Like most things in life, good health doesn’t just happen.

It requires eating a balanced diet, getting seven to eight hours of sleep a night, not skipping meals – especially breakfast – and exercising.

Staying healthy is work. At least at first, and then if you are like me, it becomes a routine that is comfortable and satisfying.

National stretch exercise personality, Ann Smith, is a perfect example. At age 80, she continues to teach all ages and travels the country and world giving lectures and demonstrations. She is an avid believer that people are equipped with an innate sense: our bodies tell us what we need and when. Eating, sleeping and moving are natural instincts. You easily see this in children as they do all three on demand. As we age, our lifestyles, jobs and environment rob us of those tendencies.

Ann and others preach consistency and enjoyment when it comes to eating, sleep and exercise. If you like certain foods, a set bedtime or a certain recreational activity like golf or swimming, you are more likely to make them a habit.

And that is my point. Exercising intermittently, getting a full night’s rest only once a week or eating fast food on a regular basis are NOT good habits.

Our FruitFast products fit the healthy lifestyle. They are meant to be consistently used and taken. Just as the instructions indicate, the recommended servings of FruitFast softgels, liquids and juice concentrates specify regular, daily use to obtain the very best results. And since they are natural and 100% premium fruit, you can trust that they are good for you.

So take Ann’s advice – a FruitFast regular – and make sure all your habits are good ones.

July marks the peak of the cherry growing season and the harvest is well underway. An expected 177 million pounds of red tart cherries will be produced in 2008.

These are long days for farmers and their crews in the Grand Traverse region and in other parts of the country. They are busy shaking trees, collecting the red tart cherries for fresh market sales or processing them for an array of products.

The two-week special for our leading brand of FruitFast® Cherry Juice Concentrate began during the National Cherry Festival and has brought brisk sales. So much so that we have decided to extend the special price offer for one more week.

From now until midnight July 25, we are offering quart sized bottles of Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate for only $11.95 per bottle. And there is no required amount to purchase to receive this low price! For one more week, save 20% on every quart of Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate.

Click here to take advantage of this special online offer or call us toll free at 1-877-591-3101.

Truth in advertising is more important today than ever.

And we want our FruitFast customers and potential purchasers to know the difference between products that are what they say… and those that are not.

The Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments (a coalition of nutrition and physical activity advocates) has released a startling study.  “Where’s the Fruit” reports that 51 percent of advertised children’s foods do not contain fruit, and another 16 percent contain only minimal amounts of fruit despite prominent fruit promotions on the packaging.  Over half of the most aggressively advertised children’s foods that prominently feature fruit on their packaging contain no fruit at all, according to the Strategic Alliance report.

“Parents drawn to products that seem healthier for their children based on references to fruit on the packaging are being deceived,” said Leslie Mikkelsen, a registered dietitian with the Strategic Alliance and lead author of the study.  “Food and beverage companies are some of the most sophisticated communicators in the world and are clearly capable of accurately reflecting what is in their products if they wanted to.”

Basically, it comes down to reading product labels to protect our families.   The FDA and other government agencies require food and supplement producers to list all ingredients in order of quantity on each product label.

FruitFast takes this responsibility of truthful labeling and advertising very seriously.   As a 60 year-old company, we stand by our reputation of quality products that do indeed contain 100% premium, North American fruits without preservatives and additives of any sort.   As an additional service to consumers, our website lists each product’s Certificate of Analysis from an independent lab.

So don’t be duped.  Read the label for your family’s protection.

For those of us living in Traverse City or visiting our town – the Cherry Capital of the World in northwest lower Michigan – this week happens just once a year.

It’s the 82nd running of the National Cherry Festival, an eight-day event that brings several hundred thousand visitors to our area to celebrate this amazing, versatile fruit.

The US Navy Blue Angels kicked off the Festival July 5 with awe-inspiring, heart-stopping, patriotic air shows over the weekend to the delight of record- breaking crowds. And each day through July 12 will be filled with activities for the young and old from cherry pie eating contests, cherry idol singing contest, cherry spitting competition, cherryopoly contest to the Cherry Royale Parade and fireworks to round out a packed week.

Janet and I have been involved with the Cherry Festival for the past 35 years and, like the many volunteers, enjoy the excitement and camaraderie that it offers festival goers. Staging one of the country’s longest running and best known festivals is a true challenge, so hats off to the many volunteers who have passed their enthusiasm for the festival from one generation to the next, often taking time off work to participate. Some of these dedicated volunteers have been involved for well over 25 years, a selfless gesture that’s pretty amazing in this day and age. Most of all we support the attention the festival brings to the cherry industry – from farmers and processors to the many products that utilize cherries in one form or another – and the recognition it brings to our community.

If you are unable to be here to join the fun in person, here’s a taste of what the National Cherry Festival is all about. Check out gourmet cook Debbie Colaianni’s cherry recipes on our FruitFast blog all this week, using Montmorency Tart cherries and sweet cherries.

