Thursday, December 13, 2007

Reliv Skin Products - Not So Good For Your Skin

It was really interesting when this article came in this morning. I have never thought a whole lot about the Reliv Skin Products until now. Dr. Mercola posted a list of some of the comon ingrediants in Skin Products and their side effects. Sadly Reliv uses some of these items in their products.

I checked only one of the Reliv Skin Products, Total Body Renewal Lotion, and here is a list of ingrediants directly from the Reliv Website. Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Ammonium Stearate, Stearic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Polyhydroxyethyl-methacrylate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Steareth-20, Disodium EDTA, Lanolin, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Fragrance (Parfum).

IF you use any of the other Reliv Skin products I would suggest that you check into what you are putting onto your skin. At the end of this article I will post the link to Dr Mercola's website so that you can read the full article as he has some wonderful suggestions for natural alteritives to these poisions Reliv is putting into their products.

DANGER - What in the World are you putting on your skin?

Ever wonder why so many skin care products you buy — even at the health food store — have ingredients on their labels that you can’t even read or pronounce?

In my view, if you can’t read or pronounce the ingredient, there is a high likelihood it should not be in your lotion or other skin care product.

Obviously, you really want to avoid using anything potentially toxic on your skin!

Because this is such a common problem, I’ve been searching for a product that you could be confident was made of real, recognizable, natural and organic ingredients. So you could enhance your health from the ‘outside in’, as well as the ‘inside out’.

Quality skin care is not a replacement for good internal health — it is a part of your entire package of wellbeing.

One of the first strategies you can use to improve your skin health is to make sure you are getting enough high quality omega-3 fats. This is such a reliable indicator that I frequently am able to tell someone’s omega-3 needs just by shaking their hand.

If their hand is not smooth as a baby’s behind, it’s usually a strong indication that they need some more high quality animal-based omega-3 fats — like krill oil.

So if you struggle with dry skin, make sure you are taking enough of these omega-3 fats. In the colder dry winter months, you may even need to increase your dose.

Your skin grows from the inside out, so your overall nutritional levels really matter. That said however, caring for your skin is not just an inside job — it’s an outside job too.
The 'Outside' Job of Skin Care

Your skin is much more than an outer surface for the world to see — it’s the largest organ of your body!

Plus, it has a number of amazing responsibilities that you probably don’t think about on a daily basis:Protects your internal organs from injury and infection.Helps detoxify wastes through perspiration.Provides an important line of immune defense against infections — your healthy skin creates a barrier to viruses and bacteria.Protects you against extreme changes in temperature, through its thermoregulatory effect of controlling heat flow between you and your environment. Produces and stores vitamin D, which is important to your immune system.Rich in receptors, it allows you to sense conditions around you — like hard/soft and hot/cold — and send information to your brain so you can react to it for self-preservation. Protects your body from sunburns.Protects you from dehydration.

The loss of any of these functions will compromise your best health — and can accelerate signs of normal aging.

Put simply, your skin plays a major role in your health.

It functions as an organ that can absorb and excrete both nutrients and toxins through its pores. The condition of your skin is a powerful reflection of just how healthy you are on the inside.

Because your skin has the ability to absorb whatever you put on it, careful choices are critical. You want to give your skin the same thoughtful care you give your internal organs. In a moment, I’ll tell you about some things that help support the health of your skin.

But first, let’s take a quick look at some of the ingredients in today’s skin care products that can compromise the health of your skin (or even more of your body functions).

What if Looks Really Could Kill?

We believe containers when they show a “danger” warning, or a “skull and crossbones” to warn of toxins in a product. And we respond by not applying them to our skin or eating them!

Yet many skin care products use ingredients with unrecognizable and unpronounceable names.
Personally, I rarely put anything consciously on my skin that I wouldn’t be willing to put in my mouth.

It is well-proven that when you apply these chemicals to your skin, they enter your bloodstream and become integrated into your body tissues, In fact, it is probably safer to eat these ingredients than to rub them on your skin (although I strongly recommend you don’t do either!).

However, if you do happen to eat these chemicals, your digestive system can produce specific enzymes to break down these toxins and excrete them… something that doesn’t readily occur when you absorb them through the skin.

Potentially harmful ingredients continue to be used. Why? Because they are cheap, readily available, and easily diluted.

Does Your Skin Care Product Contain These Chemicals?

Why don’t you run and get a bottle of any of the skin moisturizers that you are currently using. You might find that your personal care products contain one or probably more of many possibly dangerous ingredients.

Here are a few of the most common suspicious ingredients:

Mineral Oil, Paraffin, and Petrolatum – Petroleum products that coat the skin like plastic, clogging pores and creating a build-up of toxins, which in turn accumulate and can lead to dermatologic issues. Slows cellular development, which can cause you to show earlier signs of aging. Suspected cause of cancer. Disruptive of hormonal activity. By the way, when there’s an oil spill in the ocean, don’t they rush to clean it up – fast? Why put that stuff on your skin?

Parabens – Widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic industry (including moisturizers). An estimated 13,200 cosmetic and skin care products contain parabens. Studies implicate their connection with cancer. They have hormone-disrupting qualities – mimicking estrogen – and interfere with the body’s endocrine system.

Phenol carbolic acid– Found in many lotions and skin creams. Can cause circulatory collapse, paralysis, convulsions, coma and even death from respiratory failure.

Propylene glycol – Used as a moisturizer in cosmetics and as a carrier in fragrance oils. Shown to cause dermatitis, kidney or liver abnormalities, and may inhibit skin cell growth or cause skin irritation.

Acrylamide– Found in many hand and face creams. Linked to mammary tumors in lab research.

Sodium laurel or lauryl sulfate (SLS), also known as sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)– Found in car washes, engine degreasers, garage floor cleaners… and in over 90% of personal care products! SLS breaks down the skin’s moisture barrier, easily penetrates the skin, and allows other chemicals to easily penetrate. Combined with other chemicals, SLS becomes a “nitrosamine”, a potent class of carcinogen. It can also cause hair loss. SLES is sometimes disguised with the labeling “comes from coconut” or “coconut-derived”.

Toluene – Poison! Danger! Harmful or fatal if swallowed! Harmful if inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Made from petroleum or coal tar, and found in most synthetic fragrances. Chronic exposure linked to anemia, lowered blood cell count, liver or kidney damage, and may affect a developing fetus. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) contains toluene. Other names may include benzoic and benzyl.

Dioxane– Found in compounds known as PEG, Polysorbates, Laureth, ethoxylated alcohols. Common in a wide range of personal care products. The compounds are usually contaminated with high concentrations of highly volatile 1,4-dioxane, easily absorbed through the skin.

Dioxane’s carcinogenicity was first reported in 1965 and later confirmed in studies including one from the National Cancer Institute in 1978. Nasal passages and liver are the most vulnerable. Dioxane is easily removed during the manufacturing process by “vacuum stripping”. Warning: It is a synthetic derivative of coconut. Watch for hidden language on labels, such as “comes from coconut”.

So, do you want to put these chemicals on your skin? Hopefully not...

You’d be better served by switching to skin care products made of plant names you recognize, can pronounce, and could even eat (if you had to).

http://products.mercola.com/natural-body-butter/

Sunday, December 9, 2007

WARNING - Your Multivitamin May Not Be What It Claims


If you’re like most people...


If you have a hectic lifestyle and rely at all on processed or fast foods, chances are you don’t get all the healthy nutrients you need from your diet.

Ideally, it would be best for you to receive all your nutrition from high quality unprocessed foods. Unfortunately, I realize it may not be practical or possible for you to do that 100% the time.

So, if you currently supplement your diet by taking a multivitamin every day, good for you. You’re obviously a forward-thinking person who knows that you need the protection and fortification that a good multivitamin provides.

And if you make sure your spouse takes one every day, then you deserve extra kudos for showing how much you care about your loved one.

Multivitamins help promote your optimal health and strong immune system, providing support for defense against a growing number of health concerns.

Taking pro-active steps, including taking a multivitamin to help maintain and boost good health and wellness, is about the best thing you can do for yourself — and your health.

However, there are important issues for you to consider...

Is Your Vitamin Natural or Synthetic?

How do you know if your synthetic multi is as good as its advertising says it is?

Are you gambling with your health by taking “their” word for it? If you are taking a multivitamin, this is something you definitely want to find out.

Please don’t make the mistake of shopping for supplements at discount stores or large chains like Wal-Mart or Walgreen’s. In my opinion, these are classic examples of companies that primarily use cheap synthetic supplements.

Synthetic alternatives to whole foods are known as “isolates”. Your body will only absorb a small percentage of an isolate form of vitamins and minerals — and utilize even less (Your body absorbs much more of the whole food form.) On top of that, there may be side effects, depending on the quality of the isolate.

Don’t sell yourself short! Many retail outlets and online sellers are primarily interested in your money, not your health. Supplements are not their specialty.

You wouldn’t go to your local burger joint for a nice filet mignon, would you? The same attitude should apply to your health products.

Consider these items when choosing a supplement:


* If the ingredients were all natural, it would say so — very prominently — on their label.
* If the product went through vigorous quality control, you can bet that it would be mentioned — many times.
* If there were no additives or major potential allergens in the product, they would definitely tell you all about it.

Additionally, the ingredients many companies use are not only synthetic, but there is a likelihood they may not have been thoroughly tested for purity and potency confirmation — and may have come from overseas.

