The MonaVie Acai Berry Super Fruit Juice – Mona Vie Scam?
Review of MonaVie and The Acai Berry Fruit Juice Company’s Health and Marketing Claims
MonaVie. Mona Vie. The word actually sounds like a spin off of some french phrase (mon ami), but when I hear the name, two things immediately come to mind – acai berry juice and multi level marketing pyramid scheme. The MLM business scheme or pyramid marketing concept usually elicits a series of red alert alarm bells in my brain’s BS scam detector, however, I’m willing to take a closer look at MonaVie before rendering my personal critique and verdict. After having tried out and actually tasted the MonaVie acai berry fruit drink, I have to admit, it’s a rather sweet and tasty beverage – sort of a crisp combination of grape juice, blue berries, black berries, and a hint of dark chocolate. There’s not much negative commentary I can sling at the MonaVie product in terms of taste alone, but the outrageously expensive price tag and the rather suspicious marketing approach of the company leave much to be desired.
As an ordinary American consumer and a casual observer, I’m not sure what to make of this whole MonaVie acai berry fruit juice craze that seems to be sweeping the health and fitness world. The product’s been featured on the Food Network and on daytime talk shows for women like the Rachel Ray show, and eagerly touted by popular television hosts like Oprah Winfrey as the ultimate nectar of the gods. At least several medical commentators have appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show recently to promote the acai berry as an invaluable source of super food nutrients and as a magical method to promote youth and bodily rejuvenation. While most of the on-air health commentators were on the Oprah show to promote their individual books, even Oprah herself seemed to jump on the acai berry bandwagon, endorsing the nutritional claims of the tiny purple berry in her own boisterous way.
And it’s not just celebrity women either (who in my sexist opinion tend to be very ultra health conscious). Even celebrity guys seem to be getting in on the acai super fruit craze as well. There are numerous photos floating around on the internet of well known celebrities (both male and female) photographed with their MonaVie acai juice bottles. I’ve seen hip hop stars and motor sport athletes on MTV’s Cribs show opening up their refrigerator doors for the camera to proudly display their prized rows of ultra-expensive MonaVie branded acai juice bottles. To top it off, when the Boston Red Sox won the Major League Baseball World Series in 2007, you even had several pitchers and players publicly thanking the Mona Vie company and attributing their athletic success to the seemingly magical healing powers of the MonaVie acai berry drink. When professional athletes who have just won the most competitive pinnacle award of their profession celebrate their triumph by giving a ringing endorsement of a particular enhancement product, citing the competitive advantages it allegedly provided their bodies through the grueling eight month long baseball season, I definitely take notice. However at the same time, my curiosity is greatly tempered with a strong dose of skepticism and suspicion at the celebrity’s personal motivations for such a resounding product recommendation – and I find myself wondering if the celebrity was partly motivated by financial considerations.
Without a doubt, MonaVie is a popular and highly promoted superfruit juice product, frequently mentioned in popular entertainment and athletic circles among the rich and trendy. It also has a strong growing presence online and on TV, but then again, so do many of the numerous get rich quick schemes and snake oil scams out there, featuring all types of facial cleaning products and useless weight loss shakes and pills. All such popular products have their own legion of compensated celebrities ready to help make the sales pitch and enthusiastically promote the product to the audience. Just because a product is heavily marketed and seems popular does not make it legit. Thus I wanted to take a more objective look into the MonaVie product itself, its health claims, and its marketing approach to decipher for myself the legitimacy of the brand. My primary goal is to answer these series of questions – Is MonaVie a scam? Does MonaVie acai juice berry drinks actually provide the health benefits re-soundly touted by its army of rabid distributors? And finally, is MonaVie a product I would actually purchase and consume for myself as an average, everyday mildly health conscious consumer?
The MonaVie Acai Berry Juice Product
MonaVie is a fruit juice drink made up of a blend of 19 different fruits. In a nut shell, it’s like Odwalla or Naked branded smoothie drinks – except the drink is marketed as an acai berry product and it comes in a fancy looking wine bottle to give it allure. While the company refuses to disclose the actual numbers detailing individual juice makeup, it eagerly markets the fruit juice cocktail as some type of specially formulated super fruit juice, citing its composition of acai berries for its supposed magical ability to cure all sorts of physical and mental ailments. While the company does not expressly state that the MonaVie acai berry juice drink is capable of amazing healing properties, that is the marketing direction the company seems to strongly hint at. Obviously due to legality reasons, MonaVie can’t officially claim its juice drink to be a health elixir, but it sure seems like it unofficially wants to based on the promotional dance it’s constantly engaging in.
Inside of its fruit juice drinks, MonaVie lists as one of its primary ingredients – the acai berry (pronounced ah-sai-ee) – a small purple black fruit about an inch in size and produced from the acai palm tree in the Amazon of Brazil. Through its network of distributors, the MonaVie company promotes the message that its unique acai berry juice blend contains many of the antioxidant related health benefits associated with the acai berry and other special fruits. Supposedly, these super fruits are packed with powerful nutrients and antioxidant compounds that uniquely protect the body’s cells from damage and disease, boost the immune system, and slow down the otherwise inevitable process of aging. However, much of the alleged health benefits of MonaVie and the extent of the nutritional value of acai have been called into constant debate and frequently questioned by naysayers that cast suspicion at what exactly is contained in MonaVie and the extent of its alleged nutritional value if any. Certainly, the company’s reluctance to share detailed information about the specific acai berry concentration found in its bottles and its mysterious refusal to reveal detailed proportional make up of how the fruit juices in the MonaVie blend are made up continue to fuel discussions abut the health claims made by the product’s distributors.
Monavie Acai Is Sold Exclusively Via A Questionable Multi Level Direct Sales Approach (AKA Pyramid Scheme)
Mona Vie acai juice drinks are not available in traditional supermarket chains or grocery stores like Safeway, Kroger, or Wegmans, and they’re not even available via specialty health minded retailers like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. You definitely won’t find the company’s products at discounters like Walmart or Costco – no, the MonaVie company shuns the traditional sales outlets in favor of a more personalized and almost cult like marketing approach.
MonaVie was launched in January 2005 by a long time direct sales marketing veteran and since then, the company has relied exclusively on a multi level marketing strategy to promote and sell its expensive juice drinks. For all intents and purposes, the company’s more of a powerful marketing machine than a health food provider. Certainly there may be substantially better fruit juice products out there at much cheaper prices, but frankly, and somewhat commendably, MonaVie does a pretty powerful job of hyping and cleverly convincing health fanatics that they absolutely must drink this product everyday to live their lives to the fullest.
By tapping into a sales stream that takes advantage of trusted personal relationships to generate sales, the company has become wildly successful – at least on the sales side. Those unfamiliar with multi level marketing (MLM) may be more familiar with its common nickname – the pyramid scheme. A MLM or pyramid scheme relies on a direct sales technique based on a relationship referral business model whereby trusted people are the engine components that drive the commission based sales. Whenever a sale is made, a lofty commission is paid out, not only to you (the person who made the sale), but also to the person who referred you into the marketing program as well as to the person who referred your direct referrer – hence the pyramid nature of the arrangement. Because these multi level marketing programs are so potentially lucrative for those at the top of the pyramid (the upline), the system strongly encourages and incentivizes participants to zealously promote the product and heavily recruit new entrants into the program (the downline) to further earn sales and commissions for those on the up line.
Now, the one thing that must be made clear is that not all multi level marketing programs or pyramid schemes are inherently evil or illegal. Not all pyramid schemes are blatant scams or disreputable shell games the same way that Ponzi Schemes are. In fact, there are many otherwise thinly legitimate multi level marketing programs out there such as Amway, Avon, Mary Kay, Herbalife, Tupperware, and all sorts of online affiliate programs. However, many of these MLM based companies suffer from the same stigma and questionable scrutiny that MonaVie faces as well. While not outright frauds or scams like the way Nigerian 419 scams are for example, the same scammy concerns arise because many of these MLM programs really only benefit those at the top of the marketing pyramid and often encourage overzealous sales techniques that frequently lead to almost predatory recruiting tactics and pitches. Oftentimes as well, many of these MLM programs demand contractually obligated sales quotas that members must satisfy every month or face having to purchase the products themselves to meet the sales quota requirement. In the case of MonaVie’s contractually obligated arrangement for wannabe new distributors into the program, new entrants are obligated to buy at least 4 bottles a month of the pricey acai berry juice. They don’t come cheap and failure to sell enough bottles every month will require that the distributor contractually purchase the required quota for personal use.
As noted by an investigative news article from Newsweek, according to income disclosures, most of the million strong sales team of MonaVie appear to be really just drinking the juice themselves rather than selling them as originally intended. More than 90% of supposed distributors of MonaVie are actually considered wholesale customers, whose earnings were mostly discounts on sales to themselves. Remarkably according to the article, fewer than 1% of the MonaVie marketing pyramid’s sales people qualified for commissions and of those, only 10% made more than $100 a week. The Newsweek article even goes on to state that according to a top MonaVie recruiter, while obviously not disclosed by the company, the MonaVie multi level marketing program’s drop out rate’s around 70%. It’s certainly a fascinating tidbit to keep in mind as you ponder the question of whether MonaVie’s a scam. While I personally don’t think MonaVie is a scam as they do offer an otherwise legitimate fruit juice product, the acai juice company sure has rather unsavory fringe elements to it.
In regards to the secret world of direct sales and pyramid marketing, I had my first negative exposure to MLM programs when I was recruited by a company called Vector Marketing to sell Cutco branded knives back when I was just an 18 year old high school student. For some odd reason, many fellow high school students such as myself were targeted with elaborate marketing sales pitches by Vector Marketing recruiters to become trained in the art of tapping personal relationships to sell ridiculously and insanely overpriced Cutco steak knives to our friends and family members. Obviously, our recruiters were eager to train us into becoming their commission earning downline so that they could profit from our sales as our upline referrals. While the Cutco knives we lugged around and sold were of obvious high quality, they were no where even close to being worth the exorbitant price demanded of each individual cutlery. Quality is one thing, but they were and to this very day, are still vastly overpriced. While I was able to tap into my personal relationships and beg a few neighbors to shell out hundreds of dollars for a few knives out of pity, I remember always feeling extremely scammy and sleazy during my rehearsed sales pitches to supposed loved ones. As a mere 18 year old at the time, I wasn’t too fond of having to take advantage of my close relationships for financial gain. There was nothing illegal or deliberately evil about the whole sales system, but the whole multi level marketing approach simply felt shady and rather manipulative to me.
Mova Vie Is Extremely Expensive and Overpriced Despite Its Alleged Acai Berry Health Properties
The MonaVie acai berry juice product is not cheap. In fact it’s downright expensive – ridiculously overpriced at astronomically rip off levels if you ask me. A single MonaVie juice bottle will cost you $30-$40 per bottle, for a little more than 25 fluid ounces of the fruit berry mixture. According to the promotional material, to fully appreciate the nutritional benefits of acai berry juicing, you’re supposed to drink at least 2 fluid ounces of the purple stuff in the morning, and another 1 ounce at night. At the rate suggested by the MonaVie company, a single bottle will last you about a week. At $30-40 a bottle, that comes out to $120-$160 a month, and $1,440-$1,920 a year. Unless you are swimming in money and flush with dollars like the professional athletes or financially well off like celebrities Oprah Winfrey or Rachel Ray, chances are, you’re going to find regular consumption of this product to be well beyond your financial means. The lucrative price of each expensive bottle of Mona Vie can probably be traced back to the high cost of commission maintenance that must be paid out to the entire pyramid marketing chain upon each sale.
Because of the multi level marketing nature and aggressive direct sales promotional tactics of MonaVie distributors, a wide array of ridiculous health and nutritional claims seem to have blanketed the internet. Sometimes it’s a little difficult figuring out which writer is trustworthy and which one is blatantly a sales guy. I have personal gut-feeling suspicions that sizable portions of these favorable web-based health comments and supposed online testimonials were made by MonaVie distributors and financially interested sales promoters trying to hype up the appeal of their pricey cash cow via fake product reviews. A quick browse of the internet quickly reveals all sorts of outlandish testimonies and anecdotal stories by random people – claims of how MonaVie acai juice drinking cured their heart disease, healed their arthritis, alleviated stress and depression, cured their acne, reversed their aging, repaired joint damage, got rid of joint and back pain, cured their cancer, treated their diabetes, made them more energetic, and even improved their sex life. The craziest claim I’ve seen was some gentlemen who claimed that his steady diet of Mona Vie acai berry juice made his special male anatomy organ larger and more virile. I’ve even read a few ridiculous claims by anonymous female commentators on various Mona Vie related blog posts touting how acai berry juicing grew their chests and helped make their breasts larger. The myriad of outlandish and totally unsubstantiated claims are quite abundantly available online – an unfortunate side effect that distorts the truth, whenever there is a lot of sales money to be had.
Now it’s one thing for a product to be expensive and it’s a whole different matter altogether if the product doesn’t actually do what it says it is supposed to do. The literature and research on the amazing health benefits of drinking MonaVie and the supposed God-like healing properties of acai berry juice are still not entirely definitive. While there is little doubt that berries and fruits such as acai, blue berries, blackberries, and pomegranates common loads of nutritional vitamins and powerful compounds such as cell repairing antioxidants, the research is not yet entirely supportive that these are indeed super fruits that can cure all and heal all. There is scientific evidence that the acai fruit and other dark berries are uniquely high in Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC), a rating system that evaluates a food product’s ability to fight harmful free radicals in the body, but that doesn’t mean that a single fruit can potentially replace all other alternative sources of vital nutrients.
To be fair, the MonaVie company doesn’t actually go out of its way to blatantly promote the MonaVie product as a magical berry elixir anymore. MonaVie does not actually make the health and nutritional claims itself. Due to stricter federal scrutiny of Mona Vie’s official claims, the company has drastically cut back on its previous assertions of health benefits and healing properties. The company is now content with marketing the MonaVie drink as merely a high end fruit juice product, letting its legion of cult like Mona Vie acai berry drinkers and promoters hype the unbelievable health benefit innuendos on their own. After all, the motto of the MonaVie company is – “Drink It, Feel It, Share It” – which sounds more like a sales focused marketing directive of sorts to me.
Acai Berries Do Contain Lots Of Nutrients – They Just Don’t Have Super Healing Powers As Suggested By Some Independent MonaVie Distributors
As a mild defense for the key heralded component of MonaVie’s juice product – the acai berry does indeed contain abundant nutritional value. There is quite a bit of research touting the health benefits of acai berry as a good source of fiber, minerals, vitamins, polyphenols, and antioxidants for healthy bodily performance. The expensive acai fruit does indeed contain a wealth of nutritional benefits compressed into each little purple berry, but then again, much of the same health benefits can easily be found in large concentrations in other more common and cheaper fruits such as bananas, blue berries, and apples as well.
Despite my admitted fondness for the taste of acai, I’m extremely wary of buying into the whole MonaVie acai juice product because I simply do not know how much of acai can be found in each bottle. Because MonaVie refuses to disclose the actual composition of its juice drinks, we do not know for certain the exact breakdown of its juice cocktail and the exact amount of expensive acai berry concentrate in the blend. It’s very important to keep in mind that the MonaVie juice mixture doesn’t contain acai berries exclusively. It’s comprised of an admitted blend of 19 fruits – including many common and cheap fruits like bananas and apples, easily found in your neighborhood grocery store. If you really buy into the claimed health benefits of juicing and nutritional potency of acai berries, there are much easier and cheaper ways to get your purple berry fix. Most grocery stores sell acai berry juice variations and even certain online stores sell similar acai berry laden juice drinks, acai powders, and acai capsules for much, much less.
The fact of the matter is that people are always looking for the easy way out and frequently are all too eager for a magic potion that will make take away the need to put in effort. There is plenty of research touting the overwhelming health benefits of a low fat, low sugar diet comprised of lots of fish and whole grain foods. There is also overwhelming evidence that smoking and excessive alcohol drinking wrecks havoc on physical and mental health, and that daily consistent exercise is absolutely essential to healthy living. Yet, we as humans seem to ignore those simple practices and remain perpetually enamored with the possibility that there are super fruits out there that can serve as magic silver bullets to our health problems and ailments. The reality is that there is no such thing as a one size fits all super fruit. Proper health and nutrition requires a good moderated balance of fruits, vegetables, and proper exercise – not the services of a single food product – especially not one that is so expensively priced.
How To Buy MonaVie Online And Test Out Acai Berry Juices For Yourself (Remember, It’s Not Cheap and Its Health Claims Are Not Fully Substantiated Yet)
Recently, I purchased a few bottles of MonaVie online simply to test out and review the juice product for myself since I didn’t know how else to try it out for free. While I have no intention of actually signing up as a distributor or getting myself locked into some multi level marketing contract, I think it’s perfectly understandable if there are people out there who remain curious about the fruit juice blend. It’s admittedly rather tasty, albeit extremely expensive and somewhat overrated. Personally, I don’t buy the magical juice berry claims of the MonaVie supporters and chose to consume the drink on a one time limited basis as I would any new drink. If you really want to start juicing, buy a fruit juicer for yourself or buy pre-made fruit smoothies from the grocery store. Many of these pre-made blends contain acai berry and they’re a much cheaper way to get exposed to the nutritional value of acai should you so choose to partake. If you really insist on joining the MonaVie acai berry craze, there are plenty of equally good generic acai berry brands out there as well – in various just-add-water powder products and pills.
In the event you are determined to test out MonaVie acai berry drinks or similar acai berry products based on curiosity, here are a few ways to buy them online. Remember, it’s not an endorsement, and I’m just pointing the way for you if you insist:
- MonaVie Active Health Juice With Acai (Amazon) – 1 Bottle of the dark purple stuff.
- MonaVie Active Juice Bottles With Acai (Amazon) – 4 bottles – A way to buy MonaVie online without having to agree to some recurring sales contract.
- MonaVie Juice Bottles With Acai (eBay) – Cheapest method to buy MonaVie online without commiting to a distributorship agreement, but requires eBay auction bidding.
- Natrol – Acai Berries 1000mg Per Serving 60 Capsules (Amazon) – 60 capsules
- Organic Acai Fruit Capsules with Camu Camu (Amazon) – 60 capsules – The Brazilian acai berry in pill form.
- 100% Pure Acai Fruit Powder with Camu Camu (Amazon) – 90 grams – Just add water to make an acai powder juice drink.
December 30th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Interesting article on MonaVie Acai Berry Fruit Juice! But FYI, Vector Marketing is not an MLM.
December 30th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
My BS meter immediately says anything that the glitterati are into are fads, at best, and scams, at worst. So if Oprah or any other show is featuring it, run, don’t walk. That goes for athlete endorsements, too. How much are they being paid and how much do they actually guzzle? As for the MonVie product, how much acai berry juice is there per serving? You know that if you buy something through an MLM, its price is automatically jacked up to support the pay structure. You keep saying it’s popular. Popular with whom? Trendsetters or Joe Sixpack? Trendsetters were pushing apple cider vinegar and pineapple diets awhile back. So what does popular mean?
And, finally, regarding MLMs. If you search, you will find that over 90% of MLM distributors either make no money or lose money, after you add in recruiting costs. So, unless you are a go-getter and worship money or lifestyle, forget it.
December 30th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
This article caught my interest but I could not agree with it. My family and myself use Mona Vie regularly and there is not enough room for the health benefits that were achieved since we started using Mona – Vie. I also became a distributor for Mona – Vie because I wanted others to find out for themselves what a wonderful healthy product Mona – Vie is. Anyone who is interested about Mona – Vie products, feel free to contact me for health that may lead to wealth.
Drink it, Feel it, Share it
Phyllis McCarthy
Dist. # 1671917
December 30th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Now i am really confused, i am going to a meeting about selling this stuff, and have been using it for a week…..i do feel great and feel like i have more energy. I guess i will have to ask alot of questions…..i wish i could find out if someone honestly out there has made some good money out there….any one wanting to share?
January 4th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Hi
Acai is all the rage at the moment but some unscrupulous companies are scamming people for hidden costs in their free trials. When these free trials are taken out you are also signed up for membership and on going supplies.
Be careful
Sandra
January 5th, 2009 at 12:51 am
The author uses the terms MLM and Pyramid Scheme as if they are synonymous. A pyramid scheme is where money is earned solely thru recruitment and no product is normally involved. also, the author says in MLM the earlier recruits will make mnore than later recruits. Another fallacy…..anyone who understands the marketing plan and payout can easily draw numerous scenarios where the donline distributor can make more than an upline distributor.
January 5th, 2009 at 1:09 am
George,
I equate multi level marketing schemes with pyramid scams because I find them similar enough to elicit similar discomfort and unease among most consumers that come into contact with them. While most certainly an MLM can otherwise be very legitimate, the financial motivations and blinded lust to recruit more entrants into the scheme are comparable to that of a pyramid. Besides, it’s easier for most readers to visualize MLM’s and how they generally work with a more relatable depiction of a pyramid shape.
And yes, there are scenarios where a later distributor can earn much more than the original referrer, however, I’m assuming the initial referrer is actively out there recruiting more downline participants instead of just sitting on his butt. On the whole, the whole concept of a MLM and even pyramid scheme is to primarily benefit those closer to the top.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Raymond,
I would suggest that you read through the Policies and Procedures – which is available for anyone to read on any distributor’s website – try mine if you’d like (http://www.mymonavie.com/JimandRoseann) for more information since you made a few mistakes. One of which was recommending that people buy the product through ebay since that is something that the company does NOT allow. Yes, there are distributors out there that are listing the product on ebay, but when the company finds them they will pull their distributorships. They don’t want this product in the grocery store or on ebay or at a flea market because they want its story to be TOLD – not just lost among the others on the shelf. If people don’t know the differences between MonaVie and the other products that are available, their reaction to the price would be much like yours.
Another mistake is saying that you have to sign a “contract” to continue to purchase the product. You don’t. When you pay the whopping $39 to be a distributor it gives you the right to buy the product wholesale – which can save you up to $25/bottle if you were to buy it in bulk. How many “businesses” can you name that you can start up for $39? And IF you buy just enough for yourself to drink – one case of 4 bottles per month – you maintain your active status and can then earn bonuses and commissions. Doesn’t sound like a bad deal to me to promote a product that is actually GOOD for you and the people you tell about it. You can find all of this out without actually BECOMING a distributor. Go to the website and you’ll see – when you start the process to sign up you read through and agree to all of this before you can finish. My husband and I have been distributors for about 3 months now – because we tried the product and it helped some health issues we had. You’d probably call them outlandish claims so I won’t go into that, but any decent person wouldn’t sell something that they didn’t believe in.
As for most of the people being distributors that are making these “myriad of outlandish and totally unsubstantiated claims” – I’d guess you’re probably right. And they don’t need to be substantiated since they’re made by people that actually had these things happen to them – so of course they became distributors AFTER they realized these health benefits. Why wouldn’t they? Why would they want to pay retail if they could pay wholesale prices?
You try to throw suspicion on the company because they won’t give away their “formula” – does EVERY other manufacturer give out their formula? They just list ingredients. From what I’ve been told, and it’s no secret, acai makes up approximately 1/3 of the product. If you notice, it’s the FIRST ingredient listed which means it has more of that than the other ingredients. I don’t know of any other acai product in which that’s the case (and I’ve checked the ones on the shelf at Sam’s Club.) I know it’s not cheap – but neither would juicing 13 servings of fruit per day be – IF you could get the quality of the fruits and berries they use (which you can’t) from the grocery store. If you look at it that way – IF you actually were going to do that – this is a STEAL at this price, not to mention the mess and inconvenience you’d avoid.
The acai only grows in the Amazon and has to be processed pretty quickly or it will begin to lose its potency. MonaVie has a plant down there (no one else does that I’m aware of) and has a patent on the process to lock in the nutrients. Other companies don’t. Their product is by far better than the others you see on the shelves because of this and I’m sure that costs them a lot of money. Would I pay $45/bottle/week for this? Probably not. Would I pay the $25 – $30 it costs as a distributor? Definitely. And I never tell anyone to do anything other than become a distributor so they can get it more cheaply. I don’t sell the bottles.
I’m curious – you said you bought a couple of bottles to try it yourself, but didn’t say what you thought – other than that you liked the taste. I didn’t actually feel any different myself for probably 6 weeks, but I’ve known people – personal friends – that I’ve GIVEN bottles to for them to try – that noticed a difference within one week. At the risk of sounding “outlandish” – one guy that is diabetic had to reduce his insulin because his blood sugar came down with this after just 4 days. Mostly those were people that probably didn’t eat right at all to begin with, so putting something this good in their bodies probably had more of an effect quickly than someone who does eat right.
I know you SAY you don’t think MonaVie is a Scam – but the entire tone of your post says otherwise. It’s articles like this one that continue the notion that all MLMs are bad. Even though you SAY they’re not, that’s not what someone reading this would come away with. Granted, there are those out there that take advantage of people and that have no product or ones that are worthless. But this one isn’t. They’re actually a GOOD company. They give back – A LOT – to the community in Brazil where they harvest the acai. Some of the money from each bottle goes to the MORE project – a 501C3 organization, and distributors donate more, and they’ve built schools and housing for the children there and provide ongoing dental care. They’ve even helped rebuild homes in extreme poverty. They’re currently building Village MonaVie for children at risk.
Check out the website – I think it might change your mind, and I look forward to another posting from you that hopefully will be slanted a little differently.
Roseann
PS To Elle – when you go to your meeting to hear more about the company, the person that invited you should be able to point you to quite a few people that are making good money with this. If they can’t, I’ll be happy to put you in contact with some that are.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
MonaVie is definatley NOT a scam. Fantastic opportunity- not only for Health but Wealth!!!!!! If you’d like to try some- go to my site!!! You’d be a fool not to …
January 11th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
All it took for Bernie Madoff to make hundreds of billions of dollars was to have believers follow what common sense denied. Eat right, including fruits and vegetables, and exercise, and you won’t need to spend money on what sounds suspiciously like a fruit juice.
January 12th, 2009 at 10:55 am
a survey should be conducted on all the people around the world who are 100 yrs of age or older and are still alive and also the ones who are 70 or older and still feel energetic, healthy and vibrant enough to be able to do everything they want to do, to see how many of them drank acai fruit juice or ever even heard of acai and to see how they lived their life.
all these new trendy stuff that come out every year and these new fruits that companies discover in the remote jungles of the world…….
more like…talented marketing professional goes on a vacation to some part of the world…sees this new fruit that people eat…..gets a great marketing or startup idea……tries it out…
maybe I should make a healthy jackfruit juice….hmm…
January 13th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Hi, I’m Isaac Yassar and I help people reach success in self development, business, and blogging for free. Thanks for sharing this interesting article MBB, it’s interesting to hear your experience. Well, I got to say there are some intensity in the comments, let’s add some, shall we? You see, I wrote an article titled “Why You Should Never Join MLM” at:
And guys, please, do you actually think Windows would be the most popular operating system in the world if Bill Gates market it through MLM? Gimme a break, will ya?
January 19th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
i drank some and killed five angry lions. Then took a nap. I even slept strong. PT Barnum
January 19th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
JJ Solari,
Must have been the magical MonaVie acai berry elixer … lol
January 21st, 2009 at 2:32 am
My fiance has saved over 500.00/month drinking Mona Vie because she no longer needs to take as many prescription drugs for all of her health problems. I have felt great for the three months I have been drinking the juice! May the writer needs to take another look at the MonVie benefits AND the opportunity. What to hear more? Go to my websight to see for yourself.
January 21st, 2009 at 11:58 am
If anyone knows anything about the Madoff scam, this guy sent out completely bogus trade records for years to his victims. So without completely independent verification of any claim or “fact,” I’ll keep thinking that MonaVie is a scam.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
The MonVie juice is a total scam and a fairly worthless product. The business is a dead end for over 90% of their distributors. Less than 0.8% collect 65% of all commissions. An overwhelming majority make less than minimum wage for their efforts and can’t even cover their product costs with their commissions.
The product itself has a nasty preservative that’s being removed by soft drink makers that we all know don’t care about our health. And there has been a recent study that shows there are as many antioxidants in plain old apple juice. http://www.mensjournal.com/superjuices-on-trial
Total scam and now that we have a new administration I’d expect a shakeup at the FTC and they will finally start prosecuting these “MLMs” which have been ignoring established laws for years now. Sad that these supplement MLMs are allowed to exist and hopefully they won’t be around much longer. It’s amazing that with all the information available today people still get suckered into this garbage.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Posting a very telling quote from the Mens Journal article posted by Jay exposing the superjuice scam:
MonaVie Active
“Packaged in a high-end-looking wine bottle, MonaVie tested extremely low in anthocyanins and phenolics. Even apple juice (which also tested poorly) has more phenolics than this Utah-based company’s juice. Plus, MonaVie’s vitamin C level was five times lower than that of Welch’s Grape Juice. That’s not many nutrients, especially at $1.20 a serving.”
I’ve had Mona Vie Active before and while it tasted well, I don’t think the true nutritional benefits if any, live up to the hype. MonaVie is a scam IMO
February 6th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
I recently tried Mon Ami and feel strongly about the positive health benefits, there is nothing similar with vitamin C, apple juice or bananas. Overall, the positive responses seem to be from people reacting to the health benefits of this product and the negative reponses are from those reacting to the financial benefits. Reader, be aware of the different perspectives. Since health benefits of a product are highly individualized, it seems to me that the value of this product can only be judged by the consumer. The financial benefits, on the other hand, can be evaluated by the data regarding the MLM business structure. Try it for yourself before dismissing the product.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
No dismiss the product and don’t contribute to this obvious money making scam. The “health benefits” of this juice are negligible. Much better products can be purchased for a fraction of the price. It’s just a scientific fact.
February 9th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
What’s up with all of these MonAmi scams? Sure they do taste pretty great but they are not worth the price you pay for them in terms of potential superjuice health benefits if any. Just another acai berry scam – and I can’t believe Oprah, Rachel Ray, and these MLB players endorse these type of products. What were they thinking?
I think the comments being posted that support Monavie are actually acai juice distributors trying to pump up their products and get people suckered in. Buyer beware!
