SkepticblogSkepticblog logo banner

top navigation:

More MonaVie Than I Can Swallow

by Brian Dunning, Nov 27 2008

MonaVie

MonaVie

If you follow my Skeptoid podcast at all, you probably know that my all-time leading episode, by number of comments posted to the web site, is the one about MonaVie. It was actually about “superfruit” juices in general, but MonaVie distributors are the ones who have been pounding the site like a horde of Mongols and posting their comments. I graciously call it “posting comments”, it’s really more like harling. Harling, for those perhaps unfamiliar with the term, is the process of refinishing the walls of a Scottish castle by harling, or throwing, a handful of plastery weatherproofing (called harl) at the wall. Manure was a prominent ingredient in some harl. So I like to describe what the MonaVie distributors do as “harling” their comments at my site.

And, for some reason, I’m still constantly amazed at how many people in my neighborhood buy into MonaVie, both literally and figuratively. Without exception they parrot what they’ve been told; that it gives them more energy, it prevents illness, and generally promotes better health. How does it do this? If pressed for an explanation, they best they can come up with is that the açai from which it’s made (in part) is high in antioxidants and/or vitamins. Thus MonaVie’s comically high price is justified (a variety of similar juices are available in supermarkets at about a tenth the price, just without the fancy wine bottle and high school dropout pyramid business model).

This health claim is, as the saying goes, “so wrong it’s not even wrong”. At every level, this logic fails. It is based on the following assumptions:

  1. MonaVie is high in antioxidants.
  2. Antioxidant supplementation has beneficial effects.
  3. We are all suffering from some antioxidant and/or vitamin deficiency.

1. We know that açai juice is not especially high in antioxidants (see this study by Australia’s consumer publication Choice). Eating an apple gives you more antioxidants than drinking a serving of any popular açai juice. And açai is only one of MonaVie’s 19 fruit concentrates (the rest of its ingredients are sweeteners and preservatives, like most similar fruit juices).

2. We know that antioxidant supplementation has, so far, not been shown to have any health benefits (see this analysis of current research by Dr. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch). The oxidation of molecules is an important metabolic process. It makes no sense to try to attack it with antioxidants, just because you heard “they prevent aging” or some such nonsense.

3. We know that vitamin supplementation has no plausible value for people not suffering from a deficiency. With few exceptions, almost nobody who eats most of their meals in an industrialized country is likely to have a vitamin deficiency. And if you did, you’d be symptomatic, you’d know it, and it would show up on a blood test. If that’s not the case (which it’s probably not for anyone wealthy enough to own a computer on which to read this), your body already has all the vitamins it requires, and your regular diet already delivers more than your body uses. It’s like a car with a full tank. Overfilling the gas tank, so that it spills on the ground, is not going to give your car superpowers or super speed or super endurance or “more energy”. More vitamins than your body needs constitute just one thing: Waste. Your car’s gas tank can’t be fuller than full, and your body can’t be healthier than healthy. You either have an illness, or you don’t: You can’t have a super duper lack of illness.

Sometimes when a friend boastfully tells me that he had his MonaVie shot this morning, I’ll react with mock horror and say “Oh my gosh!! How terrible; what did your blood test show?”

Nothing? What did he think he was treating? Health?

65 Responses to “More MonaVie Than I Can Swallow”

  1. haha I like that last line.

    I myself have never tried “Mona-vie” but in my experience of drinks, if I like the taste, I will keep drinking it, and if I don’t, then why bother. So I really cannot blaim someone for drinking this if it actually tastes good, but if not, and they are just drinking it because they think that it is helping them, then fine. If they want to waste their money due to there own incompetence I say let them do it. I do agree though, that these people should be told the reality of this. That it really has no health benefit unless you have some sort of a deficiency like you said.

  2. patrik.e says:

    I agree with Peter Vlasveld, but I differ slightly in one issue. I do not think we should just “let them do it”. The more people that buy in to that rubbish, the more “momentum” the brand gets. And although you and I can see through the argument ad popeli, others often can’t. It’s a good idea to hinder the ad popeli argument from ever becoming an issue.