The manufacturers will often base their claims solely on the word of their suppliers.

The suppliers’ word may be good enough for them, but is it good enough for you and your family?

I don’t think so!

That is why I chose the manufacturer of my product very carefully. It meets the most stringent standards in the industry today, ensuring that the end product is exactly what it says it is!

Finally, a multivitamin to get excited about…

Introducing My New Whole Food Multivitamin

Raw Foods-Based ‘Whole Food Multivitamin’ is as Close to Nature as it Gets!

I’m very pleased to give you a new choice of multivitamin. You’ve trusted me in the past to provide you with supplements that are safe and natural, as well as ‘head and shoulders’ above their synthetic counterparts.

Well, I believe we knocked it out of the park this time.

My team and I have been working for many months to develop the ideal multivitamin — and the best manufacturer to produce it.

Each dose is chock-full of essential vitamins, minerals and ever-important antioxidants*. Everything you expect in a good multivitamin is there, plus everything you’d expect from Mercola.com — all natural, free of ALL major potential allergens, and absolutely FREE of ANY additives*.

Unlike many of those other multivitamins you see being sold everywhere, my Whole Food Multivitamin is made from raw foods. That makes them as close to natural as I could get, meaning that they are more readily absorbed and used by your body*.

Just as important as being raw foods-based is the manufacturer I chose to create my multivitamin. This award winning company is not only ISO 9001 and ISO 17025 certified, it’s also NSF certified. A very high standard indeed!

Is Your Supplement Made by a Company That’s ISO and NSF Certified? You’d Better Find Out!
Do you know just how many things can actually go wrong when a supplement is being made? Any one of them can produce an inferior product.

And it doesn’t take much — an oversight here, a little corner-cutting there, and before you know it, the quality of your supplement is headed downhill.

To prove to you that a product is made using the highest standards available, a manufacturer will voluntarily submit to exhaustive — and costly — auditing of their processes to achieve important certification.

So call, write, visit the website, or whatever it takes to find out whether or not your multivitamin is made at an ISO or NSF certified facility.

Why?

Because you may be wasting your money (or worse) by believing in a product that doesn’t meet the highest standards in the industry.

Don’t take anything for granted when it comes to your health. Every detail is worth your attention…

What If the Raw Materials Used by Your Vitamin Supplier Weren’t Fully Inspected and Certified?

Believe me, you don’t want to get this one wrong.

It is the RARE company that actually has an aggressive quality control process. One that will confirm and INDEPENDENTLY validate that their raw material is identical to what the certificate of analysis from the supplier of the raw materials used to make the supplement claims it to be.

In fact, there may even have been pesticides used on the raw materials that could have slipped by a less-than-thorough check. The supplier’s word may have been good enough, as opposed to a thorough examination being done.

Unfortunately, their word just isn’t good enough for the manufacturer of my multivitamin.

You see, they’ve voluntarily adhered to the Vendor Certification Program (VCP). This ensures the quality of the raw materials used in my product.

So why don’t other manufacturers adhere to this program?

What If Your Vitamin Supplier’s Testing Equipment Isn’t Up-To-Date?

Another way for manufacturers to “cut corners” is by not bothering to keep important testing equipment up-to-date, or taking the time to calibrate it properly.

Obsolete, inaccurate equipment can really skew the results.

That’s because it results in downtime, affecting the bottom line. What you could end up with is a product that differs from its advertising. Is it worth the gamble to you and your loved ones?

And many manufacturers don’t have consistent, written procedures for each ingredient. That happens to be important criteria for meeting ISO certification.

You may not realize that certain testing methods can be valid for one ingredient, but worthless for another. ISO certification ensures that all methods are valid, and I urge you to find out whether your current multi meets that standard or not.

What If Your Vitamin Supplier’s Quality Control Procedures Are Lower Than Industry Standards?

Let me reiterate: If every manufacturer of supplements met high quality control standards, they’d all be bragging about their ISO certification. Somehow, they remain strangely silent…

ISO and NSF certifications mean superior quality control.

It means you can rest easy, knowing that the ingredients are checked many times throughout the process for contamination that could occur at any point during the manufacturing process.

It means that environmental conditions such as heat and humidity were appropriate throughout the process, which could also radically decrease the quality of the supplement you will eventually swallow.

It also means that your supplement wasn’t manufactured on the same equipment as banned substances or allergen-containing foods, and that the personnel involved in the process are highly aware of those substances…

Do you see the pattern here?

Would you eat in a restaurant that wasn’t clean and thoroughly inspected?

Of course not. So why settle for a supplement that might have been created under less-than-ideal conditions?

ISO and NSF standards ensure that the quality of your product is top notch. Does your multi boast ISO or NSF certifications? Mine does.

What If the Personnel Involved In the Manufacturing of Your Vitamin aren’t Fully Trained?

The truth is, the personnel involved in the manufacturing process may not be fully trained for the particular testing or manufacturing equipment that they are working on.

But they would be if the facility was ISO and NSF certified. They would also be supervised throughout the entire manufacturing process. The manufacturing company I chose uses PhD’s to supervise their manufacturing process.

As a matter of fact, their supervision teams provide continual on-site training for every shift.

So find out if your multivitamin company is ISO or NSF certified. The few minutes it takes will be well worth it, for your security and peace of mind.

Or, you can choose my Whole Food Multi, a product that you can trust...

ISO 9001, ISO 17025 and NSF – Now That’s Quality...

I put many hard hours into carefully choosing a highly qualified and certified manufacturer, so that you don’t need to worry about the quality of the supplement you put in your mouth.

Don’t Gamble With Your Health — Use ISO/NSF High-Quality Certified ‘Whole Food Multivitamin’ Every Day!

But what — exactly — do ISO and NSF certifications mean?

The term “ISO 9001” refers to a detailed set of quality management standards that the company must adhere to in order to meet the requirements of certification.

The more rigorous ISO 17025 provides a third-party accreditation of the onsite laboratories.

The supplement is tested onsite by hard-working PhD’s to guarantee the final quality of the supplement you eventually purchase —throughout the entire manufacturing process.

I searched long and hard to find the best company out there. I think I succeeded because the company I finally selected has won the NutriSearch Gold Medal of Achievement, an award given by an independent third party agency. Of the over 1,400 products tested, only 4 manufacturers of those products won the award.

But what may be the “ace” of all of them is this — being approved for NSF Good Manufacturing Processes (GMP) certification.

NSF International is an independent, not-for-profit organization. This body of audit and inspection is one of the most comprehensive and quality driven initiatives in the nutrition industry.

They are committed to making the world a safer place for consumers.

They work hard to make sure that you don’t have to question the safety — or quality — of your product, my Whole Food Multivitamin.

Very few companies can boast this claim.
This tells you that they have, at great expense, gone the extra mile to achieve excellence.
This ensures that everything from the choice of ingredients to the testing of the final product meets the highest standards in the industry today

The FDA wants all manufacturers to someday adhere to Good Manufacturing Processes for dietary supplements. In fact, the FDA has recently ruled that, depending on company size, manufacturers have until up to 2010 to achieve GMP adherence.

However, the manufacturer I chose for Whole Food Multivitamin is YEARS ahead of the curve, as it has already been certified! And it did so voluntarily…

But this is the technical side of choosing a quality multivitamin. There is also the matter of ingredients.

As you’ll see, I chose naturally sourced ingredients wherever possible. In fact, I chose all of the ingredients in my Whole Food Multivitamin based on two factors. Factor number one: the ingredients are based on whole or raw foods. The second factor is their high bioavailability*.

Why Do I Call This a Whole Food or Raw Food Multivitamin?

Most of the nutrients in this formula can be directly linked to their natural source. For instance — iodine from kelp.

Where it was impossible or impractical to link them directly, I chose a form that provided the most bioavailability possible — so your body can readily utilize them*.

The importance of whole or raw foods cannot be overstated. In fact, I would encourage you to get at least 50% of your diet from raw foods.

Just as it implies, raw foods are foods that have not been cooked or heated in any way. Look at some of the things heat does to once-healthy foods:


* Essential nutrients are depleted, altered or destroyed altogether
* Toxic substances can be created and may burden the immune system
* Enzymes, which are important to digestion, are destroyed
* Your body metabolizes cooked food much differently

All of that has been avoided, simply by using ingredients derived from healthy raw foods.

See for yourself the foods I’ve chosen for Whole Food Multivitamin, and take a quick look at the benefits you can expect from them:


* Pomegranate extract – to support your healthy circulation
* White tea extract – support for your immune system
* Green tea extract – more support for your immune system
* Grape seed extract (Activin) – support for your healthy circulation and cholesterol level
* Apple – support your immune system and lungs
* Blueberry – support for your urinary tract and immune system
* Broccoli – support for your healthy prostate and immune system
* Cranberry – support for your urinary tract and cardiovascular system
* Kale – support for your healthy prostate
* Orange – support for your immune system
* Prune – support for your brain and immune system
* Raspberry – support for those healthy cholesterol levels
* Spinach – support for your healthy immune and cardiovascular systems
* Strawberry – more support for your healthy immune and cardiovascular systems

To get an equal amount of nutrients and antioxidants from your diet, you’d need to eat a boatload of fruit and vegetables. But I don’t recommend it. In my opinion, eating too much fruit can lead to blood sugar concerns.