February 9th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
People! Go to your local health food store. Buy PURE acai berry juice and mix it with grape juice or you can buy great acai smoothies. You don’t need to buy a $39 bottle of this stuff! It’s nicely packaged and tastes good but you can get the same benefit or perhaps better at your local health food store.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:20 am
There’s even more acai scams on aca-scam. Be careful if you are on an acai berry diet pill “free trial” site. They will bill your credit card $80 every month if you don’t cancel your “free trial” within 14 days.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
ITS AMAZING THAT THERE IS SO MANY PEOPLE WHO JUST WHO JUST BLATANTLY THROW OUT INFORMATION THAT IS SO UNTRUE IS LAUGHABLE. MY WIFE AND I ARE DISTRIBUTORS, AND HAVE BEEN FOR ABOUT 10 MONTHS. MONA VIE PROVIDES US WITH LIMITLESS ENERGY AND RECOVERY TIME BEFORE AND AFTER WORKOUTS. THE ULTRA HIGH ANTIOXIDANTS PROVIDE US AND OUR CHILDREN FOR THE EVERY DAY TOXINS THAT RUN THROUGH OUR FOOD SUPPLY , THE AIR WE BREATH, AND THE LEVELS OF RADIATION WITH THE INCREASED NUMBERS OF CELL PHONES AND COMPUTERS. YOU COULD NEVER GET THE QUALITY OF FRUIT OR ACAI AT YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET OR HEALTH FOOD STORE, IN SUCH A CONVENIENT FORM. GO TO YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET AND BUY A JUICER AND BLEND ME UP ACAI, CAMU CAMU, WILD BILBERRIES ,WOLF BERRIES,NASHI PEARS, ARONIA BERRIES, LYCHEE FRUIT, POMEGRANATE, CRANBERRY, PEARS ,BANANA, GRAPES (BOTH PURPLE AND WHITE)WILD BLUBERRIES, APRICOTS, KIWI, PASSION FRUIT, ACEROLA CHERRRIES,AND PRUNES LET ME KNOWIF YOU CAN FIND ALL OF THESE FRUITS, THEN TELL ME HOW EASY IT WAS, AND FINALLY TELL ME HOW MUCH IT COST. THEN CALL ME AND I WILL GET YOU STARTED WITH MONA VIE.THERE ARE 18 FRUITS SCIENTIFICALLY DESIGNED TO WORK WITH THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF ACAI AVAILABLE ANYWHERE. LETS NOW TALK ABOUT PYRAMIDS …LET ME MENTION SOME HOW ABOUT GM, OR BANK OF AMERICA, OR CITTIBANK COMPANIES THAT TAKE YOUR TAX MONEY AND PAY THE CEO MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, ON GOVERNMENT BAILOUT PROGRAMS. MONAVIE IS DEBT FREE AND GIVING BACK TO BRAZIL TO SAVE THE RAINFORREST AND PROVIDING MEN WOMEN AND CHILDREN WITH HOPE. EVERYDAY PEOPLE WEAR DESIGNER LABLES POLO, JUICY , UNDERARMER, NIKE, ARE THEY PAYING THEM FOR ADVERTISING THAT PRODUCT, THE ANSWER IS NO . MONA VIE PAYS ME 400-600 DOLLARS PER WEEK NOT BAD FOR DRINKING THE BEST PRODUCT AROUND AND SHARING THE OPPORTUNITY. IN THESE TRYING TIMES OF 401 KS GOING DOWN THE DRAIN, MONA VIE HAS PROVIDED US WITH ALTERNATE INCOME TO PROVIDE FOR OUR FUTURE. WE ALREADY KNOW ITS GIVING US WITH THE PROPER NUTITION THAT WILL HELP US ENJOY IT FOR MANY MANY YEARS TO COME. REMEMBER WINNERS CREATE POSITIVE MEANINGS !AND whiners create negative meanings! KNOW YOUR FACTS SO YOU DON’T BECOME A WHINER !
February 10th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
You have provided no facts John just more nonsense. The juice has a negligible nutrition value. I know that it’s tough to swallow that since you’re a juice pusher but it’s just a fact. There is SO much info out there that debunks all the hype that it is laughable that people still defend this stuff. But as long as people keep making illegal claims, and they do daily, we won’t have to deal with this particular scam much longer. But don’t worry I’m sure you will be guided right into the next “best health product ever” scam.
February 10th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I find it interesting that the products are good but not all inclusive. Why not spend the money on a complete nutritional product like Arbonne’s Hybrid’s for Men & Women and get all the benefits. If you need Acai or Mangosteen or even the new Amalaki “super fruit” just go to whole food and buy it on the cheap. Seems like there is a new super berry every six months. Besides, Arbonne lists all the ingredients, from what is was extracted and the amounts. Why hide something unless you’re embarrassed? Send me an email and I’ll send you the ingredients. Take it to someone that you trust and ask them about it before you try it. Pretty simple. But even with this product, it doesn’t replace good judgement on what and how you eat and appropriate excercies. Come on folks, be reasonable. If you want to make some serious cash, then you really need to call but here again, the money is tied directly to effort and most folks who want to get rich quick just need to get a job because they aren’t focused and determined enough to work on their own. Of course at Arbonne, we have hundreds of products including skin care, makeup and wellness products for babies and youth. Why represent just one product??
February 10th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
It’s amazing that people fall for these MLM scams. If the product was great it would be sold in stores where the company would make a FORTUNE. But it’s not so they rely on scammers to make false claims behind closed doors.
Wake up people! This is a no brainer. It’s not about the product it’s all about fueling the money ring. Don’t believe a word any of these MLMers say.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
I know several people who are distributors and realy push the product. But what I have found interesting is that knowing them before Mona Vie, and after they got invloved their personalities have changed significantly. Now all they talk about is how much money they will be making and how good the stuff is. They all sound like used car salesmen. It’s almost like they go to these meetings, meditate and get brain washed. It is like a cult.
There is no such thing as get rich quick or get rich without working hard. That’s what this thing seems to push. It makes it sound like all you do is sit back and let the money roll in. \
Come on people, if you want to become wealthy, get out and work. I mean work overtime, or get a second job and save money. Get out of dept. If you want some great financial advise and ways to become wealthy visit Dave Ramsey’s web site. He hits it right on the head.
February 15th, 2009 at 1:16 am
” not all multi level marketing programs or pyramid schemes are inherently evil or illegal. ”
pyramid scheme = illegal
MLM = not illegal. learn the difference.
90% of the distributors consume the product? What is wrong that, wow so you mean people who try to sell something actualy use and believe in what they selling. You say that like its a bad thing. Its refereshing to see someone use and believe in the product they are trying to sell.
February 15th, 2009 at 1:26 am
Its amazing how many ignorant closed minded people there are out there that think all MLM’s are scams. At the same time its amazing how many idiots there are out there that promote MLM’s are get rich deals. Lots of idiots and ignorant people.
Here is what it comes down to. If you use a product and it works for you and you believe in it and you tell other people, why shouldn’t you be compensated for that? Everyday people recommend products to others and they don’t get paid a penny for it. Did you see a good movie, try a new restaurant, find something on sale, and tell everyone you know about it??? Did you get paid? NOPE.
Telling people you know about a good product and getting paid and explaining to them they can do the same = networkmarketing.
Not caring about what you sell, only trying to make as much as you can and lieing to people they will make millions over night = fruad, you should be shot.
Not understanding there is a difference between the two = you are ignorant.
February 15th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
All you need is some common sense to know this is a scam. If the peoeple who make this stuff realy had morals and integrity, they wouldn’t use the MLM to sell it. Plus I know that it does not take $45.00 a bottle to produce. If the stuff is as good as they claim, and they realy want to help people, they could cut down the cost significantly. For one dont’s use such extravigant bottles, and labeling. Make a product that’s affordable to the general public. Especially in these times financial crisis. Some I I know who sells this prays on people with serious illnesses, and push it on them as a cure all. It’s disgusting, and immoral. And yes some people do claim to feel better, but the power of suggestion I believe plays a big part in that. Your mind can do amaizing things. If you believe that something is going to cure you, it just may. But it’s not the product it’s the mind. I bet if you put plain grape juice in a fancy bottle, market it as a miracle juice, and sell it for $45.00 a bottle. People would claim that they are feeling better. I just don’t know how you peopld who sell this stuff can sleep at night.
February 16th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Everyone, this is a scam. Acai berry weight loss scams are everywhere. Beware. Don’t get brainwashed by the idiots that claim it’s helping them. These are the same idiots, mind you, that are not only buying worthless garbage, but are also PAYING for the “privilege” of being a distributor. OF COURSE they are going to pump up the product – that’s the only way they can sell the stuff they prepurchased. Otherwise they have to drink it themselves!
February 17th, 2009 at 12:39 am
All I can say is that I have seen Monavie work in a number of people, including my grandson. I have tried the other acai formulas and they don’t compare.
Monavie also helped dramatically with my arthritis. Also my daughter’s MIL. To the point that when I ran out, I was in excrutiating pain! The doctor reccomended surgery, but when I told him about Monavie, he said, then we all need to take it!
It is actually at $45 per bottle, or less if you are on auto-ship, less than prescriptions that have terrible side effects (stomach bleeding!) and much less than a co-pay for surgery that could leave me much worse off!
I don’t know what is wrong with people, if they are selling the other products or what, but Monavie is the only thing that has worked this well on my old injuries, and I love it! PS(I don’t sell it, I just drink it!) Check out the science!
February 17th, 2009 at 9:23 am
There is no science behind Monavie. Only hype put together by shifty juice peddlers to dupe people. If you think Monavie is going to somehow keep you off of prescription drugs or prevent a necessary surgery then you are just the person they are looking for. Good luck with the magic juice.
February 17th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I figure I can either listen to all the nay sayers, or the believers, or try it myself and draw my own conclusions. Decided Sunday that we would try it out, I figure I will give it a month, and give it my honest opinion. I cant really say something doesnt work based off of others findings, as many have alterior motives, both on the pro and con side of the coin. My mother has Luekemia and my Grandfather has really bad diabetes, so as they try it too, we will see what happens. Both have been getting worse, and the meds and insulin don’t seem to be doing their thing as well.
Any decrease in what they need, and increase in health is well worth it to me if it does work. I will keep everyone posted on how I feel trying it, as well as my mother and grandfather.
February 18th, 2009 at 1:31 am
A friend of mine who sells this stuff gave me a free bottle to try. I tried it and did not notice any difference. I then tried my own juicing with fresh berries and vegitables. Since doing this I have noticed a big difference in energy and being able to focus. Plus it is a heck of a lot cheaper. But for those of you who believe this is the cats meow keep paying $45.00 a bottle, I’l stick to about $10.00 a week in fresh fruits and vegi’s.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
WOW Corey magic juice for Luekemia and Diabetes. This is why companies like this need to be wiped off the planet. Truly disgusting…
February 21st, 2009 at 5:03 am
A quote from Raymond :” On the whole, the whole concept of a MLM and even pyramid scheme is to primarily benefit those closer to the top.”, then wouldn’t it be true for most businesses; as I see it if you are one of the worker bees in a company, just above you would be supervisors (who make more than you), then managers (who make more than them), then vice-presidents and then there is the president/CEO (each making progressively more than the person below them). Most of us working a “Job” will not make it to the top to become the president or CEO, they will always make more money than us and in fact they make money off the hard work we are doing!!! Isn’t this how a pyramid works?? Sure I can work overtime to try to make more than my supervisor or manager, but that costs me time away from my wife and kids. Is it really worth it??? I can keep trading my time for money, but if I want to have more time with my family, wouldn’t I have to work less?? or vise versa, if I wanted more money that would mean I would have less time with my family because I have to work longer hours or even the weekend!!
I do agree that there are MLM’s out there that are scams, but I suggest to all of you nay sayers out there, that, do your research first, don’t just look at one person’s point of view, because that is just one person’s opinion. There are other studies out there that DO support claims of health benefits that the Acai berry has, are these people lying too?? If there was a product out there that has had positive lab test to cure or prevent a disease, wouldn’t it be worth looking into?? Just because someone doesn’t get immediate results from taking the juice it doesn’t mean that it’s a scam. If the acai berry is strengthening your immune system, would you notice it right away?? One more question to think about, if your doctor prescribed Mona Vie (assuming it was a prescription drink) and it cost you $80 a week to cure an illness, would you tell him that that was too much money and this was a scam??
February 21st, 2009 at 8:24 pm
You can’t just go to the store and buy bananas because our food does not have enough nutrients in it anymore due to the pesticides being used and the fact that all fruits and veggies are picked before they are ripe (when they accrue the most nutritional value as long as they still are on the vine, tree, etc.) so they arrive at the store looking vibrate (although nutritionally void).
A person in the 1950’s could eat 2 peaches and have their vitamin a needs for the day. Today you would have to eat 53 peaches to get the same amount.
You can’t just take vitamins either. You body only absorbs 10% of them, the rest go out the other end which is why your pee is usually yellow.
If you don’t believe me, google it and see for yourself.
I drink Monavie. I don’t sell it. I’m not rich, but I can’t afford to risk my health.
February 21st, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Plus the acai berry loses all of it’s nutriets after 18 hours of being picked. Monavie is the only company that has a means of processing the berry in the rainforest. It is also the only company to have a patent on the freeze-drying process which is the only way to preserve the acai nutrients. They also do not put in high-fruuctose corn syrup like welch’s and tropicana.
It’s not a lot of money when you think about how much fruit is especially after you’ve thrown half of it away because it went bad.
February 21st, 2009 at 8:29 pm
corey – the university of florida has shown that the acai berry killed 85% of lukemia cells on contact. google it.
February 21st, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Just keep believing all the hype. I don’t disagree that the acai berry has many benefits, but it’s not a miracle like a lot are preaching. My mom is 80 years old and is in great shape. She is not on any medications, but she eats lots of fruits and vegitable, and is as healthy as a 50 year old. The kicker is that she smokes and drinks.(which I don’t agree with, but) She doesn’t spend $45.00 a bottle on this crap. The bottom line is that you can be just as healthy and vibrant if you eat right and exersise. It is a shame that people prey on the unknowning and capitalize on it. It is very sad that people are this greedy. I have no problem on people making money and being prosperous, that’s what America was built on. But when people use scare tactics and false promisis to acheive it, that is wrong and immoral.
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:29 am
Diana -
Isn’t it funny how the person behind the University of Florida study, Dr. Talcott, has publicly denounced Monavie’s use of his research on the Acai berry? He’s gone so far as to launch litigation against the company. This was reported way back in April 08 by WSAV in Georgia. The study was about the berry not some fruit punch with very little nutrients. But why bring up the truth when it gets in the way of the hype. Monavie has very little nutrition and doesn’t replace eating real fruit. It’s just a fact.
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:57 am
Jason,
Is it not worth a try to see if something else actually works? Apparently modern science has not come up with any sort of cure, and the fact is, our diseases we are seeing are getting worse, and the biggest change is that our foods are more processed, with more chemicals, and scientific “breakthrough’s”. $45 a month is the retail price, after checking into it, if you order a case of 4 its only about $33.75 each, and the price keeps dropping the more you purchase.
My mother has been taking it for about 2 weeks, and seems to be feeling better. She is going to go in for a revaluation of her meds for Leukemia in a few weeks. It seems to me, even if she spends $45/bottle and buys 4 of those a month, as long as they give her a better quality of life, Im game. If her meds go down, even by as little as 5%, then she is saving a ton of money when you figure in the Mona Vie into the mix. My parents own their own business, so health insurance covers some, but she is still left with about $2500/month to come up with for the chemo pills.
I hear plenty of naysayers, and that is fine, but how can you justify saying this is “snake oil” if you haven’t given it a true try yourself? Maybe it is, but I cant make an honest assessment till I have given it some time to see if it works. My wife and I have been taking it almost 2 weeks, and I have to say I have been feeling better when I get up in the mornings, my sleep seems to be solid, instead of waking up all the time, and my stomach problems seem to be much less. Is it just in my head? Well, maybe it is, but whatever the case, it seems to be doing something for me to help justify the cost. So far, I am happy with it. People at work are starting to notice that I seem more alert and awake as well. Ill post a weekly update to let people know how I am doing.
Now I’m just curious how many people are going to bash me for what I am saying?
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:46 pm
No one is looking to bash you Corey.
If you want to believe that a juice with negligible nutritional value and low antioxidant levels can somehow help someone who is sick that’s your prerogative. The problem I have is that people sell this stuff based on providing sick people with false hope. The lies that are told to people during tasting parties combined with the high price tag leave people thinking that it must be great and that it can potentially help them with serious medical conditions. It can’t. I wish that a juice could do all the things that Monavie distributors claim this juice can do but it doesn’t exist. It’s truly sad that they continue to provide false hope to people in order to line their pockets. That is why this company needs to be shut down. The things people are claiming it can do are nothing short of criminal.
There are healthier products available in the grocery store for a fraction of the price. If you think antioxidants are the key get some blueberries. Or if it has to be a juice buy some 100% grape juice. They both have a considerably higher level of antioxidants per serving than a serving of Monavie. It’s just a fact proven by science. I know that’s an inconvenient truth for people selling hype in a bottle but it’s still a fact.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Jay you make many statements that are unsubstantiated. You sound like the authoritative expert but in reality you are espousing an opinion supported by your presuppositions which in this case are wrong. If you took the time to search the sites like Medlab, Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Amercian Journal of Clinical Nutrition, New England Journal of Medicine, American Society of Nutrition or Agricultural Research Service. Goodness I have barely scratched the surface. Major universities in USA and globally have produced in excess of 200,000 studies detailing the benefits of antioxidants and phytonutrients to human health.
The Monavie Active juice has been the subject of a gold standard clinical study that showed quite large increases in blood serum levels of antioxidants. Look and you will find it. It cost USD40.00 and you can download it. Now I think many manufacturers do such studies but we never see them because they don’t get the results. I used to be interested in what was on the bottle years ago. Today I am interested in objective scientific evidence. I wonder if the grape juice that you recommend, or the blueberries in the supermarket have had the same gold standard research done on them, showing the uplift in serum level antioxidants.
Acai has been the subject of many studies already, and I have no doubt many more are coming that show a significant difference from a simple clarified juice to a whole food pulp that is treated properly preserving the enzymes and nutrients. This has been common knowledge of fruits for many years. As point of interest Monavie has the whole food of the fruits in the bottle.
If you think the berries in your supermarket are good you have obviously not read the reports that your own US Government have produced over the last 60 years correlating ever decreasing mineral deficiency, directly to ever increasing levels of ‘modern’ diseases in your citizens. Again these reports are readily available to those who look. Oh and if you are one of those people that think that all the fertilizers that have been used over the years have helped, think again. Current scientific studies show that up to 90% of all nitrogen laid on paddocks has not been biological available to plants. This is being addressed now, but unfortunately intensive farming practices have depleted our soils to the point that we cannot grow decent fruit and vegetables any more. Perhaps you have also come across the studies that show that fruit that is early picked, lacks in phytonutrient concentration. Yes it doesn’t develop properly, when you pick it green, cool store it for a year or two, then gas ripen it. Who would have thunk it.
From where I am sitting in Australia, it appears that you are either someone who knew all this and still takes an antagonistic position or you didn’t know all this and you speak with bluster and authority to cover your lack of knowledge. Now downunder, as Mick Dundee has so rightly educated you blokes across the water, this is known as bullshitting. If you are not really familiar with the term let us allow wikipedia to help. You will find the paragraph headed up ‘Distinguished from Lying’ most edifying.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit
Now it is important to understand that in OZ calling someone a ‘bullshitter’ is not an insult. It is the equivalent of say ‘get off the grass’ or ’stop having a lend of me’ or maybe ‘what have you been smoking?’. Perhaps these too are Australian colloquialisms. Oh well I am sure the reader will get the drift when I say ‘Jay, get off the grass.’
Think I will crack a tinnie now, put a prawn on the barbie. Worn myself out typing this lot.
laterz
February 25th, 2009 at 1:31 am
Z
Now if that wasn’t written right out of the salesmans’ pitch book, I don’t know what is.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Z
If you’re calling AIBMR a gold standard study than I’m about to fall off my chair laughing. So please clarify. But I’ll even use AIBMR’s data for this argument. AIBMR found that Monavie has an ORAC score of 22.81 units per ml. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/jf8016157?cookieSet=1
If you think that’s an impressive number I’ve got some amazing beach front real estate in Arizona to sell ya mate.
There’s more to critique with those studies but I want to be sure that is in fact what you are referencing.
Wouldn’t call you a bullshitter because in this country that is an insult. I’ll just call you a snake oil salesman cause that appears to be what you are.
February 26th, 2009 at 4:51 am
Scott, I have nothing to sell you, so what I find funny is as soon as someone presents information to the contrary of a position taken you assume that they must be a sales person.
As usual Jay you have addressed none of the points raised, all of which are backed by documented research.
I am not nor will I ever be a proponent of ORAC. It does not take into account absorption in the body. I am more interested in objective scientific observation of blood serum levels, or microscopic examination of cellular health. These are far more meaningful than a tabulated score of the antioxidant properties of fruit or vegetables.
And from your comments it seems you are the salesman Jay. Beach front real estate in Arizona? You must be having a lend of me. Do they even have grass in Arizona? Can you play golf there?
I forgot about your preservative comment too Jay. Another scare tactic from you, without substantiation. In reality the preservative used in Monavie is a naturally occurring substance, and the amount is less than you would find in a berry. Many food and beverage packagers use the same preservative. What would concern me more is the water that we drink, and high levels of benzene that have been consumed over the years by unwitting consumers. (Not a sales pitch Scott, just more research from over the years)
For the record, ‘bullshitting’ is an art form invented in Australia. It has been going on so long, that every Australian now has a built in bullshit detector. As far as snake oil, we have plenty of that over here too, because we have plenty of snakes.
Z
February 26th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Ahhh so it was AIBMR you were referencing. Good stuff. Let’s start with the person running the test, Schauss. He received a degree from California Coast University, a non-accredited university. He also has been busted in the past for faking his credentials, has had his lab raided by the authorities, and has a financial stake in Monavie. What a choice they made when they chose this lab. Makes even the non skeptical mind say hmmm. There are plenty of labs that would be happy to conduct these tests for roughly 1-3 thousand dollars. They used a well respected lab for part of the testing but they didn’t like what they saw (I’ll get to that later).
But let’s get to the test itself shall we.
The study involved 12 participants. Find some similar clinical trials that involve such a small group of test subjects. Even AIBMR admitted in the study that the sample size was far too small. The study used a control that while colored could in no way be confused with a glass of Monavie (my opinion but still dyed water c’mon). The study makes no mention of what the subjects ate during the day. Did they starve all day and then drink a glass at night? If so blood serum levels will fluctuate. Did they eat fruit all day? We don’t know. The study was performed on samples provided by corporate and not random bottles pulled from the general population of the product that would otherwise be shipped out to distributors. They didn’t exactly follow a scientific method did they? But they sure made that report look official. That’s generally referred to as pseudoscience.
Then actually READ the study.
“Two methods for the evaluation of antioxidant capacity of the serum samples were employed: (1) The ORAC assay and (2) the CAP-e assay. Samples from the initial pilot of 5 participants were shipped to Brunswick Laboratories” (never good when an outside firm gets involved in the study of their product) “in Norton MA for serum ORAC analysis.” “Because the ORAC testing did not result in a trend toward increased antioxidant activity, it was not used in the subsequent randomized control trial.”
WHAT! At least they were honest about it huh?
Z If you aren’t selling this stuff you certainly sound like the people who are. It’s not a completely worthless product but certainly not worth even half of the wholesale price. And it doesn’t live up to the hype at all. The only way this stuff could be sold for even the wholesale price, the retail price is completely ridiculous, is by misleading people about either the product or the business.
February 26th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Z: Just so I understand you think what Schauss and AIBMR produced was a Gold Standard Clinical Study? You’ve got to be kidding right?
There have been good studies done on the benefits of Acai. They don’t relate to Moneyvie in any way. As Jay pointed out earlier one of the doctors involved in a reputable study on Acai has publicly outed Monavie for piggy backing on his research and posturing like he was talking about their over hyped fruit punch.
February 26th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Like I said before, I don’t dought that this stuff does have some benefits, but the bottom line is the price, and the benefits you get aren’t worth it. It just seems that it prays on the gullible and neive people who buy into the hype. There are poeple who have life threatening serious illnesess who will spend their life savings for a cure. I don’t blame them for wanting to try something, but give them somehting that works. And there are the people who will actually get well, but not from the product alone. If you believe something is so powerfull that it will cure diseases, your mind can take over and you can be cured, but its your mind not the product. And no I haven’t done as much research as some others, but I dont’ think I need to. This product sounds a lot like a product that was sold a few years ago called Mannatech, their sales peopls also made life changes claims. Since we have a severly disabled child, we thought we would give it a try. All it did, was cost us a tone of money, with zero results. It was marketed the same way as Monovie. This is why I am very skeptical. I would have to see blind studies over a long period of time, by a reputable source before I would buy into this.
February 27th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Jay – Firstly I am not sure that it is the study that you reference that I refer to, since I cannot access the site you referenced..
Jay & Jason – All studies start with small groups. And I agree much more research needs to be done. What I am trying to point out to you is that your comments (Jay) are too flavored by your cynacism and made without scientific basis. If I make a statement I attempt to back it up with relevant studies and data models. When I did I was accused of being a scripted sales person. More close minded cynicism. As far as the product being sold by misleading people, I think that any business has those problems with people over stepping the bounds of reality, which is probably where the problems came with distributors referencing the acai study that Jason refers too. As far as the ‘gold standard’ is concerned, ‘double blind, cross-overs’ are the gold standard of clinical studies.
Scott – I am sorry to hear about your child, and I do understand that lots of companies (MLM and more traditional businesses) have lots of people making all sorts of claims. As I have said previously I have nothing to sell you, so I have no agenda to push. I am someone who wants the truth on the table. You have made reference to the cost of product that produced zero results. If it produces no results the it is not worth the cost. I have never used that product range you reference, but I know some people who swear by it. I know others who swear at it. On the other hand if that product had produced results for your child then the story ends differently. In your shoes I leave no stone unturned to help my family. I wish you God’s grace and good fortune on your journey.
I think it is important to consider that the cost of sickness and disease far outweighs the costs that we spend looking for a better quality of life. If I found something that cost a lot but benefited people I loved I would find some way to get it. Wouldn’t we all?
I agree that it is very wrong for people to claim that Monavie or any other product is a cure all. It doesn’t cure anything. (No one knows for sure what is happening inside the cells at any given moment) I know several people who have tried Monavie with considerable benefits. Equally I know several people who used Monavie and didn’t notice anything. (No it wasn’t me who sold them the product). Those who receive benefit are still drinking the juice, and those who didn’t don’t. The reality is that some people’s wild claims do not nullify that many people receive benefit from properly designed nutritional products.
In a perfect world no one needs dietary supplementations. Nor would they need medication. Unfortunately we live far from that ideal. I could reiterate the research that I highlighted previously, but I would be accused by many of being a salesman, even though I did this research over a 25 year period. I think that Monavie has been around 4 years, so my efforts predate them by over 20 years. One of the interesting subjects that has gained my attention over the years is the supplementation industry for animals, and the research they have produced. Farmers are spending enormous amounts on mineral supplementation for herds and crops today that previously was not available. There is a reason they do this.
I continue live with the principle that the man with the theory is always at the mercy of the man with the experience. I hear what others say, but I will always do my own research. I accept responsibility for my own decisions. That way if I get it wrong, I have myself to blame, but if I get it right, I can throw a BBQ in my honor. We have lots of BBQ’s at my house.
Z
February 27th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
A friend of mine is involved with Monavie, so I decided to take an hour or so and do some research myself. I see the good and bad articles. Whether some are facts or opinions is all subjective of course. Without being involved and not saying anything good or bad I found a few interesting items in my quick research:
The Acai berry has plenty of positive information regarding its anti-oxidant properties, etc. So, as a baseline, we know this is a good item. Now, the question is, how do I get my diet to include this item?
Well there are pills and juice on the market. As a consumer, I need to decide what is best for me and my ability to follow any plan (as most say take an ounce or two in the am and maybe one ounce in the evening). Well let me first look at prices:
A quick search showed me the following (I am not endorsing anything just saying what I saw):
1) Monavie – Juice blend with some amount of acai berries that sells for approx $45 for 25oz.
2) Earth Bounty – 16oz 100% acai for $12.
3) Genesis Today – 32oz 100% acai for $32.
4) Vitamin Shop – 32oz acai (I think 100%) for $20.
5) Dynamic Health – 32oz mixed juice with acai for $13.
and many many more on the market…
Ok, so I thought, well what do the marketers actually pay for this product and how much is it watered down?
One website showed me that it costs less than $1 a pound for these berries in Brazil and by the time it gets harvested into pulp and watered down it could be between $50-100 a pound now. Now take this diluted process and mix it with more juices, preservatives and anything else to add flavor or keep it from spoiling and the process can go to $500-1000 a pound. (The berries have to be harvested and processed within 24hours or they spoil). In order for foreign markets to reap the benefits of this product, we obviously have to have it preserved in some manner.
Also very appealing is the idea that it can help save the rain forest as the trees are required to harvest the berry. Very appealing to the rain forest protectors.
Now with this quick research it seems that Monavie is a higher priced item. If I am an economic consumer, I may choose not to go with this product since it may not fit into my budget, but seeing that if you join this company as a distributor, you can get it for a discount, this can be more appealing.
So based on the above, I can make a choice right for me.
So next, I thought, if I was to buy Monavie and I liked it, could I be a distributor myself? Could I convice others of this product?
Well to answer this, I needed to do a little more research on the company and if there have been any significant issues.
First of all, comments both good and bad can be take with a grain of salt. If people thought they could make money and it did not work, they may be frustrated, so I would need to personally discuss this issue with these people to make a more informed decision with regards to the money portion.
As with any company that claims to be reputable, I check the BBB. They give it a C-. Well maybe not so good, but this does not mean it is a bad company, so I looked further. I wondered who owned Monavie and why is it a MLM type business. I found out that a man named Dallin Larsen was the owner. I also found out the he was VP of a company called Dynamic Essentials and left one year prior to the FDA basically shutting them down for false claims (no reason to repeat all of it here). Ok, now this had me a little worried. Well then I saw that Monavie initially claimed many things when it started and was told to stop without the proof and they had to quit advertising in this fashion. Of course, there are a few lawsuits out there that are either still peding or have been resolved out of court.
So, regardless of all the above, if I wanted to still become a distributor, how could I make money? Well I see that I need to get people under me to sell this product and hopefully they get people, etc. Makes sense for a MLM. Get a ton of people down the chain and I can get paid.
Last thing I asked myself was how I viewed this from my moral standpoint? If I believe in something, I am happy to share it with everyone. I saw a comment saying that “Why not get paid for sharing something instead of giving it away for free?” Well that is an individuals choice of course. I had to ask myself if the people that sold Dynamic Essential products with the many claims felt any guilt? I would suspect not. Does the car salesman that sells you a lemon ever feel any guilt?
Again, this is America, where you can do whatever it takes to make money, as long as it does not break a law or if you have the right law firm behind you. Would it make me feel guilty if 5 years down the road I found out Monavie was a big scam and that I may have involved 100’s or 1000’s? That is something for me to decide.
I do not judge anyone on whether they like or dislike this product. I do not judge anyone for trying to make money off of this product. But, from a non-biased (how I perceive my research) point of view, I would not involve myself with this. I do think the juice is probably good for you (not necessarily better than anything else) and I do peronally like the bottle they use. I believe some people truly feel this is a great product and should continue to market it or use it themselves, but for me, I will continue doing more research to find what is right for me.
Have a nice day!
February 28th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
I have been reading all these comments, and although I do think there is substance to both the product and the sales plan, I do believe it is just a fad that will lose interest…anybody remember Tahitian Noni juice?
March 4th, 2009 at 6:22 am
The theme for Monavie is “Drink it, Taste it, Share it” is to prove to those who have tasted this juice. What I know is that MonaVie does not claim that it can heal but due to its ingredients that gives anti-oxidant to the body that eventually it helps to remove sickness, problems from the body.