    The more people that become aware of this, the less people MonaVie will scam. Especially since so many people are cheapskates =) they’d probably buy something else, if they didn’t belive in the magic of MonaVie.

    …or maybe I should do as my coworkers say, and just stop being a besserwisser… NEVER! =)

  3. ejdalise says:

    I’m thinking if the economy gets bad enough, people will be forced to make an economic choice . . . Monavie, or food. Darwinian theory would suggest those who believe the hype are not long for this world.

  4. Noadi says:

    I’ve also never tried monavie though I’ve been curious about what it tastes like. However I suspect it’s probably not that great. The reason I think so is why market it as some super juice if you could instead market it as a delicious gourmet juice so I’m going to guess it just tastes like your run of the mill over sweetened juice.

  5. Joe Garavito says:

    The problem here is false marketing… if people knew the truth about this product, they probably wouldn’t buy it. The same goes for just about anything you buy. Granted it won’t hurt you, but people waste large amounts of money on one thing that just isn’t delivering what they are paying for… that’s called fraud.

  6. James Severin says:

    @ejdalise

    Isn’t the economy why Whole Foods isn’t doing as well as it has been? Since their foods are organic and therefore costly most people these days are speaking with their wallet by going to Wal-Mart. Typically when hard times hit the food budget is first on the chopping block for most families, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

  7. llewelly says:

    Without exception they parrot what they’ve been told; that it gives them more energy, it prevents illness, and generally promotes better health.

    The energy provided by an energy drink (or any other packaged food) is listed in the nutrition panel, under ‘calories per serving’. Divide by ‘serving size’ to get energy per unit volume to facilitate comparisons. No need to confuse yourself with anti-oxidants, taurine, caffeine, chromium polynicatate, bat guano, or whatever the latest fad. The more calories it has the more energy it has. Sweet and simple, I say.

  8. patrik.e says:

    @llewelly

    That might seem true at first glance. Calories = energy, true enough. But the body reacts differently from different sources of calories. 100 kcal of protein is not treated by the body in the same way as 100 kcal of carbohydrates, but both are still 100 kcal. Also, a few grams of caffeine provides almost no calories but will still “up” you more than an equal ammount of carbohydrates will. Further more, calories (energy) does not indicate how fast it is absorbed by the body, if it slows down fatburning, etc.

  9. Thank you Brian Dunning!

    I am ashamed to admit that I, and a few of my friends (who I’ve since sent this blog post to), did buy in to this MonaVie myth. Now, I’ve never really looked in to its claims because I never thought that it could just be some clever hyped up scheme. And I am glad to say I wasn’t a strong devotee either (I’ve never purchased any). But a few of my friends were. So thanks again for your always valuable analysis! I simply never had the information!

    P.S. Noadi, you are right. The stuff doesn’t taste good at all.

    P.S.S. Thanks again Brian!

  10. Carl says:

    A few grams of caffeine might well be fatal, but I know what you meant.

  11. patrik.e says:

    Yes, milligrams was what I meant. Hope no one tested a few grams… =)

  12. Mark says:

    Opinion without fact, sounds like you have another agenda, perhaps you slam another product to promote yours. your brilliant we are fools. good luck genius

  13. Mark says:

    anyone can be a skeptic, all it takes an opinion, yours is foul and laughable. hahahaha

  14. Mark says:

    fancy yourself a writer/journalist, start a blog. we all know the lack of integrity of the rest of the mainstream media, here you can be any fool with an opinion or axe to grind or product to promote. But none of that give your half baked opinions credibility or relevance. thank you for saving the rest of us fools from ourselves, the true liberal agenda

  15. Carl says:

    So not believing the health claims of a not-very-special fruit juice cocktail is the liberal agenda? Man, the Kennedy family has been doing it wrong.

  16. Julian says:

    Don’t feed the troll, Carl. Just let him wander back to whatever hole he crawled out of.