A Quick Look at the Importance of Vitamins and Minerals

Perhaps you wonder why vitamins and certain minerals are so important, and why you need to supplement your daily intake of them…

Each vitamin plays an important role in maintaining your normal bodily functions, repairing cellular and tissue damage, and maintaining your optimal wellness*.

But to explain each one could double the length of this letter, so I’ll give you a brief overview of a few. Plenty of information about them is available on my site and on the internet.



Coenzyme Forms of Vitamins. I use the amino acid chelate of minerals, which is one of the best possible forms you can use. In a nutshell, this increases their bioavailability, meaning that the important minerals will easily pass through your intestinal walls*. This is unlike many other cheap brands, whose larger mineral size may be blocked altogether.


Iodine – Necessary for the normal metabolism of your cells*. Metabolism is the process of converting your food into energy. You need iodine for normal thyroid function and for the production of thyroid hormones*.


Chromium – Important in your ability to metabolize fats and carbohydrates*. Chromium stimulates fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis, which are important for your brain function and other body processes*. It is an activator of several enzymes, which are needed to drive numerous chemical reactions necessary to life*. Chromium is also important in insulin metabolism*.


Phytonutrients From Whole Food Concentrates. These phytonutrients (or plant nutrients) are loaded with powerful antioxidants that limit free radical production*. Extracts include those from pomegranate, white tea, green tea, grape seed (Activin), apple, blueberry, broccoli, cranberry, kale, orange, prune, raspberry, spinach, and strawberry.

As I mentioned before, chances are pretty high that you’re not getting all these important vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients in your daily diet.

That’s why I strongly urge you to consider supplementing with a good multivitamin to support your optimal health and wellness*.

CAUTION: Children should not take this multivitamin. It was designed specifically for adult needs.

Superior Preparation for Superior Ingredients

I pride myself on offering you products that have the highest quality ingredients. Those ingredients must be as natural and unprocessed as possible – so they are easily recognized and maximally utilized by your body*.

But I consider the preparation of the product to be just as important as its ingredients.

At a quick glance, see how my Whole Food Multivitamin stacks up against some of the leading synthetic multivitamin brands:



Help to Reduce Free Radical Damage

Free radicals are unstable, destructive molecules that lack electrons. They form naturally from normal metabolic processes such as breathing, but their production can rise beyond optimal levels for many reasons:


* Stress
* Cigarette smoke
* Environmental toxins
* Strenuous exercise
* Food additives
* Poor diet

How Do You Really Know if Your Multivitamin is Any Good?

Your body's natural defense system creates its own supply of antioxidants that "mop up" these scavenger molecules before they get the chance to do any harm.

Unfortunately, when your body lacks adequate antioxidants to fend them off, free radicals start attacking normal tissues and molecules in the body.

* Protecting against free radicals can help to:
* Help boost your energy and stamina
* Promote your immune system health
* Fight the signs of normal aging

My new Whole Food Multivitamin is loaded with natural antioxidants that are present in the whole foods, and are capable of neutralizing free radicals produced through an oxidation reaction* (similar to rust developing on your car).

And with increased exposure to health-impacting free radicals these days from food additives, environmental toxins and stress, your body needs extra sources of antioxidants to combat them.

Many experts consider free radicals the root cause of aging, contributing to all kinds of health-related issues.

So rest assured — my Whole Food Multivitamin gets to work soon after you swallow it, helping support your body’s defense against these pesky free-radicals*.

Please note, however: although multivitamins provide extra antioxidant backup, they do not take the place of a heavy-duty antioxidant, such as my Krill Oil or Purple Defense*.

Make the Smart Move — Order Your Whole Food Multivitamin Today

If you are already taking a multivitamin, I’d urge you to switch to my Whole Food Multivitamin right away. Just take two capsules per day — it’s that simple!

Don’t throw your money away on a multivitamin if you’re not 100% sure of its quality. When it comes to your health — and that of your family — it just isn’t worth the gamble.

Not taking a multivitamin right now? You’re taking an even bigger gamble with your peak health, especially if you eat processed and fast foods. They just don’t give you all the nutrients your body needs to support your optimal health.

So try my Whole Food Multivitamin today.

Sure, you may find cheaper multivitamins out in the marketplace, but is saving a buck or two worth the gamble? Rest assured — with this product you get exactly what you pay for.

Triple redundancy quality testing ensures that every penny of your hard-earned dollar will be hard at work supporting your optimal health and peak wellness*.

Does it make sense to put off your health any longer? Of course not… Make a smart and simple move by ordering your Whole Food Multivitamin right now.
Another reason to act fast.... BIG SAVINGS!

For More Information and Ordering please visit Dr. Mercola's Website @




Reliv Classic - May Cause Vomiting, Diarrhea, and More

Below is a response that I posted in response to a comment that we received. Someday I plan on finishing up the list of Reliv Classic Ingredients but for now this is only 1 item and it's bad. I would really suggest that if you are using Reliv products you look for something else ASAP.

Hello Poster - Thank you for taking the time to read some of my posts. I do hope that you keep an open mind and are willing to learn. The comments posted in the article you referred to was a post done by someone else who has had some experience with Reliv. I do wish myself they would send me a little bit more information.

But I would suggest that you take your can of Reliv Classic and read the Ingredients. You will find that most of the items lists are hard to pronounce and you will find that most of them are chemicals. There are other vitamins out there now that are WHOLE food based and when you read what's in them, most of it can be grown in your own garden. Just for this fact, Reliv is kind of scary as you have no idea what most of the stuff is. Not even the Soy is natural as they call it, "Soy Blend".

Anyway I started going through the ingredients for Reliv Classic some months ago but only just got started before getting busy on something else. But here is what I found about 1 Ingredient.

Dicalcium Phosphate, WARNING! Causes irritation to skin, eyes and respiratory tract. May be harmful if swallowed.

-2)Potential Health Effects
Inhalation: Causes irritation to the respiratory tract. Symptoms may include coughing, shortness of breath.

Ingestion: Causes irritation to the gastrointestinal tract.

Symptoms may include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. It presents little toxicity unless large amount are ingested, in which case, vomiting and diarrhea likely.

Eye Contact: Causes irritation, redness and pain.
Skin Contact: Causes irritation to skin. Symptoms include redness, itching
and pain.

-3)Environmental Effects High concentrations may affect organisms.

And this is just 1 ingredient. This comes with warnings of serious health problems and it's just down right scary. And this makes me wonder what the other ingredients in Reliv are and can do.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Your Stories Wanted

Hello Readers - I am sorry to say but right now we are moving to a new house and currently I don't have Internet connected. :( Therefore I won't be able to keep updating my Blog until I can get regular access. Please continue to read the articles already posted and please continue to send me your stories @ relivwatchdog@gmail.com. I will try to post articles as often as I can.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Reliv is Not a Magic Cure

I received this email a few days ago from one of our readers. Like many, she was told that Reliv is a Miracle cure for whatever might be wrong but only found out that it is VERY expensive and does not work. And like many uplines, they convinced her that the only way to go was spending 3,200$ to get the best discount. But this only left her sitting with a bunch of products that she could not use and did not want to force upon her friends.

"Let me tell you this...I have rheumatoid arthritis and started taking Reliv as a last resort due to some serious knee pain/swelling. itdid seem to help with the pain/swelling. But at the encouragement ofmany three way (annoying) phone calls I bumped it up to three shakes a day. Classic, Lemon Innergize, Arthaffect and Fibrestore. All that added up to a big expense that I wasn't happy about. But I did feel like I wasgetting some results so I kept taking the three shakes a day that I was so encouraged to do. I was told by many that I would just keep improving if I stuck with it. Well during that time my sponsor came over and brought another Reliv rep and they encouraged/talked me into signing up as a MA. I was already going to sign up at a lower level so I could get some type of discount off of this product that was now costing me around $250 a month! But somehow when they left I thought that signing up as a MA was the better route. Even though I sat there and told them that I did not have the time nor the desire to call people on the phone and I was not a sales person in the least. Anyway not long after I signed up I started having some new RA trouble in my hip. I ended up having an MRI and found it too was arthritis. I became disenchanted with Reliv. I was not about to keep paying all that money for something that was only going to help me a little bit. So I quit taking the shakes and really didn't notice any difference when I quit taking them so now I wonder if the "help" I thought I had gotten in the first place was a placebo effect or just in my head. Not to mention that I had also been warned about the soy danger as well. I decided to sell some of it on Ebay as I am not comfortable "pushing" nutritional shakes on people that cost as much as these do."

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Stop Reliv - Prevent Cancer

Six Good Eating Habits That Will Help Prevent Cancer

The American Institute for Cancer Research has released a 517-page report detailing the CONVENTIONAL medical view of what your main risk factors for developing cancer, and what you can do to reduce your risk.