About the question on MLM (directr selling), what I understand is that they want to have personal touch with their customers rather than selling from the shelf. As for distributors, as long as they make money, big or small, it is a business to them.
It all depends on individual. I can’t comment more on this.
March 5th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Paul it doesn’t provide significant antioxidants. Grape juice has a superior level of antioxidants. Most distributors (over 90%) make less than minimum wage for their efforts and that’s before product costs and other expenses. If it’s a business to them it’s a miserable one.
March 5th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
And the motto is Drink it, FEEL IT, Share it. I would never get involved in this obvious scam but even I know that. If all they sold it on was a claim that it tastes good people would have fewer issues with the company.
March 6th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Well, I am in week three of this, and sleeping better, and feeling better. I have stopped my vyvanse prescription because my concentration is better as my wife has stopped her wellbutrin because she is better. Doesnt seem like a scam to me. We have now gotten her parents on it as well, and within about a week, they are sleeping better as well, and her mom, who has extreme pain in her ankles, has noticed that it has been severely lessened. Going to their conference in St Louis this past weekend, I met tons of people who are really enjoying the benefits they are gaining from it. I would like to see your proof that grape juice has a superior amount of antioxidants, and that Monavie doesnt provide significant ones. Dr. Schauss has spent 15 years studying this berry and its effects.
To me it seems you are sore that people are not having to rely on drugs to fix their problems, but are actually feeling better as a result of a drink. A lot of research has went into this, and I am pretty impressed from my own testimony. Its helping my family, so as far as I am concerned, this is great stuff.
As far as this being miserable, what better way to feel great then to help people out? They are doing just that. Im hooked for life!
March 7th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Hooked for life huh? Well I wouldn’t get too hooked because this scam will be shut down shortly just like Larsen’s last scam. I give them a year or so before they are forced to put their stock of this junk in a landfill just like Dynamic Essentials Royal Tongan Limu. This is the exact same scam.
You want to see proof? Read Schauss’s own study since you trust him. I don’t trust anything from him but we’ll use his numbers. He found that Monavie has an ORAC score of 22.81 units per ml, which translates to 1293 ORAC units. Remember this is the data put out there by Monavie and AIBMR (Men’s Journal and others have shown the product to not even rate this high see Jay’s post on 1/28). Sound good to you? Well according to the USDA 100g of raw blueberries provide 6552 ORAC units. That’s not even a single serving (148g). So Monavie is the ORAC equivalent of roughly 14 blueberries according to Monavie’s own data. Those blueberries would cost you about a quarter but they aren’t sold with a boat load of hype and false medical claims.
March 8th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I enjoyed your article about Mona Vie. My husband drinks it (for about a year now) and he is no longer taking his blood pressure medicine. Now whether that is a coincidence or not, I don’t know. I do not use it. It is expensive. Lately we have thought of trying the sales side. I am undecided, so I am reading articles such as yours. One question: Mona Vie claims that their processing of the acai berry is unlike no one elses, that their processes freeze dries the WHOLE berry, I believe is how they put it. I don’t know if you answer individual emails, but do you know anything about this? Did you come across this in your research. Thank you, Susan
March 9th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Hi Susan,
Nothing special about the Acai processing. They filed for a patent on this process in 2003 and it was rejected in 2005. 40 claims were made in the patent application and 26 of the claims were thoroughly rejected. Claims 10-20 and 30-40 were related to medical and disease treatment claims, completely ridiculous, and were rejected outright. Claims 1-3 and 21-23 were found to not be original and were also rejected. The remaining claims did not merit consideration for a patent. Since 05 they have not submitted a revised application so they do not have a patented process and it would be deceptive for anyone to even claim that they have a patent pending.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Jay,
Where did you get the information about the patent? I have been approached to sell this product and the presenter says more than once that they have a patent on the Acai processing. I would just like to see some facts to prove them wrong. I’ve been around the block and I am skeptical of MLM programs. No one I know has ever made money. In fact, they usually end up ruining relationships! Anyways, would love to see a link to a document. Let me know.
Thanks
March 11th, 2009 at 4:58 am
Not sure where you got your information from Jay , but the a quick examinaton of the PCT shows that there is a patent application in existence. Application # 2004224346 in Australia is current, and in process according to IP Australia. There is no opposition to the patent and notations show that the patent is in existence until 22 March 2024.
As usual this commentary section is very subjective and without definitive proof of statements. Monavie’s claims about the processing of the acai are accurate and can be substantiated. Why not contact the company and see what they say. If as people say here ‘they are lying’ then you can send the information to the FTC and the FDA and they will be history.
Like Brian I am very skeptical of MLM’s, but every so often a product comes along that seems to have merit. Fortunately we live in a reasonably free society that allows us to make individual choices. Some people choose to do business with Monavie and believe they are getting a great deal. Some people don’t. More power to all of them.
z
March 11th, 2009 at 8:27 am
(view link)
Everything I stated was true as far as the patent process in the US. I have no knowledge of a pending patent in Australia or why a US based company would file for a patent in Australia. Perhaps because they couldn’t get one here? I don’t know. Perhaps Australia patents are easier to attain? I don’t know. But the fact remains that their patent in the US was summarily rejected because it was baseless. And the fact also remains that distributors have been making the false claim that Monavie holds a patent on their Acai processing since the product first hit the market.
Not that it really matters if their process is patented. The fact is that Monavie’s own data shows the product to have a low level of antioxidants, low level of vitamins, and a negligible amounts of minerals. With these facts in hand it would seem that the patent claim is nothing more than a marketing gimmick. “No one else can do it like we do it.” Well why would they want to when a juice with negligible value is the end result?
March 11th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Should have had my coffee before responding. Just so we are clear WIPO sets the bar when it comes to intellectual property and they have rejected Monavie’s claims. I don’t know about Austraila’s patent process and meant no offense by insuating they may have lower standards.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:33 am
What intrigues me is the people that bash it because they do not post the “percentage” makeup of the ingredients. My question is, does Colonel Sanders post his breading makeup percentages? Does any other company for that fact post their percentages? No. How labels work, is that they are listed in order from greatest to smallest. On the monavie bottle, it lists the acai berry as the first ingredient, hence, it is the greatest amount in it. With a total of 19 different fruits (100% divided by 19 items, gives us 5.26%), it would have to have a greater than 5.26% presence in the blend. I seriously doubt that it would even be this low of a percentage, as they would have to have extremely sophisticated control systems in place to maintain a percentage amount that accurate.
March 11th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
You’re right Corey and I for one have no problem with them keeping their formula a secret. The exact makeup is Monavie’s business and I wouldn’t expect them to divulge their exact recipe much like I wouldn’t expect Coca Cola to divulge theirs. Since Acai is such a hot fad at the moment it would serve them well to be able to tout a high percentage in their marketing material. They could do so without worrying about risking their formula but I don’t really care that they don’t. I do however have a problem with distributors making claims that it’s mostly Acai, 30% Acai, 50% Acai, and so on because none of them actually know. And like you said the fact is that it could be as low as 5.26%.
Your point about percentages works the other way too. With 19 fruits I think one can safely assume that some of the other 18 make up a significant percentage of the formula or why include them in the first place. I too doubt that the percentage is as low as 5.26% but I also doubt that it’s very high. I’m not sure I follow your logic on the control system as that would be necessary regardless of the percentage breakdowns.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
I am amazed at the negativity. Jay I am curious about your obvious distain for Mona vie? My father has been a mona vie distributor for 3 months and makes more than I do at my well paying full time job. He even makes more than the guy who signed him up, I know because he is my cousin. My father hasn’t allienated his friends , he just shares and lets people decide for themselves . He is not pushy or dishonest, just excited. Our family and friends are very excited about mona vie. Some have been drinking it for over a year. There has been a very wide range of benefits. It is all about good nutrtion. When your body gets what it needs amazing things can happen. As for you “snake oil” refrences….. The method of marketing is upsetting to you? Personally I have a hard time with the sales pitches I have seen on TV. Do you really think it costs Pepsi $1.49 to produce a 24 oz bottle of pop? Of course not but they spend millions of dollars a year on flashy commercials to convince people they want to buy a producct they can make people oveweight and destroy there health just to line the pockets of the CEOs. From what I understand Mona vie puts 50 percent of there profits back into their distributors. That is how they advertise. As you say 90 percent of the distributors do not make any money. They don’t choose to. They just drink the product because it works for them. It has actually saved my family money on what it has replaced. It is very upsetting to me to read your coments on how distributors are dishonest and praying on other peoples misfortune. My fater is a very good man. He is generous’hardworking and kind. Not a man that would ever take from people for personal gain. We have seen worderful things happen in our lives and the lives of others due to Mona vie .
March 12th, 2009 at 9:30 am
No disdain or negativity Crystal; just facts. If your father is making money then he is one of the lucky 3% who make more than minimum wage for their efforts. The bottom aren’t making money because they don’t chose to, they aren’t making money because the model is setup that way. As far as 50% going back to distributors I don’t doubt that this is the case. But 65% of that 50% goes to less than 1% of the distributors, just a fact shown by Monavie’s IDS.
My motivation for disliking Monavie and speaking publicly about it is because I don’t like all of the blatantly false, and often illegal, claims made by this sales force to pitch their product. If Pepsi got that 1.49 by telling a person that their product could fix what ails them I would have a problem with them too. But of course they don’t do that because it would be illegal and they would be shut down or heavily fined after their first commercial. I could easily find 100s of illegal claims posted online by Monavie distributors in less than a half hour. Do you think Monavie isn’t aware that this is happening? Of course they are. And this is just what is put out on public forums. I can only imagine what is being said about the product behind closed doors in these tasting parties to justify people spending 25-45 dollars on a bottle of juice. A juice that is nothing special. Are they aggressively trying to enforce their own policies? Sure doesn’t seem like it. In fact the one distributor who prompted a warning from the FDA to both himself and the company is still active.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Facts you say. Let’s define “fact”: “An honest observation” – “Something actual as opposed to invented” – “Something which has become real” – “Information about a particular subject”. All of the above are definitions I have found on “Fact”. As an intelligent person you would have to agree that facts can be based on ones perception. Let’s define “perception”: “generally recognized to be true” – “as seen or understood by an individual” – “to become aware of through the senses” –“become conscious of”. There is always room for argument. Not all things are true for all people.
Back to Pepsi, or even pick another company when it comes to advertising it all plays out the same. Soft drinks have little to no nutritional value. Carbonated drinks that are high in sugar (or high fructose corn syrup) can cause obesity, diabetes and even take the enamel off your teeth to name a few issues. They do not use overweight people shooting up insulin to advertise there products. No they flash images of young healthy actors and actresses having a good time and just being cool. Make up hair products women watch these commercials with gorgeous models and buy the products because they want to look like them. Commercial advertising understands what sells and have created an art form out of implying things that are not true.
I have been to tasting parties. The people I have met have been very open and caring. They share because it has worked for them. I have never been told that Mona vie is a cure all or a magic elixir. I have listened to good, caring people who drink Mona vie for good nutrition talk about what they PERSONALLY have noticed after drinking the juice.
As for the “bottom” of the “pyramid” Where is the bottom? According to the last published income statement – statistics are for all Mona Vie Distributors who were paid commissions during the period from June 30, 2007 to June 27, 2008. It shows 60,190 people. That is a small number in comparison to population. The US has approximately 306 million people living in this country alone. About 28% of them are under 20 years old. That leaves 220 million people not to mention the generation next and Mona vie is an international company. Not everyone will be interested in what Mona vie has to offer, that is fine but there is a lot of room for growth. As for the validity of MLM business, Amway, Avon, Mary Kay, USANA and more have all been around for many years and still going.
If people are experiencing better health and some even better wealth what is your problem? The opportunity is not “forced” on anyone. I have not heard any empty promises of untold wealth that you do not have to work for. Like any opportunity you get out of it what you put into it. Even at a 9 to 5 traditional job people do not generally get good raises or promotions by not working.
You reference the comments you have read on the internet as false claims and lies. Mona vie as a company works hard to maintain Integrity. There are however people out there that do not conduct themselves favorably. I think it is more of a testimony to our society that to one company.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I read all of your negativity, but you never cite your sources….. Also, you say about the illegal claims, but are people making actual health claims, or just stating a fact about how they feel better? All of the information given to a person BEFORE they sign up is there, and it states it is not intended to cure or prevent a disease. That being said, they are able to make FDA approved claims about Monavie Pulse, and how it benefits the heart.
Since I feel it necessary to note, THIS IS NOT A CLAIM, but rather a personal experience for myself and my family. My mothers Luekemia Meds were cut in HALF, after about 2 months on this. Before that, they were giving her more and more, and the doctor was dumbfounded on what she did different. My wife and myself sleep through the night, wake up rested, and do not have the joint pains that we used to. My mother in law is also feeling the same benefits me and my wife are. I dont see how this cant be affecting us, when its the only thing that we have all changed in our diets. So, if its in our heads, then that is great, I will keep buying it to keep the illusion alive, because the results speak for themselves. As stated earlier in this paragraph, THIS IS NOT A CLAIM, but a personal experience.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Your problem with distributor making the claim about it being as high as 30%-50% is not monavie, but those personal distributors. I have never heard anyone claiming that they knew the percentage. The reasoning for the other 18 fruits is that they all work in succession with each other. Go to the department of agriculture, and read the published articles on Monavie. Check out the research thats happened as well. University of florida has done research on this, and while it doesnt guarantee results in the human body, they say that it most likely will be beneficial to the human body when performed in their studies.
It also states “Acai berries are already considered one of the richest fruit sources of antioxidants”. In a previous posting by Jason, it was said that they were not even close to that of blueberries in terms of antioxidants, yet here is research that states differently.
Another part of the article from the university of florida states “One reason so little is known about acai berries is that they’re perishable and are traditionally used immediately after picking,”. Hence that is why the patented freeze-drying process is so essential to keeping their health benefits. They did state this is all done in a model system, and that they need further research, but also that when it shows good in a model system, that it is a good sign of how they would do in the human body.
http://news.ufl.edu/2006/01/12/berries/
March 12th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Again the University of Florida study was not on Monavie it was done by Dr. Talcott who has publicly denounced Monavie for using his research. Google his name and Monavie and WAVU. He states that he’s taking legal action against the company for misleading people with his research.
It seems that you are confusing Acai and Monavie. Jason did not state that the Acai berry is lower than blueberries. He stated that MONAVIE is lower which is absolutely true. He even used Monavie’s own inflated (my opinion and the opinion of the Chromodex study cited above) numbers on their ORAC score. It has an ORAC score lower than just over a dozen blueberries according to Monavie/AIBMR research and the USDA’s score on blueberries.
I’ve cited several facts if you took the time to read them and accept them for what they are. The fact that Monavie has had their patent rejected, see the WIPO link above. The Men’s Journal study that shows Monavie to be no more nutritious than apple juice. I have not motivation to not be honest about Monavie. Distributors can’t say the same thing.
March 12th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Check that it was WSAV that reported on Talcott outing Monavie for using his research.
March 12th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Crystal you think Monavie works hard to maintain integrity? How? Why is Kevin Vokes still active? He should have been banned not allowed to rise in the organization. And how about Lou Niles the self proclaimed cancer expert? Is he what you call integrity? The man who was court-martialed for rape. http://www.armfor.uscourts.gov/opinions/1996Term/95_0738.htm If I was worried about integrity I wouldn’t associate my company with someone like that. Would you? He’s in quite a few company promo videos. Or how about that Larsen was VP of marketing running pretty much the exact same scam for Dynamic Essentials before the FDA forced them out of business and made them dump their stock in a landfill. Monavie, and Larsen, used to claim that the product contained Celedrin which then led to a lawsuit by the makers of Celedrin, Imagenetix. Integrity? Talk about opinion vs. fact.
I’m glad you brought up the IDS. Here’s a bullet point analysis of the IDS so that it’s very clear what its saying. Included a link too so you can see the analysis that Mr. Fitzpatrick performed. Good stuff.
.77% receive 65% of all commissions paid out.
Average income of the bottom 99% of all distributors was $3.75 per week before product costs and expenses.
The bottom 91% of the company received NOTHING.
Of the 9% that did get a check the bottom 99% of them received on average $59 a week before product costs and expense.
http://www.pyramidschemealert.org/PSAMain/news/MonavieSchemeData.html
March 13th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Jay, I realize that you are on a mission to “spread the facts” as you see them. That is fine. I am not trying to sway your opinion. I only posted to allow people to see there are always two sides to every story. For all things you can find positive and negative. Like I said before, you are intent on burning a company at the stake for the choices of individuals. My family and I have had nothing but positive experiences with Mona vie and I am by nature a very analytical and judgmental person. I am not impulsive or gullible. I make informed decisions and I am impressed with Mona vie’s product and their compensation plan.
MLM is not for everyone, as with any opportunity. Some choose to achieve and others choose not to try. I actually went to a meeting last night and met a black diamond that has been involved with Mona vie since Feb. 2006. You may be surprised to hear that it wasn’t a cult brainwashing. He told his story of how he became involved with Mona vie, how he likes the product with out making any claims of medical benefits and why he chose to pursue the business side. He enjoys what he does makes a very good living and is able to spend more time with his family and give them opportunities he couldn’t when he was selling real estate.
Your “Facts” are skewed due to the math and terminology you chose to use. The 91% you keep talking about that do not make any money, most choose not too. And for the record are not at the “bottom”. There are very many enrollees that are distributors to buy the product for wholesale and personally consume it, because for them it works. Like I said before MLM is not for everyone. We have family members that have been “distributors” for over a year just to buy the juice at wholesale. My father has been enrolled for 6 weeks and is pursuing the business side. He is making more money than my cousin that got him involved. The people at the top do NOT always make more money. He is also already making more money than my mother made at her traditional job, because he chooses too. Back to the “people at the bottom” I know where the people at the bottom make less money, traditional business where the people at the top (management) make more than everyone below. That is a pyramid. MLM is a web. A web of support that will allow you to achieve what you set out to achieve, if you choose. You can always read what Trump and Kiyosaki have to say about network marketing.
Mona vie is an international company and growing by leaps and bounds. There were over 160,000 new enrollees last month. That is pretty amazing growth for a product that you say could not work. I am amused also with how you point out only distributors have good things to say about Mona vie. Of course they are distributors they like the product and they purchase it. As a pointed out before, you get a better price for being a “distributor”. It is only a label not an obligation. Being a distributor does not mean you have to sell anything or share with any one. Also it is not like signing up for a cell phone. There is not a binding contract to “trap” people into paying. You can cancel at any time with a click of a button.
What about other companies that advertise using the media – if I was to tell some one I really liked a movie or a restaurant and the companies were to pay me a percentage instead of paying advertising companies (Like I stated before that have made an art form out of implying) would I only be telling them I liked it for personal gain? No. What about referral bonuses? Tax preparation companies and cell phone companies to name a few give customers referral bonuses, would I only refer a friend for the cash? No, if I had a bad experience that is what I would tell them. I would not refer them. Would I continue to frequent a restaurant or buy a product I didn’t like? No.
You talk about how expensive Mona vie is. It cost less than 5 dollars a day. Most people spend more than that on energy drinks, pop, specialty coffees or at fast food chains. I prefer to spend it on something better for me. Again we all have a choice.
March 13th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Well, it’s been awhile since I last checked in here – Whew! What a bunch of BS!
First, I’m not going to try to argue with what some of you negative people are trying to do out here. My opinion stands that this is a great product based on my own experience with it, and that of my husband’s and at least a dozen others that I know that have and continue to drink it. If I actually thought any of you would listen I would take the time and energy, but obviously you only want to try to catch evil distributors that are all lying cheats and are only out for their own good and don’t care what happens to anyone but themselves. (That’s an awful lot of rotten people out there that haven’t been put in jail yet!)
Let me make my point here by simply pointing out to anyone ELSE out there that is actually interested in the TRUTH that Jay (above) apparently doesn’t really pay much attention to his “research” OR if he DOES, then he obviously is doing what he’s accusing the awful distributors of doing, and knows that he’s misleading people. (I don’t really think that’s the case because I’m not one of those perpetually negative people. I think he’s just SO negative and thinks he knows everything that he’s just GOT to SAVE all the rest of you from the EVIL MLM juice monster! Isn’t that NICE of him to protect you like that so he can – what? Sleep better at night? While he is at the same time, depriving you from just TRYING something all natural that might actually HELP whatever ails you so you can decide for yourself?)
But I’ve obviously become distracted. I’ll simply ask you to read the link that Jay gave you above (because I’m open minded and DID so I would know every side of the story) on Dr. Niles. I don’t know the man, but did believe the video he was in because it made sense to me, and have shown it to my friends as well because if it was true, I wanted them to benefit from that knowledge as well. When I went to that link above that Jay says shows you what an awful man Dr. Niles IS after he was “court-martialed for rape”, I actually READ most of the article, and if Jay bothered to go to the END of that, he would have seen that it was most likely consensual (based on others’ testimonies, not just his) and the court REVERSED THEIR DECISION. The woman voluntarily went into the man’s bedroom – in 1987 – and allowed him to use a massager on her. DUH. READ what you send people the link to! It only makes you even MORE unbelievable.
I’m not going to waste anymore time on this site because there is a distinct lack of anyone actually trying to do anything GOOD. (No offense meant for the drinkers out there or the people that have an open mind. It’s just that we’re out numbered on THIS site.) I just wanted to point out the ERROR above so that those of you that didn’t bother going to that link didn’t think what Jay obviously wanted you to think about Dr. Niles. (Which isn’t to say he’s a saint – I have no idea – but at least that link didn’t say what he’d like you to believe it said.)
Based on this I haven’t bothered to go any further with your accusations. I don’t know how YOU can sleep at night since the people that believe your rantings will never know if the product might have a beneficial effect on them. It obviously works for some people. Unless EVERYONE THAT SAYS THAT IS A LIAR. You’d have to be stupid to NOT be a “distributor” if you were going to be buying it to drink it since you’d save a TON of money (unless, of course, nobody told you that.) So much of that huge percentage of “distributors” that aren’t making any money never intended to build a business or make any money- they just wanted to get the juice at wholesale. But you ignore that FACT and choose to misrepresent the figures. It’s an all natural fruit and berry product so what’s the big deal? GET A LIFE!
March 13th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Back to Jay’s question about your comment on integrity. It’s not just a few rogue distributors. The fish rots from the head down. Jay cited a top distributor, the owner of the company, and the star of several promotional videos for having a lack of integrity. If anyone thinks that Monavie isn’t responsible for all of the claims made by their distributors I can assure you that the FDA has a very different opinion. Just because Larsen said that policing distributors is like “herding cats” doesn’t excuse him or the company of responsibility for what they say. They knew exactly what would happen and boy is it ever happening.
Kiyosaki likes to sell books, bad books in my opinion. Much like MLMers high up on the food chain like to sell bad sales tools. They know what will sell. If Trump really thought MLM was the way to go in business he’d probably be involved in one. But of course he’s not. Probably because as Thomas Bonora, a professor at Harvard Business School stated “We do not teach such methods [MLM] at the Harvard Business School; they are not part of the curriculum; to my knowledge, they are not taught at this or any other reputable business school in the country . . . Multi-Level Marketing schemes, like chain letters and other devices, sometimes are at the borderline of what is legal — and over the borderline of what is ethical.”
You chose to only focus on the 91% who make no comissions. You ignored the fact that of the 9% that do get paid 99% make on average $59 a week. There is no bad arithmitic or confused terms as you stated Crystal; just a very bad business model for most who waste their money getting involved.
So how is this good for you? Monavie’s own research indicates that it’s not that good. How is it any better than juices that sell for 1/5 of their wholesale price? Many of these juices don’t contain any preservatives; imagine that. How do they work hard to maintain integrity? If you can answer those questions I’d appreciate it. Thanks and have a great weekend!
March 13th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
It boggles my mind the number of pro Monvie forces that grossly and vastly outnumber the ones trying to shed light on the acai berry health scam. The ones with vested financial interests in promoting their snake oil are definitely out in force to stifle the naysayers and keep their overrated acai product flying into the refrigerators of hapless suckers who are still getting lured into the health and fitness promises of what is essentially a fruit juice cocktail.
Save your money folks and stay away from MonaVie and its acai berry juice ilk! That’s my opinion as someone with a bit of common sense. Jay is right. It’s too bad there are too few people like him willing to post actively on blogs on forums like this to stop the health misinformation being spewed by profit minded sales MLM people. The Monvie MLM pyramid folks have little credibility in my mind…no matter what they say.
March 15th, 2009 at 10:21 am
I refer to the post written by John on February 10th, 2009 at 12:15 pm.
Obviously upset by the article, John shouted (using CAPS) the whole way through his comments.
I guess MonaVie has done nothing to keep him calm.
As for his statement about the “MORE” project “giving back to Brazil to save the rainforest and providing men, women, and children with hope”, we need to remember that any company that gives back in the form of charity is tax deductable.
John, you talk about companies that pay their CEOs millions of dollars. I bet the CEO of MonaVie has a whopper of an income. What about this Brig Hart? He seems shady, and I know he is a multi-millionaire.
MonaVie sounds like a pyramid structure to me, and I do hope the Australian authorities will keep a close eye on this company.
March 16th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
“Sounds Like”, sounds like. All I know is that the people who use Monavie have seen incredible results and the reason why is in the way that the acai berry is harvested by the people who grow it and the way that it is grown. There are always those who don’t know, who will snipe at anything and everything.
You apparently have no knowledge of the product. I speak from experience, and testing. My daughter did extensive research after she was amazed by the results. Her son had serious health issues until a neighbor introduced them to Monavie. We went from there. Then my daughter did extensive research on the company before she became involved. She went to meetings in CA where Monavie is big. There are countless places there to get the information. She took time out of her busy day to find out what the company was like and how they work. The employess are well-recompensed and there are many companies that are run in this manner. Not pyramid.
How about Avon? Fuller Brush Co.? Tupperware?
Monavie has been approached by Costco, but they will not cut out the thousands of distributors who have been working for the company for several years.
All I know is Monavie works, the comapny is solid and backs it’s distributors, and benefits are awesome. I don’t use that word a lot, but I use it when appropriate. Don’t disparage what you don’t know.
March 16th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Dana,
You don’t know what you are talking about. I have tested Monavie, and the competition which truly is garbage.
I have contrasted using Monavie and then stopped to see what the effects are. A friend of mine, who is slightly older than I also did the sam thing.
I have told of my health issues above-she had similar problems, and she was also totally amazed at the results! Not even mentioning why we first tried Monavie-for our grandson’s digestive problem.
If you haven’t tried it, then why are you here? If you have, you will know what the rest of us do-that it is an incredible product! It has saved me from multiple surgeries, and at the last exam, my orthopedic surgeon was excited, and was going to try Monavie himself!
By the way, I am in Colorado. One of my client lived near John Elway, and said a couple of years ago that John “could barely walk”. Last year, I heard that Mr. Elway has been using Monavie for several months and is back playing golf.
My son in law is a golf pro who had bursitis in his elbow until using Monavie. He has his awesome swing back.
I can go on and on if you like….
March 16th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Okay Jason – yes integrity – Mona vie has been in business for 4 years. The distributors from the beginning have shared stories of amazing health benefits of drinking Mona vie and promoted the positive aspects of better health. The stories are from personal experience or of people close to them. The FDA stepped in and put a stop to their freedom of speech because it hadn’t been “proven in a lab”. The company was told that they were no longer able to talk about a wide rage of medical benefits, not because they were lies. (Just for the record there are a number of doctors that are supporters not only of the acai berry but of Mona vie) However, distributors ARE still allowed to talk about the increase in energy, sleeping better and less aches and pains. I am at a loss to understand the naysayer point of view when not one of you have said you have tried Mona vie. It is berry juice people, a blend of 19 fruits from around the world. Fruits that are grown in conditions free of pesticides and other chemicals, it is just good nutrition.
)
It is funny you mention that at Harvard business they do not teach MLM….. Why would they have to? Network marketing doesn’t need to be that complicated. It is about sharing a product that you like with people you like. You can build a business by believing you can. People have to go to Harvard Business to be able to climb the cut throat corporate ladder. All you need in direct selling is to be able to talk to people. It takes all kinds to make the world go round and just because people chose to take a path you don’t understand doesn’t make it wrong. As for your $59.00 a week – I have had people ask me what I am doing different because of the difference they have seen in me. I GAVE a bottle to the people who asked – they drank it, loved it and now buy it from themselves and the company sent me $245.00. So now I am in the average and I wasn’t trying to make any money (or I wouldn’t have given it away) just helping my friends. The difference between Jay and Jason and myself is – I speak form PERSONAL experience – Jay and Jason are just spouting “sources” from the web.
You can always find negativity especially if you are looking for it…..that is how I found this site.
March 16th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
If you want to keep paying $45.00 a bottle for fruit juice go ahead. I just think it is sad how people fall for this scheme. I tried the product for about 6 months because a friend of mine is a distributor and talked about how good the stuff was and what it can do. So I gave it a shot, and it did nothing for me, I noticed no difference. I’m sure there are some benefits, but not worth $45.00 a bottle. I then decided to try making my own juice using my blender and a combination of blue berries, black berries, straw berries, spinach, carrots, and broccoli. It sounds nasty but the berries and what ever other fruits you want to throw in make it kind of tasty. Also since it’s blended you get everything you need without the additives, plus the fiber. I believe this is so much better, for one thing you know exactly what’s going in it and it’s a lot less expensive. I have been doing this for about 2 months now, and have notice a significant difference from sleeping better to having a lot more energy.
I’ve also talked to a few other people who did not want to be distributors but were talked into trying the product said the same thing, they did not notice any difference. So far the only people I have found who have any good to say about the product are the ones trying to make their “Fortune” selling it. It’s also funny how everyone of them use the same lines about how good it is. When you ask them why it cost so much, they always give the same answer “Can you put a price on your health” . Or when you ask them about how the selling is going, they say “you don’t have to sell this stuff because it sells itself”. Like I’ve said in the past, if you bottled plain grape juice in a fancy bottle, charged a high price, and told everyone how awsome it is and how it will make a world of difference in regards to your health. People would swear they have been cured of many ailments and feel so much better. It’s the power of the mind. But if you are nieve enough to fall for this scheme I feel sorry for you and hope you will eventually come to your sences, and not contribute to such a rip off.
And for the people who prey on the nieve to make a profit you have no morals. If you want to make money go out and earn it honestly.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Scott, first of all I have NEVER earned a dollar dishonestly. Such a rip off?. Some people can drink and smoke their whole life and live to 95. Some people live relatively healthy lives and get cancer. Some children are even BORN sick. Since everybody is different not everything works for everybody all the time. Mona vie works for me, my husband, my daughter, my father, my mother, my sister, several of my friends… the list goes on. Yes there are a few people that have told me they feel no difference. I have shared – not sold – Mona vie with 13 people. I have not made ANY claims. I have told them it is fruit juice, that some people really like it and I myself do not crave sugar like I used to thus I have replaced pop and coffee stand ice rages with Mona vie. I do not imply anything or give them any more info. I have had two people tell me after a week they did not notice anything. The rest come to me to tell me they have benefits and want to know how to get more. Most even want to know how they can share it with their loved ones. I did not brainwash them or even tell them what benefits they COULD experience just because I have heard so many people call it a placebo. I do not go into the business side of it unless they ask. Of course the best price is to buy it from yourself. (It costs about $5.00 a day. I was paying more than that just for my coffee. If you buy it in bulk it is as low as $2.86 a day.) So they sign up and proceed to sign up the people they share with because they feel the benefits of Mona vie not to “get rich quick”. Pretty much, I see it as a referral bonus. If I had a dollar for every time I told someone about a good movie, a good cleaning product, or good food I would have been a millionaire years ago.