  17. patrik.e says:

    What agenda would that be, Mark? Mr. Dunning isn’t selling a competing product. And he sure as hell won’t get any cash from those who stop buying MonaVie… Whatever fabricated aganda it would be, there would still not be anything wrong with informing people about the false “facts” of MonaVie.

  18. I too love the last few lines in this post! I know a lot of wooists, so I hope you don’t mind me liberally stealing it! :)

    Another thing that I like doing is directing people to http://whatstheharm.net/ You must admit it’s a good collection of downright harm from wooism. Sure, these fools and their money is parted, but when people think this is an actual benefit for a REAL problem… then you get the harm.

    This must be a product that I am totally unaware of by the way. I guess since it tastes bad, I won’t be trying it (although I must admit I have a weakness for Red Bull. Can I fly now?).

  19. Mike says:

    Whoa Mark! You said: –

    …..Opinion without fact, sounds like you have another agenda,…….

    I think Brian gave 2 links to other sites to back up his opinion. Did you read his post properly? or perhaps even understand it?

    Please, please come up with a more constructive criticism

  20. BillDarryl says:

    Is it me, or are “Mark”‘s comments (#12-14) so disjointed that they almost appear to be generated by computer? Like it recognized a few keywords in Brian’s post, and automatically spit out generic lines somewhat related to them?

    Are we witnessing the birth of the troll-bot?

  21. Mark says:

    How many of you “Skeptics” have actually tried MonaVie or any of the other juices you are expert skeptics about? How many of you have actually read the science about antioxidants, do any of you know the value of consuming the recommended servings of fruit in your diet? do any of you consume the recommended servings of any food group?
    I have spent years studying nutrition and am a devout vegan because of what I’ve learned. 1. We know that açai juice is not especially high in antioxidants (see this study by Australia’s consumer publication Choice). Eating an apple gives you more antioxidants than drinking a serving of any popular açai juice. And açai is only one of MonaVie’s 19 fruit concentrates (the rest of its ingredients are sweeteners and preservatives, like most similar fruit juices)This quote is absurd no where on the site he quotes does it say acai is not high in antioxidants in fact it says acai is rich in antioxidants. Facts are facts and a skeptics rantings are just that. I have known many skeptics in my life and most of them live to be on the dissenting side of everything and claim to be an unabashed expert in all things, that certainly appears to be true here also. Farewell “skeptics”, go forth and actually help someone in need and quit trying to be what your not.

    • Wrong says:

      You don’t need to buy into a scam to know it’s a scam. You’re an idiot. (Almost a non-sequitur, but I think I can wrangle it).
      Of course some people are deficient. That doesn’t mean everyone is, and that certainly doesn’t mean that people should buy this juice, or any claiming to be a superjuice.
      If you seriously think this will better your health, drink it. But you’re wrong. Supplements to Antioxidants ONLY HELP THOSE DEFICIENT IN ANTIOXIDANTS. That’s a fact. Other claims, like the immune boost, are also nonsense, unless of course the things manage to give you lupus or allergies (I know you didn’t address this, but it’s another common claim). Whether or not Acai is high in antioxidants, you would be better eating Acai than taking a juice diluted in sweeteners and preservatives. And finally, what kind of a person becomes a devout vegan based on studying nutrition? I’m a vegetarian, and that alone requires supplements and extra effort to get the correct nutrition. A vegan can’t get the dairy in the foodgroups you claimed we might not be consuming. In fact, that lifestyle is more difficult to eat well on, not less (I’ve considered becoming one, mostly from an ethical perspective, and the effort would be huge, and that’s something I can’t see myself being able to accomplish at the moment.) You claim authority and cite less sources than Dunning did, claim “Facts are Facts” without citing a reference, and never understanding that hupercharging nutrients has never improved a healthy person, and if you need a supplement, tasty juice is probably not as good as a course of supplements proscribed by a dietition or nutritionist. And whilst I can’t see Dunnings reference to Acai’s lack of antioxidants, he also cites a reference on the useless nature of trying to supplement a healthy system.

