A couple months ago I visited the Omaha’s Health, Wellness, and Fitness Expo and while there I picked up a can of “Sugar-Free Verve!” to try. This product says that it is “the insanely healthy energy drink” and also says it is “a radically different sugar free dietary supplement,” so you know it’s gotta be great, right? I mean, just check out how rad the can is:
Tubular, duuuude! Ahem, anyway… this drink is made by a company called “Vemma” and according to their website, they really care about you:
Making a positive difference starts with people helping people.
This is our mission. Founded by BK Boreyko and his family, Vemma’s parent company, New Vision®, is a revolutionary leader in health and wellness. With over $1 billion in total retail sales, this company helped pioneer liquid nutrition over 13 years ago by introducing the #1 selling liquid mineral supplement in North America.
Investing all the lessons learned over the last twelve years in product research and business concepts, Vemma® is primed to make the same intense impact.
After thirteen years and over a billion in sales, our mission isn’t over, it’s just beginning.
We want to enrich the quality of your life.
Super… let’s give it the old college try! Upon opening the can you’re treated to a sight of an opaque orange liquid that resembles fruit juice. Taking a look at the ingredients, we can assume it’s Mangosteen Juice mixed with various minerals and other fun stuff (Aloe Vera gel… sweetness!). Well, I won’t keep you in suspense, it tasted horendous. Just really, really bad. It was very sweet, almost too sweet, with a hint of fruit (btw, Mangosteen is an interesting taste, I much prefer it mixed with another fruit juice). I couldn’t take more than one sip, so for me, I won’t be buying this again.
Now, this is the fun part of the review… when looking at the can, some interesting ingredients caught my eye. Thallium? Thorium? Why are these listed as ingredients, and further more, why are they listed as part of the “Proprietary Plant-Sourced Mineral Blend,” anyway?
Well, for starters, let’s take a look at what’s in here:
Beta carotene, Ascorbic acid, Cholecalciferol, d-alpha tocopheryl acetate, thiamine hydrochloride, riboflavin, niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, cyanocobalamin, d-Biotin, calcium d-pantothenate, selenium, Taurine, Caffeine, D-Ribose, Inositol, Choline Chloride, Guarana, Mangosteen, Aloe Vera, Green Tea, Carbon, Calcium, Sodium, Sulfur, Magnesium, Chloride, Bromide, Fluoride, Iodine, Potassium, Niobium, Aluminum, Iron, Phosphorus, Silica, Manganese, Boron, Strontium, Titanium, Tungsten, Copper, Zinc, Tin, Zirconium, Molybdenum, Vanadium, Chromium, Selenium, Nickel, Cobalt, Lithium, Gallium, Barium, Yttrium, Neodymium, Hafnium, Cadmium, Thorium, Antimony, Cerium, Tellurium, Beryllium, Samarium, Dysprosium, Erbium, Bismuth, Gadolinium, Cesium, Lanthanum, Praseodymium, Europium, Lutetium, Terbium, Ytterbium, Holmium, Thallium, Thulium, Tantalum, Germanium, Gold, Platinum, Rhodium, Rubidium, Ruthenium, Scandium, Silver, Indium, Water, natural flavors, citric acid, potassium sorbate, xanthan gum, sucralose and malic acid.
Yum! Let’s take a closer look at some of this stuff (I just picked a few… feel free to check out others):
Thorium: A chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. As a naturally occurring, slightly radioactive metal, it has been considered as an alternative nuclear fuel to uranium.
Thallium: A chemical element with the symbol Tl and atomic number 81. Thallium is highly toxic and is used in rat poisons and insecticides, and its use has been cut back or eliminated in many countries. It is used in murders and has the nicknames “The Poisoner’s Poison” and “Inheritance powder.”
Lithium: A chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. Trace amounts of lithium are present in the oceans and in some organisms, though the element serves no apparent biological function in humans. Nevertheless, the neurological effect of the lithium ion Li+ makes some lithium salts useful as a class of mood stabilizing drugs.
Gallium: A chemical element that has the symbol Ga and atomic number 31. Gallium has no known biological role.
Yttrium: A chemical element that has the symbol Y and atomic number 39. Yttrium has no known biological role, though it tends to concentrate in the liver and bones. Yttrium compounds which are soluble in water are considered toxic, while insoluble compounds are non-toxic.
Halfnium: A chemical element that has the symbol Hf and atomic number 72. Compounds that contain this metal are rarely encountered by most people. The pure metal is not considered toxic, but hafnium compounds should be handled as if they are toxic because the ionic forms of metals are normally at greatest risk for toxicity, and limited animal testing has been done for hafnium compounds.