Personally I prefer not to juice. It is a pain. It is a messy time consuming process. I have read book after book on nutrition, grow my own garden and buy organic when I can. The produce in the store is generally grown with chemicals and picked before ripened. It is not only less nutritious it can make you sick. I could not believe people could actually get E coli from vegetables. I have always been a produce washer but do not feel comfortable giving something to my children that could make them ill. Mona vie has fruits from around the world grown with out pesticides not picked until ready and the variety is greater than you can find in most local grocery stores. It is so easy to drink 2 oz in the morning and 2 oz around dinner time. I like the convenience, I like the taste, I like the way I feel.
It is funny you compare it to grape juice…For anyone who has drank Mona vie they know it is not merely grape juice, it does not have the same taste or texture. There are grapes in it but the first ingredient listed is the acai berry. As for the “wine” bottle, Mona vie is an environmentally conscience company. Glass is recyclable and with the controversy around chemical leaching in plastic bottles glass is a better choice.
Scott when you say you tried the product for 6 months, at $45.00 a bottle? That doesn’t make sense. Why would a distributor that was trying to “get rich” sell you cases at suggested retail instead of setting you up on autoship? Autoship is better for everyone involved. Distributors that sign you up get more incentive and you get a better price ($36.00 to $20.00 a bottle), get it shipped to your door and can get online or call to change or cancel at ANY time.
You say it is the “power of the mind” couldn’t that work both ways? I would never “prey” on the “naive” as you so put it. I do share something I enjoy the benefits of with people I care about. There is nothing to lie about. How are people getting scammed? With Mona vie you pay for a product and get a product. The company does not relay on flashy, suggestive commercials to promote the juice because they don’t have to. EVERYONE knows the best and worst advertisement is word of mouth because people will tell others how they feel about something. If a company had and inferior product they surely would not rely on word of mouth advertising. Especially since people will talk more about the negative than the positive. With that said even on the internet I can find way more good about Mona vie than negative. So thank you Scott, I WILL continue to pay less than $35.00 a bottle and drink the nutrition that comes in it. I will continue to share and guess what my morals are soundly in tack and will remain so.
March 17th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Beautifully put Crystal. I like how people compare it to grape and apple juice, and say that it is no better, and cite magazines on it, when in essence, they are being deceitful to what actually was said in the articles. By rewording it to suit their tastes, they are actually the ones lying to people. Some of them should be politicians, as they know the lingo well it seems…
March 18th, 2009 at 7:25 am
Monavie’s own data from AIMBR studies indicates that it’s no better from an antioxidant standpoint. And the nutrition info is in black and white.
March 18th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Jay, I am not finding the “black and white” and I have been all over AIMBR’s website. Maybe you can give me the exact link that supports what you are saying. Thank you.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Same here, where is the “black and white”? Apparently I need help finding it.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Also Jay. I am sorry I forgot to mention, I did read what Talcott had to say
in April of 2008 – almost a year ago. I am posting for everyone to read –
http://www.wsav.com/sav/news/science/health_med_fit/article/-SAV_2008_04_29_0021/3061/
That way they have all the information and it is not taken out of context.
In the past year Mona vie has made it clear to their distributors what claims can and can not be made legally accourding to the FDA. In all my experiences with the distributors in the company they are following the guidelines.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:25 am
Taking the Acai Berry has changed my life in many ways. I have more energy, I am healthier, and have been able to get over that “so called” hump in the gym. It’s amazing that the mass media is just finding out about this amazing Super Fruit. I highly recommend it to everyone! In fact, I HAVE recommended it to everyone:).
There are so many good things about the Acai Berry; the antioxidants, building the immune system, and most importantly, fighting the number 1 and 2 causes of death in the United States….heart disease and cancer. Enjoy getting healthy everyone, you deserve it!
March 19th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Here ya go http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/jf8016157
The company released info states that it’s 22.8ml which is 646 units per ounce. FYI this link was posted on February 28th. Jason then broke it down according to numbers on blueberries and showed that Monavie is the equivalent of roughly just over a dozen of them. 100g of blueberries provides roughly 6553 units and a serving size of blueberries is 148g. I certainly don’t trust anything produced by AIBMR, for a number of reasons, but these numbers just aren’t impressive when you’re looking for antioxidants.
The other black and white info I was referring to was the nutrition label. It doesn’t say good things about the value of the juice and I imagine you have access to that info.
Good on you for posting that link. We must be dealing with very different distributors because I see very few staying within the law or company policies.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
I know that the Acai Berry is very bennificial, but there are other products for a lot less money. Monovie does not have the market cornered on the Acai Berry, even though they make it seem like they do. Check other products sold on the regular market, you will be surprised.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:55 am
After posting my article on 27 Feb, I continued my research about Monavie. I signed up for this blog, so I can see the new posts when they happen. A few things are very apparent now. Thanks for the people who feel this product is the new coming of Christ. It makes the whole plan even more clear. Here is the scenario I see that happened:
I imagined I had been involved with MLM’s and had only mediocre success. My past company was warned numerous times by the FDA and eventually required to destroy millions of dollars in products. So, how can I overcome this and be successful in the US? I know what to do:
Continue with the health type products as Americans are always looking for something new. So, I come up with a fancy looking product, boast about its many health benefits (because I know I get a few warnings from the FDA first, before they take action due to the legal system), design it around an MLM type basis, because I can make the most money for myself this way and see what happens.
I know that greed controls everything amongst most people, so I can capitalize on this. I know by getting distributors involved and allowing them to make whatever claims they want at first will help spread the word (even though my product is not a miracle product). After this continues for a time we can pull the reigns back and tell distributors what to not say anymore (though all the hype has been played to our benefit). I then can hold conferences, show people how mega-rich I am with fancy cars and a monster house. Then to appeal to a broader scope of humanity, I will make a charity in some other country (that will cost us 10 times less than the US) and make people believe in all the good we are doing (though it is not for Americans). So, maybe the best way is to make a charity in the spot we need to buy our berries, so I can appeal more to the locals and to continue the mega-rich fortune I want to amass.
Of course we have caused so many problems in Brazil where we purchase our berries as the small families that had these berries on their land have been forced out by murder, threats, etc. No reason to talk about that, because I am making money and will make people believe they can make money no matter what the cost. I know this because most Americans are so greedy they would never think to ask how my product can be directly or indirectly causing harm to others especially foreigners. Americans always turn a blind eye to this, because if we don’t see it, it does not exist.
Wow this has turned out a lot bigger than I imagined. Now I can go international and make even more money. At the same time, I can continue hyping all my distibutors in the US to continue signing up more people and make them believe that even if you are not a distributor, you can get my product for almost half the price and just drink it yourself.
I don’t need to continue on with this as we all know how it is going for Dallin Larson.
I praise those people that believe he is our new savior and to all the other “Monavites” that think money is more important than anything else. Good job “Monavites”, you have a great future to look forward to.
Thanks “Monavites” for helping me understand your easy sway to a product if you think you can profit from it. I look forward to many more entertaining “Monavite” comments.
March 21st, 2009 at 11:40 pm
My brother-in law just signed up as a distributor for this stuff, and he tried to strong-arm me into buying this horribly expensive drink. He even told me that it would take the place of the protein powder and other foods I use to get protein (I’m a vegetarian). Well that didn’t sit well with me, since the bottle itself says 0 grams of protein. I ended up almost having a fight with him, told him to back off and I’d do research for myself. I looked everything up on the web, then went to the health food store and bought frozen acai puree to try it. So far the jury is still out. But geez Louise, guys, if all distributors and potential distributors are that rabid, I have no use for such a high-priced product–especially if what they say is mostly a lie!
March 22nd, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Wow Stephen! You certainly DO have an active imagination! At least you prefaced it by saying that that’s ALL IT IS. That way you can plant lies in people’s minds and squirm your way out of any trouble, but you still got what you wanted by making (some weak-minded) people think you might actually be on to something. I’m just wondering what product it is that YOU’RE trying to sell since that’s really the only reason you’d be bad-mouthing something you have absolutely no knowledge of yourself other than your one-sided “research” where you chose to ignore whatever doesn’t fit what you want. The bottom line is that
1) a large percentage of “distributors” never intended to make much, if any, money with this. They simply became distributors to be able to buy the juice wholesale. (You’ve been told this but choose to ignore it since that would negate your argument that such a small percentage of people make any money so it must be a SCAM. ALL DISTRIBUTORS ARE EVIL according to you. You’re SO WRONG.)
2) FACT – It does some amazing things for MANY people. FACT – sometimes people don’t feel anything. Let them try it for themselves and make their own decision. Why do you feel YOU should tell them what to do? As I said before, YOU shouldn’t be able to sleep at night if ANYONE listens to you that it could have helped. Maybe YOU’RE the EVIL one.
Too bad we can’t keep people that have no idea what they’re talking about off of these blogs, but at least you keep showing your true colors so most people won’t do anything more than laugh at your close-mindedness and know-it-all attitude. If you were a bit more professional about it and not so accusatory against the thousands of good people that are distributors, people might actually listen to you, so keep it up.
PS If Dallin Larsen is the Messiah, I guess that makes you the Anti-Christ. And I really LOVE how that all works out.
March 24th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Well you sold me… I was in daubt myself until i read this article. I think with all that said, it proves to me that Mona Vie is certainly worth a try.
Thanks for the help.
March 25th, 2009 at 3:47 am
Brad,
If it’s one thing that the Monavie article comments have shown, it’s that the Mona Vie hype machine is a powerful beast to behold. There are numerous stakeholders, affiliate distributors, and highly interested investors who stand to profit greatly from continued blind acceptance of the alleged health benefits of MonaVie acai juice products. But I think this perceived placebo effect is getting a bit blown out of proportion.
With that said though, I think acai berry, whether it be with MonaVie or some other brand maker is still worth a try – to at the very least sample what the hype is about. I don’t recommend signing up as a distributor off the bat because I think 99% of new sign ups will get seriously burned, but I think the drink’s still worth a try, for curiosity sake at least. Don’t go crazy and buy a whole crateful of this stuff, but a single bottle should suffice for starters.
But honestly, despite the health and fitness claims of acai berry juice drinkers, there is no such thing as a miracle elixir that can cure all that ails us. Exercise, low stress, a balanced diet of veggies and fruits, and good genetics are the only things that really work in the health department.
March 25th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Brad,
The only thing I would add is that there’s NO REASON not to sign up as a distributor – especially right now – BECAUSE THEY’RE WAIVING THE $39 FEE THIS MONTH. So WHY would you NOT, when signing up allows you to buy it wholesale? (Unless you’d feel “seriously burned” because you lost ZERO DOLLARS – Why do people say things like that??) There’s another option of being a preferred customer so you’d get a small discount, but why not get it as cheaply as possible? (And who knows? If it works for you you might want to tell a few people and end up with your juice free. There is NO “contract” or OBLIGATION to buy ONE BOTTLE if you don’t want to.) I’d love to talk with someone with an open mind so if you’d like to email me I’m at roseannamato@yahoo.com I’d give you my phone number but there are “others” on this site that I’d rather not have it.
Good luck – I sincerely believe it will be good for you and would like to hear what you think after you’ve tried it.
March 26th, 2009 at 4:33 am
Roseann, I do not think you are evil. I think you are a robot. You have been programmed and have no free will. I honestly feel bad for you. I am thankful that I can post on a blog that does not make it only one-sided as you call it. Having the ability to make a choice and express your opinion is still an American right, unless you and your fellow Monavites had your way, then I guess we all would not be able to say anything but “We love Monavie!” “Buy Monavie!”
I am all for people trying new things that I think are legitimate. I am not for people trying things that may put a new Bentley or an extra addition to your house. When you only care about money and greed, then you will promise people the world because it comes to your pocket. If you truly feel this product is a miracle product and so great then go buy 100 bottles and give them away for free. I know that would never happen because you can only think in terms of profit to your pocket, but that would prove to me you actually believe in this.
In your programmed brain you actually thought I might be trying to sell a product? The only way I am allowed to not like something is if I am trying to sell something else? You really are programmed.
If you are going to say I may be the evil one or even possibly the anti-christ and also try to say that you wish people were more professional, that makes you a hypocrit. I still won’t blame you as you are only a robot for Monavie and you do not have a choice anymore in the things you say or do. Hopefully some people can read these articles and might actually be able to maintain a free will.
I do hope one day you will wake up Roseann and realize it is not respectful to steal from your fellow Americans just to put money in your pocket.
Have a nice day Roseann and remember to read your Monavie bible and pray to your Messiah Dallin Larsen for all good things to come to you (hopefully a new Rolls Royce).
March 26th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Some interesting items can be found in the Quixtar vs. Monavie lawsuit. When a distributor says that Monavie distributors don’t make claims just refer to this. These are high level distributors making some ridiculous claims. (View Link)
Of course Quixtar suing Monavie makes me laugh because they are just upset that Monavie is getting involved in their scam. But the facts presented on the false claims being made are all verifiable and most can be found on online. Like this one. (YouTube Video)
BTW Lou Niles is not an MD so I’m very curious why he would describe himself as “the doctor or last resort.” Couldn’t be because he’s trying to deceive people could it?
Or (YouTube Video)
“I haven’t lost a cancer patient yet.” WHY WOULD YOU??? YOU ARE NOT AN ONCOLOGIST OR EVEN AN MD!
I won’t comment on these ones but you get the idea.
(Youtube Video 1)
(YouTube Video 2)
March 27th, 2009 at 12:20 am
Just thought I’d throw this out there. I did some random searches for information about this hack – Dr. Lou Niles and there is some indication that he may have been court martialed before or even convicted for rape. I suspect these allegations may be a case of similar names and mistaken identity…
But either way, after listening to the YouTube videos, it’s clear this guy is trying to fake his way into making others think he’s a real medical doctor. He’s even wearing medical scrubs in his presentation, and trying to sound all legit by suggesting that he somehow “reluctantly got involved in MonaVie acai berry drinks” but did so because of the supposedly miraculous healing powers. MonaVie is a total scam!
March 27th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I have a friend who invited me to a gathering of the Monavie crowd and is trying to get me into his downline. A couple of observations of the gathering is in order. A cult like atmosphere was present throughout the venue. An entrance fee was charged for both my friend and me ($10 a head, with over 600 people in attendance, that is $6000 that the company earned). 2 oz samples of the juice were $2 each. Now if you want to sell me on a product that will improve my health, etc., the least you can do is give me a free sample of the product to try. The whole presentation was about how MUCH money everyone could make, they kept pushing the idea that the goal for every one in the room would be to make $10,000 per month or half a million a year. I reviewed the IDS and just don’t see that be a reality, except for a very small percentage of the people involved with this product. I too am concerned that the amount of the Acai berry in the product is unknown to the consumer. I have been taking the product for two weeks (two bottles given to me by my friend to try), have not noticed any change in energy for sleep patterns. When my wife tried the product, she had an allergic reaction to something in the juice (could be anything in the juice, including the preservative), but anyway her tongue swelled up and she needed to take benadril to stop the reaction. Has this happened to other people? I have absolutely no problem making money thru Monavie, what I really object to is the full court marketing press to join the train. If the product is so good and healthy, much more money can be made by the company by retailing the product, the company can still give back to the poor communities in Brazil. I have seen very good personal relationships be ruined because one person would not join the system. If this company prides itself on the “GREAT” personal relationships, then they should clearly direct their current distributors and star makers how to nurture the personal relationships when trying to push the product and the individual. I will not join this show for the simple reason that I don’t find the product providing any health benefit to me for the high cost of the juice. Be very careful this product. Facts about the berry itself (as a stand alone item) are cleverly tied to the juice with no facts in between.
March 28th, 2009 at 1:38 am
Why is it that no one who states they have “more energy” and “feel better” after they drink this particular brand of snake oil notes that a single serving of this overpriced, over-hyped guff contains 2 grams of sugar (according to its own label)? I wonder what type of sugar they use to make this swill palatable? I’m sure the company won’t tell you, but my guess is plain old high fructose corn syrup – cheap, and extremely bad for your health.
April 4th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I’ve been searching for a product that I will like as much as Herbalife-Shapefast Classic that had efedrine that is no longer legal since some people abused it.
I receivied an invitation from a neighbor to stop by and find out about moni-vei. My son begged me to go since all his friends were going to be there and he wanted to hang out with them. Out of 50 invitations, I was the only one to show up for the event. Crap. So guiltly I figured what the heck let’s try it, maybe this could be the next thing to give me some energy like Herbalife Shapefast did. I miss that stuff a lot!!!
Then I found out the price (in my head I said Holy crap what a scam) Diggity Dang, then I was told how I could make a lot of money if I became a distributor. I thought I guess so at $40.00 a bottle! I would be embarrassed to sell it. Then they showed the video of the distributors driving Hummers, going on expensive vacations. Again I’m thinking how much is this family making off of me? (then I found out I could’nt just give them a check and buy one bottle and try it out, no I had to become a distributor) No wonder I’m the only one who showed up!!!
Since I felt sorry for my neighbors and also felt guilty if I didn’t buy some, I bought 2 months worth. The mother of the home said she had more energy the first day she took a shot of the stuff. Both were sleeping better at night, and the father’s road rage had decreased!!!
The next morning after trying the product at their home, I felt like a truck hit me and I had absolultly no energy. (that’s an understatement) I was completely wiped out!!! Don’t know if it was the product, or what. I’m thinking is my body going thru shock of having that many nutrients??? That was horrible!!! 2 days later I had sharp cramps. Hum I’m not sure about this stuff.
Now I actually like the taste of the purple slurp. I’m wondering what would happen If
I drank a whole glass!!!! I wonder how many people have over-consumed this product. Would you would be on the porcelain god for the day, praying that you will never do it again?? My digestion has changed a little. But painfully. Maybe the product is removing the cookies I ate at christmas!! lol
Today I have little more energy. I guess I will finish off the two months, and if I don’t see any substantial positive improvements, I’m off to my search for a better product.
I also learned my lesson on going to product home parties. I think the company made $33.00 and the bottle of juice is $7.00 because of the bottle. I hate myself sometimes!!
April 5th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Charlene
This stuff is a rip-off. I tried it for a while, and it made no difference. I have several friends who push the stuff and preach how you can get rich. But bottom line is that it is a scam, and will eventually fizzle out, like most other MLM scams.
What I have found to work best for me, is to make my own juice with a simple blender. I use blue berries, which are just as good as the acai berry. But the mona vier’s will tell you they’re not because they are not “flash frozen” from the vine which causes them to loose thier nutrients.(BS) With making your own juice, it is a heck of a lot cheaper, and you know exactly what you are putting in it. Add strawberries, black berries and what ever you want. It works great and my energy level has sky rocketed. Believe me you will be amazed, and still have money in your wallet.
Just don’t buy into this scam.
April 6th, 2009 at 4:42 am
This company reminds me of Tupperware. I believe that is also over-priced and I should just buy rubbermaid. Though I like the product, I don’t like going to the parties because they try to get you to have a party or become a distributor because you will make a lot of money.
I don’t like buying products that I feel they are also putting a burdeon on my shoulders, or that I was completely taken advantage of.
I already work a hard full time job, I didn’t go to the Tupperware or the Moni-vei party because I needed another one! Just the thought of that tires me out!! I wish they would both just sell at a store. I think it is also a bad move to show how quickly you can become rich selling the stuff. It’s a quick message that the buyer is getting ripped off!!
April 6th, 2009 at 10:43 am
I agree with some of you who have said they don’t like how the distributors push you to get into the business to get rich when that’s not what you’re looking for. What I don’t agree with is that you can get the same results from mixing up a few berries in your blender. Not unless you’re growing them yourself maybe, because the fruits and vegetables you get at the supermarket are greatly lacking in nutrients compared to the ingredients that MonaVie uses. You can find references all over the iternet if you look about how overfarming and picking things before they’re ripe and the pesticides that are used have made grocery store produce unacceptable. And I’m not saying that this will help everyone or how long it will take for someone to notice a difference IF they notice one. But I AM saying that this is a great product that has shown some great results for people. If you have no real physical ailments that better nutrition would help, and you just started eating better (which means not just eating grocery store produce) you may feel the same results. Maybe you already eat very healthy foods. Then maybe you’d be fine without it. But if you’re like most people you don’t get what your body really needs, and you’re not ambitious enough to get the right fresh produce from the right places (which would be very expensive if you could even find them) and juice everything yourself, then this is something that you should at least try. Don’t let the distributors that are in it just for the money ruin it for you and everyone else. And don’t let the negative people out here on this site brainwash you into believing that there are no decent people left in the world that just honestly had a great experience with it and want to share that with others. Do you REALLY think that everyone that likes this product is EVIL? Because if they’d try to talk you into taking something and spending a lot of money on it just to make THEM money, then they ARE evil. And DON’T buy something just because you got talked into going to a tasting. When invite people over we NEVER try to sell them a bottle and encourage people to consider trying the product AT WHOLESALE but NOT to get them to quit their jobs and go nuts with this.
Now, in response to MR. NEGATIVE, Stephen who says: “If you truly feel this product is a miracle product and so great then go buy 100 bottles and give them away for free. I know that would never happen because you can only think in terms of profit to your pocket, but that would prove to me you actually believe in this.” I already HAVE bought well over 100 bottles and have given them out for FREE. I have NEVER sold a bottle myself except once – at COST – to someone I didn’t know that a friend of mine brought to me and he ASKED me to sell it to him because he couldn’t find it where he lived out of state. I have done this over a period of about 4 months. About 30 of the bottles went to some friends of mine that have cancer and didn’t have the money to buy it themselves (one has gone through the treatment and is now doing better, another two currently are in treatment) and the rest went to family members and friends that I introduced the product to AFTER IT HAD HAD SUCH A GREAT EFFECT ON ME AND MY HUSBAND. Admittedly, I might not have spent the money on the other 60 bottles if I wasn’t interested in making the commissions that MAY result from introducing it to someone IF they decide that the product works as well for them, but WHAT is WRONG with THAT? I am their marketing. Do you totally distrust every other sales person on the planet? I wouldn’t be doing this (on the side, not intending to become rich – just make a few extra bucks, and don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same) if I didn’t believe in the product. So NOW what do you think Stephen? I can already tell you what you think. You don’t believe me, do you? Because you’re so negative. Well, believe what you want. My friends and the people that are important to me KNOW that I’m an honest person so I don’t really care what you think. And as for my not being “professional” for responding to your UNprofessional comments by getting down on your level – what’s the matter? You can dish it out but you can’t take it? Poor Stephen. Don’t waste your time feeling sorry for me – it’s YOU that everyone should feel sorry for. Anyone that’s this negative about something so basic as a fruit juice that’s GOOD for people has really got some problems.
April 7th, 2009 at 12:48 am
well, I have read much negativity upon this discussion of Mona Vie and everything to do with it. I have recently become a distributer and I must say it is hard to try and convince people, at least in my area to at least try it. My problem is that many of the people I do know. Are not set up very well financially and dont want to take the chance on something that is going to gouge their pocket books. I work hard for my money, yet I cannot deny what the product put out by Mona Vie has done for me and for those I have reached. I have an Autistic brother, who is very hard to control, very violent and is a hand full. I have started him on it at the same time as myself. I have been on it for 3 days and I am noticing some results, but not as much. Him the results are somewhat noticeable. He is calmer, and is actually starting to become a bit easier to handle. There is a doctor whom is named Dr. Buttar. He started his son on it and claims it cured his son’s Autism. It seems far out there but I am willing to try anything. Anyone who knows of someone who has Autism knows how much of a handful they are. Most are put in homes due to them not being able to be handled by anyone. I will try anything to allow my brother a chance to live a normal life. Remember, take this for yourself, be skeptical if you want. But be open minded and try it. Try it for a month, if you notice nothing, you are out $143 and can say you tried it and it didnt work, oh well. There are worse things you can do with $143 It takes a while for your body to absorb the juice and for it to start benefiting you. Especially if you are a smoker or are over-weight. This is not a miracle product. It is one that helps your body balance itself out and start working in sync again. It is not for anyone. If people wish, i will post up every website I have checked out in my research of acai and of the different companies that sell it. It will take a while to compile it as it is very long. I settled with Mona Vie due to the health benefit and the option of the financial side to it as well. You have to work at it to make the money, but oh well. That is what makes it good, you have to make the effort to make money. I have gone so far as to hold tasting meetings, and giving those I invite each a taste, then handing them the very bottle i just poured them a glass out of and saying keep it, and here is my card so you can call me in a week and let me know what you think. I have a huge group of people above me that are willing to help me host the meetings and tell their success stories, to help me out on the financial end of things if i need it to introduce people to Mona Vie.
Realize this people, every company, every product, will try to bash the competition and will post up anything to dis-credit the competition. Mona Vie………….I have checked and they claim the acai berry content is over 70% each bottle. I go to the store, by a quart that has 2% in it for $18. The ultimate goal, of everyone in the program, is to get you your juice for free. If you just want it to drink, those above you will put people under you in your tree to help you get your juice for free. If you want it for more than just you then you have to put in some effort. I have been on it for 3 days. I have one person under me, I am getting nothing. Oh well, I am working at it here and there. I am not going to drop everything and go and try to sell this. This is a health benefit above all. If you sell it and go to sell it, people can tell and wont buy it. You need to be your own success story. I am waiting to see if it helps my carpal tunnel and my arthritis. Nothing else has so why not. I am a Union Laborer and work long hard hours. I dont want to be like many of my co-workers who have had shoulders, knees, hips, etc, replaced after working hard for 10 yrs. So you know what. Everyone who is a skeptic, go ahead and be one. But as the old saying goes, dont knock it till you have tried it. I am making the effort, if it helps me out then I am for the better from it, then I consider it worth it if it gives me good health and the ability to be with my family and not be worthless to them after each day of work. Do any of you understand the pain that it is to be just the money maker? That you are so physically exhausted and hurt so much after each day that you go home, lay on the couch and dont move until it is time for bed, because your body seizes up and wont let you move without extreme pain? To start to live off of pain pills just to make it thru the day? Welcome to the life of those who do physical labor. Having no part in your families life hardly due to your body being so torn down. I dont want that, and most people who have that same problem understand my pain. I am going to try this I am going to give it a shot. The rest of you that wish to bash it should go away and go on with your miserable lives. If you have that much extra time to be on a message board of this type, keeping up on it and doing everything you can to contradict everyone who praises acai and Mona Vie. To tell them how wrong they are and how much they are wasting their lives and money. Just go away, shame on you. If you dont like it, we dont care. Dont dissuade other people whom this can benefit. Go find something useful to do, whether it be playing video games or staring at something shiny I could care less. If people want to actually know more about this and want to know the truth rather than the fallacy that others are trying to make it out to be. Them post up, the rest of you need to go away and get a life. I know misery loves company, but those whom are miserable are usually miserable due to themselves alone more often than not.
April 7th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Hey Sasquatch! FINALLY, someone with some common sense! I’m so sorry that you’re in so much pain and I sincerely hope that this helps you. Like I think I’ve mentioned, I have a friend that I gave it to that has many ailments with arthritis being a huge issue for him, but not anymore. He took it for about a month, maybe 6 weeks and notices a little bit of relief. He’s a big guy – not huge, but solid and maybe 6 ft. tall. I gave him an extra bottle (and he ordered more) and suggested he double up since my husband had done that and he’s now off of his prescription pain medication that he’s taken for years. About 2 weeks later I saw him and it was amazing – he said he was in virtually no pain whatsoever. His had been so bad that his knees would lock up numerous times during the day (he drove wreckers for a living for probably 25+ years and ended up owning the company, but still drives them a lot) but he told me it had only happened once in the last month after he’d been on a very long drive (4+ hours w/o a break.) I SO wish this will happen for you. I know it’s not cheap, but in comparison to what it would cost you to get that kind of nutrition in an easy form, I don’t think you can beat it. It’s just a matter of deciding to put that money into it and give it a good try until you know for sure if it will work for you. I DO know a handful of people (maybe 1 in 10 that I’ve shown it to) that haven’t felt much of a difference, but honestly, I can’t say they’ve really given it a good try or they didn’t have any major problems that they’d have felt a huge difference so it wasn’t worth the money to them, and that’s OK too. Hopefully they eat well enough that they’ll be OK.
The only thing I’d point out is that MonaVie DOESN’T tell anyone how much of their product is acai. So whatever you heard is probably just a GUESS. I’ve heard 30 – 35% but I’ve even stopped saying that because I called distributor support and they told me that nobody outside of the owners, upper management and scientific staff knows for sure. It’s proprietary and if they gave out that information it would be part of information that people that are out there to rip others off could use to duplicate it. I don’t blame them. It’s the first ingredient listed on the bottle so I know there’s more of it in there than anything else, and the results speak for themselves. So please don’t say it has 70% in it because “others” on this site will try to use it to discredit you, me and others who think this juice is great! They seem to think we’re lying and just trying to make a buck (or a million, as Stephen would have you believe.) I can tell you’re a good, hard working person that has no reason to lie to anyone. I just wish you the best luck with this and please DO tell me (us) how you’re doing on it. I’d love to know you were feeling better and have a life again! Take care.
PS If you don’t mind, can you tell me where you live? Just the State? I’m wondering if you might be somewhere around me and my group.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
If anyone would like to know just how much acai there really is (or rather isn’t) un Monavie, we have the answer. We recently commissioned some tests in New Zealand to look at antioxidant activity and total phenolic content for a number of acai and acai-based products, including Monavie.
The best way to remove much of the confusion surrounding value for investment in acai products, is to take a close look at just how much of the promised benefit is beong delivered for every dollar invested by the consumer in the product. This removes most if not all of the confusion that some product developers and marketers (sometimes deliberately!) create around their products by leaving out important details such as percentage of active ingredient, serving size and so forth. By measuring products on the basis of just how many antioxidant units or how much phenolic content is delivered per dollar, it is possible to make some objective comparison between products. After all, when the consumer goes looking for products containing antioxidants, isn’t that exactly what he or she wishes to know when faced with the buying decision?
On the basis of antioxidants per dollar, Monavie does not perform nearly as well as most of the other products tested. Against some of the products available in the NZ and Australian marketplace, Monavie’s acai beverage delivered approximately 7 TIMES LESS antioxidant per dollar. These results were produced by New Zealand’s leading plant and food research unit, and a copy of the results can be made available on request. Email ask@nufruits.com for more details.
April 8th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I’m wondering how anyone knows for sure that the other 18 fruits and berries are so much healthier than the ones we get in our grocery stores??? Isn’t it true that most bottled water is identical to tap water? Why should Monavie be any different? It’s incredibly trusting of the fans to assume that the fruits are coming from somewhere healthier than here, especially when most of the world has much poorer standards for food than we do.