  22. Patrick says:

    I will never try mona-vie if I have to pay for it. Mark why don’t you read this study?: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/dec/01/medical-research-health-vitamin-supplements

  23. Mark says:

    The Bottom Line

    There is widespread scientific agreement that eating adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables can help lower the incidence of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. With respect to antioxidants and other phytochemicals, the key question is whether supplementation has been proven to do more good than harm. So far, the answer is no, which is why the FDA will not permit any of these substances to be labeled or marketed with claims that they can prevent disease.

    The above is from the article from the link Brian provided(see this analysis of current research by Dr. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch) the truth is there are no supplements of any kind in MonaVie only 19 fruits and a very small of sodium benzoate as a preservative. It is just good nutrition and nothing more. There is overwhelming evidence available that the foods people are eating are lower and lower in nutritional value due to overproduction and use of herbicides and pesticides. If you really want to have a cause why dont you jump on the anti GMO bandwagon and help protect our food supply before its to late.

    • Wrong says:

      It IS what is being marketed as a supplement. The good nutrition is by “Supplementing” your diet. You seem to have problems with definition. And what is GMO? If it’s genetically modified foods, then you’ve lost this. Genetically modified food is fine.

  24. Mark says:

    Carl #15
    no, thinking you need to save people from themselves is the liberal way. and yes the kennedy family has been doing it all wrong, hence all the tragedy that seems to follow them around.

  25. Gary S. says:

    I was talked into trying one of the MLM super juices by a friend about a year ago and after drinking this purple juice that tasted so bad that it must have been good for me all I got was a $100 poorer and a strong dislike for purple juice, except for certain brands or organic grape juice.

    But I do find Brian’s disdain for multi-level marketing to be a bit over the top. While it is unfortunate that many scams have been created in the name of MLM it is a viable model or distribution.

  26. patrik.e says:

    Mark, we do not need to try such nonsense when in fact it is obvious that it can not work as advertised. Sure, I’ll give it a try, but I’m not about to give them lots of money to prove them wrong. It is THEY who have an extreme claim, so it is THEY who need to provide the proof.

  27. shahar lubin says:

    Please people. Mark is either a very smart troll, purposely trying to annoy us, or a dumb crank. Arguing with him won’t even hone your logical skills. As Julian(16) said, ignore him.
    I think the skeptic movement(and I see it often on Bill’s site) has become a good target for trolls. After all we claim to be well trained in telling fake from real and seeing reality. What better target for them to prove their anarchistic views of the world.
    Ignore them.

    Cheers.

  28. Carl says:

    I actually think it’s worth pointing out mistakes in people like Mark’s postings, for the benefit of anyone finding this blog entry in a search two years from now.

    Mark, can you post some of your “overwhelming evidence” that herbicides and pesticides reduce the nutritional value of food? Keep in mind that in this context “evidence” would have to be experimental, or at the very least consist of lab analyses done in a double-blind manner.

    Didn’t think so.

  29. CKava says:

    I agree with Carl that addressing even banal comments like Mark’s can be worthwhile; it is not only Mark who reads his comments and the responses afterall.

    Mark>

    You say that Brian’s point no.1 is “absurd” because “no where on the site he quotes does it say acai is not high in antioxidants in fact it says acai is rich in antioxidants”. However, if you re-read point no.1 you will note Brian is NOT arguing about whether Monavie contains antioxidants he is instead arguing that Monavie is not “especially high in antioxidants” and that one could get more antioxidants from eating an apple. The website linked to does not contradict this point in fact it states “On a serve-by-serve basis, many common fruits such as strawberries and apples, contain more antioxidants, and are cheaper.” If you read the second page of the link it highlights this point even more clearly with the best ‘superjuice’ providing 31% of the total antioxidant capacity of a red apple.