Among their findings -- after reviewing more than 7,000 large-scale studies over the course of five years -- the Institute is now convinced that excess body weight increases your risk for the following types of cancer:

* Colon
* Kidney
* Pancreas
* Esophagus
* Uterus, and breast cancer in post-menopausal women


The report also found that there are certain lifestyle changes that will reduce your risk of getting cancer:

* Be as lean as possible within the normal range of body weight


* Be physically active as part of everyday life

* Limit consumption of "energy-dense foods," foods that are high in calories, fat and sugar. Avoid sugary drinks

*Eat mostly foods of plant origin, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans

* Limit intake of red meat and avoid ALL processed meat

* Limit alcoholic drinks to one per day for women, two per day for men

* Limit consumption of salt. Avoid moldy grains or legumes

* Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone, without dietary supplement

Sources:

MarketWatch.com November 1, 2007
American Institute for Cancer Research

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Even the American Cancer Society (ACS), which is as traditional as medical organizations come, have recently suggested that you can reduce your risk of cancer by more than 60 percent through simple lifestyle changes.

I am regularly challenged when I see that the ACS is the nearly inevitable source of funds collected by well intentioned groups and organizations seeking to raise money for cancer research. These funds are virtually all wasted, as they do nothing but support the traditional ignorance that has contributed to the problem in the first place.

ACS’s ties to the pharmaceutical industry runs deep, and treating cancer is far more lucrative than preventing it, so chances are good that any real prevention will be widely and vigorously resisted. It has also been argued that their ties to polluting industries has led the industry to willfully suppress information about the environmental causes of cancer, something that is not part of the recommendations above either. Cancer is undoubtedly a very important issue, as cancer has now surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of 85.

However, it is encouraging to see that cancer researchers are starting to catch on to prevention through diet and exercise, rather than simply focusing on preventive drug treatments. It’s a good start, but because they are late to the game they have completely missed the most important steps to virtually eliminating your risk of cancer..

As you probably know your key to fighting cancer is prevention. But, with cancer, as with many other life-threatening illnesses, the conventional medical industry makes no money if you are able to avoid the number one cause of death in the United States. They only benefit if they can treat you for it, which means that prevention techniques are practically ignored.

But, at this point, you also have to look at yourself and ask, “Am I willing to make the lifestyle changes needed to improve and maintain my own health? Or have I fallen prey for pharmaceutical brainwashing that they can fix me if something happens?” The industry can’t continue shoving pills down your throat unless you ask them to, and accept it as your only option. You have choices! Exercise them!

I am a firm believer that you can VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE your cancer risk if you follow risk reduction strategies that have not been formally "proven" yet by conservative researchers. It may take another 20 or 30 years for these strategies to be proven effective… And that’s IF they spend the money necessary to do all the follow-up studies required to establish scientific consensus.

Can you really wait that long, knowing that 175 Americans are diagnosed with cancer every hour? I suggest you get with the program now and save you and your family a cancer diagnosis.
What Can You Do to Virtually ELIMINATE Your Cancer Risk?

The following are my major recommendations:

1. Resolve past emotional traumas. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. Fortunately, there are now practical tools that can address this. One of the best was developed by Dr. Hammer and it is called German New Medicine. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed. Energy psychology is one of the best approaches, and my particular favorite tool, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique.

I have interviewed two of the top experts in the U.S. in this area. One is Dr. David Holt who is the leading US physician in German New Medicine, and Dr. Bruce Lipton who is the top researcher explaining why this approach works. I grilled each of them for nearly three hours and it was absolutely amazing information.

If the American Cancer Society knew this information and applied it, I would donate money to them because then they really would be making a difference, instead of serving as pawns of the drug industry.

Either way, information is massively important for ANYONE who is currently battling cancer. Both of these interviews should be out before the end of the year. The first one should come out the last week of November, and best of all, you will be able to get it mailed to your U.S. home for FREE.

2. Control your insulin and leptin levels: Make certain that you limit your intake of processed foods and sugars as much as possible. ACS indirectly acknowledges this but what they absolutely fail to appreciate is that weight is merely a SYMPTOM. The underlying pathology driving the weight gain is elevated insulin and leptin levels.

3. Get appropriate amounts of animal-based omega-3 fats and make sure you use cod liver oil if you don't have regular access to sun exposure

4. Get appropriate exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise works is that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks

5. Get enough sunshine. It is now firmly established that you can reduce your risk of cancer by 50% if you get enough sunshine. However, did you see one word of this in the ACS 517 page report? So normalize your vitamin D levels with safe amounts of sun exposure. This works primarily by optimizing your vitamin D level. If you have regular access to sun exposure then you should use fish oil, not cod liver oil, as your primary source of omega-3 fats. Ideally, it would be best to monitor your vitamin D levels.

6. Eat according to your nutritional type. The potent anti-cancer effects of this principle are very much underappreciated. When we treat cancer patients in our clinic, this is another very powerful anti-cancer strategy.

Other Helpful Factors to Reduce Your Cancer Risk

7. Only 25 percent of people eat enough vegetables, so eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with. Ideally, they should be fresh and organic. However, please understand that fresh conventionally grown vegetables are healthier than organic ones that are old and wilted. They are certainly better than no vegetables at all, so don't use that as an excuse. If you are a carb metabolic type you may need up to 300 percent more vegetables than a protein metabolic type

8. Make sure you are not in the two-thirds of the population who are overweight and maintain an ideal body weight

9. Get enough high-quality sleep

10. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution

11. Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or charbroiling them

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Reliv Products Are Toxic and Dangerous

Hello Everyone! Thank you for taking the time to visit and read my Blog. I do hope that you will find some useful information here and that it will help you make an accurate decision when deciding to use or join Reliv. The following message was received from one of our readers who posted this in response to another article that I had posted back in October. I hope you find this interesting.

"These products are dangerous. Anyone who tries to sell you this toxic substance is only out for your money and does not have your best interests at heart. I am a medical professional (i.e. have spent thousands of hours in the classroom, lab, hospitals). I feel very strongly that these products should be illegal but we can't beat the billions of dollars spent by the supplement industry."

Friday, November 16, 2007

Reliv and DSA Can't be Trusted!

I don't know if this bothers anyone else but for me, when I saw this article a WHOLE bunch of RED flags went up. The DSA or Direct Selling Association is suppose to be a watchdog on MLMs and NMs companies but with the CEO of Reliv on the Board, naturally they are not going to look too closer at the operations of Reliv. A "You Scratch My Back and I will Scratch Yours" type of idea.

While I was working in Eastern Europe we saw a lot of these types of things happening in the Parliament. One person would want to start a "Not So Honest Business" and so he would ask help of his buddies but promise to vote on their behalf when needed.

The DSA should NOT have any CEO or other person directly related to MLMs or NM companies on their board. This is the ONLY way they can remain bias and honest. But for now, just because the DSA put their stamp of approval on a MLM or NM, this does not mean it's 100% honest and above board.

Reliv International's CEO Named to Direct Selling Association's Board Of Directors

CHESTERFIELD, Mo., June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Reliv International, Inc.


(Nasdaq: RELV), an international manufacturer and network marketer of nutritional supplements and other products, today announced that Robert L. Montgomery, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Direct Selling Association (DSA), representing the interests of the nutritional products industry. Montgomery joins a board comprised of leading direct sales companies from across the
United States.

"Joining the DSA Board of Directors gives Reliv a unique opportunity to emerge as a leader in the direct selling industry. The Direct Selling Association acts as a catalyst and a watchdog for our industry. The tremendous growth of the direct selling industry over the past few years makesthis an exciting time to be involved," says Montgomery. In addition to his duties as a Board member, Montgomery was also chosen to serve on the CEO Council of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations as well as the DSA's public education organization, the Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF). The DSEF was founded in 1973 to enhance public awareness of the direct selling industry through structured educational programs and valid
research initiatives.

"Robert Montgomery was a natural choice for our Board of Directors. His leadership abilities and strong presence in the direct selling industry make him a valuable resource for the DSA," said Neil Offen, President of the Direct Selling Association. Reliv International has been a member of the DSA since 1993.

The Direct Selling Association (DSA) is a national trade association founded in 1910 to serve the direct sales industry. The DSA represents more than 140 companies and strives to "protect, serve and promote the effectiveness of member companies and the independent business people they represent. To ensure that the marketing by member companies of products and/or the direct sales opportunity is conducted with the highest level of business ethics and service to consumers."

SOURCE Reliv International

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Reliv and Teens Before Their Time

I post an article about this topic a few weeks ago but here is another article, a slightly older one, but still talking about the same topic. Reliv claims that their products are good for young and old alike but we are seeing more and more dangers of consuming soy and now we are starting to see some of the affects it is having on our children.  "Anecdotal reports of other problems associated with children of both sexes who were fed soy-based formula include extreme emotional behavior, asthma, immune system problems, pituitary insufficiency, thyroid disorders and irritable bowel syndrome." Just like many of the other Reliv products, the Kid's NOW is Soy based and therefore could cause some of these same problems that they are finding from Infant Formulas.

Teens Before Their Time

By Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD


A recent feature article in Time Magazine reported on the disturbing increase in early puberty among girls in the US. According to a recent study reported in the journal Pediatrics,1 one percent of all American girls now show signs of puberty, such as breast development or pubic hair, before the age of three; by age eight, 14.7 percent of white girls and almost 50 percent of African-American girls had one or both of these characteristics.

The consequences of truncated childhood are tragic. Young girls with mature bodies must cope with feelings and urges that most children are not well-equipped to handle. And early maturation in girls is frequently a harbinger for problems with the reproductive system later in life including failure to menstruate, infertility, breast cancer, headaches and early menopause.