It also made me smile when someone mentioned how much ‘worse’ diseases are getting now – actually, the life expectancy is higher than it was before all the pesticides and radiation. Human bodies only last so long, and when we’re not killed off in childhood or early adulthood by cholera, flu, or polio, other disease eventually get us. Common sense.
It’s nice that the company isn’t (any longer) touting the extraordinary curative powers of the juice, but they’re also not pushing the calmer, ‘it’s good to get your 7-9 servings’ mantra.
Interesting side note: there are also websites devoted to the health benefits of drinking your own urine. Those people believe in extraordinary health benefits also – and it’s free. Any Monavie distributors willing to try that for a month???
April 8th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
well Roseann I am based out of Washington, in the Wenatchee area. Most ppl dont know where that its, but it is smack in the middle of the state between Spokane and Seattle. I understand that they cant give out the information due to ppl trying to repute their claims of the content, plus others claiming that theirs has more, or what ever. It does seem out there that it would have that much and the other 30% is the other 18 fruits. Oh well, I tell most people that it is based with the acai berry. That there is more acai berry than any other single fruit. Also Jon, while I appreciate your input, I must say that I dont agree with it. Mona Vie is a business. They will defend their product. While everyone will do their best to dis-credit it as I said before. Even pay companies to do “studies” to prove their product is better than Mona Vie. Considering acai is only found in Brazil, plus Mona Vie is the only company that has a processing plant down there. Plus they are giving back to Brazil to help re-build the rain forest and help the people down there have better lives. kinda hard to do a study on the acai berry when it goes bad within 24 hrs of being picked and cannot be grown anywhere else. They have tried. it must be processed within that 24 hr period otherwise it loses most of its goodness in nutritional, antioxidants and such. That is a proven fact. Also, if Mona Vie is so bad, why are the praised for being the first company to reach 1 billion dollars in sales in their first year of operation? Considered the best on the market for those who use it for health benefit and not for the financial part of it. Most ppl that dis-credit it. Are those who want Mona Vie to hand them money for doing nothing. Since they dont, they dis-credit it and say how bad it is, then get paid by other companies who are Mona Vie’s competition to make outrageous claims and put up all these websites and or studies that claim how crappy Mona Vie is compared to them. Not meaning to point the finger at you Jon, but I like using more reliable sources. taking from many rather than few. Taking the good with the bad. Most ppl are mad as well that Mona Vie have done the multi level marketing technique rather than allowing it to be retail on the shelf. Why? Because most retail will jack the price up 500% or more. They do it with everything. By a pair of jeans for $40 that cost them $0.40 to make. that is a 1000% mark up. Which most companies do. If you have tired Mona Vie, then put up your opinion on it, but be respectful. If it worked for you, then put up how it worked. Give your success story. If it didnt, then be respectful and say, it didnt really work for me that I noticed. Good luck to those of you it did help. Those of us that it is helping arent lying, we have no reason to. Dont come in saying to check this out or chekc that out, see why we are right and you are wrong. IF you havent tried it then your opinion doesnt not matter. You are speaking on something you have no knowledge on because you havent tried it. You are basing it off of statistics and other ppls words who are the same as you, they either listen to others and took their word or are in it to make money and didnt get a free hand out to make money and do nothing. Again, not meaning to put you on the spot and being the core part of my tirade. If you are in it to make money, it isnt gonna be easy and if you arent an advocate for it yourself, no one will wanna try it. If you are giving your opinion of something you havent personally tried, then you have no room to talk unless you have. It is that simple. Use your common sense ppl. This isnt a miracle product, never has been, never will be. Nor has it been claimed to be, no matter what the competition tries to spread. Saying how Mona Vie claimed this thing did wonders and cured cancer or what ever. They never did.
Be your own judge of it. Do not be duped by all this information you find on the internet. The internet is so full of crap anymore it is pitiful. Example, lol I can give you about 10 websites I know of which will claim that our President is a terrorist. That all the stuff they have as proof is fact and this and that. While you have 10 others that claim he isnt and give all these “facts” that say he isnt. That is how stupid it is. 9 out of 10 sources you find on the internet are more opinion than fact I dont care what they say. Try it yourself, be your own judge, try it for a month. It works, cool, if not…………as I said in my last post. You are out $143 and you can spend that on much worse things than something that can improve your health. Notice I say “can” not “will”. Everyone is different, everyone will respond different, everyone will have different results of what it does to them.
Have common sense and use it. Dont let yourself be duped with false information. Remember, be your own judge of it and try it yourself. Otherwise you have no room to talk.
April 9th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I’ve got to stop reading this blog – it’s doing my head in. There is just so much misinformation running around, I don’t know where to start to correct it. I would like to make just a few sinole statements that ARE fact, and not just made up on the spot or repeated lies fed in from on high.
1. Acai is a nutritionally-dense fruit – one of the best nature created.
2. The acai berry is highly perishable, and must be processed within 48 hours of harvest in order to avoid problems with rancidity and oxidation
3. Acai berries are “depulped” to remove the thin layer of flesh from a central stone which occupies about 90% of the volume of the fruit.
4. This depulping process creates a puree (where water is added to the pulp as a processing aid).
5. All acai products start from acai puree
6. The solids contect of acai puree may range from approx 8 to approx 14%.
7. There are MANY factories in the Amazon carrying out this processing. Monavie does NOT have such a factory. Monavie buys acai puree from processors, such as Bela Iaca, located near Belem in the state of Para, where much (but not all) of the acai is to be found. (You can also find acai in Columbia, Suriname, Venezuela….)
8. Acai puree typically has citric acid added to it to lower the pH (from its natural level of around 5.5) to approx 4.2, at which point the anthocyanins are more stable.
9. The acai puree is then typically frozen in pails or drums and either sold (domestic or export) in that format, or sent elsewhere for further processing
10. One of those further processes is freeze drying.
11. Monavie purchases freeze dried powder from a company that operates in Sao Paulo (Liotecnica).
12. This freeze dried powder has a high ORAC value – it varies from test to test as acai is a natural product and we know that anthocyanin levels vary from month to month as a reponse to UV levels. A good average number would be around 950umol TE/g.
13. Monavie put some of this freeze dried acai powder in their beverage
14. Monavie do not tell just how much they out in this beverage – it would not serve their purposes to do so. It is possible to deduce though, from antioxidant and phenolic studies, just how much acai is likely to be in the product
15. Such studies have been made and I have offered to provide copies of these to readers by contacting ask@nufruits.com. Two persons from this blog have asked for these, including Roseann. I have provided the results to Roseann, who asked me some follow up questions (rather defensively I have to say). Roseann has been given a full response, including the information she asked for on actual values for ORAC and phenolics. I have not heard back from her since having sent these through – maybe she has seen the product for what it is, maybe she is out there dumping the last of her stock, maybe she has ignored everything she received and is still out there pushing Monavie. I don’t really care – I just came to this forum by chance as I was doing some research and thought I could provide some information that I have after having spent much of the last 5 years working very closely in the acai industry, much of that time in Belem, the centre of the acai industry in Brazil. And for the record, I have yet to come across any social project in the region put there by Monavie…
Jay, good luck – you are on the right track, but for me, I am leaving this blog – it is just too frustrating to read the opinions and views of such poorly-informed individuals, and even moreso to see them cling to the rubbish they have been fed from above when bare science is staring them in the face telling them they have been duped.
April 9th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Well, I asked for the back up information and Jon sent it to me – thank you Jon. I don’t have any argument with what he has shown, though I personally do not have any reason to doubt it, I also am not an expert and have no way of verifying it, but I will say I believe his information. BUT – what it’s comparing is the Monavie product – a reconstituted Acai product Plus another 18 fruits & berries, to JUST the freeze-dried acai powder. To me, that would be like comparing something like powdered milk to regular milk, and it would seem like common sense that when you measure something in a very concentrated form as opposed to a diluted form (don’t really think I’d prefer to take a teaspoon of dried acai powder instead of this great-tasting drink) you would come up with exactly the results he showed. That it’s more expensive to provide a palatable product in a pretty bottle than to send them a (I’d bet) pretty nasty tasting powder. Though it may be good for you I know I wouldn’t take it but that’s just me. To be fair, and since I do see his point, I’ll print, with Jon’s permission, some of his response to me:
“The reason we chose ORAC/$ was to remove the confusion around different formats. If the key selling benefit is antioxidants, then from a consumers perspective, they want to know how many antioxidants am I going to get per dollar. The format (powder, juice, tablet, cereal, dairy product, whatever) is irrelevant, just as is serving siz, packaging and so forth. I believe we will see more of this index going forward, because it is what consumers want to see. It is designed specifially to remove confounding influence of format and so forth.”
So – bottom line is, if you buy MonaVie you’ll be paying for something that tastes good and is good for you as opposed to paying less for something that would not be enjoyable to taste but would be high in ORAC value. I just wanted to point out that that didn’t compare apples to apples (or the same form of acai to the same form of acai!) They also used the $45 per bottle retail amount, that I seriously doubt anyone out there is really paying since it’s free to be a distributor and then it only costs about $30/bottle that lasts a week which isn’t that bad. And no matter how much acai is in MonaVie, the product has a very beneficial effect on many people. If someone wants to try a powder instead and has the same effect, then great. But I havent’ heard of that happening yet (which doesn’t mean it hasn’t – I just haven’t heard of it.) So everyone has to make their own choice as to how they want to get this into their bodies and how much they’re willing to pay.
To the point about not knowing if the other fruit they use is better than in the grocery store, that’s a good question. They say it is and I believe them because I have no reason not to, but I’m going to go to a meeting on the 18th and I’ll see what else I can find out there since you brought it up. But I have to say that the company – at least everyone I’ve dealt with so far – HAS stressed the point that most of us don’t get the required 7-9 servings of fruits, and that’s what I myself stress when I talk to people. NOT getting rich, though you can make good money with it. And I really was thinking you were on the right track until I read about the whole drinking urine thing. YUCK. And challenging MonaVie distributors to try that? If you were even REMOTELY serious that that would mean anything, I’d have to say – You First. If you’re comparing what MonaVie distributors believe to drinking urine then you might have a screw loose!
But I don’t believe that and just wish you hadn’t tried to gross everyone out like that.
Thanks Sasquatch – wish you lived closer – I’m in Florida! Please keep us posted on how you’re doing on it. BTW – I’ve read in the information the company has published that they made their first $1Billion not in the first year, but in their first Three years, and now are on track to have made another $1Billion in their Fourth year alone.
April 10th, 2009 at 10:20 am
I agree with Sasquatch and Roseanne, using it is a matter of choice ; just like people choose to supersize their fast food, get addicted to two and three packs of cigarettes a day, exclusive high priced caffienated coffees & energy drinks, that have negative side effects, all averaging about $5.00 or more dollars a day.
People can whine about how lazy we are because we don’t have time to sit around and juice 19 different fruits, or go shopping and purchase these same fruits weekly, not knowing how long they’ve sat in the grocery store, etc. etc. I have an autistic teeneager who takes up 99.9% of my day, and I consider it a blessing, because I don’t have the time or energy, also working 40 hours a week as a nurse, to eat and provide the fruit for my family as I desire. While we eat some, we could never reasonably eat as much as the juice can provide.What a person is willing to pay for a product depends on how VALUABLE it is to them. Sometimes perception is reality, folks. I have been behind people in the pharmacy line and seen them pay over $300.00 dollars a month for pills; and a doctor prescribed it so do they do it. This company has doctors research and independent doctors not paid by the company who support it; but now people want to call those doctors quacks because they support the benefits of this amazing juice blend!
As far as knowing how much Acai berry is in the product; do you know the major soft drink company’s secret formula? I THINK NOT! Thank God it’s a free country and we have free will. No one is making anybody drink it; it’s a choice. It works for me! Video opinions of the juice can be found at healthmatters.com , amazingjuice.com
Thanks and God Bless you all in your quest for better health.
April 10th, 2009 at 10:37 am
You don’t need to juice 19 fruits to get the same benefit of Monavie. Just eat around a dozen blueberries and you’ll get the same level of antioxidants (based on Monavie’s own study of their product). Half of a grapefruit has roughly the same vitamin value of a daily serving of the super juice. You are NOT replacing the fruits you should be eating by drinking this juice, not even close.
April 10th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Jay,
You are my hero! Don’t let these Monavie addicts push you around with their acai laden craze. They are brain washed with dollar signs in their head and motivated to push their acai berry snake oil to get more people into their sales down line. If I were an acai sales gal, I’d probably do the same honestly…but I’m not. Just tired of those who try to push unproven health gimmicks onto others and profiting from the health needs of others.
I’m sure acai is healthy for the body just the way most fruits like bananas, grapefruits, and pomegranates are healthy for the body….but by no means is it some magical super fruit capable of curing all ailments, cancer, or even old age. Only exercise and a good balanced diet can really do that.
April 10th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
wow, so many people so scared of what they do not understand. it is quite sad really. They do not wish to understand that technology, and information has become much better than it ever has been the past few years. because of such a high demand for processed food, our foods are becoming more and more nutritionally deficient. You can find this almost anywhere, many colleges have does studies on this. Many reputable health institutes have warned of this for years and are now posting up their studies more and more to try and warn us that we need to start looking for our nutritional needs in other foods we dont normally get enough of. I appreciate the correction on your part Rosann. Jon……….what can I say…you cannot show the blind what they do not wish to see. Duped by what you claim is fact. Lawsuits would have been filed if Mona Vie stated reputable facts that were shown to be false. Especially with what their facilities in Brazil are, how they process their juice, etc. It can be considered false advertising on so many levels and they would have been shut down when they first started. they are helping to re-build Brazil, contrary what you wish for people to think. I am not dis-counting you making trips down there or what ever. I doubt you have been everywhere in Brazil. There are still many places in the Amazon rainforest which we have no record of people ever seeing. All I can say is I am glad that you have been thoroughly irked at the amount of opposition you have found with the people on here on your claims of how we are all wrong. Basing everything off of one website and your own “personal experiences”.
I am starting on my second week of Mona Vie, I feel better than I have in years, my arthritis and my carpal tunnel has faded even more. I have started going to the gym to work out, something I have not done in years. I get a good nights sleep, wake up in the morning refreshed and ready for the day, my mind has more clarity than it has had in quite some time. I feel good…………..there is no other way to describe it. I cannot say this is a miracle product, it is not. It has however proven itself to me. I have done many diets. The Protein power Plan, Atkins, low carb, etc. I even went so far as to trying to switch to being a vegetarian. That lasted for about a month and did nothing. In that time i was taking in quite a bit of fruits and vegetables. None of it made me feel any different, except for loss of energy and being tired all the time due to my body being deprived of needed nutrients that all these fruits and veggies claimed I would get from them. I lost significant muscle mass and was sickly, unable to do very much. it had to quit, it was interfering with my work and my life. I am glad this has worked out for me. I do not care how many people who hate life and hate that others are bettering themselves claim how stupid i am being. The proof is in the pudding persay. The results are un-matched by anything else I have tried. After being on it a month, i think I will go into my doctor and get a physical. He told me I would probably need 2 knee surgeries in the next 6 months. Lets see what he thinks when i go in. Mona Vie says it may help re-grow cartilage and help to strengthen bones and re-build joints that have degraded due to arthritis. It seems to be doing just that. How else would I explain feeling like I was when i was 18 again? I love being called a Mona Vie addict, it is hilarious. Is it truly an addiction to like something that makes you healthy? Is it an addiction to be happy that you feel great that you think perhaps you may fight and win against a debilitating disease like arthritis that runs in your family and has destroyed many members of your family at an early age. Leaving them crippled and helpless at as early of an age as 30? I ask all these questions because many people who do not have these problems do not understand the significance of it all. They cannot they cant see it, they are unable to grasp the concept of looking at being worthless by the time they are 30 and being able to do nothing about it. Being healthy, being able to provide for my family, being able to do things with my family, going hiking, playing football, being active while my kids are growing up. That is more precious than anything in the world to me. So what if people think it costs too much. In all reality it isnt too bad. I supposed I could be like many of my friends, who go to the bar 3 times a week and spend about $100 a night in booze. Then consider it money well spend because they got drunk and had fun. That is a good idea. Maybe I should do that. So I have a pickled liver by age 35 while being confined in a chair due to arthritis and oh yeah, I am now an alcoholic. Yeah………………not so much fun if u ask me. I want to grow old and once my kids grow up be able to live to a ripe old age with my wife, travel the world maybe and when it is time to die, say I lived a life worth living. Kinda weird to hear someone pour out their goals in life huh? As I said lots of clarity, seeing how society is on a downward spiral, how people are getting more and more lazy, not taking care of themselves. Having heart attacks at an early age, many ppl especially children at a young age being over-weight due to following the example of their parents for being lazy. How the amount of diseases and health problems we now have is over 500% more than we had 40 years ago. Also i love societies take on many of these problems, They are not our fault. It is something that has happened that we had no control over. Here are some pills, here is a whole bunch of excuses for you to be lazy and for you to feel sorry for yourself. Just remember it isnt your fault. What a crock!!
Anyways, I am done with my tirade. Sorry, got a little off topic on here. the bottom line is, that people need to realize that all things on this earth were put here for us. For our benefit. We have corrupt and twisted much of it for evil or stupid things and that has cost us much in terms of our health and our lifespans and what the earth has to offer us freely. Dont shun and dis-count what the earth has to give us. We are just now realizing what we have done and how we are destroying ourselves. How we are trying to make everything eco-friendly. I hope it is not too late.
USE YOUR OWN JUDGMENT! DONT BE FOOLED! Please…………find out for yourself rather than taking the word of someone else. Everyone is unique, in body, mind and soul from anyone else in the world that lives in it, has lived in it or will live in it. If you are not even willing to try something for yourself and your well being. If you think your time and money is better spent trying to convince people they are wrong or stupid for trying to become more healthy. Then I am truly sorry for you. Not willing to give something a chance that may or may not improve your health and your life. That is just pure stupidity right there. Not to mention pure spite to try and dissuade others from trying to make their lives better. If you dont agree with it. Fine, no one said you had to. But let others live their life how they want to. No matter whether you think they are wrong or not. Everyone has free will. Let them exercise it!!
April 11th, 2009 at 1:11 am
I’m just glad to see there are some people on here with common sense, and who are not blinded by greed.
Everyone I know who pushes this stuff use the same lines. I guess it’s part of the brainwashing which goes on at these so called tasting parties.
April 11th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Jon, thanks for having information out there that is not biased and is based on science. Roseann can not appreciate it because the $$ will continue to maintain her focus on why the product is so miraculous.
Roseann, do you ever read what you write? I do believe yo have seen some benefits from this, but I also believe you and the people around you had a poor diet and unhealthy lifestyle prior to trying this. I can take anyone who lives on McDonalds and put them on a Monavie program or any other healthy lifestyle program and they will see benefits. Many of the people who have posted here against Monavie are not against you as you seem to take it. They don’t believe in the MLM and the high price associated with Monavie and to push it on others with false claims as many do. Maybe you are one of a thousand that try not to do that? If there is science based information and you have not done any personal tests, then why do you constantly refute anything against Monavie? That is why so many people say the distributors are brainwashed, because they will not accept any other information and take whatever Monavie says as fact. It is easy for you to fall to anger and frustration and type in CAPS when you are trying to sway others, but most are expressing their dissatisfaction and you absolutely hate it. You commented before that none of us should be able to speak bad about the product. Are you kidding? Is your voice the only voice of reason? Do you honestly believe that you know all? I hope you understand my point and your personal filter is not blocking what I am saying. Believing in something, regardless of what it may be, is being able to stand your ground intelligently with facts and sometimes figures. You are not able to do that, except to say what has only helped you.
Sasquatch, you need to read what you write also. You said in your last comment that you just started working out after starting Monavie. That means you are another person who lead an unhealthy lifestyle prior to trying this. Of course, if you become a vegetarian only, you are lacking in protein and essential amino acids and your body actually breaks down some. Low carb diets and the other diets are for losing weight, which I imagine was your goal. If you are not balancing your food intake and putting nothing good in your body, then you will continue to have problems. Most diets are designed to get you to a goal weight then you need to balance your diet with nutrition. The Atkins diet for instance actually makes you eat such low carbs that your body eats the fat for energy. You have to know the type of diet and how it will affect you.
Of all the posts I have read from 1000’s of bloggers for Monavie, I have yet to find one that said they ate a balnced diet, worked out, and lived a very healthy lifestyle until they found Monavie and how incredible it was. All the posts are from people who had poor diets and lifestyles and tried Monavie and feel it is the miracle. I agree that any change in a diet for the better will benefit you. I just dont beleive Monavie is that cure. If you are so lazy and do not care about your health then sit back on your couch and drink Monavie, so at least you can put something better than cheetoes in your belly.
If you actually care about your health, then there is plenty of information available to help you lead your life in that direction. There is not one great diet that is magic for all. Do not be one sided Monavites and at least give us real information that can be a benefit instead of these ridiculous claims that are constantly being stated out there.
Also for the Monavites, you should do some research on human physiology. Do research on how different blood types affect different people and the food they consume. Do research on metabolism and cellular repair for healthy versus non-healthy people. Are bodies are very adaptable to the environments we live in. We really are what we eat. Diets and fads are a constant here in America. Do research on mortality rates in other countries or the average age expectancy of other cultures that have not relied necessarily on the Acai berry. Instead of trying to market your product for 6 hours a day, maybe take 1 hour and do some of your own research and you might be surprised in what you find.
Jay, thanks for the information and the links you provide. It still seems silly how people continue to be so one sided here. Have a great day gang.
April 11th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
First of all Steven, I’ve never said that I have the healthiest lifestyle and I know that I could certainly do much better in that area. However, I don’t sit around and eat cheetos as you’d suggest. I had something called Cushing’s Disease – which in my case was caused by a pituitary tumor. Without going into all the details, that alone caused me to do plenty more than one hour of research on all aspects of the body, including the immune system, so don’t try to act like YOU know everything and no one else has a clue. And I’ve NEVER said that MonaVie will cure everything. If YOU read what I’ve written, I’ve time and time again said that this is just one easy way to get something good in your body, because MANY people – and I never excluded myself – DON’T get the exercise they need, and just listening to you or any knowledgable person talk about it isn’t going to get them to the gym after working a full time (plus) job and taking care of a family. So MonaVie is something that CAN help them – I’ve seen it happen too many times to ignore that fact. I don’t eat fast foods as you’d also like to suggest and do eat a relatively balanced diet according to normal standards. When I did work out, mainly due to the Cushing’s, I ended up fracturing my feet, herniating a disc and pulling numerous muscles, among other things – maybe you’d like to read up on it in case someone you know has it, because the symptoms are not that uncommon taken separately, but together can really wreck your body, and the doctors don’t diagnose it unless you complain a LOT, and then only if you get to an endocrinologist. And that’s one of the reasons that, although I think doctors MEAN well, they don’t and probably can’t know everything. You know nothing at all about me so be careful. If you want to talk facts then talk facts and leave the insinuations out. This isn’t personal.
To your first point that I can’t appreciate the “facts” that Jon has given because I’m so blinded by the money – again, you don’t know what you’re talking about. First of all, Jon and I have been corresponding quite a bit, and I am waiting on answers to my last questions about where he got the information in his last posting, because – and I told him this directly – if he can show this to me and give me real reason to doubt what the company has been telling me and others, I will confront them with that and get some answers. He has yet to respond to that, but I am not going to jump to any conclusions – as HE did when he first wrote that I hadn’t responded to him because I work full-time and can’t always be on this blog – and think that he’s not going to because he doesn’t care or doesn’t have the answers. Ours has been a friendly correspondence, and he apologized to me for having written that – and said he was going to write a statement to retract that, but as far as I can see, he must have forgotten…. Anyway, this proves that I am not brainwashed as you would suggest. I AM questioning anything that I see that DESERVES to be considered, and Jon seems to be an intelligent individual with some information I’d like to review. As I said, I’m still waiting on his sources. Especially interesting is his reference to there not being a MORE project down there for the children. That is difficult for me to believe since I’ve spoken with many people who have been there and have seen footage of this “village”, the school they’ve built, the housing for them there, etc. I notice that, although he throws doubt on it, he didn’t actually say it wasn’t there – just that he hasn’t “run across it”. He also said it would be possible to deduce how much acai is in MonaVie, but didn’t disclose what that amount is. I’m not sure that that would matter since the product itself has been shown to be so beneficial, but I’d like to know for sure, nonetheless. The other thing he says is: “11. Monavie purchases freeze dried powder from a company that operates in Sao Paulo (Liotecnica).” I’d really like to know how he knows that – and I’m waiting on that answer – since I’ve been told that they process it themselves, and that as well would not sit well with me. I’m going to start listening a bit more closely to see if they word things in a way that just gives the impression of doing something or if it’s more direct than that, but since I haven’t heard back from Jon I don’t have anything to go on.
So, Stephen, as you can see, I’m NOT blinded to anything nor am I brainwashed. I’ve just not had any reason to not believe what I’ve been told – and still don’t until and unless I get more information from Jon. And I don’t disagree with you that a healthier lifestyle would be better all around, and in fact, have told people that I’ve shown it to that if they DO have a healthy lifestyle, they may not need this. Does that surprise you and the others that believe that people can only be in this for the money? Wow. It could actually be that some people aren’t out there just for themselves. Why is it OK for you and others to think that I (just because I believe in a product) only want to make money off of people, yet you are so much better of a person and are only concerned that I and other evil people “like” me, are out there ripping people off and it’s all up to you to save them? Because it’s so easy to believe that YOU’RE some wonderful, altruistic person, and I am only out for myself? Hardly. I’ve heard of people getting on blogs just to discredit some product because they have another competing one. While I’m not saying that you are, I find it difficult to believe that you’re so much better of a person than I am and have no ulterior motive – since you’re accusing me of being something, that usually means that you’ve got that trait you accuse others of having yourself. IF you’ve read what I’ve written, you wouldn’t speak to me or of me the way you have, unless you’d also like to call me a liar. I haven’t called you one, and in fact, agree with some of what you’ve said about what people could do for themselves. I just don’t believe they’re going to do it so this is the next best thing. And considering the trash people put in their bodies (and I’m just talking about cigarettes and high-fat, high-sugar lattes) and how much they spend on THEM each day, how can anyone really say that a little over $30/week is so outrageous??? Yes, I’d feel better about it if it cost $10, but it’s all relative, isn’t it? Women probably don’t HAVE to pay to get their nails done every other week, and we could probably all color those roots at home ourselves instead of spending all that money at the beauty salon (and for the record Stephen, my nails are growing much stronger now, so I stopped that – which had been necessary due to another side effect of the Cushings – and have NEVER had my hair anything but cut at a salon, and then only once or twice a year.) How much is spent on THOSE types of things? It’s all what people want to spend their money on.
I’m still waiting, Jon, for you to retract your comment as you said you would, and I’d still like the backup for what you posted so I can research those points a bit more. I don’t like being lied to or misled by MonaVie, if in fact that’s what’s happened, and I have no way of knowing if I don’t hear back from you.
So to all of you who truly believe they’re going to start exercising and eating right, GOOD FOR YOU! I really mean that. Don’t bother trying this. But for everyone else, what do you really have to lose? You should feel something within a month so that’s about $130 + shipping. You could spend that on one nice dinner out with your husband or wife and I doubt anyone would be so upset by that. So why this has caused so much of a stir just amazes me. You should still try to get some exercise – some is better than none – and eat better at least. We’re not getting any younger. Funny, I can’t figure out how I’d be making any money off of anyone on this site. Strange, isn’t that Stephen, that I’d bother? Maybe you’ve got me all wrong! Just maybe. Are YOU open minded enough to give THAT thought a chance?
April 12th, 2009 at 12:04 am
It just occurred to me. I’ve been noticing a spike in uptick in long winded anti-MonaVie acai juice sentiment on these blog posts comparable to the long text type stuff that the MonaVie supporters dish out. Are there major competitors to MonaVie that also operate MLM type businesses whereby the competitors are now motivated to try to take down the MonaVie brand by spreading rumors and MonaVie bashing online? I’d just like to find out what everybody’s motivations are. I know the motivations of most acai juice supporters…but what about the anti acai people? Are they seriously just here to do some supposed public service good of exposing some health and fitness lie?
April 12th, 2009 at 1:47 am
I do not want this to turn into the Steven vs Roseann blog, but can be entertaining I suppose to some. If you look back, I did not call out any names until you pointed me out on your March 22nd write up. You said I called you evil and you even said I must be the anti-christ. You said I must be trying to sell some other product. I just gave my scenario and that was it. You turned this into a personal vendetta against me because I did not agree with you and did your best to personally slam me. You acted as if I committed some great crime against you and your family. I just gave an opinion and you acted like a dictator in oppressed countries when some speaks up. (I first said to myself, who is this Roseann chick and why is she personally trying to attack me?) So, of course I went on the offensive against you.
Your last write up is probably the best so far. You did not attack me that much, but still think everything I write is aimed towards you, which is not the case.
To answer both you and Jakers, I do not have any alterior motive besides expressing my opinion. I do not have any product to endorse and am not on some personal Monavie vendetta. I just do not like what they have done and rarely find any distributors who actually have a valid point to make me believe they know a single thing they talk about. Too many distibutors have published too many false claims. Even the company made many false claims until the FDA warned them to stop. As said numerous times above.
In these rough economic times we face with a major part of the problem being greedy executives, I honestly can’t see how so many people want to endorse this product. Now lets say that even if everything that was falsely claimed was true. Lets say that this was the miracle drink of the 21st century. All the ads to hype the distributors and the conferences is only about money. The videos do not show people living healthy lifestyles to spend with their family, they show cars, houses and jets. We sit back and show shock that the big car company CEO’s took their jets to DC to ask for money, but we are happy to try to sell a product so much that we can acquire wealth beyond our dreams? We want to see people like Dallin Larsen take his jet everywhere? It just proves the hypocritical nature of our society. We are all so two faced.
If you look above Roseann, my original article was on Feb 27th. I did not harass or slam anyone. I then made my next article on Mar 22 where my attitude was with Dallin Larsen and the problems he continues to cause. I also was directing some of it towards the Monavites that are ridiculous with their claims. If you feel the need to continue to bash me then I will continue to add you in my write ups. I think we are past that and do not need to express that anymore with the name calling. You asked if I was open minded? Absolutely 100% I am. I do believe you want to make a point like I do and it does not have to be all about money. Again, a blog like this is for people to express their opinion no matter how crazy it may appear to you or me. We all have a voice here and no one needs to pick out which articles should stay or go. That would make us like CNN posts that get removed if they are trying to sway an opinion. This is a good blog and I hope to see more information as it is available or peoples stories (both good and bad), because, like I said, we all have a voice here.
Happy Easter Roseann and the others subscribed to this blog.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:53 am
I would like to address the comment Stephen made saying that I personally attacked him first. Let me quote something he said earlier: “I praise those people that believe he is our new savior and to all the other “Monavites” that think money is more important than anything else. Good job “Monavites”, you have a great future to look forward to.
Thanks “Monavites” for helping me understand your easy sway to a product if you think you can profit from it.”