    As per your other comments simply trying a drink is not the basis on which to decide what the drink contains and what effect it’s ingredients have on the human body. Nobody is arguing against eating fruit & veg being healthy, what they are arguing is that ‘super juices’ are full of misleading marketing claims and have no real evidence of offering any health benefits that would not be gained in much greater quantity from simply eating fruit.

    Personally, I am inclined to think that given your comments and posting style that you are likely one of the MonaVie distributors Brian references at the beginning oh his post.

  30. Mark says:

    Shahar
    Where did you get so “well trained at telling fake from real and seeing reality”
    Is that a degree from good ole Skeptic University?
    Believe what you want, I’ll not try to change a mind that is already teetering on the very edge of reality.
    Funny to me that the writer of the blog only posts Some of the posts I make!

  31. “Funny to me that the writer of the blog only posts Some of the posts I make!”

    Mark, a little skeptical inquiry would have informed you that if you try to enter too many posts too quickly they’ll be rejected as possible spam. You aren’t being censored, punkin.

    “Where did you get so ‘well trained at telling fake from real and seeing reality’ Is that a degree from good ole Skeptic University?”

    Acquiring skills in skepticism and critical thinking does not require any university degree and the basic premises may be easily grasped by people as young as 10 years old. Don’t be intimidated by it.

    “Believe what you want, I’ll not try to change a mind that is already teetering on the very edge of reality.”

    The claims made by Mona-Vie marketers are not matters for belief, they are matters of fact – either the claims are true or they are not, and they remain that way whether one believes in them or not. It is the person who chooses to believe Mona-Vie claims despite concrete evidence to the contrary who ‘teeters on the very edge of reality’.

    To get angry when a belief is proved wrong is understandable, but you are getting angry at the wrong people. Mona-Vie marketers have overtly and knowingly lied to you. Skeptics have done nothing to you. In fact, if there were not one single skeptical person in the world, the claims of Mona-Vie would still be false. If you’ve ever heard the saying about ‘shooting the messenger’, you now know that is precisely what you are doing.

    OK, the french fryer timer went off so move along now. Customers are waiting.

  32. Fuller says:

    Wow, surprising how much (baseless) support there is for a juice!

  33. Mike says:

    Trying something before deciding whether it is valid is not practical nor valid – consider for instance male obstetricians – they don’t have to have babies before being skilled at delivering them.

    Brian’s point is that these super juices are marketed on the basis of their health effects – fine – but if you are going to do that then you have to have evidence to back it up to justify the high price etc. Conducting a personal trial of super juices is bad science and not practical proposition.

  34. @Mike: “Brian’s point is that these super juices are marketed on the basis of their health effects – fine – but if you are going to do that then you have to have evidence to back it up to justify the high price etc.”

    I understand what you mean here and I’m not ambushing you, but the fact is, and the major problem is, no you DON’T have to have any evidence to back up claims by marketers over a product’s putative health benefits. If anything is clear, you can claim whatever you want and charge whatever you want regardless of the evidence.

  35. There’s another hilarious antioxidant dodge going on right now. Cosmetics are popping up that contain green tea. For external use!

    Even the vendors of multivitamins and other dietary supplements generally don’t have the brass to claim their products are beneficial when applied topically.

    Something else about MonaVie bothers me. Its proponents bear the burden of evidence, of course, and I think they understand that even if they won’t admit it. But doesn’t something else come first? They need to provide a plausible explanation — a hypothesis — for why their stuff is supposed to be more beneficial than cheaper, more available fresh produce and juices. Then at least you’d have a concrete claim that the evidence either would or would not support. Right now it looks like they don’t even have that.

  36. Max says:

    Devil’s Advocate, are you saying that juice marketers can make any claims they want? By law they can’t claim that their juice cures diseases, unless they have FDA approval. Technically, false and deceptive advertising in general is prohibited, and FTC is supposed to enforce this.

