multi level marketing products

[Guest guest]

Hi all, I read this and thought it was a good article and would pass

it on.

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Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) Products,

Coral Calcium, and Random Self-Supplementation

Years ago, icons such as " Avon " or " Tupperware " started the trend for

convenient home-based sales

among neighbors and friends. " Health-promoting " products quickly

followed, supported by colorful

brochures and pamphlets, promising relief and cures from all sorts of

medical complaints that could

not be resolved by various regular medical practitioners, but were

now available in a bottle at a hefty

multi-level-marketing price - except, the original housewife is now

joined by full-time employees and

even " medical professionals " to become part of a billion-dollar MLM

pie, targeting anyone receptive

to " improving their health " with an aggressive sales pitch.

I regularly get calls from patients whose neighbors or friends are

selling Amway, Barley Green, Blue-

Green Algae, Calorad, Herbalife, Intra, Mannatech, Microhydrin,

Metabolife, Matol / KM, Omnitrition,

NuSkin, and all kinds of other MLM products, and they want to know

whether there is any truth to their

health claims. At the same time some patients are selling some of

these products themselves already,

and they approach me to promote these products among other patients,

promising a cut of the profit.

I have made it a point to actually read the promotional literature or

watch their videos, and many times

I even try out the products to see whether any of these MLM companies

have actually come up with a

breakthrough product that could benefit some of my own patients, and

so I run an Acu-Cell Analysis

before and after these " health products " are consumed. In other

words - I am trying to be open-minded

in the event that such a product has indeed been developed, and in

which case I would have no problem

recommending MLM products myself. Unfortunately, I have not come

across such a product to date.

The reasons are very simple:

• If a product is powerful enough to create a positive / beneficial

effect, it is powerful enough to create

a negative / harmful effect. Sellers, unless they are medical

practitioners, do not have the resources

to distinguish between the two, or predict the outcome in a

client. Even many doctors fall into that

category because of their lack of expertise in dealing with, and

evaluating nutritional strategies.

• When drugs are used, the amount and potency per dose (pills,

injections) are - with rare exceptions

precise and replicable. Herbal potencies often vary with the part

of the herb used, the season it is

harvested, and the brand, or manufacturing process. Analyzing

different herbal product brands yield

frequently different medicinal effects.

• There are people with Hyper and Hypo conditions. In other words,

some people suffer from high

blood pressure, high blood sugar, or high stomach acid..., while

other people suffer from low blood

pressure, low blood sugar, or low stomach acid..., etc. How would

a seller (or the MLM product) know

what to do without an examination, and/or without any resources to

monitor the progress?

• When dealing with a single ingredient or chemical (vitamin,

mineral, or other nutrient..., drug...etc.),

it can be matched to a patient following a nutritional analysis.

On the other hand, it is impossible to

match multi-ingredient MLM or store-bought formulations to a

patient's chemical profile since there

are just too many variables.

• Most single herbs have already more than one active ingredient.

Pretty well all " botanical blends "

or herbal " tonics " sold contain several herbs -- with consumers

ending up with literally dozens of

different medicinal actions - all in the same product. These

products are supposed to help all people

with all their various medical backgrounds! I like comparing that

to walking into a drugstore, and

asking the druggist to give me " One of Everything! "

Most MLM, or health food store sales clerks of course do not

appreciate the possibility that their

products may not work, or that they could trigger health problems. A

standard reply typically consists

of referring to all their clients, " whose lives have been changed " on

account of these products, and who

now have " incredible energy, " or " who have lost all that weight... "

Well, I have seen, and treated some of these people. Yes, they may

have had an increase in energy

the first few weeks, or even months, or they may have lost some

weight as well - before all of a sudden

ending up with serious genitourinary or renal problems, gastro-

intestinal disorders, or impaired liver

functions!

Trying out some products can be a real eye opener. In one instance,

after trying a particular " green

powder " - compliments of a patient (and where I deliberately did not

look at the ingredients to not sway

my judgment) - within days my originally perfect VLDL triglycerides

headed for the sky. No wonder it

tasted so sweet, and had an energy effect similar to a candy bar...

it was the added maltodextrin!