Since he puts me in the category of Monavites, tell me how that’s not attacking me for being greedy? And if there was any doubt, he goes on to say: “Roseann can not appreciate it because the $$ will continue to maintain her focus on why the product is so miraculous.” I’ve never given any indication in any of my posts, and have shown quite the opposite, that I’m in it for the money.
And as for the anti-christ comment, if you notice, I only said “IF Dallin Larsen is the Messiah (as you said)” which I don’t even remotely believe, so unless you do, I guess I didn’t call you that then did I? You just throw these nasty comments around and don’t like it when someone questions your motives. Of course I’m going to question them when you make generalizations about ALL MonaVie distributors. I know there are some out there that are in it just for the money – and if you’ve read all of my postings, you’d know that I’ve already said I don’t agree with them and wish they weren’t doing some of the things they’re doing, and that I wish the company didn’t pay so well. But I also don’t have a problem with the CEOs of PRIVATE companies making whatever their companies pay them. Once they start asking for my tax dollars I do though, and this company has been debt free since 6 months after they started, so I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t think that’s relevant here. (But in my opinion, I don’t think MANY MANY people should make the money they make when it starts to get up in the millions – it’s ridiculous with so many honest, hard-working or underprivileged people (notice I didn’t say anything about deadbeats) having such a hard time just having a roof over their heads and food to eat, but I don’t think we can do much about that here. Do you have any idea how much some of those Rappers make that do nothing but swear their way through their “songs”and encourage violence? But that’s America – everyone, whether they should or not, has free speech. Too bad people encourage that sort of thing by paying money for it.) Let’s just hope that at least SOME of the ones making the top money gives some of it back, not only in Brazil, but here in this country. The way this new administration likes to tax everbody, they’re going to need the tax write off….
None of this has anything whatsoever to do with the product, which is what this should be about – IF the person’s motives have to do with actually helping people. Yes, cost can come into play, so posting something meaningful about the cost is appropriate. I’ve never said it’s cheap. I have said that, in my opinion, it has done great things for my health and those around me, it tastes good, and is in a convenient form for me to be able to use with no hassle (instead of juicing things.) I’ve also said that it’s not as expensive as many would have people believe since the $45 retail cost isn’t paid by anyone I know because it’s FREE to become a distributor so you can get it wholesale at around $30/bottle that lasts a week, and a little over $4/day isn’t much when you consider what people put in their bodies that harms them for more than that.
So everyone out there that feels it necessary to make generalizations about how ALL MonaVie distributors are only in it for the money and don’t care about the people they “scam” with this product, if you stop your nasty comments about “me” since I am “one of them”, and keep it to the product or AT LEAST having known A distributor instead of saying we’re all that way, then I’ll try my best to not attack you. It’s the same as everything else – if you watch the news at night you’d think everyone is a thief, murderer or extortionist. You don’t hear about the good guys – it’s just not sensational enough. Believe me, in all my dealings with the company, I’ve run into FAR more “good” distributors than “bad” ones. And it’s not unlike many other companies in that respect. So I think this blog would be much better off if we all stuck to whether or not the product is good and worth the money.
PS I still haven’t heard back from Jon and hope that’s just because he’s on vacation or something since I really want that information to check it out….
April 13th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Roseann, I have to ask again, do you read what you write? I made it clear that my attitude was towards Dallin Larsen and those distributors that make false claims. (Read it above). You even then put my words in your write up “I praise those people that believe he is our new savior and to all the other “Monavites” that think money is more important than anything else. Good job “Monavites”, you have a great future to look forward to.”
“Those people that believe” = not all inclusive and directed at a few.
“the other “Monavites” that think money is more important than anything else” = again directed towards the people that believe money is more important.
If you respond to that, it tells me you are in one of these categories. You then go on to write how you used the word “If” to say how you didnt actually call me that unless I believed it. Is your ego that big that you can’t admit you are wrong? You pull out random sentences and try to believe they mean something different than written? I know Jehova’s Witnesses do that, but didn’t think it would happen here.
You attacked me first and I responded. That is the bottom line. No matter how many times you try to play innocent and want to rally support for yourself, you began the attack. Please swallow your pride, admit you are wrong, and move on. A very simple process. Surprise me Roseann and step up and just say “Yes, I did that and lets move on.”
Now as to your latest comment, “So I think this blog would be much better off if we all stuck to whether or not the product is good and worth the money.”
Here is a paragraph from your March 13th write up:
Let me make my point here by simply pointing out to anyone ELSE out there that is actually interested in the TRUTH that Jay (above) apparently doesn’t really pay much attention to his “research” OR if he DOES, then he obviously is doing what he’s accusing the awful distributors of doing, and knows that he’s misleading people. (I don’t really think that’s the case because I’m not one of those perpetually negative people. I think he’s just SO negative and thinks he knows everything that he’s just GOT to SAVE all the rest of you from the EVIL MLM juice monster! Isn’t that NICE of him to protect you like that so he can – what? Sleep better at night? While he is at the same time, depriving you from just TRYING something all natural that might actually HELP whatever ails you so you can decide for yourself?)
You attack anyone that does not agree with you. You are such a hypocrit. It is only for you to sit back and cast judgement on anyone that disagress with you. When did you become judge and jury here? A majority of these articles are written with a persons opinion, then you call them out and try to demean them. What in your life has made you such a rotten person? Why are people not allowed to give their own opinion around you? His article was not directed specifically at you. It was his opinion and, of course, Roseann the Almighty has to swoop down and cast judgement. My god your ego is ridiculous. Thanks for not being one of our founding fathers in this country or none of us would be allowed to say anything that was not first approved by your holiness. You need to take a look at yourself Roseann. Maybe a little self reflection time and realize that you are not the final say in this world! You might then find people would actually want to have a discussion with you that didn’t end up with you casting a harsh judgement on them.
April 13th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Wow. Must’ve hit a nerve with you. Wonder why…. If you read what I wrote, I said I would stop if others would. And as for my “if” – it wasn’t to act innocent. It was to show what a ridiculous statement you made about Dallin being the Messiah. I made one just as ridiculous about you being the anti-christ. I would hope you’d know that I don’t believe that either.
I think it’s funny that you chose to print what I wrote to Jay because I’m not sure what you were trying to point out by that. If I remember correctly, he posted some incorrect comments about somebody (Dr. Niles) and a link that showed his comments were wrong. He just didn’t take the time to really read what he was refering everyone to or did and knew he was wrong, so he WAS misleading them by saying it proved something that it didn’t. So – what was wrong with my pointing that out? That I turned the tables on him for saying that MonaVie distributors shouldn’t be able to sleep at night because of how awful they are? It’s ok that he says that but I’m not supposed to point out that his comments could keep someone from trying something that could help them? It’s postings like that that might sway someone from giving this a shot, and I know that I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I thought I’d kept someone from something that might help them feel better. It’s one thing to not tell anyone about it (as most people do because they don’t care, or don’t have time, etc.) but another to stop them when it’s right in front of them.
And I will not “admit” anything because you’ve never relented in your comments that lead anyone to believe you think we’re all only in it for the money. So don’t YOU try to act so innocent as if you’re just singling out a “few”. If you look at YOUR postings, you like to make up “cute” names for people. I haven’t done that to you. In fact, my last postings have been much kinder than yours. You’re the one with the apparent ego, and YOU don’t like people talking back to you and not agreeing. I have no problem with someone not agreeing as long as they don’t attack whole groups of people for the actions of a few. You’ve directly said I was in it for the money: “Roseann can not appreciate it because the $$ will continue to maintain her focus on why the product is so miraculous.” so it’s not my imagination that you’re saying these things about me. If I’ve said anything to make you believe that, please point that out to me. Otherwise I think you need to retract that statement. I’m not going to defend myself to you anymore because I don’t need your or anyone else’s approval. I know why I tell people about MonaVie and don’t really care what you think.
So I’ll tell you what. I’ll apologize FIRST to you for antagonizing you – which I admit I have done intentionally because I did take your comments personally – and we’ll see if you can do the same.
Still haven’t heard back from Jon.
April 14th, 2009 at 4:15 am
I have been away for the Easter break and simply ran out of time last week before heading off to the beach…but I had promised Roseann before leaving that I would post a retraction of an earlier comment I had left on this blog concerning her apparent lack of response to the information I had sent her. Roseann did write back to me on several occasions and I am left with the opinion of her that she has listened closely to what I had to say and asked reasonable questions based on the information I provided to her. Roseann, I apologise for suggesting you would not respond and that I didn’t really care whether you did or not. I do care, and that is why I wrote to this blog in the first instance. I have no problem with you choosing to stay with Monavie – it was never my intention to convince you or anyone else from using it or to switch to another product – all I really wanted to do was to make sure that any decision you and others made was made with a fuller understanding of what the product is and what it isn’t, because in my humble view, there is an awful lot of misinformation being spread around about Monavie (and similar products that contain acai) and while this misinformation MAY not have been initiated by the pronciples of the company, I don’t see them doing a lot to correct it. And that concerns me, because my company and I presonally have a deep interest in seeing the acai industry moving on from a fringe position to becoming a long-term mainstream food industry enterprise, and some of the short-term scam activity has the real potential to harm this prospect. Thanks for the opportunity to contribute.
April 15th, 2009 at 3:24 am
Jay, Jay, Jay,
Get a freakin’ life man. All I’ve seen here is one person trying ever so desperately to negate any positive information or offering that’s been given. If you’re not into it, just bugger off. If what these people are doing is not illegal, and it most certainly is not, then back off and let them be. Your opinion is noted but we don’t need to answer to someone like you and I advise everyone from this point on to just ignore the rantings of those who have nothing of value to add, just a lot of time and energy to waste on negative crap instead of achieving something worthwhile. Again, get a life of your own and mind your own damned business… if you had one.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Sure thing Robb I’ll just sit back and let people spread obviously false information. Like Monavie somehow replaces the fruits we should be eating or that false/illegal claims didn’t originate with high level distributors and trickle down the product based pyramid scheme. If you consider spreading false information and lies to be the traits of a positive person I feel for ya buddy. Your entire post was off topic, full of negative crap, and of no value but thanks for the tip.
Oh and not that it matters but I have a great life, thanks for being so positive…
April 16th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Jay don’t be offended by anything said to you here. You’ve provided a wealth of helpful information and I for one applaud your efforts to expose this scam for what it is. It’s not surprising that you would be subjected to attacks by distributors. You are exposing their sub par juice blend, and dishonest business practices, for what they are. Anyone who takes the time to understand the facts you’ve presented would be appauld that this company is allowed to opperate. Those who have something to lose when this information is put out in a public forum naturally have a negative reaction. Those who are open minded and able to see through the cloud of misinformation put out there by distributors appreciate what you’re doing.
I say keep it up.
April 16th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Jay
Obviously you have struck a nerve with some people. But bottom line is the truth hurts. Keep it up, I enjoy reading the blogs. But I don’t think this site will be around much longer, since mona-vie, like many other scams before it eventually will be gone. I just feel sorry for the honest people who got suckered into this because of the false health promisises it made.
So again Jay, you have done an outstanding job on keeping the information flowing.
April 16th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
I disagree that I’ve been “suckered” since the product has worked for me and quite a few others I know. I also admit there are a few (many less than the ones it has helped though, in my group I’ve worked with) that have felt no effects. And it is FAR from a Scam – and that’s where I have an issue with people who seem so intent on leading people to believe that it is. How is it a scam when it works for at least SOME (and really most that I’ve shown it to) people? I’ve already said I don’t agree with SOME distributors – the ones that are really only in it for the money and are giving out misleading information, and that I wish the company didn’t emphasize the money end of it more so than the product itself. I also can point to charts that show that MonaVie is VERY high in antioxidant capacity, much more so than a few blueberries, supposedly done by “independent” labs. I’m not saying that I don’t believe what Jay believes where that’s concerned, but he’s obviously looking at results from a different “independent” lab, or they used different quality produce, or it was done under different conditions, etc. I don’t think he’s lying but I know I’m not either. SO – I’m not so sure we’re going to be able to agree on the specifics here, so I’m just going on the results I’ve felt and seen in many others. If someone here is really interested, go look for the information yourself. It doesn’t take that long with everything that’s out there on the internet – just be careful that what you’re looking at is coming from some source that’s not tied to one of these companies – including MonaVie – or it means nothing. Jay has made some very good points (when he’s not spending his time bashing distributors, which he now agrees isn’t ALL distributors)where it comes to lifestyle changes that would benefit us all. But I doubt that most people are willing to commit to that, and I’d bet this product (or others like it) would help most people that aren’t. If it helps you and you think it’s worth the money (which is for everyone to decide for themselves after they consider how much it helps them and what the other alternatives would cost) then fine. If not, you’ve wasted about $130 to try it for a month. I know plenty of people that spend a lot more money than that on things I wouldn’t even THINK about paying that much for, but I’m not going to spend my time telling them how stupid they are and how they’re being suckered and how Starbucks is a scam. Really people – let them decide for themselves.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:03 am
an outstanding job…………..of keeping the information flowing…………..What information is that exactly? Did no one get the one thing that I said over and over????!!!! be your own judge, make your own decision, dont let other ppl sway your opinion and dissuade u from trying something. People that claim their information is correct and others are wrong, i claim mine is right, others claim it is wrong. I love the mis-direction. Any of you……….have any of you taken that actual time of day to TRY MONA VIE? Any of you who are bashing it, who are making other people doubt themselves. Why? Why must you do this in some self righteous attempt at “saving people from themselves” from “misleading information”. I will have you know I did lead a healthy lifestyle for the most part. I ate 3 square meals a day. Busted my ass at a construction site 12 hrs a day, 7 days a week. Yet after a while that wasnt enough. It wasnt enough my body began to scream and yell at me, telling em it was wearing out and breaking down pre-maturely. Now………I still bust my ass at work, yet I have time in the morning to work out and actually tone my muscles rather than just having bulk and a strong core. You take any body builder and put him up against a construction worker. Both been doing their things for 10 years. The construction worker will whip the body builder hands down at anything. They have the strong tendon strength and the stamina and the endurance to keep going and doing more than the body builder. he is all for show, while the construction worker is show and results. Muscle that does more than just look nice or makes it so I can lift this heavy object once or pull this semi once. I got on this for the health benefits. It works wonders and anyone willing to spread their own dose of mis-information on here who have not tried this product should have their tongue cut out. Since it is on here, maybe their fingers cut off. Just cause you guys are too afraid to try something, doesnt mean you need to make everyone you can be afraid too. Instead of duping people into believing you. Let them be adults, and make their own decision without any biased information from you. I say this over and over. Butt out we dont want you here, you do more harm than good. Whether you realize it or not, whether you are willing to admit to it or not. Now, I am gonna be gone for a week. I have to go visit my parents, to get them started on this. I look forward to all the foolish responses i will get to this post. Get a life people. No matter what you do, the lies you say. This WILL go forward, people WILL try it and they WILL prove you wrong. You cannot stop it, no matter how scared you are. Change is coming and it is called Mona Vie, call me a fanatic I dont care. I am involved in this, believe in it and will no matter what you say. Those I share it with will believe as i do and will share the knowledge. Not my knowledge, they are their own success story. Sad to see that many of you will not believe this until it is too late, too bad for you. The stubborn and bullheaded will refuse to see that which is plainly in front of them and the truth of it.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Roseann the study I’ve referenced that shows Monavie has low levels of antioxidants when compared to small amounts of fruit wasn’t done by an “independent lab” as you say (why you’d hint at sarcasm on that is beyond me). It was sponsored by Monavie and performed by AIBMR. I know they aren’t a reputable lab but still that’s who Monavie chose to use for their study and since distributors trust the info Monavie is providing I chose to use that study as an example. But I suppose you’d have to actually be reading the information that’s been provided to know that. Please show me a study that shows that it’s high; I’d love to see it. Other lab tests have shown it to be lower than AIBMR’s findings. And there has been a test that showed it was higher than AIBMR findings, but not significantly higher.
I’m as open minded as they come Roseann although I’m sure you don’t believe that. I’ve done my homework on this product and this company and it’s most definitely a money making scam. The juice is nothing special, regardless of how many people you say it’s “helped.” How a juice with low nutritional values and low antioxidants could “help” someone is puzzling. Perhaps they were told it would help and believed it. I believe it’s called placebo effect, and it’s very real. There are even studies that show expensive placebos are more effective than cheap ones. If it’s expensive it must be good for you right?
Sorry Roseann the evidence is overwhelming that this a giant product based pyramid scheme. If you could show concrete proof, something tangible, that showed it was something else you’d be much more convincing. Saying I’ve seen it and believe me I know doesn’t really do the trick to someone with some intellectual curiosity. The evidence and documented facts all say you’re wrong so just insisting that you aren’t isn’t going to convince many people.
You’re right I don’t think all distributors are bad. I don’t recall saying that they were but if I did that was over the top. I think some people really think this stuff is good for them. They bought the sales pitch. Many of these people spread the lies about the product without even realizing they are lying. There is a long history of fad MLM supplements that people thought were doing amazing things. But of course if something sounds too good to be true it probably is. Most of these fad products are taking up space in landfills these days, much like Royal Tongun Limu. The onus is on Monavie, and you Roseann, to prove the products value but it hasn’t happened. If you have some facts that you’d like to share I’d really love to see them. I’m not interested in testimonials, I’d like solid reasons why this product is good. I’ve provided solid reasons why it’s not so please show me I’m wrong. If my anti-monavie stance just relied on saying well I’ve talked to a lot of people and they say it does nothing so I know that wouldn’t be very convincing would it.
Sasquatch – So people should just try it and find out for themselves huh? That would pump some cash into the money making scheme wouldn’t it? The dropout rate after the 1st month is around 70% so many people are doing just that and corporate loves it because they already have their dough. Sorry but that argument is just extraordinarily weak. There are a lot of products available for sale that I don’t have to try to know they aren’t good for me or worth the money. Monavie is certainly one of them but I could go on and on with that list. I’m sure if you stepped down from your Monavie pedestal you’d agree that there are many products you wouldn’t need to try for a variety of reasons. Wouldn’t you agree?
April 17th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Jay – I wasn’t being sarcastic just because I put “independent” in quotes – I only put them there to emphasize that that’s what people need to look for. I’ve TRIED to be a bit less defensive with you because I’ve accepted that you don’t think that all distributors are bad and in it just for the money which is what set me off to begin with, so you don’t have to be so touchy either. But you keep on and on – saying that I don’t think you’re open minded – putting “helped” in YOUR quotes, as if it couldn’t possibly have “helped” anyone – insinuating that I haven’t read the information put in front of me, which I most definitely HAVE and am continuing to look into, especially what Jon provided – And your “evidence” that this is a pyramid scheme is from where? To truly be a pyramid SCHEME (I see nothing wrong with the term pyramid if you must use it, because that, in itself, means nothing other than there are people signed in under other people which does not make it wrong or bad – it’s just the way a company’s compensation plan is built) I’m guessing you mean that it’s there to defraud and take advantage of the people “underneath” other people, and that the only ones that make money are at the top and the ones underneath don’t. If you check MonaVie’s comp plan, you can see that it is quite possible (and happens all the time) for the people UNDER someone to make more money than the ones above them. It works out quite well because each distributor can only put people in on one of two sides, so every person after two that they put in will be under the first ones, and therefore “helps” each of those people that have already become distributors under the one that put them in initially, because the volume counts for everyone on that “side”. It encourages people to work together by having meetings that new people can bring others that are interested to, to help each other build their organization. I’m not sure why that sounds so terrible to you, but that’s what network marketing is. It’s just another way of getting the word out about a product instead of spending marketing dollars on expensive TV and print ads that really don’t tell anyone anything about the product, where with network marketing you’re hearing from people – usually ones you already know – how it worked for them. And I know all about the placebo effect and agree that that could definitely play a part in some cases, but my blood tests don’t lie, people with diabetes that have been able to reduce their insulin dependency don’t lie, my husband’s back pain – do you really think that he could THINK his pain away? If that were true, I wish someone would come up with a cheap placebo pill that would do all this. I’m sorry, but I just don’t buy that. I’m not saying I completely understand why MonaVie does this for some people, but I know it does, and IF you can take the leap that at least some of what they say about the product and its ingredients is true, then taken together with what it’s done for me and others I know, it makes sense. If you can’t take that leap, then don’t try it. But then you’ll never know. And to just have people try something for one month isn’t going to make the company rich so that’s not a very valid comment. It’s the people that it works for that keep coming back for more that is the backbone of the company. And I’m not sure where you got your 70% figure of people that use it for one month and then stop because I certainly haven’t heard that one.
With that said, here’s a link to a report on the ORAC capacity of certain fruits and vegetables done by the Brunswick labs. I’ve heard of them before and believe them to be an independent lab (notice no quotes as I don’t want to set you off again). If they’re not, then let me know. I’ll look for other links I’ve seen as well when I have time, but wanted to at least get this out now. http://www.realhealthanswers.com/docs/ORAC_tables.pdf
It came from Real Health Answers which says at the bottom of its site: “RealHealthAnswers.com is not, in anyway, affiliated with any specific company, product, individual or practice.”
I’m not a scientist and take these studies for what they say they are. Anyone can judge for themselves if the ingredients in MonaVie or any other product is the best for them or not. I’ve seen other results that say the acai isn’t any higher in antioxidant capacity than blueberries, so I have no idea which is more accurate. I’m only saying I’ve seen both. I know this isn’t comparing MonaVie’s ORAC capacity so don’t try to say I’m trying to cloud the issue. I will, as I said, look to see if I can find something I’ve seen that does. The study that Jon pointed to wasn’t comparing the same form of the product since one was highly concentrated in a powder form, so that’s not exactly a true comparison in my opinion.
If I find what I’m looking for when I have the time, I will post it here. Or if I learn anything new I will do the same. Otherwise, I really don’t have time to argue with you anymore when that’s really all you’re doing. Neither one of us has said anything new lately and I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the time for this. I think we’ve both gotten our point across and it’s up to everyone else to decide what they want to do with it. Try it or don’t. It makes no difference to me, other than I would’ve liked to think that my time wasn’t wasted here and that if there’s a chance my comments and my experience with the product might have encouraged someone to try it and it helped them, it would have been worth it.
April 18th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Hi Roseann,
I don’t think you are trying to cloud the issue by posting the link that you posted but I do want to make it very clear that the link you posted doesn’t speak about Monavie but rather Acai. I know you mentioned it but your post was quite long and it could easily be missed by someone skimming over it. Opti Acai is high, there is no question about that. BUT Schauss, who I believe is behind Opti Acai, and AIBMR have tested Monavie and have shown that it’s not very high at all. He’s connected with Monavie and his data points to the fact that 2-4 ounces of Monavie does not compare to actual fruit on a serving to serving basis.
As far as your husbands back pain goes I feel very bad for him. My sister was in a serious car crash and suffered for years with extreme levels of back pain. Then she met with Dr John Sarno and her life changed dramatically. I know this is a bit off topic but I think it’s info that could really help your husband. Dr. Sarno has authored many books like the MindBody Prescription, and Healing Back Pain. Your mind can have amazing power over the pain you experience and I hope you look into it and that it helps.
Take care…
April 19th, 2009 at 2:48 am
I didnt make my trip, just got a new job I am started on, expanding the main bridge here in my town so no road trips for me for a while. Just sent them the info and told them to call me or come visit me if they want to know more. Wow, by the way. Seems those who were the ones saying everything they could to de-fraud Mona Vie have gone, yet we still have some skeptics. I too apologize for being so defensive in all of my responses. It just seems like most ppl who are screaming about how we are being lied to are being rather stupid. being ignorant is one thing, being blatantly stupid is what annoys me to no end. Now yes, Jay I will agree some products I do know about that I know I dont need. I had seen things here and there on Acai berry. then a good friend of mine introduced it to me. Gave me a bottle of it to try and told me to call him in a week to see how I felt. I honestly was very skeptical. i had tried many things, from Sea Silver, to natural herbal supplements to help re-align your body to the way it should be. Nothing worked. I was told that results vary. Ppl that are really screwed up usually feel the results faster than those who are fairly decent in health. The results are un-deniable, for me at least. It isnt something in my head, no placebo effect, nothing of the sort. I had given up and figured what the hell, why not I am not out any money to try it for a week. Most ppl you meet who sell this product, believe in it so much that they will give u a bottle to try for yourself. No cost to you. I know that it is different other places but here, it is this way. Every person I have met, it has helped and they are willing to help me any way they can to spread the word. Most will say it is them looking out for their investment. I make money, they make money. No………..them making money is an extra perk. they want others to experience what they have. To see how it has affected their lives. Going so far as to drive up here, to host a tasting event, having brought bottles of mona vie to hand out to ppl if that is a bit too much financial strain for me at the moment, expecting no compensation in return. For driving up here, for the bottles, for the hotel, expenses while they are here and the drive back, they ask nothing and expect nothing. That shows commitment and belief on my part. U got 20 ppl at an event with each bottle wholesale at about $32.50 wholesale, which goes done in price per bottle the more in bulk u buy. that is well over $600 in product alone. That is saying a lot. I am asking ppl to try it for themselves. Because it cannot be explained why their blend of Acai works like it does and helps people like it does. No one can quite explain it. Being told they are lying to me about having the only processing plant down there. Having the patented process they do for getting 96% of the nutrients of the Acai berry. That none have come close to getting. Oh well, I am done trying to convince people. There are too many people who think that something like this is too good to be true and therefore is a scam. Some scam when if I busted my ass hard enough I could surpass the very people who signed me up. Making more money then they do, if I was in it just to make money I probably would. Not that concerned with it. It is something I am working at part time. That helps me be able to take it a bit easier each week and not work 7 days a week. I can work 6 days a week now. I can go swimming with my family on a Saturday, maybe even go camping. The Juice sells itself to those who are willing to give it a chance and try it. Those who are un-willing to try it. Can stay that way. Be skeptical, be bullheaded, be stupid, what ever you want to call it. It works for me, it works for others and it will work for you if you gave it the chance. I am done trying on here. Too many negative people, too scared to even try it.
April 19th, 2009 at 3:14 am
by the way, here is a list of a few websites i have compiled. Read them if u want to, call them mis-informed, not verified or paid off by Mona Vie to say these things. These go right along with your information backing your claims. Plus some videos if u want to watch them. Just some info for people. I do a lot of research when i have the time. Sitting at a computer doesnt amount to doing very much besides looking at a computer screen, typing and moving a mouse.
http://www.entertheknow.com/
http://www.acaiberrymarket.com/monavie-juice-review.html
http://blog.cleveland.com/health/2008/08/mona_vie_enthusiasts_drink_to.html
http://www.acneway.com/Monavie_review_distributor.html
http://hubpages.com/hub/Get-True-Information-about-Super-Juices-like-MonaVie–Noni-and-Xango
Here are some videos if u want as well
http://acaiguide.com/mona-vie-revisited-on-fox-news-acai/
http://acaiguide.com/abc-news-reoprt-on-mona-vie/
http://acaiguide.com/abc-news-report-in-california-on-mona-vie/
April 19th, 2009 at 8:50 am
To be completely honest I was where all of you when I first heard about this miracle juice. But, my husband needed something done with his knee it was hurting him really bad all the time and has for about a year. And he didn’t want to have surgery. His friend was a distributor and he brought it over. I am a Prove it to me type. So I watched my husband drink 2 oz. in the morning and 2 oz. in the evening. And in 2 short days he had relief drinking the Active, Mona Vie. I also noticed he wasn’t as grumpy and had so much energy it was making me sick, just kidding of course. So, then I decided a serving of 13 fruits a day can’t be bad for one. I started to drinking it. Yes, It is pricey but when you break down to how you feel after a few days and the energy alone is worth it to me! Around $4.50 a day.
I noticed that I just felt happier too.
My hair is shinner my nails are growing my skin has cleared up and I don’t crave food like I used to, so I am losing weight. With no side affects!!! There is no side affects to eating fruit. You pay for the quality of anything and our health is priceless! Our immune system is a wonderful thing if it has the right nutrients to work well. I watched a lot of the videos and I did a lot of reading up to come to this conclusion. I have a niece who is drinking it for her ADHD and her results are very promising. With no side affects to her 11yr. old liver and kidney. The Pharmaceutical Companies aren’t gonna like us healing ourselves with fruits. The Mona Vie company also uses recycled glass for the bottles. And has a MORE project helping the People and Children of Brazil from which the Acai Berry is harvested. It is a Win/Win for my family just to be healthy. We have actually saved money drinking Mona Vie. We don’t need to buy separate Vitamins, pain relievers, skin care and pricey hair care products. Everyone knows that they can change the quality of their life with their diet. Have you priced what it would cost you to have 13 servings of fruits a day lately? They will never advertise on tv it is a word of mouth type of business! And yes they pay you to sell it but it a job and everyone who works gets paid right?
If you have any questions feel free to call me @ my home. (919) 554-1402 24/7 or email me @ Nicksmommy512@aol.com God Bless, Lisa
April 19th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Geez – what’s with you people and the refusal to use paragraphs in your writing? Use paragraphs to separate out and delineate your individual thoughts! It’s like one long ass run on sentence after another. Sheesh
April 19th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Monavie is a joke and all of you know it or you wouldn’t be so quick to defend it. You are making money off of it so of course your mind is warped. If Monavie is that powerful then you idiots wouldn’t be trying so hard to sell it because it would be prescribed by healthcare professionals and not a distributer trying to make a paycheck.
If we all “need it”, then why is it so damn expensive and why the pretty bottle? And why use an MLM program to get the word out? If the owner really believed in his product to do everything he says it does and stand behind all the wonderful claims from drinkers, then believe me he would not be using a MLM program to get rich.
My reletive got me to try Monavie. It has been two months and I have noticed nothing. I told her I would sign up if I noticed a change in my headaches and sleep patters as those are the two things that greatly effect my life. It did nothing for me.
People we don’t need a juice to make it all better. That is a quick fix for lazy people. If you want to live a healthy life then be kind to your body and eat healthy. Take control of your own life. Don’t let some silly juice control you and the way you live it. Seems like this juice is making your life pretty hectic. Doesn’t sound worth it to me!
Take care all and hopefully you will make the right choice that is best for you.
~A
April 19th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
No Anna. YOU’RE the IDIOT. For all the reasons I mentioned before and don’t need to go into here again.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:59 am
It’s interesting how defensive some people distributing this product have sounded. I can’t understand why??? I have tried Monavie and it was quite nice but to be honest is really quite expensive & I certainly did not wish to participate in selling the product. It seemed no different to becoming a Mary Kay or Tupperware consultant where you push to get distributors working for you so that you can earn more. My Uncle & Aunty were selling this and were trying to get me to become a distributor & it seemed too much work for little result, not to mention how pushy I would have to become to try and sell it. I hate door to door salespeople at the best of times and pushy salespeople when you go to makeup parties or likewise. I just wonder how many people the distributors could rope in if they weren’t friends or family signing up? I workout & eat healthy & do not have any health problems. Good luck to those that choose to sell this product.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Let’s keep the conversation civil and that goes for the people on both sides. No need to let a discussion devolve into childish name calling.