  37. Max, in essence, yes, that’s what I’m saying. It is a known and present aspect in their marketing campaigns that even when they violate the regulations to which you refer, it can take years before the FTC or FDA comes down on them -if they come down at all. In the interim, millions may be made. They also know they might be ordered to repay that money and that’s where equally crooked accounting and legal departments become handy. This is a mirror of the business of dealing crack or any other organzied crime -that you know you are operating illegally, that you may get caught at some point, that there may be restitution in terms of money or time served in prison, and that all of this is among the expected and accepted costs of doing business.

  38. Rebecca says:

    Talking about superjuices and supplements…
    Pharmanex has the G3 Superfruit Juice. It costs less than MonaVie. And here’s the clincher… the company has this machine called the Biophotonic Scanner which measures anti-oxidants in the body. There is no guess work or placebo testimonials. Take the G3 for 3 months and if your anti-oxidant level does not go up, the company pays you back your cost of buying the supplement.

    • what I know says:

      Mona vie is also getting the Biophotonic scanner and offers the same measuring of anti-oxidants and will guarantee they go up or your money back.
      The product has 95% live enzymes as well as liquid glucosamine, and wellmune, which are what make a huge difference in the cost from the store knock offs that cost half as much. That’s why those brands don’t need the dark bottles, and are often even housed in plastic, because there are no nutrients to protect, which would be destroyed if not for the glass bottles. Mona vie is superior in several ways, and while expensive, the cost is justfied for those that benefit from it and are willing to pay for more, just like you do for any organic product with superior ingredients.

  39. Mike says:

    Devil’s Advocate – I was talking from mainly a UK perspective where our Advertising Standards Authority does not allow advertisers to make health claims without evidence to back this up.

    How effective they are I am not sure as I see all the cosmetics companies advertising anti-ageing and ant wrinkle creams so there are obviously ways round the rules.

  40. Oops, sorry Mike. My US-centric slip is showing.

    On American TV you’ll find all sorts of notorious claims made for products. Lotion you rub on your forehead to cure a headache or on your knee to cure arthritis. Wrinkle creams that are insinuated to match or best the results of surgery. Herbal sups that claim everything. And so on. Every ad has disclaimers set in incredibly small type, flashed onscreen too briefly to be read, that say something along the lines of: ‘This product (or claim) has not been reviewed by the FDA. Not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any medical condition’ (Federal Drug Administration), but the content of the ads do precisely those things.

    Also, known hucksters are ordered off the air, but return almost immediately doing the same thing. Our watchdog agencies in this area are hopelessly ineffective, in part due to not caring, in part due to poorly written regulations, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn of outright bribery.

  41. Moderator Alert: The problem may be peculiar to my computer, but I cannot pull up Dr. Novella’s new post Skep Bttlgrds II nor its comment section. The Recent Comments menu upper right shows others have accessed it and commented, so maybe it is just my PC. Please send a tech round to 1082 Thomas Road, Podunk Holler NC 278………

  42. Vince says:

    First I want to say that I agree with you in spirit. I have never seen any strong evidence that these “super juices” do miraculous things for one’s health.

    I do want to raise an issue with an offhand comment you made. “nobody who eats most of their meals in an industrialized country is likely to have a vitamin deficiency. And if you did, you’d be symptomatic, you’d know it”. I have seen this line of thinking promoted as some kind of skeptical mantra. The problem is , is that it is utter nonsense.

    The symptoms from vitamin and mineral deficiencies do not always show up right away. Calcium deficiency and its possible relationship to bone problems later in life would be one example but it isn’t hard to find others. Or one could refer to the many studies by various scientific groups and agencies that conclude that “Americans aren’t getting enough X”. Are we to believe that every one of those people not getting enough X are walking around with symptoms? Of course not.

    The idea is to tell people the truth there is no need to push it. It may make for a good argument but , unfortunately , it is utter rubbish.

  43. Shahar Lubin says:

    Dear vince,

    calcium is not a vitamin. The assertion you’re refering to was specific to vitamins. You are arguing with a claim that was never made. Antioxidents have never been shown to have health benefits or that low levels are harmful.
    Also remember not to trust studies automaticaly even if scientific. Especially ones that are published in main stream media before any peer review has been done. TV news is notorious for coming up with new claims every day about health with no followup about how those researches were received by the scientific community and whether further research confirmed them.