In their discussion of the possible causes, Time's reporters speculate on the role of environmental estrogens such as PCBs and DDE (a breakdown product of DDT), which have been shown to cause similar effects in animals.2 Meat and milk are also fingered as possible sources of dietary hormones.

But the authors never reveal the number-one suspect--soy infant formula. Although they mention the 1986 Puerto Rico Premature Thelarche study,3 they do not tell their readers that most significant dietary association with premature sexual development was not chicken--as reported in the press--but soy infant formula. The second most powerful association was indeed chicken--chicken raised on soy-based feed.

Approximately 25 percent of bottle-fed children in the US receive soy-based formula--a much higher percentage than in other parts of the Western world. The Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) program, which supplies free infant formula to welfare mothers, stresses soy formula for African Americans because they are supposedly allergic to milk. This would explain the astronomically high rates of premature development in African American girls.

In 1998, investigators reported that the daily exposure of infants to isoflavones in soy infant formula is six to 11 times higher on a body weight basis than the dose that has hormonal effects in adults consuming soy foods. Circulating concentrations of isoflavones in infants fed soy-based formula were 13,000 to 22,000 times higher than plasma estradiol concentrations in infants on cows milk formula.4

New Zealand toxicologist Mike Fitzpatrick estimates that an infant exclusively fed soy formula receives the estrogenic equivalent (based on body weight) of at least five birth control pills per day.5 By contrast, almost no phytoestrogens have been detected in dairy-based infant formula or in human milk, even when the mother consumes soy products.

Anecdotal reports of other problems associated with children of both sexes who were fed soy-based formula include extreme emotional behavior, asthma, immune system problems, pituitary insufficiency, thyroid disorders and irritable bowel syndrome.6

In 1998, in response to growing concerns about the damage caused by soy-based infant formula, Nutrition Reviews published an article by K. O. Klein of duPont Hospital for Children as proof that soy infant formulas do no harm.7 Yet in the article Klein notes that effects of isoflavones on various animal species include hormonal changes, increased uterine weight and infertility. "It is clear from the literature," says Klein, "that different species and different tissues are affected by isoflavones in markedly different ways. It is difficult to know which tissues, if any, are affected in infants, and the variation among species makes extrapolation to infants inappropriate." This is scientific double talk. Scientists may be reluctant to extrapolate but parents would certainly err on the side of caution if they knew that "isoflavones affect different tissues in markedly different ways."

Klein says that medical literature provides "no evidence of endocrine effects. . and no changes in timing of puberty." But she makes no mention of the Puerto Rican study which strongly implicated soy formula. Why would Dr. Klein leave out any reference to the Puerto Rican study in her review? Is it because DuPont, owner of Protein Technologies International, is the leading manufacturer of soy protein isolate?

Or is it because her review was sponsored by the Infant Formula Council? Or because Nutrition Reviews, which published her whitewash, is funded by industry giants, including Pillsbury, Hershey Foods, Kellogg, Roche, General Mills, Kraft, Campbell Soup, Monsanto, Coca-Cola, Cargill, Heinz, Nabisco, Proctor and Gamble and Pepsi-Cola?

An interesting finding of the Puerto Rican study was that consumption of milk was negatively correlated with early maturation, which means that it might be protective. Whole unprocessed milk may go a long way to mitigating some of the adverse effects of soy formula. We also know of one case in which early onset of puberty was reversed by treatment with low-potency desiccated thryoid.8

References
  1. Marcia E Herman-Giddens, et al "Secondary Sexual Characteristics and Menses in Young Girls Seen in Office Practice: A Study from the Pediatric Research in Office Settings Network," Pediatrics, April 1997, Vol 99, No 4, Pages 505-512
  2. Rachel's Environment & Health Weekly, #263, The Wingspread Statement, Part 1, December 11, 1991; Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski and John Peterson Myers, Our Stolen Future, Little Brown and Company, London, 1996.
  3. L W Freni-Titulaer, "Premature Thelarche in Puerto Rico, A search for environmental factors," American Journal of Diseases of Children, December 1986, Vol 140, No 12, Pages 1263-1267
  4. K D Setchell et al, "Isoflavone content of infant formulas and the metabolic fate of these early phytoestrogens in early life," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 1998, Supplement Pages 1453S-1461S
  5. C Irvine, et al, "The Potential Adverse Effects of Soybean Phytoestrogens in Infant Feeding," New Zealand Medical Journal, May 24, 1995, Page 318.
  6. K O Klein, "Isoflavones, Soy-based Infant Formulas and Relevance to Endocrine Function," Nutrition Reviews, July 1998, Vol 56, No 7, Pages 193-204.
  7. Personal communication, Richard James. See www.soyonlineservice.co.nz.
  8. Stephen Langer, Solved: The Riddle of Illness, 1994, Keats Publishing, New Canaan, CT, Page 52.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

RELIV DID NOTHING FOR ME

The stats show that 90% of people who join the Reliv Business Opportunity fail. This makes me wonder how many taking the products end up with no results and try to get their money back like this person below? Sadly people usually only share when something is working for them. The Internet is full of pro Reliv sites but those who are willing to really share their stories are few and far between. For the most part, if you are just looking for a good multi vitamin, I would suggest saving your money and buy something cheaper. The high dosage of Reliv and the high soy are not good for you.

DID NOTHING FOR ME
by harryhails ,Apr 18 '06

Pros: Wide variety of vitamins
Cons: Ridiculously expensive. An absolute RIPOFF!

I have been taking Reliv Now for a month and its has done absolutely nothing. I was told by a family friend who sells the stuff how amazing it is and what it did for her. (of course she is going to say its amazing SHE SELLS IT LOL!) I told her how expensive it was and she assured me its worth it. She said don't worry i'll give you your money back if no results, so I'm getting money back. it cost total $81(AUS) for 1 month supply. OMG I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!!

Sure people MAY get some results but NOT ME!

You can buy complete multivitamins which have got the same ingredients for a fraction of the price this stuff!

Monday, November 5, 2007

MLM – a business of deceptions – and "The Sting"

MLM – a business of deceptions – and "The Sting"

I just watched the video of the engaging film “The Sting,” starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. In the world of organized crime, and even among small operators, the ability to pull off a successful confidence game (“con game”) that defrauded others of large sums of money was a matter of pride for successful “con men.”

Experts who have studied this phenomenon of network or multi-level marketing (MLM) have been struck with similarities between these schemes and illegal confidence games. But there are striking differences:

(1) A confidence game, or simple fraud, is clearly illegal. Conversely, even when technically illegal, most MLM’s are accepted by most law enforcement personnel as harmless – in part due to the unwillingness of victims to file complaints. Even though tens of thousands of participants may have been defrauded of small to large sums of money, such victims almost never file complaints – as is typical of all endless chain selling schemes.

(2) Con artists usually are fully aware that they are cheating their victims. Conversely, it is rare for even top MLM promoters to be aware of the harm, in terms of losses, that they are causing to nearly all participants in their programs.

Typically, MLM programs and other endless chain-selling schemes are inherently uneconomic for all but those at or near the top of their respective hierarchies of participants. They defraud the vast majority of participants, who buy products on the basis of a whole set of misrepresentations. This becomes clear in analyses of actual payouts of MLM companies – based on company reports and surveys of tax professionals. For a look at the statistics on dismal earnings of MLM participants (actually losses for 99.9% of them, if all costs are subtracted from earnings), go to the page entitled “MLM - Network Marketing NUMBERS – the Odds of Success –vs. No-product Schemes & Gambling” at – http://www.mlm-thetruth.com/NUMBERS.htm

As with con artists, MLM promoters find themselves having to deceive if they are to succeed. If they tell the truth about the MLM they are promoting, no one will join and “pay to play” the game. (Such payments are usually in the form of product purchases). They must perpetuate the myth that MLM is “the wave of the future,” a truly fair and effective way to get a piece of the marketplace, a way to gain ongoing residual income by leveraging the efforts and purchases of others, etc. The truth starkly contradicts these claims. Promoters must promote a whole set of deceptions, or convoluted thinking, to create a picture of a truly viable, profitable sales or business opportunity.

A list of 30 “Typical Misrepresentations Engaged in by Recruiting MLM’s” can also be accessed at – http://www.mlm-thetruth.com/Misrepresentations-RecruitingMLMs.pdf
Reports on other law enforcement issues can be found at – http://www.mlm-thetruth.com/law_enforcement.htm

A concrete example of how clever an MLM can be at deceiving not only consumers, but also law enforcement officials, is Nu Skin’s one-page report of “Actual Average Incomes” of its distributors, on which I found 20 deceptions on a single page! Unfortunately, neither the FTC nor state officials detected any of them. To download the full “Report of Violations” of an earlier FTC Order for Nu Skin to stop its misrepresentations (including the page in question), go to Item #2 on the “Nu Skin’s Naughty Numbers” page at – http://www.mlm-thetruth.com/nu_skin's_naughty_numbers.htm

Another excellent report worth reading is “The 10 Big Lies of Multi-Level Marketing,” by Robert L. Fitzpatrick, President, Pyramid Scheme Alert. It can be found at –http://www.falseprofits.com/MLM%20Lies.html

Mr. Fitzpatrick has written another well-researched article on the subject that every person wanting to know the truth about MLM should read titled "The Myth of 'Income Opportunity' in Multi-level Marketing."