Roseann, the 70% dropout figure was from the Newsweek piece and they attributed it to a top recruiter.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
First, I’d like to mention that I went to a rather large MonaVie meeting this past Saturday and got to hear Dr. Shauss speak about the product as well as the berry. He mentioned that all of his results (that he went through quite quickly) could be found on a website he mentioned, so as soon as I get back in town from my job (yes – I do work full time and then some) I’m going to try to find that link so you all can check it out if you so choose. From what I remember it was quite impressive. And of course the antioxidant capacity or ORAC value won’t be the same in the MonaVie product as freeze-dried or any concentrated berry. I don’t recall ever seeing anywhere that anyone has ever said it is – just that MonaVie uses the acai as its main ingredient (as the label states since it’s the first one listed) because of its ORAC value and other qualities as well as those of the other ingredients.
I’m not sure who a “top recruiter” might be (and no, I’m not being sarcastic – just quoting) – I assume it’s another distributor and I’ve heard most of them speak – either through live webcasts or archived ones – but I don’t recall any of them saying that, though I wonder what they mean by “dropped out”. In my organization of about 90 people (which, by the way, only has 3 of my relatives in it and I didn’t twist any arms or trick someone into coming to a party where I turned into a pushy salesperson, or had to rope anyone into it) I’ve only had one drop out for real – because they didn’t want to get into trouble with their current job which is touchy about their people doing ANYTHING on the side – and maybe another 3 or 4 that didn’t really notice anything from it. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few more stopped drinking it on a regular basis because it’s like anything else – they liked it and felt “something”, but if they don’t have any serious ailment that they think it helped with, they decide not to spend the money anymore. But I can tell you that, at least in my experience, SO FAR, the majority are reordering the product and are not sorry in any way that they tried it – even if it doesn’t make them rich. Some may stop because they thought they’d tell 3 or 4 people and their juice would be paid for, but those 3 or 4 weren’t looking for this type of product and wouldn’t try it, or if they did and liked it, weren’t the type of person to promote a product. So they became disillusioned and, even though they liked it, didn’t want to pay the money for it. I don’t expect it will make me rich but I do expect that the company will pay me at least SOMETHING if I’m going around telling people about their product. And that something has been paying for my and my husband’s juice plus a little more. Notice I said “a little more” – I’m not getting rich off of it and my mind isn’t “WARPED”.
Ana, I’m wondering what exactly makes you such an expert that we should “believe you” as you suggested we should do, when you stated that “If the owner really believed in his product to do everything he says it does and stand behind all the wonderful claims from drinkers, then believe me he would not be using a MLM program to get rich.” Why exactly should we believe YOU? Then there’s your unbelieveably ignorant comment: “Monavie is a joke and all of you know it or you wouldn’t be so quick to defend it. You are making money off of it so of course your mind is warped. If Monavie is that powerful then you idiots wouldn’t be trying so hard to sell it because it would be prescribed by healthcare professionals and not a distributer trying to make a paycheck. ” Do you REALLY think that all healthcare providers would prescribe a fruit juice when they could be making kickbacks off of drugs instead? Do you REALLY believe that the healthcare field is made up of all wonderful people that only care about their patients and that they’d just love it if there were no more sicknesses? Luckily they aren’t all like that and OH WAIT! In my downline there happens to be at least two doctors that ARE telling their patients that they should be drinking this because it promotes healing after surgeries and a HOSPITAL whose cardiac unit actually puts it on their discharge papers that they recommend drinking MonaVie for their heart health.
I don’t “try so hard to sell it” – I simply tell my friends, and their friends if they ask, what it’s done for me and let them decide for themselves if it is something they want to try. I’ve already said I don’t sell the bottles. I’m sorry that it didn’t do anything for you, but if it did I’d bet you’d feel differently and would be telling people too – or at least if you were a good person you would. What exactly is it about you that makes you SO much better than me and the rest of us “idiot distributors” to insinuate that we don’t feel anything either and are just in it for the money? You’re such a wonderful human being that You’d never do anything like that, but I would? Look in the mirror – you’re absolutely no better than me or any of my friends and I’d bet, based on your nasty comments, that you’re quite substandard. If it didn’t work for you, then say that. You don’t have to insult others that it did work for. It doesn’t have a great effect on everyone and I’ve been the first one to say that.
Sasquatch – I’m sorry that these nasty people have kept you from wanting to be on here. I’m still interested to hear how you’re doing so check back in occasionally and let us know, OK?
Jason – thanks for your information on back pain for my husband. So far, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed, this seems to have controlled it. He might get a twinge now and then, but that’s it. But I’m going to forward your information on to him and I’m sure he’ll look into it. Thanks!!
April 20th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
The product was recommended to me by a friend four months ago. I’ve had zero benefit from it. I have high blood pressure, triglycerides and cholesterol, all those number remained the same and I have not lost any weight.
It was recommended to me to continue using it! Really?! For how long?? Six months, a year? All the while, I lose money and other people gain. Unreal!
Look, it has not worked for me, if it worked for other, good for you.
April 21st, 2009 at 7:12 am
If anyone is actually interested, I’d be glad to show you my blood test results after 6 weeks on the Pulse. My total cholesterol went from 257 to 174. My LDL went from 161 to (I think – I don’t have it in front of me) 77, my HDL went up quite a few points and my triglycerides went down as well. Every medication doesn’t work wonders for everybody either. It’s just something to try if you’re tired of medications. I have the paperwork to prove it. And that’s just one of the benefits that I’ve seen personally from it. Maybe my body needed whatever it’s got in it more than someone else’s. I consider myself very lucky to have found it and was surprised by the results as well. I don’t think everybody will have the same results but since it worked on me, I’d think others would have at least SOME benefit. And no – I don’t suggest that someone continue to take it and spend a lot of money on it if you don’t have similar results. I just suggest TRYING it. And I didn’t lose any weight with it but never expected to – nobody ever told me I would.
April 21st, 2009 at 6:38 pm
A guy I work with, and who is a distributor claims to be making $1500.00 a week with Monavie. I was just wondering what the odds are of this, and what percentage of distributor’s are making this kind of money. Just curious.
April 21st, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Rosanne,
I am sorry that you (or anyone else reading this) took my comments so personal. I never said that I thought I was better then anyone else. I am simply voicing my opinion, just like everyone else on this blog is doing. I do apologize for my “choice words” that were used, but do not apologize for having an opinion.
These blogs just go to show what a headache Monavie is!
For all of you Monavie drinkers….More power to you and may you continue to improve your health!!
For everyone else….Keep on with the healthy diet/exercise and don’t forget to eat your fruit
Take it easy,
~A
April 21st, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I’ve never believed in the mystical powers of this fruit juice, but Roseann has given me even more of a reason to question the product as well as it’s magical healing properties. These lengthy comments almost sound as though Roseann is trying to defend and convince HERSELF of the product’s worth, not others.
It’s amazing to me that decades of strict clinical research haven’t been able to provide the same results as this one bottle of juice. How could this have been over-looked for so long? Because it’s a scheme…. All about the money, not the cure.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:00 pm
One more thing, Roseann:
It sounds to me as though you may have some personal issues with healthcare professionals and/or actual Medical Doctors. I’m not sure where you get the idea that MD’s and other healthcare professionals work only for pharmaceutical “kick-backs” and not to take care of their patients. If you had spent any time at all in the healthcare industry you would realize how absurd your comment was.
And a reality check: A Medical Doctor would not prescribe a specific name-brand fruit juice to promote healing after surgery. It’s ridiculous that you would even suggest it.
Keep in mind that not everyone with the title of “doctor” is an actual physician with a license in medicine.
It’s all about living healthy and taking care of yourself.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:11 am
I find it very curious that SOME people on here question why MY posts defend something that I believe in but not the others who are practically Rabid in their quest to bad-mouth something they have no real experience with. It’s unfortunate that it doesn’t work the same for everyone but it DOES work quite well for MANY people. To those of you who have tried it for a couple of weeks to a couple of months and have felt nothing – try something else. But to insinuate that “all” distributors only have the money on their mind is very insulting and totally untrue.
If you notice my comments about healthcare providers I did NOT say that they’re all like that nor that they work “only for pharmaceutical “kick-backs”, – but if you think that there aren’t doctors that are in it for the money alone YOU’RE fooling yourself. I’m sure that many of them do want their patients to get better (AS I ALREADY SAID, but you tried to twist my comments), but I’m also just as sure that there are those that are in it much more for the money – JUST LIKE IN MONAVIE. People are people, and those that aren’t in things for the right reason give a bad name to everyone else. It doesn’t mean all healthcare is crooked and it doesn’t mean that all of MonaVie is either – or that the product doesn’ t work – or that all drugs are bad. But I have never had a doctor who has gone out of their way to promote anything but drugs for whatever is wrong with you. Never advice about specific vitamins or anything other than a general get more exercise or watch what you eat. And as for my “absurd” comment – it would only be absurd – as YOUR comment was – if I tried to say it was everyone in it. And I have no “personal issues” with health care professionals. I think they (at least the good ones) do the best they can with what they’ve been taught and have the time to read up on. But I also think they’re so entrenched with what everyone has come to believe to be traditional medicine that they won’t even LOOK at anything else. I wanted to discuss the results I’d heard about with my endocrinologist and she wouldn’t even LOOK at the documentation I’d brought in – notice I didn’t say “marketing materials”. Since it’s a fruit juice she said she wouldn’t recommend that ANY diabetic or prediabetic patient EVER drink it – even the 4 oz/day that a friend of mine had such good results with. She’d said I was prediabetic due to my previous Cushings Disease and had put me on metformin (sp). Since she wouldn’t even talk to me about it, I figured I’d try it myself and got off my medication and have tested my blood and am now completely normal. It’s the closed-minded doctors that may mean well, but do not do their patients any good with attitudes like that – maybe because they don’t have the time to research other options, but whatever the reason, they’re not open to trying anything outside of the drugs they’ve become accustomed to. I have been able to come off of that drug as well as my cholesterol medication (that I never took consistently anyway because of the side effects), and have been able to stop taking the 4 ibuprofen I was taking every night just to sleep without pain (at least for a few hours.) So yes – I have personal “experience” with doctors, but no “issues” other than I’d like them to be a little more open to exploring other options when a patient brings them something concrete to look at.
And a reality check for YOU – I don’t make comments that I can’t back up, so if you’d like to give me an email address to send you a copy of the discharge papers suggesting that patients drink the MonaVie, I’ll be more than happy to send you a copy. I’ve asked the person in my downline that told me of this to get it for me so I could do just that for anyone that doubts that it’s there. And once you get it I expect an apology AGAIN for saying it was ridiculous that I’d suggest it.
And Lynn – maybe you’re right – that it IS a scheme that years of clinical research haven’t been able to provide the same results as a bottle of juice – that was the one thing that you said that made any sense – until you followed it up with your next comment that it’s MonaVie that’s the scheme. I’m SURE they’re in it for the money – every company is. At least they admit it. Have you ever seen how much drug companies and all the middlemen mark up drugs? Yet you don’t question that – you spend all your time questioning the motives of someone like me who has seen it work first-hand and is passionate about and believes in something so I defend it from those that attack it. Is that SO hard to believe that that is my only motive? I stand to make NO money off of anyone on this site. And if that’s all I was after, why would I bother? To convince you to try it and make some OTHER distributor money? That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either does it? I’m actually LOSING money every month on the juice I provide to my mother who is 93 and LOVES the juice, but can’t afford it so I cover at least 1/2 of my cost on it. If you’ve read all of my posts you’d know more about me and wouldn’t think I was trying to convince myself of anything.
And Anna – I have absolutely no problem with your having an opinion. Only when you call distributors idiots – and since I’m a distributor it’s a bit difficult to NOT take that personally. You and others attack people you have never met and have NO idea of their motives. I’m sure some are worthy of your comments, but I’m also sure that the MAJORITY of the others aren’t. “All of you know it” and “you idiots” were your words, not mine. But I will accept your apology and “assume” you know better now. in the future, perhaps it would be better to say things like “I’ve seen some distributors who…” or “the company promotes the money side of it….” etc. because I’m sure that is the case and do not argue that at all. I could have agreed with your comment had you worded it that way.
Scott – I do know people that make that kind of money, and there are quite a few of them, though I’m sure the odds aren’t good considering how many “distributors” there are. But it, of course, depends on how much effort is put into it. Some people get lucky and only put a couple of people in and help them show a few others and a few of them take off with it, but in order to make that kind of money I would say in most cases it takes a lot more than doing it part time.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:22 am
sitting on the outside looking in at this debate one must ask the question…are you all Americans? from where I sit I find it amazing. Roseann sounds like a Born again christian trying to get the world to follow her banner and destroy the rest of the world becuase they don’t see the light in quite the same shade of white she does. the best defence for someone being attacked verbally (or in this context ) is to not rise to the bait like a fish from forty fathoms.
big compaines have a long history of coming to our counttry, making big promises, making a bigger mess and leaving before the are made to clean it up. Guess where they came from? guess where they went back too.
CEO’s of big companies seem to lose ethical balance as they drive to make a profit. there are lots of people parading around with the Title of Dr before their names. and they are entitled to. unfortunately the omit to say in what field the did their PHd. this is dishonesty by omission – an act showing lack of ethics.
with what I have observed in my researching of the company ethics is not high on the list of top qualities among the major shareholders. this is not to say that the lesser ranks don’t have it. sadly they, the rank and file, are usually very genuine in their fervour for good and truth but don’t see the wood for the trees, the lies by ommission etc.
good luck in your search people as you ponderously debate, as for me and mine we will continue to grow our own fresh food and live off the bounty of the land around us called New Zealand
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:31 am
Scott,
The overwhelming majority of people that qualify as earning distributors make less than minimum wage for their efforts and that’s before product costs and other expenses. So most people lose money working the business. No doubt that some people make good money but less than 1% of the active distributors make 65% of all the commissions. So the odds are very much against making the kind of money you described. In fact the odds are very much against you making more than the typical employee at McDonald’s.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:45 am
I’m sorry, but would have to argue with the idea that most people that WORK this make less than minimum wage, only because – and I admit I haven’t run any numbers, though I’d bet that no on on this blog has either – most of the “distributors” never intended to get rich off of this and only became distributors to get the product and wholesale and MAYBE be able to tell enough people to get their juice paid for. The reason you couldn’t have run the numbers is because of the total “distributors” you really have no idea how many are working it and how many never intended to or “tried” it for a month or two and then decided to just drink it. That’s been my experience with the people I’ve spoken with about it. So out of the 90 people or so in my downline, I have only 3 or 4 that intend to make much money out of it. Most don’t put any time into promoting it other than to a few of their friends that they think it could benefit. I have told a few more than that myself, and do work it part-time if you can call it work. I do have my juice paid for and a little more but am not holding my breath until I’m making $1500/week. It would be nice to be able to replace my current income but I’m not going to be terribly disappointed if that doesn’t happen either. The product itself is good enough for my efforts and if I continue to stay at the level I’m current at I don’t consider myself to have been wasting my time – especially if I’ve been able to help a few people on the way – which this has already done. So I think if you were to actually look at the people that REALLY have tried to work the business and treated it as a business, I’d have to say that your numbers would be much different. You can’t just take the total distributors and the number of top earners, remove them and then take the rest of the money that was earned and divide it out. That’s not a fair representation at all. With that said, I’ve more than once said that I wish the company wouldn’t pay the huge amounts they do to some of the top distributors because it’s not necessary in the first place and it takes away from how good the product actually is – it encourages people to condemn them as just a money-making scheme. You don’t hear anywhere near these comments about companies like Shaklee who also has some great products and pays their distributors along the same lines but not to the same extent as MonaVie. Which apparently doesn’t encourage their distributors to go around “twisting” arms and dragging people to meetings as some of you have experienced.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:10 am
Lets not forget that there are several requirements that must be met to be counted as active in the Monavie IDS numbers. To be counted you must not only sign up but you must sponsor at least one other person. You must have received at least one commission check. And you must have been active in any of the 8 weeks preceding the commission period. The less than $3,600 average doesn’t include preferred customers, retail customers, or any other non active distributors that don’t meet the requirements. But the $3,600 average does include top earners which makes that average even more appalling to an outsider looking in. If you want to throw out the top 1% the numbers get really ugly. The IDS makes it very clear that Monavie is a losing business opportunity for most who get involved. Are all these people REALLY trying to make it work? I’m sure many are not but they were all motivated enough to meet the conditions to be considered a distributor and a majority of them are not doing well at all. Most aren’t even covering their own costs.
It’s no surprise to me that most aren’t doing well with the business. I think it’s really quite simple. Consumers in general are pretty savvy these days. Convincing someone that a fruit juice is worth the exorbitant sum that Monavie demands is a pretty tough thing to do. It becomes tougher when the facts are clear that the juice is nutritionally inferior to juices you can buy for a fraction of the price. There is so much information available proving that this juice is not worth the retail or wholesale prices that it’s really not shocking that most people trying to sell it are having a tough time.
I have no doubt that some people don’t get into the business intent on making a fortune or working it really hard. But I also have no doubt that many do and quickly learn that it’s not an easy path to success. As I posted above many of the top earners had to use some rather unethical tactics to get to where they are.
I do agree that the top distributors shouldn’t be making what they are currently. And I have serious doubts as to how many sales they are actually making. Logic would say that most of those commissions are coming from people making sales for them in their down lines. And it’s pretty clear that the ones making sales aren’t seeing much for their efforts while those at the top are laughing all the way to the bank.
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
The entertainment continues. I love the internet and blogs. No where else can you get this type of banter.
Jay, thanks again bud. You articles are probably my favorite here. They really are non biased in my opinion and are always a good read.
Roseann, I do applaud you for sticking it out and defending your position. That shows me character and I appreciate it, but would you please stop taking everything so personal. Anna makes a comment about distributors and you go on your war path again. As soon as you do that then you lose all the respect from a majority of the people reading these blogs. If Anna says distributors are idiots, then thats her opinion. I don’t then believe you are an idiot because a person says so. You could almost sway me to believe you are just here to give your honest feedback, but then you get into name calling and over defending that you lose me immediately.
Gordon, you are absolutely correct. It is very hard to follow some of these blogs where it appears to be one run on sentence or even a paragraph. Remember though that in our society education is at the bottom. The only thing you have to learn is how to text on a phone or right something on twitter for communication. Very sad, but just the way it is these days.
Kiwi Greg, from an outsider looking at our continuous emotional banter, it probably does give you a sour taste view of Americans. Some of it is our lack of how to be courteous to others and, in my opinion, the rest is the ego we have that we are always right.
Lisa, you had a nice write up until you put your email and phone number. Was that for people that wanted to know how great the results are for you or for being a distributor? A good testimonial is nice until it turns into potential profit, then, in my opinion, it loses me because there seems to be another agenda.
I do concede that if any product helps you then continue using it regardless if others think it is a scam, etc. But the defenders of Monavie must concede that if it does not benefit someone and they believe it is wrong then they have their opinion about it and it is 100% correct because they are using themselves as a base. To defend a position strongly then you do not reduce yourself to a childish level and trash others. The only person I have seen do this here is Jay. I am even guilty of getting into it to much with Roseann as she went of the deep end with some comments and I could not hold back. So again Jay, great job.
Lastly, I want to throw out a scenario. If, by some chance, one year from now Monavie goes under and it turned out it was a scam and there was no true value with their product (This is just a scenario, no reason for crazy attacks), how would the defenders be able to face all the people they signed up for this product? How would you face your friends you convinced this was a great product? Would you just say, “Oh, I am just as surprised as you!” even though you may have made $1000’s off of them? Would you take no blame? I just think you have to think about this type of scenario, because it can happen. What do you think all the people involved in Dynamic Essentials did when they found out the product was bogus? Did they find everyone they got involved and apologize? I doubt it. They probably just said, it is not my fault and went on their own way. Its the American side of us that never takes responsibility for our actions and always blames someone else. Honestly, my biggest moral dilema with this product, is the fact I could not look at all the people I ripped off.
Of course, that is just a scenario. The opposite holds true for me. If this product is around for another 5 years or more and there is more proven scientific or any type of valid evidence then I will concede that, I was against it originally and may change my mind. I am still open minded about most things in life, but a majority of the defenders here have not swayed me in the least.
Until next time gang. Take care.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Roseann ~
I think you are just being way too defensive…. It’s not always necessary to have the last word against everyone’s comment. I think this behavior may be what’s causing people to doubt your writing.
And yes, I do know the financials of pharmaceuticals. I also know for a fact that the average 12 years it takes to actually perform clinical trials and research is well worth it to the public.
And FYI…. You can’t legally forward a patient’s medical discharge summary. That would be a HIPAA violation.
Have an awesome day!
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Thanks for the advice Rosanne. Since you think it is so important to quote on this blog, lets all go back to your post on March 13th. Enough said.
Somehow this blog turned into Rosanne vs the “negative” people on here. But who is to say that you are not the negative one?
My advice to you Rosanne. Take it a little easier on yourself if you are going to come to a public site and blog about a juice that many people are skeptical of. Did it not cross your mind that there would be several different opinions with the topic “The MonaVie Acai Berry Super Fruit Juice – Mona Vie Scam?”
Take it easy,
~A
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Let’s go easy on Roseann. She’s obviously passionate about the product and that’s something I admire. I tend to agree that she sometimes takes stuff a little too personal but I’m guilty of the same thing from time to time. I think her passion for this particular product is a bit misguided but that’s her call and it’s something she obviously believes in. The conversation here would be boring if we were all on the same side and I for one enjoy a good debate. Especially when I know I’m on the right side (kidding, well sorta).
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Why are you all so harsh on Roseann…I absolutely need to throw in my two cents. I don’t know if Mona Vie is a scam or a fraud. Frankly, it’s absolutely irrelevant in my opinion. If it works for her and some of the people in healing their various health ailments… that’s enough for me. There are some things in this world we can’t explain fully with traditional medical and health science….stuff like acupuncture for example…but these alternative forms sometimes do work. And so what if it’s just what they call the placebo effect as they call it. Sometimes the mere wiff of belief is more powerful than the underlying substance. Like the power of prayer and believing in a God….if someone feels that it truly heals them physically by praying, who are YOU ALL to question something like this for example.
And I don’t believe people get scammed into these supposed acai berry juice or acai weight loss schemes without being overly greedy to begin with. MLM’s are not scams….they may seem scammy because of the profit tiered nature of the systems, but that’s how all businesses work! Almost all cars are sold on a commission based system and there are plenty of perfectly legitimate products that are sold via multi layer marketing
Don’t patronize and mock her with this fake “oh let’s leave her alone because she has so much passion for this product” crap….
April 24th, 2009 at 1:42 am
First, let me say that I would NOT forward anyone’s personal discharge papers – I certainly know better than that. This is something that I’ve been told is probably pre-printed on all of the discharge papers because they believe in the product so when I get the actual paper (which I’ve asked the person in my downline for and hope to have shortly – I haven’t seen it myself yet, but have known this person for a long time and trust him to be telling me the truth) I will be sure to not forward anything with any personal information on it. Again, I’d need an email address to send it to if you’re really interested.
Thank you Nara for your comments, but the negative people out there don’t bother me to any real extent since I totally believe in the product – they can’t change my mind because I KNOW what it does for me and others. I also know it doesn’t help everyone so I’m not surprised by those who say it doesn’t work. What DOES surprise me is how, just because something didn’t work for them, they have to assume their experience with it is the only one that counts and that everyone else is lying about it just to make money. It also surprises me that I’m considered going off the deep end when I shoot back with comments at the people who attack distributors. I’m sorry if I take it personally when comments are made about all distributors with no allowance – at least until I point it out – that it’s only SOME distributors that act or think the way they describe. And very few in my experience.
As for Steven’s scenario – I wouldn’t feel badly for the people that I showed MonaVie to if the company closed up in a year because 1) It costs them NOTHING to sign up to be a distributor (it used to cost $39 but that’s been waived now until at least the end of the year) and probably 90% of the ones I’ve spoken with have had excellent results with the juice. WHY would I feel guilty about that? I do feel disappointed with the few that have felt no improvement if they needed it in certain areas, but they have as much information as I do when they try it and know there’s no guarantee. I’ve never promised that someone would get rich off this – though I am quite aware that some do come close to that, and that some get it in for ONLY that reason, but those are not the people that I’ve introduced this to. The ones that feel nothing are “out” about $132 – and I’ve usually given them 1 or 2 bottles myself so am “out” some of that myself. But – how much money have they already spent on drugs that also haven’t helped them put an end to whatever’s bothered them? Isn’t this at least worth a try? I’d say a 90% help rate is pretty good and worth taking a chance on, especially at such a low cost. I WOULD feel badly if I’d tried to talk them into ordering a huge amount of product and then that happened, but the company has been around more than 4 years now and is extremely successful.
You can say what you want about whatever studies you’ve seen on the juice being inferior. I know it works and I’m sure other things could work as well – like eating right and excercising, etc. This is what I’ve chosen and if others want to take the EASY way – and yes, I know it’s the easy way – then that’s our choice.
And as for having the last word – I don’t consider it last because I know others will comment as well – it’s a conversation. But I will respond to negative comments directed toward “me” or “me as a distributor” because they’ve been unfairly directed at ALL distributors. And Stephen – how do you know that I “lose all the respect from a majority of the people reading these blogs” because I defend my position (it’s OK for others to name call but not me?) If you admit my other comments are believable, then why would that be taken away because of a side comment to someone that’s gotten nasty? I don’t see you berating the person that called all distributors idiots – but then I guess that’s because she’s on your side of the argument? I might take YOUR comments more to heart if you were more fair in your treatment of all the posts here.
Now I hate to disappoint all of you, but my company has decided to block certain sites from being used on their computers (which is what I travel with, and I travel a lot with my job) and one of them is yahoo where I get my non-work-related emails to notify me of new comments, and any blog site. This started yesterday. SO – since I rarely get to a personal computer, and definitely not while I’m on the road, I’m sure you’re going to miss me
but you probably won’t be hearing as much from me from now on. I’ll make it a point to get here if I find something of interest to report.
It’s been fun! (OK, not really.)
April 24th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Nara my comments were not meant to be patronizing in any way. I was attempting to stop the unnecessary dog piling on Roseann. If they came across that way I apologize. When I said I admire her passion I meant it sincerely.
April 24th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Thank you Jay – I appreciate that.
April 24th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
it is not just the negativity that has kept me away, it is the blatant stupidity I am seeing from people. Plus the moderator decided to delete my last post, guess he didnt like it or something. People have said worse than what I said, plus somehow…………I put up a list of about 12 websites on here for ppl to check out in a post. That didnt appear either, nor does it say awaiting moderation. So i am just assuming that what I have to say will go un-heard for some reason. I am building my business, I am working my butt off, I am feeling good, this is working great for me and the rest of u who are afraid of what u do not understand, can remain bitter and lost for all I care. I have never seen so many whiners and people being so obviously stupid. Lets wait………Oprah(not using her as a spouter of facts), Newsweek, so many places, that have done independent studies of the Acai berry, big names that support and drink Mona Vie. They are all just lying to us huh? they are getting paid big money to lie to us, to dupe us into believing all this. Hundreds, thousands, millions of doctors, health professionals personal trainers, are all liars. They know nothing. I dont believe everything I am told or see. I am a big skeptic of a lot of things, but all of you conspiracy theorists need to pull your head out of the ground and see the truth.
We arent lying, they arent lying and no one likes how Mona Vie is marketing things. Because no one can believe that a company would actually be in a business of any kind that promotes healthcare and healthy living and actually cares about its customers enough to offer them a way to make some money for spreading the word. It is Network Marketing, Multi Level Marketing, Pyramid marketing, what ever. First one I have seen that makes it so u can surpass the people who are at the top of your “tree” if you are ambitious enough. Not saying that makes it all better. Most of u would rather spout that you are right, everyone else is being stupid and are being duped, sugar pill or placebo effect, what ever u want to call it. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT! Why cant people grasp this concept? It works for some, it doesnt work for others. Some people have allergies to some of the fruits in the blend, others dont. Some have good results, others have bad results. Some have ok results. Either way, everyone will respond different. I have 3 people I just signed up today. They dont want anything to do with the business. They just want to drink it. They are going to send their friends to me if it works for them. In return, I do them a favor, of making sure I get them their juice for free for referring people to me. But, I am going to go now. this forum is just irritating me and showing me how truly sad much of society has become. I hope those of you who think it is your god given mission to save people from themselves because u know better than they do. Will sometime in the near future be willing to open your eyes and take the step towards healthy living.
Do you know in the past 10 years, with such a high demand for food, the mass production of food has increased a hundred fold. The nutritional value in all of our food has dropped about 45%. to where many companies have to infuse their products with nutrients at their processing plants. Another number has been increasing in these past 10 years as well. 30% more children born, are born with some sort of birth defect or chemical imbalance in their brain that causes them to develop mental illnesses, like ADD, ADHD, ODD, Bipolar, Autism. Some studies have linked these diseases to preservatives, dangerous minerals and chemicals in our water supply. Others have linked it to mothers not being able to provide their children the proper nutrients needed for them to develop properly in the womb and children not getting the nutrients they need when they are growing. If you dont believe me, do the research. One of the key factors is the lack of nutrition and the fact that we are having to artificially enhance our food with nutrients because they are lacking in the ones our bodies need, in the percentages we need to function and stay healthy. Ok, I am done with my rant, I am done with here. Read my information, scoff at my facts, scoff at my conclusions. It matters not. If I can get thru to some people that is all that matters to me. the rest of you are following an old saying. “Ignorance is Bliss” Well, stay blissful, I hope you open your eyes before it is too late for you and your families. I thank you all who have given me the feedback that has been constructive rather than destructive. i am no longer going to check these forums. I have better things to do in my life than argue with people who refuse to listen. If anyone wants to correspond with me further. My E-mail address is Althalus21_16@hotmail.com Anyone is free and willing to e-mail me.
April 27th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Well if you’re using Oprah’s name to promote this juice her lawyers would love to meet you.
“Consumers should be aware that Oprah Winfrey is not associated with nor does she endorse any açaí berry product, company or online solicitation of such products, including MonaVie juice products. Attorneys for Harpo are pursuing companies that claim such an affiliation.”
http://www.oprah.com/article/health/nutrition/20090105_orig_acai
The Newsweek article was not flattering…
http://www.newsweek.com/id/150499
April 27th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Sasquatch, are you a fanatic? The whole purpose of this blog (in my opinion) is for people to defend Monavie or give the reasons they think it is a scam. Many of the opposers have still agreed that, if it works for you keep using it. They just do not believe it works for them or many others. Some give opinion and others have given scientific fact. You have the chance to give real information and you just want to rant why others may be stupid for not believing you. Try to give real facts and try it in a non biased fashion and maybe some people may believe you. Poor grammer (written in text like fashion) does not add to your ability to sway people.
Monavie is a business for you and I understand you want to expand that for yourself. Doing it in a rant like fashion towards people that do not believe as you do only reinforces their point. Make some intelligent comments and you may find some people might engage in a real discussion with you. Continue demeaning people for not believing as you will only degrade your ability to make money in your side business.
Jay, I have been looking at the MORE project. If you have any information, I would like to gain your assistance with this. I went to guidestar.org and only found a very small amount of information. It only showed 1 permanent staff and 11 volunteers. They have no IRS 990 on file (Return of organization exempt from income tax). I know they have a tax ID number, but I am not surprised they keep this secret also. Is there anything about this company that is public?
