Why Our Founder and CEO, Josh, Created Vitaforce

“There he was…my All-American college star dad…completely unresponsive”

My family were no strangers to health problems.  My brother Steve, is autistic.  My mom (who is my rock) is a type 2 diabetic…and had a digestive autoimmune disease. My dad (my hero) is a type 1 diabetic.

And me?  I was the lucky one (alongside my middle brother).  My only “illness” was my fascination with my hobbies, whether they be animals…or baseball cards…or culinary herbs (yes, herbs).  I devoured every detail – and in those phases I could talk for hours (to anyone that’d listen)…

When I was 12, I awoke in the middle of the night to hear my mom in a panic.  My dad.  My larger than life hero.  My All-American college tennis star father.  Was unresponsive.  Mom was terrified and yelling at me to call an ambulance.  Somehow…terrified…I leapt into action.

I can’t even remember how much time passed…but thankfully the paramedics arrived. Shooting my dad full of glucose and staying with him until he came to.

For weeks afterward, I’d wake up in the middle of the night fearing the worst.  Creeping out of bed and into my parents room – just so I could check and make sure my dad was ok.

As trustworthy as the latest fad diet

My family always had caring and wonderful doctors.  As I got older, I’d continue to be around for my family.  And pastered each doctor about whether there was anything that could be done to prevent these issues (rather than continue with drugs). 

When I was 24 (or maybe 25), there was one primary care physician…who would often smile and slowly nod.  “I believe there is some good info out there, it’s just not really our field”.  He’d watch out for ground breaking studies, and pass them on to me.  He just didn’t have the time to get into the weeds on the detail.

I did…but I quickly realized why most people don’t try and figure this out on their own.  The amount of research was vast.  Experts in the field rarely agreed.  And worse – a lot of the studies were sponsored by commercial brands.  So were about as trustworthy as the latest diet fad promising 10lb off in 3 days.

To even begin – would take months. And to get through it all…and to make sense of it…would be measured in years.

Other commitments in terms of beginning your professional career…which took the focus.

Until one afternoon, I received a call from your mom…who almost never called me at work, so I knew something was up.

My mom had been in the hospital and had got her blood tests back.  Not only did she learn she was a type 2 diabetic. But she’d also found out she had an autoimmune condition.  With a slight waver in her voice…I think this was the first time I’d ever seen my mother feeling genuinely scared.

…the medical field had focused on reactive practices.  And it wasn’t getting any better for my family.  It was getting worse…

I was young…I’d spent hours studying through college, graduate school and into my professional career…And I didn’t yet have kids (yet)…

…So I thought back to that one physician and his suggestions of various studies, and I began to read.

Late. Late. Into the evenings.  Some days, barely managing to keep my eyes open at work…dragging myself through the day.

But it was worth it for moments like these: could a piece of broccoli be more powerful than medicine?

Early on, I came across Dr. Dean Ornish’s study published in the Journal “The Lancet”.

Until Dr. Ornish published his study, the scientific consensus was that heart disease had to be managed through the use of medications. It would always get worse.  The key was to focus on slowing it down.

Dr. Ornish looked at the long term impact of a plant based diet vs. a control group of people eating a traditional American diet. 

He found that the right diet could prevent the progression of heart disease…more than that..the right diet could REVERSE heart disease.  (insert footnote)

After nearly 3 years of research, virtually infinite individual pieces of information…one piece of information was consistently true across all the studies.

Getting your nutrients from real food, from vegetables, fruits and other whole foods, lead to far better health outcomes. 

And there wasn’t a single nutritional supplement that provided all the nutrients needed each day from whole foods

I wanted to give my family an easy to use nutritional supplement.  It was more than ensuring they got the 20 to 30 essential vitamins and minerals.  I needed to make sure the variety and quantities of each nutrient was in line with the science.

At first, I started making homemade batches for my family using other company’s whole food ingredients.  But I quickly learned that those ingredients were often loaded with heavy metals (because of their source). (add footnote)

So, I started searching on my own…

2 years later…and the result is one of my proudest achievements.  Vitaforce.

Perfecting the formula for Vitaforce took years.  I spared no expense.  How could I put a price on my family’s health?  I just had to make Vitaforce the best nutritional supplement in existence.

With Vitaforce, a well designed exercise routine, an improved diet (all the while being monitored by those same great doctors)…my dad lost 20lbs and coached and taught my own three boys to play tennis.

My mom was able to reverse course with her type 2 diabetic medications.  And my brother Steve?  Now he only wears the helmet when he’s on a bike…he still struggles sometimes.  But he’s got much better control of himself.

I made Vitaforce for my family.  And I’m excited to share it with yours.