Have you ever heard of a healthy Xylitol chewing gum? My wife’s recent search for a healthy gum for our son was getting all too frustrating until we found a Xylitol gum called Xponent! This healthy pharmaceutical grade Xylitol sweetened chewing gum is the best invention since sliced bread!

Xylitol sweetened chewing gum

This search revealed that chewing gum helps promote saliva production. Saliva is comprised of about 95.5% water but also contains electrolytes, mucus and antibacterial compounds.

Our seemingly simple goal was to stimulate saliva in our son’s mouth and fulfill his gum chewing request. The catch is, we have to do this with a clean conscience. Many of us don’t really have time to read gum labels. The font is so small you need a magnifying glass and when additives are listed at less than 2% of the product, it seems mysteriously harmless.

For us though, part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is consuming healthy foods as well as avoiding questionable ingredients. Handing something to your unsuspecting 4 year old son is a responsibility beyond equation and taking chances on products deemed “safe at current levels of consumption” is simply not an option.

When we found the Xponent Xylitol gum, we learned that not only is it recommended and used by medical and dental professionals worldwide, it also:

• Has a cool clean sweetness with no aftertaste
• It is safe for both children and pregnant women and
• Promotes healthy bacteria which supports the health of ears and sinuses

We were determined to find a healthier gum without questionable additives and it is now available at Brownwood Acres and FruitFast. The next time you or someone you love reaches for a piece of gum, take it from Brownwood Acres and the grab Xponent Xylitol chewing gum, now available in Fruit, Spearmint and Peppermint flavors and economically packed in a 100 piece jar. Now you may all seriously commence chewing with a clean conscience!

Despite bumper crops of many food commodities this year, most Americans still are not eating enough fruit on a daily basis.   Among the largest group of violators are the ones who should be building strong bodies and bones and stand to lose the most in later years:  America’s teenagers.

The Center for Disease Control found troubling results for teens who don’t appear to be eating the proper amount of fruits – or vegetables.

Under 10 percent of US high school students were getting the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables.  That’s a statistic that FruitFast is working to improve.

Only 13 percent of teens are consuming the recommended three helpings of vegetables each day and about 32 percent are eating at least two servings of fruit.  Click here to see how your state’s adults and teens compare to the national average.

State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables 2009

According to the Associated Press, the federal nutrition goals set for 2010 demand at least 75 percent of Americans consume two servings of fruit each day and at least 50 percent to eat three vegetable servings.

“This is a call for states, communities, schools and families to support increased fruit and vegetable consumption,” said Heidi Blanck, with the CDC, who worked on the State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009.

The CDC says that fruits and vegetables are vital for optimal child growth, weight management and chronic disease prevention.

Whether the fruit and vegetables you eat are fresh, frozen, dried or in some other uncompromised form, it’s important to eat well-balanced meals.

FruitFast promotes healthy living with all our products – for people and pets – believing in the adage “you are what you eat.”

On-the-go, too busy, or out-of-season no longer are good excuses.  We offer an assortment of ways – from juice, liquids, softgels, bars or dried fruits – to enjoy healthy fruits every day.

Visit www.brownwoodacres.com today!

There is renewed interest these days in knowing where our food comes from. More and more people want to be assured that what they consume is fresh and safe to eat.  It’s the trend behind the “Buy Local” campaign that’s sweeping the country.

The Underwoods watch the harvesting of cranberries

It’s the reason why Janet and I took a road trip this past week to visit a Cranberry Bog and see for ourselves where our FruitFast cranberries are grown for our newest fruit product:  Great Lakes Cranberry Softgels.

Our trek took us east across the fingers of the Michigan mitt to the flat farming country near Cheboygan.  We were greeted by Michigan Cranberry Company owners, Wally and Sally Huggett, who open their farm just two days a year so the public can see this unique method of harvesting fruit.

If you think cranberries grow on trees or underwater in wetlands, you’re about to learn something new.

Cranberries grow on low vines and when ripe for picking, unlike tart cherry farmers, there’s no tree shaker to get the job done.  Instead, ripe cranberries are loosened by a special piece of equipment with tynes  mounted on a tractor that rakes the berries from the vines; the field is flooded with water and the cranberries float to the surface.  Much like a cow wrangler herding livestock, workers round-up the berries, encircling them with an inflated hose, and from there they are sucked up into dump trucks and taken to the receiving facility for sorting and grading.  At the end of this process, the cranberries are shipped to processing centers for juicing, canning and freezing.

It’s a beautiful sight to see these bogs brimming with a sea of rosy red cranberries against a backdrop of Fall’s brilliant foliage.  Better yet was the chance to meet another farming family working hard to bring fresh produce to the marketplace.  America farmers are the best!

FruitFast is pleased to purchase fruit from the Huggetts – the state’s largest producer of cranberries and we’re prouder still to know firsthand that we bring our customers choice, locally-grown fruit to ensure top quality fruit supplements.

Take a minute to find out more about the health benefits of cranberries.
It’s a good day when you learn something new – and discover the power of fruit.

It’s always nice to get feedback like this from a FruitFast customer:

Miniature dachshunds, better known as wiener dogs, are prone to back problems as they get older. An active lifestyle can be the cause, which seems backwards…but is true. Activities such as running and jumping can have serious implications in a wiener dogs’ health.

Oscar Meyer (pictured on the right), who is 9-years-old, recently paid a visit to a back specialist and underwent an MRI.  Due to disc issues he was put on bed rest for two weeks. The doctor said he was to scale back on his activity level, and he needed a “lifestyle change.”  Oscar has since been taking CherryFlex for Dogs and is back to his old self (not as much running and jumping though, per doctors orders).

Lola, who is not related to Oscar and is now 3-years-old, is also taking CherryFlex for Dogs in an effort to assist in avoiding future complications.

Since the softgels are beef flavored, they think it’s a great treat, and get quite excited when that bottle shakes.

They both still enjoy the beach, and swimming is actually an encouraged activity. Yes, they think they look good sporting their CherryFlex leashes.

October’s falling temperatures signal the end of the growing season in northern parts of the country.  This bumper crop season for tart cherries, apples and wild blueberries in our fruit-producing region has been a result of near perfect growing conditions.

Fall also signals the harvest of pomegranates in the San Joaquin Valley of California where another plentiful crop is expected.

During October, FruitFast’s featured special is our Wonderful Pomegranate Liquid Fruit Supplement at a 25% savings, only $14.95 per 10 ounce bottle. Each bottle contains 60 teaspoon-sized servings that are 10 calories each and offer 150 mg of Anthocyanins. Made from a combination of our Wonderful Pomegranate Juice Concentrate and our Wonderful Pomegranate Fruit Paste, it mixes into your favorite beverage, yogurt or smoothie. Many of our customers take a teaspoon straight from the bottle or add this healthy liquid to recipes.

Just as delicious and versatile are FruitFast’s CherryFlex and Mixed Berry Liquid Fruit Supplements, an innovative way to pass along the health benefits of these dark-skinned fruits to keep your family in peak condition this winter.

Special pricing continues of $15.95 for our Cranberry Softgels, and we want to remind you of our new, lower prices for most of our fruit juice concentrates.
Like tart cherry juice and wild blueberry concentrates, FruitFast is passing savings on to customers this month as a result of these plentiful fruit harvests.

Wait no longer!  Contact us today and enjoy the harvest.