Another " anti-aging " product (compliments of another patient) made

reference to " negative hydrogen

ions " it contained, like " the water of some native people in

Pakistan, who, drinking that water, live to

over 100 years of age... and don't get cancer...! " It was supposedly

also be thousands of times more

effective than other known antioxidants... and it was supposed to

cure a list of medical problems a

mile long. With that particular product however, the scientific camp

was somewhat divided, with some

" experts " calling it total nonsense, while other " experts " related

anecdotal success stories involving

several " scientific " people themselves.

Measuring the chemistry of patients before and after using that

product showed a significant increase

in cellular sodium (perhaps due to the sodium-raising effect of its

active ingredient, silica xerogel [?],

or silica hydride / hydrated silica [?]), which, for the right type

of person, could actually increase athletic

endurance, but it would be bad news for people with renal

complications. Of course, Choline Bitartrate,

a commonly available B-vitamin, causes the same effect of raising

cellular sodium, at pennies a pill.

Even single herbs should be used with caution, or best left to the

experts to match them to someone's

chemistry. For instance, kelp, in addition to containing appreciable

amounts of iodine and bromine,

raises potassium and sodium, while alfalfa also raises potassium, but

lowers sodium. Ginseng raises

potassium and lowers manganese, which may be ok for some diabetics,

but could cause problems

for low blood sugar or low blood pressure types. Most people are

aware now that licorice, by raising

sodium and depleting potassium, could be bad news for patients who

retain too much sodium, or suffer

from kidney-related disorders. Milk thistle, if used by the wrong

patient, could induce iron-deficiency

anemia, devil's claw taken over time could worsen hepatitis,

cirrhosis, or migraines, while Kava Kava

could cause congestive liver disease.

Coral Calcium has enjoyed a most aggressive advertising campaign

through television infomercials,

books, interviews, and thousands of Web sites promoting the product.

While different forms of calcium

may be preferable for people with specific complaints such as high or

low stomach acid or constipation,

the absorption of various types of calcium still falls within a

reasonably narrow range when taken with

food and at limited amounts throughout the day. (see also Acu-Cell

Nutrition " Calcium & Magnesium " ).

There are no miraculous healing effects taking place as a result of

taking a specific type of calcium,

which includes " coral " calcium. People should not expect to be cured

of any number of degenerative

medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood

pressure, cancer, multiple sclerosis,

lupus, and others, by supplementing coral calcium as claimed by many

of the promoters of the product,

neither should they expect to increase their live expectancy to that

of the Okinawans who have one of

the world's highest concentrations of centenarians. This - according

to more misleading claims - is

supposedly attributable to the consumption of coral calcium in their

diets.

Coral calcium is sold in a variety of formulations, some of which

contain added vitamins and minerals.

Of course this creates the same dilemma which all other multi-mineral

products have in common in that

the health effects on the consumer are unpredictabe. This is

confirmed when monitoring the cellular

status of patients who have started to take coral calcium as a result

of falling victim to its advertising

hype.

While the chemical profiles of a smaller percentage of patients

remained largely unaffected, cellular

calcium levels in the great majority of patients tested either

increased or decreased to unacceptable

levels, making coral calcium products worthless as predictable

supplements to help normalize

someone's calcium levels.