  44. Carl says:

    … and from Tobias: spam. Really obvious spam.

    Actually, real Hormel Spam (r) is probably about as healthy as MonaVie.

  45. Tobias says:

    Carl, if you truly believe spam is as healthy as MonaVie, that is your opinion. I really hope you really know better than that, but if your a cheapskate in these rough recession times and cant afford MonaVie, then i hope that spam really is doing miracles for you:)

  46. Carl says:

    Well, consider what antioxidants actually do, Tobias. They suppress the immune system. No kidding, our phagocytes rely on powerful oxygen free radicals to kill pathogens. MonaVie would logically act to diminish their effectiveness.

  47. mark says:

    carl
    why do you talk about things you dont know about? (post 46)

  48. Carl says:

    Well, mark, perhaps it’s my graduate work in biology that gives me the illusion of having some sort of knowledge here.

    Don’t like my opinion? Don’t care to actually read about the subject?

    Learn about the immune system from Dr. Mark Crislip, who surely knows more than you or I.

    http://www.quackcast.com/spodcasts/files/6319331ae076e5a5967d7d7282813128-21.html

  49. Gwen says:

    I’ve never purchased MonaVie (or what ever it is called) nor would I EVER consider purchasing something of this sort. Even if it is a harmless bad tasting fruit juice, I’ll just bet it costs hundreds of times more than an equal amount of pleasant tasting juice of equal value. In that case, this is just pure and simple theft.

  50. JACK says:

    Hello may I know Where U from ?? and How to call U phone ?? Plss let me know it … Thx

  51. Skeptic at Large says:

    Found this conversation after doing a little research when I was apprached by a MonaVie salesperson who tried to convince me that her product would be a suitable “alternative” to benadryl when I was having an acute allergic reaction that involved hives and tingling of the mouth. While it seems that MonaVie in and of itself is just harmless juice, the fact that it was touted as a replacement for benadryl is incredibly frightening, and makes me wonder what other claims are made. I confronted this person, and she went on to tell me that this stuff works for everything from autism to Lyme disease. When I refuted her claims, she went into a personal attack. Of the ploys listed on Quackwatch.org, she attempted 7 on me, but finally went away when she determined that I had a brain.

    What I find remarkably coincidental, is how similar her statements are to those that have posted here defending MonaVie. It makes me wonder if they work from a script of some kind.

  52. dale says:

    I attended a Monavie meeting with the expectation of outrageous claims. The video we were shown was very short on actual claims from the company. Instead the sales pitch relied heavily on testimonials. At the end of the show customers/distributors were invited to share their stories of ill health and salvation. I was raised by ignorant hicks who took me to penticostal tent meetings as a child. The whole affair reminded me of that. I’m reserving judgement on the juice until I conduct further research but the business model is a runaway success. My issue is simply price. I’ve always eaten better quality food than most people but I’ve never hopped on a fad bandwagon. I’m going to check out competing products and compare nutrient annalysis minus the testimonials.

  53. Kitchen Benchtops says:

    In one way or another, this is more inclined to what I also believe and practice.

  54. Gail Dalton says:

    I am responding to an old post but anyway — Mona Vie is never getting the biophotonic scanner. That is owned outright by Pharmanex which is owned by Nu Skin. Pharmanex puts out g3 juice. You can drink Mona Vie and go get scanned at a Nu Skin meeting or by a Nu Skin Distributor who has a scanner. Chances are your score won’t be that great, though. Check out the Dr. Oz video on my website gaildalton.com or go to gaildalton.nsedreams.com to purchase products like g3 juice and other nutritional and skin care products. My number is already there, and you need a number to purchase products. You can even set yourself up with your own number, by entering with my number. Do your health a favor. Take care of you skin and your insides! galvanicgail@yahoo.com.