And as always, you’ll find our FruitFast specials at www.brownwoodacres.com.

Customers have been clamoring for our FruitFast Fruit Supplement Bars which sold-out on our website several months ago. We are happy to report that a fresh supply of these popular treats for summer anywhere, anytime activities is now available.

There are five different bars from which to choose. The CherryFlex®, Wild BlueBerry IQ® and the Wonderful Pomegranate bars contain generous quantities of our proprietary whole fruit pastes. No dieting worries here as the fruit supplement bars have 100 calories and are 100% premium fruit. You won’t find any preservatives, no GMO’s and no refined sugars.

What you will find are 300mg of Anthocyanins in the CherryFlex and Wild BlueBerry IQ bars with over 100mg of Ellagic Acid in the Wonderful Pomegranate bars. That’s why our products are “Delivering the Power of Fruit.” Be sure to check out the Certificates of Analysis on our website for further information. With zero grams of fat in every 25 gram bar, you can increase your fruit intake in a delicious and convenient way.

Our newest fruit supplement bars are quickly becoming as popular as the original trio. MixedBerry Fruit Supplement Bars and MixedBerry with Dark Chocolate Bars are delicious, soft and chewy…and are guaranteed to be a hit with their natural robust berry taste from red and black raspberries, wild blueberries and strawberries. What could be better, except maybe adding dark chocolate – which we have done!

Confirmation that these bars are revolutionary – tried, true and tested – is the fact that they are all USDA approved and patented.

So wait no longer – FruitFast Fruit Supplement Bars are in season and in stock. Call us today toll free 1-877-599-3101 or order online at www.brownwoodacres.com

CherryFlex Fruit Supplement Bar

Wild BlueberryIQ Fruit Supplement Bar

Wonderful Pomegranate Fruit Supplement Bar

* About 100 Calories Per Bar

* 100% Fruit, Nothing Else

* No Refined Sugars

* No Dairy

* No GMO’s

* No Preservatives

* Nothing Artificial

* USDA developed and patented

Each FruitFast® bar contains generous amounts of the proprietary whole fruit pastes that we manufacture for our Cherry, Blueberry and Pomegranate Softgel Capsules. The CherryFlex® and Wild BlueberryIQ ® bars provide 300 mg of Anthocyanins per bar. The Wonderful Pomegranate Bar delivers over 100 mg of Ellagic Acid. All bars are 25 grams in size, 100 calories and have zero grams of fat. Best of all, you get two servings of fruit per bar. Each bar provides the nutritional equivalent of eating one whole apple and one serving of that particular bar’s fruit. Don’t miss out, order a box of each and we guarantee you will be back for more.

FruitFast Bars are produced using a USDA patented process that provides a two year shelf life. The bars can be stored at room temperature and will not deteriorate in hot, humid weather.

*Our FruitFast Bars do not contain any gluten or nuts,

and are made in a factory that is gluten free and nut free.

FruitFast has good news to report.

Despite volatile weather conditions around the country that damaged and destroyed crops in the plain states and in parts of the Midwest, FruitFast cherry product prices will remain stable for the foreseeable future and we have a solid inventory of fruit products for our customers.

Due to over 40 years of experience in the fruit-growing business, our company was well prepared for this anticipated downturn in fruit production.  Our current supply of Montmorency tart cherry softgels, juice concentrate, liquids and bars are ample — we expect no jump in pricing.   In fact, we will soon be announcing some special price breaks on several products.

The weather has been a topic of conversation for weeks in our fruit farming community here in northwest lower Michigan.  As the Tart Cherry Capital of the World, this tight-knit group of growers, processors and manufacturers, thinks the 2008 crop will take a sizable hit due to cold temperatures, wind and hail in recent weeks.  And the growing season is not over yet.

Phil Korson, executive director of the Cherry Marketing Institute, sums up the situation;  “ We expect the nation’s 2008 cherry crop to be 177 million pounds compared to 251 million in 2007,” says Phil which is a drop of 30% from last year’s figures.  “ Northwest Michigan expects 75 million pounds of tart cherries, when 134 million pounds were forecast.  So the crop will be down substantially.”

A May frost was the first sign of trouble and then recent hail and wind storms affected some area orchards.  As only Mother Nature can do, some regions were devastated while others were untouched.

A shorter crop like this will create demand and growers are dealing with higher input costs, too, such as trucking expense, fuel prices and fertilizer.  For consumers, the price of cherries will go up.   But this industry is lucky when compared to the crop devastations of late in the Midwest due to flooding.  We sympathize with those farmers and hope their prospects for crop and financial recovery will improve in the near future.

FruitFast is pleased to be able to continue bringing you quality fruit supplement products that are always available, convenient, affordable and good for your health.