in color and taste than what we had before. The color is dark orange instead of dark red-purple and it tastes different.
When I contacted Gundry about this, I got an email response, a portion of which I am showing below:
"…Because we use natural ingredients to formulate Vital Reds, there may be occasional differences in color, taste, and texture between batches. This is because we source our ingredients based on seasonality and availability. (For example, this batch contains slightly different cinnamon than we usually use.)
Rest assured, the benefits you've come to expect from Vital Reds are the same — the only difference is in the appearance and flavor. ..."
So, they admit they change the formulation based on "availability". How can the benefits be the same if the proportions of ingredients are changed? How can this be described on the label as Red Berry Dietary Supplement when it is now dark orange?
This prompted me to read the list of ingredients. The rules for labeling ingredients require that they be listed in the order of the highest concentration or percentage or weight to the lowest. The further down the list, the less you get of that ingredient.The charts below show that the formulation has changed between 7/3/2018 and 11/19/2019 batches. Since the list of ingredients does not indicate what the concentration or percentage or weight of each ingredient is, it is possible that 90% or more of the powder is dried carrot (the first ingredient in both charts), followed by smaller and smaller amounts of the following ingredients on the list. The very last ingredients might be a small drop of, say, watermelon juice or pear extract. I could not find any internet source that showed carrots in the top ten richest foods in polyphenols, but they certainly are a lot less expensive than most of those foods that are highest in polyphenols. Strange that carrots would be the top ingredient on the Vital Reds Polyphenol Blend list. Carrots are, however, probably one of the cheaper ingredients on the list.
Note in the charts below that apple pectin has gone from the 20th ingredient in 2018 to the 10th ingredient in 2019. Apples are a lot less expensive than some of the other ingredients, like European black currant fruit extract (standardized for minimum 25% anthocyanins) which dropped from the 8th ingredient in 2018 to the 13th ingredient in 2019.
Green - lower concentration or percentage or weight in 2019 than 2018.
Pink - higher concentration or percentage or weight in 2019 than 2018.
18199B Mfg date 07/03/2018, 0135K9 Mfg date 11/19/2019.
POLYPHENOL BLEND 1,760 mg, POLYPHENOL BLEND 1,760 mg.
1 Carrot, 1 Carrot
2 Organic apple peel, 2 Organic apple peel
3 Grape skin extract, 3 Grape skin extract
4 Grape seed extract
5 Aronia berry extract, 4 Aronia berry extract
6 Organic flax seed, 5 Organic flax seed
7 Mulberry fruit
6 Grape seed extract
7 Acai fruit extract (Euterpe oleracea)
8 Acerola fruit extract
8 European black currant fruit extract (standardized for minimum 25% anthocyanins)
9 Apple, 9 Apple
10 Apple Pectin
10 Organic beet root, 11 Organic beet root
12 Blackberry
13 European black currant fruit extract (standardized for minimum 25% anthocyanins)
14 Blueberry Fruit concentrate
11 Cranberry fruit extract, 15 Cranberry fruit extract
12 Mango, 16 Mango
17 Mulberry fruit
13 Papaya, 18 Papaya
14 Acai fruit extract (Euterpe oleracea)
19 Pomegranate
20 Red raspberry
15 Strawberry, 21 Strawberry
16 Blueberry Fruit concentrate
17 Pomegranate
18 Blackberry
19 Acerola fruit extract
20 Apple pectin
21 Red raspberry
22 Pineapple
23 Orange
24 Cantaloupe, 22 Cantaloupe
23 Cherry
25 Grape, 24 Grape
26 Watermelon
27 Grapefruit, 25 Grapefruit
28 Plum
29 Pear
30 Lemon, 26 Lemon
31 Lime, 27 Lime
28 Orange
32 Cherry
33 Peach, 29 Peach
30 Pear
31 Pineapple
32 Plum
33 Watermelon
34 Herberine hydrochloride, 34 Herberine hydrochloride
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
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