When all these deceptions are considered together, MLM could be described as “theft by deception,” even as a con game – perhaps the most successful of all time. But the fraud is dependent on an endless chain of self-deception, which is what makes it so insidious. As I have often stated, “MLM is the perfect con game. The very people who are being victimized (deceived) are out promoting the program (deceiving others) – until they run out of money (from “failure to work the program”) and quit. Since such victims seldom file formal complaints, authorities do nothing to stop it. Promoters recruit (deceive) new participants to replace those who dropped out (the victims). And the game goes on.”

A villain is very tough to find in these schemes. This is because the core of the problem is not the people or the products, but an inherently fraudulent SYSTEM – recruitment of an endless chain of participants as primary customers. Because the fraud is to be found in the system itself, this class of fraud could be referred to as SYSTEM FRAUD. For the "5 Red Flags" that clearly indicate an MLM is a fraudulent system, go to – http://www.mlm-thetruth.com/5RedFlags2column40pages2color3-6.pdf

NOTE: There are extremely rare exceptions – but they programs that don't act at all like typical MLM's. The compensation plans pay most commissions to the person doing the selling, so there is more incentive to sell than to recruit. For evaluations of over 200 MLM programs, go to –http://www.mlm-thetruth.com/mlm_evaluations.htm

Monday, October 29, 2007

Your Stories Wanted

We need your stories about Reliv. If you have had some health problems, lack of results, or just failed at the business, please send us your stories. Remember that I will NOT post your name or contact information. Your story will be completely anonymous. Please send your story to, relivwatchdog@gmail.com

Friday, October 26, 2007

Twelve Tests for Evaluating a MLM

Twelve Tests for Evaluating a Network Marketing (MLM) “Opportunity”

By Jon M. Taylor, Ph.D., Consumer Awareness Institute


Network marketing (a.k.a. multi-level marketing or MLM, consumer direct marketing, purchasing or gifting network, etc.) developed from pyramidal concepts, which initially led to pyramid schemes, chain letters, and chain selling. While pyramid schemes are illegal, many MLM programs have managed to circumvent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rulings and applicable state laws.

Legislation and court cases have defined pyramid schemes as plans which concentrate on commissions earned for recruiting new distributors and which generally ignore the marketing and selling of products and services. However, many MLM promoters, even with good products, emphasize recruiting simply because of a compensation system that rewards recruiting much more than retailing. I call these “recruiting MLM’s,” or “product-based pyramid schemes.”An MLM program that some enforcement agencies may not classify as an illegal pyramid scheme may for all practical purposes still be a product-based pyramid scheme. Strong pyramidal elements remain for most MLM programs, leaving approximately 99% of participants with losses (after subtracting all purchases from the MLM company). Commissions from purchases made by new recruits provide handsome rewards for a tiny percentage at the top of a hierarchy(pyramid) of participants. And with high profit margins, MLM companies profit from the product investments of new participants, the vast majority of whom eventually drop out, but are continually replaced by still more participants in an endless chain of recruitment.


So why does law enforcement allow these endless chain selling schemes to occur? The primary reasons for regulators not taking action against product-based pyramid schemes is that it is extremely rare for victims to file complaints with authorities. Victims of MLM fraud blame themselves for their “failure,” having been conditioned to believe that success was possible for those who “work the plan.” They also fear consequences from or to their upline and/or downline–who may be close friends or relatives. Victims also fear self-incrimination, since in every endless chain-selling scheme, major victims are of necessity perpetrators –having recruited others to recover their own investment and in hopes of eventually realizing a substantial profit. For more information on MLM regulatory issues, go towww.mlm-thetruth.com and read the pages related to law enforcement.

The following tests should help you avoid programs in which you will only be wasting your money, time, and effort.


􀃼THE OPPORTUNITY TEST


Were you approached primarily on the basis of the actual value and needfor the products – or for the “opportunity?” If the latter, the program may be actually a pyramid device for enriching the company and a small group of promoters at the top of a hierarchy of participants.

Another red flag to look for is promoters who talk of “getting in on the ground floor,” or “riding the wave” of opportunity. Usually, the bulk of the income in these cases is already locked in by the founding distributors in the pyramidal hierarchy.

􀃼THE MARKET REALITY TEST

May MLM recruiters point to the huge growth potential of their programs without considering the normal dynamics of supply and demand. Without adequate controls, saturation in any given market may soon be reached – at least in peoples’ minds.

Are five or more levels of distributors allowed – more than is needed to get the products out to customers? Also, ask if the company allows unlimited recruiting of distributors in an area – with no territorial protection or other provisions for preventing market saturation? If so, you may be buying a ticket for a flight that has already departed. You could be left holding a bag of empty promises and a worthless ticket.

􀃼THE PRODUCT TEST

Review the products offered and ask yourself:

Is it likely the products could be sold successfully on their own merits without going through a MLM distribution system? If nothing comparable is on the market, find out why.

Does the MLM company focus on legitimate products of value to consumers, or does it emphasize fleeting trends and timing, and exotic or secret formulas?

Are products of consistently high quality, and do they carry a buy-back guarantee? Can all product claims (such as health claims) be backed up by reliable research? Are orders filled and shipped promptly? And are manufacturing and expiration dates printed on consumable products?

􀃼THE COMPENSATION TEST

Can you as a distributor make a good income for the time you spend selling the products – without recruiting a single person? Or is the commission paid by the company for selling the products so low that you have to recruit a downline in order to earn a significant income?

Would distributors several levels above you – who had nothing to do with the sale – receive as much or more total payout per sale (including commissions and bonuses) from the company as you would get for selling the product or providing the service?

If the latter is the case, the emphasis is on income from a downline of distributors (that you would have to recruit), not on the sale of products. Even though such a MLM program may have escaped prosecution as a pyramid scheme, it may still be a de facto pyramid scheme.

Your odds of success in such a program will not be favorable. While a few participants at the top of the pyramid will be rewarded handsomely, approximately 99.9% of participants in recruiting MLM’s will come away empty –most actually losing money, after subtracting expenses and product purchases. Also, in some programs, your quitting merely enhances the income of your upline – because income from your downline “rolls up” to those above you.

Don’t fall for the line that it takes months or even years for most businesses to show a profit and that if you just “work hard and hang in there” you will make lots of money in this MLM program. Be aware that in other comparable settings, sales distributors usually show a respectable income within a couple of months, or they turn to something else.

Ask distributors who have been with the company for two or three months if they are turning a respectable profit – after operating expenses and product purchases are subtracted. If not, they are only fattening the pockets of their upline.

For more on the effects of MLM compensation plans on participant loss rates, goto the consumer guide page at – http://www.mlm-thetruth.com/.

􀃼THE INCOME DISCLOSURE TEST

If an MLM recruiter touts huge income figures of top distributors, request that the company disclose average payout to distributors by percentiles (highest 1%,second highest 1%, and so on to the lowest 1%), so that you can determine your chances of success. Ask for net payout (after subtracting product purchases) for all distributors who ever signed up, including those not now active. If they fail to furnish such data, they are not providing the balanced information you need to make an informed decision.

Estimate the operating expenses for building your distribution network. For anyone serious about building an MLM business, a significant amount will be spent on telephone costs, travel, samples, sales materials, office supplies, mailing costs, printing and duplication, and (when friends and family don’t respond) some advertising. Most distributors wind up spending far more money on products and operating expenses than they bring in. The best source for expense information is ex-distributors, not current distributors who are in denial about how much they are actually spending. If less than 1% of all distributors earn a profit, or at the very least the equivalent of a minimum wage for their time (after subtracting all expenses and MLM products purchased), you might want to consider a more profitable use of your money, time, and energy. But do your homework – the best income opportunities don’t come looking for you.

Another acid test of the profitability of an MLM distributorship is to ask the person recruiting you to show you his/her last year’s tax return. It has been found that it is extremely rare for network marketing participants to show a profit for MLM participation on their annual tax returns. For more information on observations by tax professionals about MLM, go to the research page at –http://www.mlm-thetruth.com/.

ô€ƒ¼THE “PAY TO PLAY” TEST

Find out how high the expectation is for you to purchase products, services, training, etc., over a period of time, in order to be a serious participant. In other words, what will it cost you to “play the game?” Don’t be fooled by a simple request for a small sign-up fee, soon to be followed by endless invitations for specials on purchases of samples or inventory, accelerating bonus levels for higher sales plateaus, paid seminars, and training sessions or retreats.

The requirement (or strong suggestion) that you make regular purchases of products over a period of time to qualify for increasing bonus levels or purchasing discounts is one sign of a product-based pyramid scheme. After months or years of fruitless effort and a garage full of products, some participants come to realize they have merely been paying into a pyramid scheme in the form of payments forum needed products.

􀃼THE PRICE TEST

Are the company’s wholesale prices low enough to allow a respectable profit when marking up for resale –at a retail price that is still competitive with comparable products through other sources? Or are retail prices so high that they must be sold at wholesale to achieve any volume?

If products are priced at a premium to support a large network of distributors, then the premium portion of the price could be considered the pyramid portion. So if a MLM product sells for $40 and a comparable product would sell for $20 at a typical retail outlet, the $20 premium may be deemed the pyramid portion of the price and would flow to top distributors in typical pyramid fashion.

􀃼THE GOLDEN RULE TEST

How did you feel about the way you were recruited to do the business, and how do you feel about approaching your family and friends in the same way? How important are your relationships to you? Are you offended when they attempt to exploit your connection with them for monetary gain? Would you want to do the exploiting?

