Comparison to BluePrint Cleanse — R’s KOSO Cleanse

10 Aug, 2020

Comparison to BluePrint

Both BluePrint and KOSO are drinks that help promote health, wellbeing and contain enzymes as well as various sources of fruits and vegetables. They are both, therefore, a source of fruit and vegetable nutrients, antioxidants such as polyphenols and prebiotics. However, there are significant and meaningful differences between the two products. This is a fact-based comparison comparing the ingredients and therapeutic use for these products.

Probiotic Sources

BluePrint is not fermented, and therefore does not provide any source of probiotics. By contrast, R’s KOSO undergoes a 1-year fermentation with beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactococcus lactis. Prebiotics such as galacto oligosaccharides and dietary fiber are added alongside the fruits and vegetables to serve as prebiotics (food for the probiotics). The health benefits of probiotics are immense, as there is mounting research that probiotics promote a healthy gut and can improve and strengthen digestion, absorption, mood, cognitive health, the immune system and more.

R’s KOSO is an excellent source of probiotics which promote overall health and wellbeing.

Fruit and Vegetable Sources

BluePrint blends contain a variety of organic and fresh fruits and vegetables blended into a juice. Each product has a different blend. For example, their “Kale It Up” tonic contains 9 sources of fruits/vegetables: romaine, apple, celery, cucumber, kale, lemon, spinach, parsley, ginger while their “Apple Ginger Go” contains 4 ingredients: apple, lemon, ginger, cayenne. By contrast, R’s KOSO provides over 100 organic fruits, vegetables, seaweeds and mushrooms in each sip. The full list of shown below:

Fruits, Vegetables, Mushrooms and Seaweed Ingredient in R’S KOSO

Leafy vegetables mix (cabbage, napa cabbage, lettuce, asparagus, broccoli, canola flower, celery, cauliflower, japanese mustard spinach, spinach, bok choy, taro stem, crown daisy, chisha lettuce, parsley, sprouts, perilla), Fruit vegetables mix (cucumber, wax gourd, tomato, eggplant, squash, bitter gourd, watermelon, corn, okra, bell pepper), Root vegetables mix (daikon, turnip, ginger, udo, yamato yam, nagaimo, potato, yam, japanese yam, sweet potato, carrot, lotus root, taro, burdock, lily bulb), Fruits mix (apple, quince, loquat, japanese plum, strawberry, chocolate vine, kumquat, apricot, sudachi, fig, mandarin orange, iyokan, kiwifruit, persimmon, peach, cherry, melon, grape, plum, pear), Brown sugar, Crude sugar, Malt sugar, Galacto-Oligosaccharide, Beet sugar, Starch, Japanese plum extract, Beans mix (kidney bean, snow peas, fava beans, soybeans, black soybeans, red beans), Mushrooms mix (shiitake, shimeji, eryngii, wood ear, maitake, crimini, enokitake), Cereals mix (black rice, brown rice, barley, naked wheat, red rice), Seaweeds mix (kelp, wakame, sea lettuce, hijiki, nori, mozuku, tengusa), Herbs mix (plantago, dandelion, kumazasa, clover, aucuba, chickweed, saxifraga stolonifera, agrimonia pilosa, achyranthes bidentate, horsetail, japanese knotweed, water dropwort, mugwort, persimmon leaf, pine needles, cedar leaf, hiba, goji leaf, mulberry leaf), Koji, Yeast, Lactic acid bacteria.

R’s KOSO is, therefore, a more comprehensive source of nutrients from a wider range of fruits and vegetable categories, many of which are used in traditional Chinese medicine and western herbal medicine.

