Reliv Destroys Families and Health

Below is an email that I received from one of our readers. I know I have said this more than once but to me it's sad to see how the love of money that Reliv and MLMs create can cause so much heartache and pain. If the product is so good, why not get the price as cheap as possible so that everyone can afford it and be cured? The answer is very simple, they don't care about the cure, they care about the money. 

I get lots of emails from angry distributors saying what I post isn't true, but my question is, are you selling at cost or are you making money????? If you believe this product works then WHY are you making money off the suffering of other people?????????????

"I recently stumbled upon your site and am thankful for it. It has helped me find some balance again and answer some of my questions.

I started dating someone about 7 months ago whose mother is very high up in the company as a Reliv distributor. After hearing a bit about Reliv from them, I thought it was worth a try since it had helped people with similar health problems that I had. I was already eating healthy and taking lots of supplements for my specific ailments. I got on the product and felt very awkward about having to talk to my boyfriend's mother every few days on a "business call" rather than pursuing a personal relationship with her. She'd always put me on three-way calls with others who had similar health problems to me or my family members, and I started noticing that every call had the same format. I eventually had her stop calling me about it because I was uncomfortable with it and didn't like talking to strangers. Later, she blamed why the product didn't work for me on me on me not being in contact with her to have her monitor my symptoms and dosages. They claim people don't get results unless they get their follow up. Sounds like a business tactic to keep people buying it to me. I felt I should be able to be a responsible adult and own my own health without the babysitting, and I took the shakes faithfully without the follow up calls. They soon increased me to three times a day since I was still getting sick easily and I eventually thought I was allergic to the fibrestore (a third, optional powder to add to the shakes) because I would sneeze around it and was getting stomach aches after taking it. I got off of that, but after 3 months, I still hadn't seen any results so they said to double my shakes . Once I doubled the shakes, I started developing a sensitivity/intolerance, or allergy to soy but didn't know that until later when I researched it. I look back at my photos before and after doubling the shakes and see how swollen I was (my family was wondering if my face shape was just changing in my older age). I also started breaking out with acne like crazy on my face and getting very itchy in my eyes and skin and throat after drinking it (my mouth also felt very swollen and dry). I  had stomach pains and gas pains, etc. and worst of all, my chest often felt super tight, and I just thought my asthma was returning (though doctors said I no longer had asthma) or some other health problem was developing. I was super fatigued all of the time too. This was often associated with my face feeling (or being) flushed. I was so frustrated with the obsession/idol this family made out of Reliv that started researching what others said online. That's when I wondered if I might be having a reaction to soy. I got off for a week or two like all the sites (and a few nutritionist friends) recommended and then tried it again and reacted much worse (a sign of a food allergy).

    The worst part of the whole experience was that Reliv was so important to my boyfriend that we would fight about it all of the time. He and his mom wanted his future wife to share this value. He also said he would be disappointed every day of his life if I wasn’t on it and he feared I would die young. Whenever I was sick, I would be blamed because I wasn’t taking Reliv. They always said that after 15+ years of experience with this product and such miraculous testimonies all of their lives that their belief in it was bullet proof and that they just cared about my health and KNEW it would fix everything getting me off my meds and stuff eventually, so it looked like love. Even once they knew I was allergic to it, they said it could cure my soy allergy if I started with a small bit and worked up to the right amount over long periods of time and stayed in contact with her to monitor my dosage. I wasn’t willing at that time to go through more breathing attacks, and she said I just wasn't "emotionally" ready for it.

    I heard another story from them about a doctor who it didn't work for because he wasn't willing to quit his job for this product in order to get enough sleep with it - the product supposedly won't work unless you get the proper amount of sleep too (and water and whatever other excuse they might have). There's always an excuse for why it did not work for some; that way, they can say it works for everyone who uses it right. Everyone else they say it didn't work for must have just not taken it consistently and that's why they do the calls to keep people motivated and believing in it (sounds like a lot of placebo effect to me).

    Moreover, I highlighted every ingredient on the cans (and the exact matching amounts) that I was taking in different forms beforehand (without the soy that I reacted to) and had all of them except two (plus many others that weren't listed), and all that had been working for me prior to Reliv, but it wasn't enough for them; they still felt I had to be on their particular product. They never acknowledge any other products as also beneficial, and though they admit and know this is just a supplement, they act like it's a magical formula. They also never seem to let others have their own opinions. It's fine to recommend it to someone you think it will help, but to never let the topic drop is just wrong. My boyfriend and I would have 45-60 minute conversations about it every few days with him trying to convince me.  I believe it can be a good product for many, but I am not okay with the way they do business or worship this stuff. I came under such confusion about the product while I was in that relationship. I felt like some of the "brainwashing" was rubbing off on me, but now I know it's just not practical. Hospitals would be cleared and news would spread like lightning if what they said was true. It'd be the fountain of youth. They say they never have been sick while on the product but I saw them become under the weather and also knew they took other herbs when they started to not feel well. So be aware that if you have symptoms like I had, you may be developing a food allergy (the more soy you take, the more likely you are to become sensitive to it...and one guy I knew on it was super emotional - maybe from all of the estrogen in it). Don't fall into the brainwashing. If it works for you, fine, but be logical about it not being possible to be a "cure-all.""

Reliv's Return Policy is Smoke and Mirrors

I am getting really tired of people writing in and telling me about Reliv's "Return Policy". This policy depends on the honesty of the distributor selling the product. First of all, if the distributor says no, it isn't going to happen and this happens a LOT more than you think. Secondly the distributor usually tries to convince you that you haven't taken the products properly or for long enough till you run out of time and then they don't have to return your money.

Reliv International doesn't return your money directly to you. IF for some reason you don't like their products, they taste bad, you didn't feel better, etc and you call the 800 number, they tell you sorry but you need to contact the person who sold them to you AND you MUST have all of the cans to get your money back. The distributor who sold the products to you has to return the money from their pocket and they have to get it back from the company, thus you see why they don't like to do it.

And if I'm not mistaken, they only offer a 30 day return policy BUT they encourage you to try it for 45 days. I have rejected many comments from unhappy distributors writing in to say that to get he best results you must take the product for 45 days. How convenient!

Reliv's products and marketing are things of the past. There are WAY better and healthier products out there. Don't settle for something just because a friend is forcing you to listen or buy from them. Over 95% of Reliv Distributors fail to make money and most go into extreme debt buying the products.