Antimony: A chemical element with the symbol Sb and atomic number 51. Antimony and many of its compounds are toxic. Clinically, antimony poisoning is very similar to arsenic poisoning. In small doses, antimony causes headache, dizziness, and depression. Larger doses cause violent and frequent vomiting, and will lead to death in a few days.
Sounds tasty… good thing they have a warning on the can:
Recommended 1-3 Verve a day and don’t drink it if you’re pregnant, have a medical condition or get an allergic reaction. Keep Verve in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.
Have a medical condition? Such as? That’s pretty vague… I guess it helps them in the long run. For fun I decided to color in all the elements listed on the can (including ones that are in there based on other ingredients, for example, Hydrogen and Oxygen because it contains water):
Nice, huh? Of the 114 elements listed, this drink contains 69, or just over 60%. That’s truly amazing… and that’s not to say other foods/drinks don’t have a lot of elements in them, but this is the most I’ve ever seen listed on an item.
Now, I’m not a doctor or a scientist, but just glancing at this makes me pretty certain neither is the creator of this drink. So, in conclusion, if you’ve ever had a hankering to eat a wedding band (Gold, Silver, Titanium, Tungsten, Platinum… doesn’t matter, it’s in here!) or were wanting to consume almost 70 elements in one shot, this drink is for you. Otherwise, I’d steer clear.
Julieanne van Zyl : 25 July 2008 at 9:28 pm
Hi Jason, I just wondered if you’ve done any research on what minerals your body requires? Your body needs all those minerals for different functions in your blood cells to happen. A lot of diseases occur simply because of the lack of certain minerals in the body. It would be helpful if you did some more research for people. Thanks. Julieanne
Jason : 26 July 2008 at 9:56 am
Julieanne… thanks for the comment. While I didn’t research all of them, I’m pretty sure your body doesn’t need Gallium, Lithium and Yttrium (as it states, they have no biological role) and I am pretty sure your body would be better off without Thallium and Thorium (a poison and a radioactive element). While your body may need some of the stuff in that can, it sure doesn’t need all of it.
John : 30 July 2008 at 6:35 am
Hi Jason, the minerals in the Verve and Vemma Essential Minerals are derived from natural plant vegetation. Plants by nature, are made up of minerals because they grow in mineral rich soil. They are not chemicals or heavy metals and they exist in Vemma/Verve in a level that is typical of plant life. In other words, they are in trace amounts. You can also refer to http://www.nutritionhealthinfo.com/ for more information about the ingredients in Vemma / Verve including trace minerals.
Vemma / Verve products are physician formulated and appropriate for human consumption. Based on the resources that Dr. Wang, an M.D and a PhD, devoted in developing the product and Vemma’s own research, they stand behind their product formula.
Jason : 30 July 2008 at 8:29 am
John… I checked out the website mentioned, and when I search for minerals like Zinc, I get results. When searching for elements like Thorium, Thallium, Antimony, Hafnium, and others, I get none. Also, to correct you slightly… you said these aren’t chemicals or heavy metals… that is false. According to this government document:
http://www.ead.anl.gov/pub/doc/thorium.pdf
Also, the term “chemical” refers to any material with a definite chemical composition. Since a chemical substance can either be a pure chemical element or a pure chemical compound, and the product lists many elements and compounds, you can’t say that Verve contains no chemicals. You can say it contains no man made chemicals, but that is false as well (sucralose is not found in nature). Feel free to correct me if you feel I’m wrong.
Now then, I agree that most of these elements are probably trace amounts, but if it is typical and in everything, why does Verve feel the need to list it on the can? Does that mean it’s been added? Does it mean it’s slightly more than normal? If not, then why list it as an ingredient?
Michelle : 19 November 2008 at 12:00 am
Jason,
Thanks for your insightful and hilarious review. I just brought home some Verve! and Vemma this evening and my engineer of a husband totally burst my bubble by reading each and every ingredient on the can, then he googled reviews and found yours. I’m concerned too about the listing of these minerals, I mean, I can’t imagine ever needing to take anything radioactive and if it is only the trace amounts found in the plants they grind up (from the rainforest no doubt) then WHY did they list them? It makes no sense. My husband was also concerned about the manufacturing process. Hmmm. I did try the Verve! (regular version) and really liked it, but that’s probably because of the sugar. Thanks again for your review, it gives me impetus to do further investigation into this particular source of vitamins and minerals. (Maybe I’ll just stick with my Lucky Charms and its 8 essential vitamins and minerals!)