Macronutrient Content

Macronutrients are nutrients that yield energy, measured in the Calories. The 3 essential macronutrients are carbohydrates (in the form of complex starches, simple sugars), protein and fats. Research studies have generally suggested that carbohydrate intake should be in the form of whole foods and as complex starches, rather than simple sugars. BluePrint drinks are made from organic and fresh fruits and vegetables. However, when analyzing the nutrient content of each bottle, one will notice that the calories are largely from carbohydrates, in the form of simple sugars. This is true for all the juices, though the amount of dietary fibre, sugars, protein and fat vary by the bottle. For example, 1 bottle of Kale It Up contains 110 Calories: 16g sugars, 3g of protein, 1g fat, 6g dietary fibre. Based on this information, one can calculate that 62% (16g/26g) of the energy comes from simple sugars. Depending on the ingredients, some drinks have higher calorie sugar content and lower fibre content, such as “Apple Ginger Go” which has 220 calories per 473ml bottle with 48g sugars (naturally occurring from the fruit), 1g dietary fibre, 1g fat and less than 1g protein. Eating whole fruits is healthy; however, when we juice it we often eliminate much of the healthy fibre. In the process of juicing whole foods, one loses valuable nutrients and fibre. Thus, the juices become disproportionately high in simple sugars and low in fibre. Each serving of R’s KOSO is 77 Calories and consists of 18g of sugar. However, the 18g includes various forms of sugar, such as galactooligosaccharides which are prebiotics that get broken down by bacteria for food. Furthermore, the sugar content decreases with time, as the probiotics continue to ferment sugars and produce/release nutrients.

R’s KOSO is, therefore, a more comprehensive source of nutrients from a wider range of fruits and vegetable categories, as well as prebiotics.

Acetic Acid

Acetic acid is commonly known as vinegar and may confer some health benefits. Studies have found that acetic acid helps to lower blood sugar spikes after the consumption of carbohydrates. Furthermore, it helps to increase “short-term satiety”. Many have heard of the benefits of consuming apple cider vinegar, with anecdotal claims of how it has helped improve one’s health. When consuming apple cider vinegar directly, one has to be mindful that because it is an acid, it can erode our teeth enamel, leaving us susceptible to dental caries, gingivitis and other dental diseases.

Blueprint has a variety of juice/smooth options, some of which contain acetic acid. For example, they have a line of “Daily Apple Cider Vinegar Tonics” which come in ginger, blueberry, blueberry hibiscus flavours. These tonics tend to be lower in calories, but less nutritious than their green smoothie options. For example, the “Turmeric Tonic” contains: Water, organic apple juice, organic apple cider vinegar, organic lemon juice, organic turmeric, organic cinnamon extract, organic pepper extract.

A major advantage of R’s KOSO is that you don’t have to choose between a nutrient-rich blend and an acidic tonifying blend. Each spoonful contains a comprehensive variety of fruits, vegetables as well as acetic acid. The acetic acid in this formation is produced naturally through the fermentation process, so the milder acidity level is buffered by alkalizing fruits and vegetables.

	R’s KOSO	Blue Print
General Description	Consists of over 100 different fruits, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms and seaweed in each spoon. It has a pleasant and consistent taste.	Consists of different types of juice. Each smoothie blend contains a different variety of fruits and vegetables. It can be fun to taste the different types of flavours.
Use for Cleansing	R’s KOSO can be used in tandem with or in substitution of food during cleanses such as intermittent fasting. It is concentrated so you dilute with water, sparkling water	Blue Print smoothies are consumed during juice cleanse.
Benefits	It is not only used for weight loss, but also for enhancing gut health, strengthening the immune system, improving the digestive system, and balancing hormones. It is a holistic approach to better health!	It is primarily used for weight loss.
Nutrition value	The nutrition value and benefits are consistent and therapeutic.	The nutrition value and benefits can vary depending on which smoothie blend you consume.
Source of prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics	Each spoonful is also a source of probiotics, prebiotics, acetic acid and more!	Depending on the smoothie you get, you may get varying levels of prebiotics. Some do not contain acetic acid. It does not contain any probiotics.
Price and cost for shipping	$99 to do 3-day cleanse	$175 or 205 to do 3-day cleanse
Shipping cost	Free shipping in US	$40.2 in California