􀃼THE TIME FREEDOM TEST

The perennial dream of those with a pyramidal mentality is to be successful at recruiting a downline that will bring in enough money to support them so they won’t have to work themselves –thus giving them “time freedom.” They can then “leverage” their time by living off the efforts of others.

If a recruiter promises that by working hard for a brief time period you will never have to work again, ask what percent of their top “distributors” are no longer actively involved with the company – and never attend opportunity meetings.

Ask veteran distributors when they last took an extended vacation. Were they able to do so without significant losses for not tending their downlines? And did any of them quit or scale down without experiencing major financial losses?

Better yet, ask for a copy of the recruiter’s downline and upline. Contact participants at several different levels to see if any have achieved “time freedom.” And if you know the spouse of any of the distributors, you might ask what problems the family has experienced due to MLM participation (intrusive phone calls, untimely visits to the home, and neglect of family and other duties by the distributor).

􀃼THE HONESTY TEST

Has the recruiter been devious or up front in his or her inviting attempts?

And can the products and “opportunity” be sold without making exaggerated product and income claims? Ask for validation of each of the claims made.

If you find the truth frequently distorted, powerful and escalating incentives may be driving the recruitment. If normally honest persons feel the need to exaggerate claims to sell the products and the program, you may find yourself having to do the same.

􀃼THE CREDIBILITY TEST

MLM promoters who don’t command respect themselves may lean heavily on the “credentials” or “character” of others involved in the “opportunity.” If such references are used to excess, watch out. Such credibility links can be deceptive. Why? Because the ethics of MLM are so tricky to sort out that respectable and high-level people have been drawn into the most problematical of programs.

􀃼THE SUPPORT TEST

Does the company offer an adequate support infrastructure to handle a temporary burst of volume? Will your upline be there when you need them, or do they have a history of jumping ship when the next hot MLM deal comes along?

Are conferences and training programs, audio and video tapes, etc., free of charge (as is the case elsewhere for company sponsored programs), or are you expected to pay for them – as another revenue source for the company and upline?

A FINAL WORD

If you have found this flyer helpful in deciding about participation in MLM, you could be doing your friends and family a favor by sharing this information with at least five of them. Then ask each of them to share it with five more persons, and suggest they tell each of them to share it with five more, and . . .

© 2000, 2005 Jon M. Taylor. This article may be reproduced in its entirely for consumer awareness, but may not be sold or packaged for sale without the author’s written permission.
For more information on problems with MLM/network marketing and possible solutions, visit our web site –www.mlm-thetruth.com. Or e-mail to: jonmtaylor@juno.com

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Reliv isn't a Silver Bullet

""If they are radically altering their diet where they're only eating soy in the hopes that this is going to bring their cholesterol down, they're deluding themselves," said Crawford, who was not on the panel that issued the new statement." I think this statement has a lot of truth and we need to pay close attention to it. Many use Reliv assuming that it will do them good but sadly like some of our posters have noted, Reliv has not helped them. Reliv has been presented as a "Silver Bullet" but sadly this isn't always the case. While some have had positive results, is what I am concerned about is what will happen in 10 or 20 years from now by consuming these large amounts of Soy based products.  

Review casts doubt on soy health benefits
JAMIE STENGLE, Associated Press

DALLAS - Veggie burgers and tofu might not be so great at warding off heart disease after all.

An American Heart Association committee reviewed a decade of studies on soy's benefits and came up with results that are now casting doubt on the health claim that soy-based foods and supplements significantly lower cholesterol.

The findings could lead the Food and Drug Administration to re-evaluate rules that currently allow companies to tout a cholestorol-lowering benefit on the labels of soy-based food.

The panel also found that neither soy nor the soy component isoflavone reduced symptoms of menopause, such as "hot flashes," and that isoflavones don't help prevent breast, uterine or prostate cancer. Results were mixed on whether soy prevented postmenopausal bone loss.

Based on its findings, the committee said it would not recommend using isoflavone supplements in food or pills. It concluded that soy-containing foods and supplements did not significantly lower cholesterol, and it said so in a statement recently published in the journal Circulation.

Nutrition experts say soy-based foods still are good because they often are eaten in place of less healthy fare like burgers and hot dogs. But they don't have as much direct benefit as had been hoped on cholesterol, one of the top risk factors for heart disease.

"We don't want to lull people into a false sense of security that by eating soy they can solve the problem (with cholesterol)," said Dr. Michael Crawford, chief of clinical cardiology at University of California San Francisco Medical Center.

"If they are radically altering their diet where they're only eating soy in the hopes that this is going to bring their cholesterol down, they're deluding themselves," said Crawford, who was not on the panel that issued the new statement.

The FDA in 1999 started allowing manufacturers to claim that soy products might cut the risk of heart disease after studies showed at least 25 grams of soy protein a day lowered cholesterol. A year later, the Heart Association recommended soy be included in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

But as more research emerged, the Heart Association decided to revisit the issue. The committee members reviewed 22 studies and found that large amounts of dietary soy protein only reduced LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, about 3 percent and had no effect on HDL, or "good" cholesterol, or on blood pressure.

They did a separate analysis of isoflavones. The review of 19 studies suggested that soy isoflavones also had no effect on lowering LDL cholesterol or other lipid risk factors.

"Soy proteins and isoflavones don't have any major health benefits other than soy protein products are generally good foods," said Dr. Frank Sacks, a professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston who led the committee. "They're good to replace other foods that are high in cholesterol."

Still, the Heart Association statement notes that soy products like tofu, soy butter, soy nuts and some soy burgers should be heart-healthy because they contain a lot of polyunsaturated fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals and are low in saturated fat.

"Soy isn't a magic bullet, but it can be a valuable contributor to a heart-healthy diet," said Jo Ann Carson, a professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas who was not part of the panel.

It's important not to think about foods in black-and-white terms, said Dr. Michael Lim, director of the cardiac catheterization lab at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

"There's no quick fix," he said. "Our bad cholesterol numbers would certainly get worse if instead of eating tofu burgers we went out and had hamburgers each night of the week."


ON THE NET

American Heart Association: http://www.americanheart.org

Monday, October 22, 2007

WARNING - Reliv SoySentials Ruined My Health

I really don't have much to say about the story below. I think once you read it, you will understand. Though I have heard many other stories about SoySentials causing problems for women. It is really too bad the FDA does not do more checking but please send me your stories so that others don't have to repeat these problems.

Reliv and Soysentials"
Posted by Rondi on 06:01:31 2/15/2006


I sold Reliv several years ago. I also started
using the products Classic and SoySentials. To make
a long story short, At first I felt that Soysentials had
helped me with my menopausal symptoms. I took it for
almost 11/2 years give or take. The longer I took it the
worse I started to feel. My hair started falling out, my
nails were breaking, terrible brain fog, memory loss,
anxiety attacks, joint pain especially in my hips, vision
problems, rash on my upper eyelids, eventually I had to
stop working which was very traumatic for me. Upon
going to my doctor he informed me that my thyroid
numbers were the worse they had seen, not to mention
I had developed osteoporosis and a blood clotting
condition. In the process of seeking knowledge about
my new condition I came across many sites talking
about soy and thyroid. Everything I read sounded
exactly like me. It wasn't hard to figure out the reason
for my rapidly developing health issues! Recently I met
a women who is much worse than I, she too had
faithfully used Soysentials from Reliv. This is my story, I
will not make any money by saying this, I have nothing
to gain from spreading this information, except peace of
mind that maybe I can stop someone from having to
suffer like I have. Check out the website
westin.a.price.com or just punch in soy and thyroid.
Good Luck and be careful!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Cut Sugar and Reliv -- and Live 15 Years Longer?

"Even though this study was conducted on worms, and therefore may not translate directly to people, it still reveals some interesting points to consider." The majority of research is done on animals as laws prevent humans from being the test subjects. And just the same there has been a lot that we can learn and understand even from animal testing. And this current study is at least important to consider. Many doctors in Europe already tell people to NOT take high dosage vitamins and this article just gives more proof.

If you want to be healthy, loose the junk food and cut down on the high dosage vitamins.

Cut Sugar and Supplements -- and Live 15 Years Longer?

Restricting the simple sugar glucose from your diet, while avoiding vitamin supplements, may extend your lifespan, according to German researchers.

While your body needs glucose, a sugar found in high amounts in sweets, too much of it is harmful.

When the researchers used a chemical to block worms’ ability to process glucose, their lifespan was extended by up to 25 percent, which is equal to 15 human years.

The beneficial effect came from an unlikely source: free radicals. Typically, free radicals are thought to cause damage to your body, and many consume antioxidants and vitamins to fight them.

However, when the worms were unable to use glucose for energy, they increased energy power from other cells -- a process that generated more free radicals than normal.

In response, the worms generated enzymes that fought the free radicals and strengthened their long-term protection against the damaging molecules.

The study also points to a reason why antioxidants may not be beneficial in the long run.

When some of the worms were given antioxidants, the free radicals were neutralized. However, this also prevented the worms from generating the beneficial, long-term defenses.

Cell Metabolism October 2007, Vol 6, 280-293, 03
Reuters October 2, 2007

Dr. Mercola's Comments:


Even though this study was conducted on worms, and therefore may not translate directly to people, it still reveals some interesting points to consider.