  55. Eric says:

    Finally, an intelligent perspective. Thank you. The only healthy juice is made from fresh fruit or vegetables and consumed immediately, that’s it. Eat natural fresh food people and don’t buy into this toxic kool-aid scam, no one except for the top leaders make significant income, if anyone claims they do, they are lying….truth.

  56. KEVIN says:

    This is a great way to direct traffic to a site to get $ with affiliate sites. Simple process of inciting anger of a group, in this case, obviously MONAVIE distributors will “HARL” at you ad infinatum much to your liking, cha ching, cha ching. I really dont know much about this juice but am going to now actively seek it out
    and buy into “the myth” and wreck my life! This blog is grammer school stuff. Alas, opinions are like bungholes, everyone has one but I choose not to view them all! BRING ON THAT EVIL JUICE! woo hoo!

  57. St says:

    ^ kinda missing the point Kev

  58. Jules Kimber says:

    This is the most ill informed ranting I have ever read on a blog site. I am NOT selling Monavie, nor seeking to build a “Multilevel” organization. True Monavie IS expensive, but sellling any goods at a high price is not a SCAM. Twenty years ago I bought a brand new Ford for $3500 that now cost five times as much. I dont buy a FOrd, but the high price is clearly posted BEFORE i would buy, so it is not a scam. Yes, I did not enjoy the MONAVIE hipe rah-rah meeting, so I never went again, but I did go to the website of the Dept. of Agriculture which checked out the highest ORAC value filed (at that time). I tried the much less costly supermarket brands, but they were MUCH more watered down. Well, I can add water to the Monavie myself and reduce the cost considerably. I (and my family) love the taste; I love how people claim that it “propably” tastes bad, but then admit that they have never tried it. So much for their credibility. You are dispensing VERY BAD medical advice; by the time you FEEL nutritional defficiency, you may be in serious trouble. You may want to have an AntiOxydant Scanner done, which will tell you your antioxydant level in YOUR OWN BODY. Lots of people go about quite happy with a level of 15,000 or many of my friends who have suddenly found out that they have cancer. You may want to look into some recent research done by noted MD’s PHD’s, rather than make your decision on ill informed, uneducated ranting. To say that it is too high a price to pay, is a valid decision, but to redicule the people who have decided on taking the advise of many well creditialed Medical Practitioners (yes including many Integrated Medicine MD’s and reach deeper into their pockets that may very well prove to be a health concsious advise, is the hight of ignorance.

  59. Jules Kimber says:

    sorry for the mis-spelling, menat to say …”many Medical Practitioners with high credentials”…

  60. Ryan says:

    I am no fan of stupid Monavie, but that article about current perspective on antioxidants in health is not really correct. There is plenty of research showing various benefits, but you have to actually search for it and not just read Dr. Barrett’s summary. I enjoy many of the articles he writes but it’s no secret that he does exude bias frequently.

  61. FitnessM says:

    I have always been a little skeptic of Monavie’s all mighty greatness. I’m sure it can hurt you but really….is all that it claims to be. I take it occasionally, but not faithfully. After reading this blog, I am done with it. We just recently got tested with the View scanner and the results were so random time after time. My husband does not take Monavie, does not eat fruits or vegetables everyday(or even once a week) he eats a lot of lean meat, granola bars, rice cakes and 1-2 Monster energy drinks everyday. He is in very good physical shape and does not drink soda or eat desserts. It seems he eats good but not super healthy considering the occasional energy drink, alcoholic drink, pre-workout powder, and a few others. Anyway…..he got tested with the View scanner and he was purple(maximum high score for antioxidant’s). Which means he consumes a high amount of fruits and vegetables( which he does not) manages stress level(owns his own business…stress level pretty high), have low exposure to sunlight and pollutants(he works outside and uses indoor tanning beds), and last, takes supplements that are successfully absorbed by your body( he does not take any vitamins at all). So…..is the Monavie scan viewer all it claims to be? Um…no.