In addition, these patients also presented with a decrease in stomach

acid levels and subsequent

gastrointestinal symptoms in many cases (among other complaints),

which they had not experienced

while taking other calcium supplements prior to switching to coral

calcium. It is unclear whether all, or

only specific coral calcium formulation are responsible for this

effect, however from the mostly negative

clinical experience encountered with coral calcium so far, and the

time and effort it takes to restore a

patient's nutritional profile back to normal, the supplementation of

coral calcium is not recommended. ¤

______________________________________________________________________

_______

Copyright © 2000-2003 Roth

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

I enjoyed reading the article on MLM products. For the most part I agree

with much of the article about the random use of medicinal herbs because they

can

have harmful side effects. However, after suffering with chronic third stage

Lyme, along with my husband, my son and daughter for years, and having gone

through numerous intravenous treatments and hospital stays, as well as a myriad

of oral antibiotics, along came a dear friend who introduced me to a MLM

company who had her convinced that the answer to all of my health problems had

arrived. Just like many others, I was extremely skeptical and it took me a long

time to even try one of her sample packets. At that time we were in our fifth

year with neurological Lyme, my daughter then 12 years old was in a hospital

bed in my family room on a 24 hour i.v. pump of ampercillin, for three months

at this point, and suffered with CFS as well. She had also gone through being

in a wheel chair, and then after being in therapy for several months, was able

to walk with crutches, graduating to a walker due to severe muscle weakness

in her legs. I slept night after night on the sofa next to her in case of a

vein became occluded or she needed me. Well, after numerous conversations with

my friend, I finally tried making myself an herbal fruit smoothy with her

simple recipe. She told me that these herbs were not medicinal, but food based,

and that they would give us the nutritional support that our bodies needed to

get well. I was amazed that after I had the smoothy, I did feel more alive and

had more energy. I began to give it to my daughter, and after a short time,

noticed that she had better color in her cheeks. I introduced several other

products from this company into our diets, and began to see further

improvements. Before I knew it, she was off the i.v., back to her old self, and

returned

to school. Amazingly enough, my daughter has not been on an antibiotic since

1995 when she came off the i.v., and has replaced her dependency on doctors

with these wonderful herbal foods. I was impressed that Sunrider, the company

that makes these food based herbal foods was not mentioned in the article you

sent us. In fact, since we have regained our health because of Sunrider

Herbal Foods, I have helped many people with Lyme and other health problems

regain

their health as well.

So, I guess there are exceptions to every rule. Sunrider deals with the

whole body and whole foods, and just good powerful concentrated nutrition. It

is

based on the theory of regeneration from ancient China that if the body

receives proper nourishment, it will regenerate. I guess I was just " sick and

tired of being sick and tired " and that it why I took the leap and tried it. I

was tired of fighting with my children's pediatrician, trying to convince him to

retreat them, and tired of telling my children to make sure that they don't

look too happy when they see the doctor so that he will believe that they are

really as sick as they act at home. (How absolutely twisted is that, but I am

sure all of the mom's with kids with Lyme can relate.) I was tired of

fighting with my doctor and going for blood tests to prove that I still had Lyme

and

for brain MRI's that show " insignificant white matter. " I don't know where I

would be today, or where my children and my husband would be today if I

hadn't taken the " bull by the horns " and tried Sunrider. Believe it or not, I

am

happy that it is a MLM because it gives me the incentive to reach out and help

others suffering as we did, instead of keeping my success selfishly for

myself. Sunrider is set up this way so that people help people and by doing so,

it

is possible to consume this wonderful food at no cost, or to at least get

money back from Sunrider to help pay for it, unlike a healthfood store or

pharmacy. It's as simple as seeing a good movie. If you like it, you tell your

friends to go see it.

So I do see Sunrider as one of a kind. It's been around for over 20 years

and is in over 36 countries, so I guess I am not the only crazy person

passionate about these wonderful herbal foods. If anyone wants more info,

please

feel free to contact me.

Rauch

Herbal Food Advisor

Sunrider Int'l

my home # is (732) 946-2216

Sunrider's website is www.sunrider.com

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

No, Sunriderfarms is not connected to the best of my knowledge w/ Sunrider

International, unless this is a private Sunrider distributor who set up her own

website.

Sunrider International's website is www.sunrider.com.

Rauch

[Guest guest]

, is Sunrider associated with the supplements sold by

Sunriderfarms.com? The web site is no longer active, due to problems with

the FDA. Because their web site is no longer active, I can't get any

information about them. I'm assuming that it's coincidence, but I thought

I'd ask you, since you're connected with Sunrider.

lindaj@...