First, limiting glucose (sugar) in your diet is a well-known key to longevity. In worms, cutting down on this one element increased their lifespan the equivalent of 15 human years, which is a major improvement.

If you avoid glucose in your diet, does this mean that you’ll live for another 15 years? It’s impossible to say, but what I can say is that you may very likely live quite a bit longer.

Your blood glucose levels actually rise slightly every time you eat. This is natural. What is not natural is that, with the average American now eating about 2.5 pounds of sugar every week, your blood glucose levels may very likely become excessively elevated, then stay that way.

It is a well proven fact that sugar increases your insulin and leptin levels and decreases receptor sensitivity for both of these vital hormones. This can lead to:


  • High blood pressure and high cholesterol

  • Heart disease

  • Diabetes

  • Weight gain

  • Premature aging
The problem lies in the vast amounts of processed sweets, such as soda -- which is now the number one source of calories in the United States -- that Americans are now consuming, along with the large amount of refined carbohydrates.

When you eat these low-quality carb foods -- things like white bread, sugar, pasta, pastries, cookies, and candy -- your blood sugar levels rise. This, in turn, causes your insulin and leptin levels to rise as well, which will accelerate the effects of aging.

Avoiding sugar, on the other hand, helps you to control your insulin and leptin levels, which will help you to feel and look younger for longer.

If you’re having trouble with the notion of giving up your favorite sweet treats and refined carbs, The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is one of the best solutions I know of for this challenge. EFT is an energy psychology tool that includes a marvelous technique called Turbo Tapping, which has helped tens of thousands of people kick the sugar habit.

Also, instead of focusing on what you will be losing (negative focus), it helps to look at all the things you will be gaining, such as increased energy and a lower risk of many diseases. Meanwhile, you can enjoy healthy foods that are in-line with your nutritional type, such as meats, dairy products, fresh veggies, nuts and seeds, and much more.

Are Supplements Healthy or Harmful?

The above study also raised an interesting point about free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that steal electrons from the first thing they encounter, such as a cell wall, or a strand of DNA. The loss of an electron, in turn, oxidizes these cells, which makes them unstable and easily breakable.

As this free-radical damage continues, your cells can no longer perform properly, and hence, tissues begin to degrade and disease sets in.

An interesting point to consider is that it is not unusual that in trying to do a good thing, some supplements could actually harm you. Depending on your clinical circumstances, suppression of free radicals may actually be harmful. It all depends on your specific circumstances. So the key here is to realize that fact.

It seems that, once again, your body may have far more intelligence in knowing the appropriate actions to take for you.

No matter what, you still need a certain level of free radicals, as your body uses the chain reaction of the free radicals to turn air and food into chemical energy. They also play a vital role in your immune response, attacking foreign invaders and bacteria.

It is certainly possible that taking some antioxidants may actually prevent some free radicals from doing the job they were designed to do. Playing doctor with using supplements as drugs can clearly cause complications, so don’t play with them lightly or use them willy nilly. You need to have expert counsel or carefully study the literature before you embark on a supplement regimen.

So it turns out that it may not be wise to drastically cut back on these natural free radicals in your body (even breathing produces free radicals).

That said, it’s not wise to let them get out of control, either.

If you eat a lot of junk food and sugar, don’t sleep enough, are stressed, and are exposed to a lot of environmental pollution, your body could easily become overwhelmed by free radicals, and be unable to neutralize them on its own.

Your ticket to keeping free radicals in check, and to leading a long, healthy life, remains leading a balanced lifestyle that includes antioxidants and vitamins from fresh, whole foods, with a minimum of artificial interventions.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Reliv Innergize - Is it Junk Food?

"The fact is that the food industry spends about $40 billion a year on advertising, brainwashing you to believe that junk food is somehow good for you and your kids. And the beverage industry is part of that pack." The problem with Sports Drinks and Sodas in the Public schools and in general is becoming a real problem and not many are willing to even stop and look.

When I read this article this morning, my thoughts drifted to Reliv Innergize. Though it does not contain as much "sugars" as some of the other products, many people are drinking much more than the suggested 1 scoop a day. If you take 2 scoops a day you are getting as much sugar drinking a can of Pepsi. The problem with the American Diet today is the amount of sugars we are consuming and Reliv is just adding to the problem. My advice, find a more natural product and if you think you need the Reliv Innergize, then find a cheaper alternative.

Reliv Innergize - 14g.
Pepsi - 28g.
Gatorade - 14g.
Powerade - 17g.
7UP - 25g.


Are Sports Drinks Junk Food?

Public health advocates are pushing for a ban on the sale of sports drinks and flavored waters in schools, warning that drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade contain as much as two-thirds the sugar of sodas, and more than three times the sodium.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has introduced a bill that would let the government decide, and set nutritional standards for all foods and drinks sold in schools. The issue of whether sports drinks and vitamin waters should be considered “healthy alternatives,” or “junk food,” has now brought this bill to the forefront in congress.

The trade group representing bottlers like Coca-Cola and Pepsi are vehemently countering the bill, stating sports drinks are lower in calories, “appropriate” for high school students, and “essential” to young athletes.

But a report from the University of California at Berkeley warns that students who drink one 20-ounce sports drink every day for a year may gain about 13 pounds. This is no surprise to some nutritionists, who note that when you look at the ingredients, it’s water, high-fructose corn syrup, and salt.

According to Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, “For years we’ve been programmed to believe that sports drinks are healthy and you need to replenish those electrolytes after you go out and walk your dog. They don’t want any official sanctioning of the idea that sports drinks are associated with obesity.

Washington Post September 26, 2007

Science Daily September 26, 2007


Dr. Mercola's Comments:

It wasn’t until earlier this year that I realized the food industry actually outspends the drug industry in seeking to brainwash you, and manipulate the truth so you will increase their profits, usually at the expense of your long-term health.

The fact is that the food industry spends about $40 billion a year on advertising, brainwashing you to believe that junk food is somehow good for you and your kids. And the beverage industry is part of that pack.

Sports drinks hit $7.5 billion in sales last year alone, and according to the trade journal Beverage Digest, sports drinks were the third fastest growing beverage category in the United States in 2006, after energy drinks and bottled water. Of course they want you to believe sports drinks are healthy!

But when you look at the main ingredients: water, high-fructose corn syrup, and salt, how healthy is that really?

Not very.

The Problem with Sports Drinks

There are situations where use of sports drinks is an option, but after mild exercise, or no physical exertion, it’s just not a wise choice. Unfortunately, less than one percent of those who use sports drinks actually need them.

The only time you should resort to these drinks is after vigorous exercise, such as cardiovascular aerobic activity, for a minimum of 45 minutes to an hour, and you’re sweating profusely as a result of that activity.

Anything less than 45 minutes will simply not result in a large enough fluid loss to justify using these high-sodium, high-sugar drinks. And, even if you’re exercising for more than an hour, I still believe there are far better options to rehydrate yourself.

There are many reasons why you should stay away from sports drinks in all instances. For example, they’ve been found to corrode your teeth. As it turns out, ironically, drinking sports drinks when you exercise is particularly problematic because your mouth is dry, which means you don't have enough saliva in your mouth to combat the drink's acidity.

But that’s just for starters. The real problem lies in their choice of ingredients – the use of high-fructose corn syrup in particular – which should be your first tip-off that this stuff is bad news.

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is the number one source of calories in the US. It is the most prevalent sweetener used in foods and beverages today, and has been clearly linked to the rise in obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Just like other sugars it disrupts your insulin levels, and elevated insulin levels are going to increase your risk of nearly every chronic disease known to man, including:
  • Cancer
  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Premature aging
  • Arthritis and osteoporosis
You name it, and you will find elevated insulin levels as a primary factor.

There’s also new evidence that HFCS increases your triglyceride levels and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Part of what makes HFCS such an unhealthy product is that it will tend to raise your blood sugar levels and cause sugar to attach to many of your body’s proteins, thus causing permanent damage to them. Because most fructose is consumed in liquid form, these negative metabolic effects are significantly magnified.

Although these drinks are often referred to as “energy” drinks, in the long run, sugar does just the opposite. It acts like an H-bomb – a quick explosion of energy followed by a plummeting disaster, as your pancreas and other glands do all they can to balance out the toxic stimulation to blood sugar. Any kinesiologist or chiropractor will show you how sugar dramatically reduces strength!

Your Best Alternatives to Sports Drinks

It is, however, important to replace the water you’ve lost during exercise. But the question is: are sports drinks really as “essential” to young school athletes for this purpose as the manufacturers would like you to believe? Are they the best alternative for your children?

Well, no. They’re not. (After all, these trade group representatives are paid to say whatever their clients want them to say. They’re not nutritional experts.) Neither are “energy” drinks like Red Bull and many others, which are high in caffeine – a natural diuretic – which will actually dehydrate your body further.

Your best bet for your primary fluid replacement is pure, fresh water.

If your child is going to be involved in a long game or match, drinking simple carbs (sugar, corn syrup, and so on), will give him or her a quick spike in blood sugar followed by a fall, causing sluggishness and hampering overall performance. Pure water is a far better alternative to rehydrate.

If your child is involved in athletics, I highly recommend you review my related article, Energy Rules, for great tips on how to optimize your child’s energy levels and physical performance through correct nutrition.