If you only have 1 permanent staff and 11 volunteers, where is all the supposed money going to? How can only 1 staff member regulate all the capital and income that they have acquired and distribute it. Is the 1 permanet staff Dallin’s wife? I know the BBB has given the company an F rating and I know they continue to shroud themselves in secrecy, but hiding information about their non-profit organization only enforces the notion they lack legitemacy. Can you elaborate any more on this? Thanks.
April 28th, 2009 at 12:26 am
Apparently my company has decided NOT to block me from this site (or at least the block only lasted a couple of days) so I’m back!
I was curious when you wrote what you did above – that MonaVie has an “F” rating with the BBB, so I checked out the BBB website – which shows it to be a “B-”. Here’s the link: http://www.bbb.org/utah/business-reviews/multi-level-selling-companies/monavie-llc-in-south-jordan-ut-21000953 If that doesn’t work, just google BBB and type in MonaVie in Utah. Where did you find the “F” rating? It goes on to say that this B- rating was due to 38 complaints in the past 36 months, all of which have been resolved. I find that pretty phenomenal actually considering the millions of orders it processes – wouldn’t you? (Unless of course you were looking for anything to discredit the company.) I’m open minded enough to have gone and checked it out and am glad I did. And with that few complaints (that were all resolved) I’d give it an “A+” in my book. And the BBB lists a B- rating as a good rating for a company.
I don’t know much about how to search for information about a Charity that’s outside of the United States but I’ve met the people that are involved over there and seen footage of the village, the homes they’ve built and rebuilt, the school and its classrooms, etc., and have even met two of the children when they flew them over with the program director to a meeting a couple of weekends ago. Here’s a link to the project: http://www.themoreproject.org/ Again, if this doesn’t work, go to http://www.monavie.com and click on The MORE Project at the bottom of the page. Sergio Ponce is the Project President and Katy Holt-Larsen is the Executive Director. (Neither are Dallin’s wife, but I think Katy is his sister – but you say it as if there’s something wrong with that.) This site says they’ll be publishing their annual report in a couple of weeks. They also are NOT keeping their Tax ID a secret – it’s also on their website and is #203770594. WHY are you trying to make this charity sound bad? There’s NOTHING secretive about it but you’re trying to make it look that way. WHY are you trying to mislead people?
Steven – you tell Sasquatch to state facts, yet both of the ones you mentioned above are not correct. And it didn’t take me more than about 5 minutes to find that out. Are you just betting that most of the people on this site won’t bother checking it out and will be convinced by your post? Unless you have a reasonable explanation for these “mistakes” I’d have to suggest that no one listen to any more of your “facts” or at the very least, verify them before taking them with even a grain of salt. If you have information to dispute what I’ve found, then please share that.
And Jay – so far, I’ve only heard Oprah’s name associated with the Acai berry through Dr. Oz, not necessarily MonaVie….
April 28th, 2009 at 1:33 am
Roseann, you are correct it is a B-. I have not checked it in awhile and should have prior to posting. They actually used to have a F+ rating. I think that was prior to March 12th because they had not responded to the request sent to them in Aug 2008. They are still not accredited, but I was wrong in saying they have that now. Good catch.
I said they have a tax ID number (so please read my post thoroughly before posting your rebuttle) and my questions were to Jay. I did not realize you speak for Jay now. I have looked at the links you posted before I even made my comments. That is also how I saw their tax ID number.
I will continue to post as often as I am allowed to here. If I am wrong then I will say it no problem. If you do not like anything negative against Monavie, then make your own blog, be the moderator and only allow people that want to say positive things. Then you can be like MSNBC/NBC for Obama. Keep everything one-sided. So you can suggest anything you like in your post. People will read these and usually check out the facts for themselves. If I said something incorrect then I am sure others can correct it easily. Just like you did. I do not think my posts are all inclusiv and have to be taken at straight face value. Once again, I am expressing my opinion. I am not ranting and raving, just expressing an opinion and sometimes asking questions. If I am wrong, I can readily admit it. Easy to say I was wrong. Most people can not do that.
I told sasquatch if he did not rant and rave so much, then people would more likely listen. I said he should state facts. I did not say he is wrong or no one should listen to him. Just gave an opinion in regards to getting a point across.
I see you still have attitude towards me when you write your posts. Is it possible for you to ever be non-biased? Even if I am incorrect, then just correct me. No reason to bash me or suggest no one ever read my posts. Thats just silly Roseann. Quit making this so personal! I guess you will continue your childish behavior and no matter what I say you will denounce it. You are entitled to your opinion and I hope people will always read your posts, since you always have the right to your opinion. I just do not have the right to my opinion in your world. Thank god its still America.
April 28th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Roseann I would suggest you look around at claims made by fellow distributors. I was directing my comment at Sasquatch who used Oprah’s name in a way that would imply that she supports the product. Do you think that Oprah would specifically reference Monavie on her site while stating that she does not endorse these products if claims weren’t being made? Monavie is certainly not the only Acai product on the market but it’s the only one her people felt the need to reference specifically.
The MORE Project should have several tax filings available and it is strange that they do not because it’s not a new charity. I don’t doubt that they are doing some good things but financial secrecy in a charity is rarely a good sign. There are many charitable organizations that I am not a fan of that still do some good work. The ones that I don’t like spend more of their donations on administrative costs rather than putting the funds towards their mission statement. Not sure about MORE and I don’t think anyone could say that they are sure since the financials aren’t available. IF their director is receiving an enormous salary that would seem wrong to many people, myself included. I think Steven is a little suspect that this is the case and that Larsen is using the charity to increase the wealth of a family member. I suspect the charity is another marketing gimmick since most of the company appears to be based on marketing gimmicks but that’s just my opinion. I’ll look into it some more…
April 28th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Sasquatch,
I apologize if it seemed like I deleted a blog comment post by you. I have dived into my spam dumpster and retrieved it manually. Just for the record, I abhor censorship and prefer to let the written statement or message, no matter how intellectually pristine or foul – to speak for itself.
This blog employs a spam filter robot to automatically weed out the continuous bombardment of spam comments. When you include a large number of HTTP web links in your comment, it has a tendency to raise red flags since spammers have a tendency to use lots of links in their blog comments. Feel free to use links in future comments but just be advised that when you use a lot of links, it has a tendency to automatically trigger the spam flag.
For fellow readers….Sasquatch was referencing this supposedly deleted blog comment, dated – April 19th, 2009 at 3:14 am
April 28th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Stephen – YOU’RE the one that is making this personal and if anyone reads your blogs they can see it. I’m not sure why you seem to think that by bashing someone else you can distract others from what it is that you’re trying to do – Which is bad mouth a company and a product and throw enough suspicion around it, NOT based on facts, that discourages anyone from drinking or even trying it.
You stated: “I know they have a tax ID number, but I am not surprised they keep this secret also.” I stated: “They also are NOT keeping their Tax ID a secret – it’s also on their website and is #203770594.” Now how exactly is that NOT a valid rebuttal to your statement? I never said you said they didn’t HAVE one. Just that it’s no secret as you suggested. You try to make it sound like MonaVie is hiding things to throw suspicion on the company and it’s just not true. And I don’t care a bit that you continue to post – I just would expect that anyone that posts here has some reason for their comments and both of your points in your last posts lacked merit – I simply pointed that out. And if that is your basis for saying that I have an attitude towards you or am so biased (like YOU’RE NOT?) then I guess you’re right about that. I’m biased toward the truth getting out. Actually, I was glad you posted those things because it made me check what you were talking about. Since I do have an open mind – which I can see that you might have to some extent, though your bias against this product for whatever reason, does cloud it – I was actually expecting to see what you said and wanted to know why. I was pleasantly surprised (since I was taking your information at face value until proven incorrect) to find out it was wrong. I still have no idea why you said the Tax ID was kept a secret when it’s in their FAQ on their website. You can’t distract people from seeing what you’re trying to do by bashing me – it just makes you look bad.
As for your comments being only to Jay – I’d suggest you email him directly if that’s who you want a response from only. If you put a question out on a blog then others will comment. I never said I speak for Jay obviously, so don’t try putting words in my mouth, but apparently have more belief in the product and don’t mind digging around for answers. Or is it YOU that would like to not allow others on here to post if it’s not something you like?
And Jay – I wasn’t trying to question what you said about Oprah. I was agreeing with you and trying to gently correct Sasquatch. He seems to be well-meaning but not as well-informed as he could be on some things, believing some things he’s apparently been told by some other uninformed distributors. And before someone has to point out that I said “gently correct” about him but don’t hold back much to some others, it’s because HE hasn’t directly attacked me (or others not here to defend themselves) as others have done in the past by saying Distributors in general have all the bad traits mentioned before and have only profit and greed on their minds.
Also, the MORE project says that 100% of donations goes toward the MORE Project itself, and ALL of the Administrative Costs are paid by the company – this is also on their website under FAQs. Since it says their annual report will be out in a couple of weeks, I’d expect the information in question would be on that report – right? But I have absolutely no reason to not believe what they’ve said in regards to this so far and until I do, I’m not going to think that they’re hiding anything or doing anything not above board. I really don’t understand why anyone is trying to throw suspicion on this project when it’s helping children. Even if 25% of donations were being spent on Administration – would that really matter? If it’s the company’s money (as they say it is) and they decide to pay a family member a high salary – they’re a private company and taxpayers aren’t subsidizing them, so who cares? MANY companies pay outrageous salaries and nobody questions the cost of their product or anything else about them.
April 28th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Interesting points Roseann.
I am curious to see the numbers and I’ll reserve judgment until I do. It’s still odd to me that the info is not already available. Charitable organizations aren’t private even if they are funded by a private company. There are tax implications involved so yes it would matter how much a director of the charity is making and what the admin costs are. The fact that the director of the charity is a family member just raises a little red flag, it doesn’t mean that anything is wrong. It’s not something I have many facts about, simply because they aren’t available, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt for now. Helping kids is great, no doubt about that, and I doubt anyone would argue that point.
April 28th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Roseann, I was referring to the IRS 990. That is normally a public document for people to see. “They have no IRS 990 on file (Return of organization exempt from income tax). I know they have a tax ID number, but I am not surprised they keep this secret also.” Call it poor grammer or how I called it out, but my point was about the IRS 990, because I know they have a tax ID number. Get off your high horse woman, sheesh.
Jay (and Roseann because she comments on everything), thanks for your opinion. I hadn’t thought about the high salary part or the administrative costs. On the IRS 990 it specifically asks if any member is making greater than 100,000. I used to give to the CFC (Combined Federal Campaign), but I always looked at the administrative costs prior to doing so. I actually found some companies that had greater than 80% administrative costs. So good point on that.
Roseann please comment on the following (these are straight off the link you provided):
1) Advertising Review:
On August 5, 2008 the BBB of Utah contacted the company and requested substantiation of all advertised recommended package claims which are intended to improve the health of the body. On March 12, 2009 documentation was received from the company in response to the BBB substantiation request. The information is currently in review to determine if the company’s advertising claims have been substantiated through the documentation provided.
2) BBB Accreditation:
This business is not a BBB Accredited Business.
I said I as wrong about the rating because I had not checked it in awhile, but go ahead and make your comments about the above please.
April 29th, 2009 at 12:08 am
Welcome back Rosanne! I had a feeling you wouldn’t be gone long.
Tell me about the new energy drink coming in June. I just heard about this today.
~A
April 29th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
First Stephen, I’m not on a high horse just because I pointed out your error. You said Tax ID and that’s what I corrected you on. You admit it and that’s the end of it. Since I don’t know what the reference is to “advertised recommended package claims which are intended to improve the health of the body” because I haven’t seen any on any packaging myself, other than on the Pulse that states that that formula includes plant sterols, and that the FDA has said that 8 grams of plant sterols a day will reduce cholesterol – and that the recommended dose of Pulse (4 oz/day) has 8 grams in it. I don’t know if that’s what they’re talking about, but since I’ve been with the company (Oct. 2008) I haven’t seen anything else on the packaging related to this. That’s not to say that distributors aren’t making claims and I’m always careful to only say what it has done for me and those that I know personally, and emphasize that it’s different for different people. And I have no way of knowing what they provided, so I’m not in a position to comment on that.
The only comment I’ll make on the fact that they’re not an accredited business w/the BBB is that if you look on the BBB website itself, it emphasizes that that in no way means anything bad about a company. I would think that a company this size WOULD go to the effort to become accredited and have no idea why they wouldn’t have done that, but do you seriously think that 38 resolved complaints in 36 months is really bad for a company that processes millions of transactions? What is your comment on that? Since they have a good rating with them, why are we even talking about it?
I’m still a little confused as to the relevancy of how much their administrative costs are if the company pays all of that and 100% of the donations make it to the actual mission of the charity. This is an honest question in case I’m missing something.
Thanks Anna!
The only thing I’ve heard about the Energy drink is that it should be out in July and is called E (to the) mv. I don’t know how to type that, but if you think of the E to the mc squared thing you get the picture. The E stands for Energy and the mv is MonaVie (duh). It’s supposed to not have all the sugar and caffeine that all the other energy drinks do and is all natural. (And I think it’s in a pretty blue can.)
May 1st, 2009 at 1:06 am
thank you for reposting my post Raymond. I was in a bad mood and didnt mean to get made at u. I called it like I seemed to see it. I love how people who think i am a fanatic, choose to subtly do their best to find what ever they can to be-little me. I am a very well educated person, with an extensive vocabulary and if u wish to demean me due to my use of acronyms. Then feel free to do so. it is not in the “texting format” as you choose to call it. It is merely a way to shorten words that are well known to most people in order to shorten conversations. It has been used thru texting so much that many people consider it a sign that the english language is decaying and turning into abbreviations of the language. ppl= people, thru=through, lol= laugh out loud. I use them when I have less time than normal. I have yet to catch myself speaking in acronyms. When i do, rest assured I will get myself a therapist to help me deal with this degradation of my intellect.
Now, that I have gone off on a wild tangent. In order to poke back at those that wish to do all they can to point out things in my sentence structuring and on my attitude. I wish to clarify some things. I have not been yelling at everyone, who doesnt believe like I do. I am not telling them they are all stupid. If you read thru all of my posts. I am taking every pointed comment I have made and been focusing them at one group of people. The ones who think that it is their mission. To tell everyone that Mona Vie is a scam, acai berry is a sham and that all of us are liars and the company we help sell for are thieves. I have gotten so irate over these accusations that many have mis-construed my intentions and my statements. I may have been over-zealous and have made ti seem like I am fanatical about this. I am not actually. I just see it as utter stupidity for people to talk smack about that which they have not even tried. All the research in the world will not give u the information you need. Compared to those who actually try it for themselves. Bottom line, there is so much pros and cons information out there, if you were to look up anything you will find millions of websites, articles, info that all say different things. Some saying it is good, others saying it is bad, others being about a subject that has nothing to do with the topic you were searching on. Anymore u cant trust the information you find, due to this other place discrediting the place u got your info from, and then another place discrediting them, blah blah blah. You get what I am saying? Plus I only mentioned Oprah for the acai berry part. I didnt mean to say she supports and promoted Mona Vie. Was not my intention and if I did I apologize. I jumped back on here to see what people would say once I left. it was kinda funny to see the responses and to see most of the same people and not many new ones. maybe it is because this has turned into one big yelling match. Us against u guys, u against us, what ever…….not gonna go into it. Not gonna contribute to the yelling match that this has turned into. I think I will check back from time to time. Just so as to clarify things I have said so they arent taken out of context like much of what I have said has been. Problem with typing. You can say many things in person and a person can tell by the tone of your voice what you mean and the feeling behind it. You type the same thing and someone will take offense for some reason, even though u never meant it that way and can say otherwise because they wont believe you. Well…………I look forward to what is said next.
May 1st, 2009 at 5:23 am
Sasquatch,
No worries. Tough language and accusations doesn’t bother me whatsover. In case you didn’t know, while I blog online about personal finance, my professional background is that of an attorney. I embrace debate and passionate exchanges. Anything truly worth bickering and fighting over deserves the genuine voices and opinions of diehard advocaters. The moment that angry and zealous debate ceases, our democracy and freedom of speech dies.
I’m personally not a big fan of MonaVie acai berries and these premium juice drinks the company sells, but I can see why they may benefit some. But I see their benefits more as a beneficial pacebo effect than something backed by true scientific results. If someone truly, truly, truly believes in a product for its supposed health benefits and doesn’t mind shelling out lots of cash to maintain a steady supply, who am I too judge? Just don’t be sad or crushed when years down the road, the whole thing is exposed for what it is. I think acai berry is the real deal, but I think its health benefits have been drastically blown out of proportion. MonaVie’s marketing practices is just generically suspicious in my opinion, but I don’t really have personal facts to back my business scam allegations up……just a gut feeling. I’ll leave the muddy fact flinging part to others
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:30 am
i understand that Raymond. I am a huge skeptic when it comes to things that look like get rich quick schemes and things that seem too good to be true. I figured what the heck? Why not try it. Commit to taking it for a couple of months and go from there. It was the drastic results I noticed that made me a believer. many can think this is the placebo effect. I dont just because I got into this eyes open. Not really expecting it to do anything,but it did. In a way that is transforming my life, back into what I want it to be. It is not some miracle fruit, or company. It is a company that operates with multi level marketing. One that allows those who wish to pursue the business side of it. To actually surpass those who are above them. Last I checked Pyramid schemes as this is referred to. Only benefit those at the top in terms of financial gains. This is a very unique kind of marketing. One that can expand as much as you want it to. 60% of the people who are int his program. Drink it and that is it. They might tell people about it, have them try it. Then go on about their lives.
I dont think it is gonna be “exposed” as you say either. I think it is a very good thing, though not for all. Oh well, let them be skeptics. I met someone the other day that told me I was delusional and that I was throwing my money away. This same person goes to the bar 3 nights a week and spends about $150 a night boozing. I wonder who is making out better? lol either way. i hope that more people read this and actually look into it for themselves. People who actually have the guts to go into something like this. Eyes open, not expecting anything, but at least willing to commit to it for a month or two. To see if it benefits them in any way that would make them what to keep taking it to see how it improves their quality of life. I hope those of you who are curious about this. Do indeed try it for yourselves. If I could afford it, without all my other bills and obligations I would offer to pay for at least a 2 month supply to anyone who wanted to do just what I suggested above. Just to have them do it risk free, unfortunately I cant do that and people have to make the commitment and decide to try it themselves. I am not a rich man, though I am pretty well set up. Plus I have obligations that are more important money wise that would prevent me from doing it if I could. Either way, listen people. Does anything I say make sense? Be your own judge. In the end you have yourself as the witness to your actions. Instead of blaming someone else for any decision you make. You have only yourself. Think about that.
May 3rd, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Since you all seem to be acai berry and superfruit juice experts….I guess I’ll pose my question here. Do you guys know of any other popular acai products marketed via MLM? Or is MonaVie the only game in time these days?
Also, are there any other new “health food products” besides Acai? I’ve been trying to enter the business market on my own but I don’t know what’s really out there.
With this Hydroxycut weight loss thing getting banned by the federal government…I wonder how long until these other alternative health food products out also get attacked. But I guess MonaVie’s different….no one’s exactly dying or suffering horrible deaths from drinking them! lol
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Breanna,
I haven’t heard of any other MLM acai product myself, but I wouldn’t doubt it if there might be some in the future. MonaVie doesn’t have an exclusive on the berries by any means, but it is the largest exporter from what I’ve been told. They’ve grown tremendously very quickly so the only thing I’d caution you of is to make sure that whatever company you decide to go with that they not only have a great product (and I’m sure there are others out there) but that they’re going to be able to deliver on getting the product out on schedule week after week, and of course, have the infrastructure to not only do that, but to be able to pay the distributors as promised.
I know the berry is in some other products. Don’t fall for the whole weight-loss pill thing though. After it hit the news down here it made everyone leary of whatever product the acai was in – which was totally unrelated and a shame because people hear one thing about an unrelated product and then they’re suspicious of everything related to it.
I’ve heard of some other products, not containing Acai, that run from volcanic ash (?) to other natural products grown in remote areas. I looked around a bit myself before I settled on MonaVie, mostly because it WORKED for me. I’ve watched to see if I heard much about the others that I’d run across, but I really haven’t. I’m sure they’re still out there, and have a following of people that it might have worked for. But of the ones I tried (Max GXL for example made me feel awful) this is the only one I could honestly feel good about suggesting to my friends that they spend any money on. And I haven’t seen any of the others make it anywhere NEAR as big as this – nor taste at all good. And I don’t think pills can get into your system nearly as effectively as a liquid can. (And I can’t imagine anyone getting sick from MonaVie unless they’re allergic to fruit, or have some autoimmune disease that makes them have to suppress their immune system – since this boosts it. Don’t think they’ll be shutting this down anytime soon
If you want to know anymore about a few of the other things I found, email me at roseannamato@yahoo.com and I’ll forward a couple of them to you. But I think you’ll probably come to the same conclusion I did. Good Luck!
May 5th, 2009 at 1:01 am
I love how everyone sticking up for the juice trys to sell it right after. ‘dont listen, its not a scam, but buy it from ME not ebay!” Really destroys the crediblity, like if they actually belived that it is that good for you they would want you to get – meaning poor people too. I also have been in a “pyramid scheme” before and similar tactics also leaving me feeling like a horrible person. Most defeinity nutrients and vitamins are good for you. Maybe acai berry is better than some, but you can get it anywhere! For sooooo much less. It is a scheme because people want a quick fix and they get pressured by their own friends to do it. If we all did what we have known forever we wouldnt need this- or be persuaded by something that has to make so many people money (apparantly) there are hundreds of websites of people selling it- millions and millions are being made, and if the company really cared about people or even truly belived how beneficial it was they wouldnt need to market it this way- and then everyone (including people who dont have $150 a month for one drink a day) would have access to it. We feel uneasy about these marketing techniques because we have been told or have seen ourselves the logical contracdition it creates. Very sad. I have 2 friends who ask me weekly to come to there tastings- it makes me sick. its marketed at my daycare by the sign in sheet- and this is not an expensive daycare- most of the families there are on subsidy from the government- but now they to believe they are hurting there children by not spending the extra $150 a month on this overmarketed juice. I know that in less than a year both of my friends will no longer speak of MonaVie- that they would have exhausted all of there ties to the community and will have nothing left but some emppty bottles- which I think we have enough of if the people promoting this are so environmentally conscience. It hypocritical and the people involved have been scamed because they wont get anywhere in life from it (majority) the fad will die- and all that time annoying your friends and family could have been spent getting an education $150 a month. Please eat healthy- care about the envirnoment but dont let multi billion dollar corporations persuade you into beliveing you are making that happen with their product. You have shown you can take initiative with a bit of push, take it from yourself or anyone for that matter- but not from them. Think first and you will know the answer- we have these consiences for a reason you know! It is so logical it truly does hurt to watch how much humanity has become a race of followers and that we no longer ask questions or do research or listen to what history has shown. Think Twice.
May 5th, 2009 at 1:12 am
Ok since it was very late an I did not edit any of the my last post… i dont need to be attacked by the monovie supporters on every word i wrote since im sure it could be misunderstood- very late not best written. i know that the supporters are the sellers. and also they do believe that they are helping, that this product is good, how couldnt they- if they sell it to thier family and friends and drink it themselves? However it loke a cult or a religion or any sort of ban wagon type thing- sometimes when we want to belive something that will be benefial-like curing disease or making tons of money we tend to be more optimistic towards it. Most of the sellors that i have come into contact with do not have an education, do not have much money and are very easily persuaded to belive all the claims about monavie. So im not trying to hurt you or call you liars or theives- no way. I wish that you do become wealthy- and happy. but maybe not selling this. maybe doing something greater.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Dallas
Your comment hit it right on the head. I have friends who try to push the product on a daily basis, and it is getting annoying. I have also seen some friendships lost because of this greed. But I guess if their getting rich is more important than a friend. I say good riddance.
Bottom line is that when this is all said and done, and MonaVie has faded away. The ones who were so fanatic about it, will be regreting they ever got involved with this company. And if I’m wrong, I’ll have some rich ex-friends. But I’ll be able to sleep at night, because I will still have a consience.
May 5th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
In the article at the beginning of this the following statement appears: “In the case of MonaVie’s contractually obligated arrangement for wannabe new distributors into the program, new entrants are obligated to buy at least 4 bottles a month of the pricey acai berry juice. They don’t come cheap and failure to sell enough bottles every month will require that the distributor contractually purchase the required quota for personal use.”
THIS IS NOT TRUE! There is no requirement to purchase anything at any time unless you are considering qualification commissions – then there is a requirement to do a certain amount of business to qualify. If you are only a distributor to purchase wholesale, you can purchase the quantity you want, when you want with no requirements “contractually or otherwise”.
In our case this is a family business and we are part of the family (in our 70s) and the business is an LLC. When we need to replenish our supply we purchase the 12 case lot at wholesale (INCLUDES SHIPPING) – each bottle costs $21.88 (Regular), $22.80 (Active) or $22.96 (Pulse-heart healthy). Another member of our LLC is on Autoship so we order our 12 case lot and use it, then order another when it is gone. We only do it this way so the commissions still flow to the LLC. If an individual was only interested in using for themselves they would NOT have to have Autoship or commissions. The above prices make the juice a lot cheaper than the prescription medications needed without the juice – just one of them ran $120 a month and the juice does not have ADVERSE SIDE EFFECTS like those pricey prescription medicines.
Since a promotion in February, MonaVie has suspended the $39 enrollment fee through all of 2009. For more information please check out http://www.monavie.com where there are clickable links. If you want to contact me personally please send an email to mag532@comcast.net (a secondary email address). I will provide our personal web page address for you on request.
Yes, as senior citizens we have recognized improvements in a variety of lab values and medical issues in our own lives but know that each individual responds differently. Some of you want proof/guarantees and you want the tabulated list of ingredients – try that with any prescription medication or any other “proprietary” product. Like someone suggested – try that with Colonel Sanders chicken recipe. If proprietary ingredients were listed and quantities then anyone could reproduce them and the original businesses would be out of business.
May 5th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I have looked through the original article to find who authored it, without success. I notice that Raymond’s posts are in blue and he speaks rather authoritatively on the subject (right or wrong) and I am wondering if he was the originator of the article. Just curious that there is no information at the link as to who wrote it.
May 6th, 2009 at 2:44 am
I’ve read all the banter….enough already. Neither side is going to budge….too personal(I guess this is a big reason why MonaVie is so successful…it is marketed on a “personal” level between family, friends, coworkers who are supposed to trust them). With all the time you all have wasted blogging, you could have done some pushups, situps, and some form of physical exercise for your body(typing excluded). Hmm, that is a new concept….actually burning more calories that you intake and not eat everything that doesn’t come processed, crushed, purified, homogonized, curified. Let’s see the big picture here people. I’m getting a headach and seriously depressed. Follow above advice and we won’t need to go on about any “miracle product.” This will be my final entry…goodriddens!!
May 6th, 2009 at 2:46 am
Oh and Roseanne I loved your show….any comeback scheduled?
May 6th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Gee Ryan – I didn’t know you missed me so much!
But HEY – try some MonaVie – it works great on headaches and depression! 
I also agree with you that if people worked out and ate “right” they probably wouldn’t need this product at all. But the reality is that the VAST MAJORITY of people don’t and won’t – if they did, they probably wouldn’t need most of the medications out there either, would they? So this is an alternative to those medications in MANY cases, though not all, but one well worth trying IF they won’t exercise and eat right, and don’t like the potential side-effects of the medications they’re on. A prime example is the cholesterol-lowering benefits of the Pulse blend (as PROVEN from my blood-test results). Everyone knows that the Statin drugs that doctors prescribe (Lipitor for example) for high cholesterol can have serious side effects such as kidney damage – and anyone that has experienced that side effect (and I have a good friend that HAS) cannot take them anymore. And he’s been on it for years before it finally showed up, so even if you think you can take them, you have to continually have blood tests to check for it. My own doctor finally relented after seeing my results and admitted I should continue with the MonaVie instead of the Statin drug she’d prescribed – which, if I didn’t have insurance, would’ve cost at least $60 more per month than the MonaVie.
I’ve pretty much said all I need to and would only be repeating myself if I kept on. If I find out anything new, I’ll certainly post it here. I did ask distributor support some questions that were raised when Jay posted. He’s actually someone that I think is on the “other” side but makes some sense when talking about it instead of just ranting about what a scam it is. I received an answer verbally from them on where the acai is processed (they say it’s with our own equipment and our own patent pending process but I want that in writing before I stick my neck out further since I received something to the contrary verbally from Jay – or at least it seems to be on the surface.)
And Mary – I agree with you completely, and I pointed out the errors in the article way at the beginning and gave everyone the link that would show them this if they really wanted to know, so I think most everyone knows that already. I know this has been a lot to read through if you’re coming into this at this point! And yes – Raymond is the originator of this article – correct me if I’m wrong Raymond.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Yes I’m the head blogger. I’ll double check and update my blog article’s facts one of these days, and perhaps add a few corrections etc if I think the changes are warranted. But keep in mind, it’s not supposed to be an authoritative wikipedia article on MonaVie, but an opinion piece to spark some healthy debate. I’m sure I make lots of broad generalities, but I think the claims are on the whole accurate.
It’s not the acai berry juice concept that bothers me. In fact, I actually like acai juice (at the right price of course). I frequently buy acai berry laden drinks from my local supermarket on occasion just for the possibility they may have a smidgen of nutrition in them, and for the taste as well. I think the MonaVie drink probably works to a certain degree health-wise (although it most definitely is not some magical potion of wondrous powers and most definitely is not worth the current marketed sales price).
Overall, it’s primarily the business sales networking aspect of MonaVie that irks me. If it’s such a great drink, why not sell the product at mainstream stores I always wonder…. why depend on this marketing form that takes undue advantage of the personal trust factor of relationships to compel the sale. Brings a lot of bad memories from my Vector Marketing – Cutco knife selling days as a high school student.
May 7th, 2009 at 9:07 am
What is Monavie? Answer – It’s just a simple fruit juice made up of the acai berry fruit. If that’s all it is…let me tell you. It’s a great nutritious fruit…but it’s not worth the expensive price! There are many better ways to get your juicing fix. Buy a juice machine and squash your own fruit at home. It’s healthier and cheaper too. Stick with a mixture of fruits since no one fruit can possibly offer you all of the nutrition in one package. God didn’t great a single magical fruit, but created a multitude of vitamin rich fruit varieties. It’s common sense!
May 7th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Eat organic whole foods and stop wanting a miracle. The real miracle is eating well. Stop eating animal products that have been hormone and antibiotic injected. Stop consuming another species milk (cows, goats). Eating whole, unprocessed vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts – with a sprinkling of fuit – will do more for your health than any “super” drink.
As for this juice helping diabetics…it is not recommended for diabetics to consume a lot of fruit or its juice because it raises the blood sugar too fast.
And what ELSE is in this stuff besides fruit juice? A co-woker is on this stuff and she bounces of the walls. She’s not energized – she hyped up. And the bad this is she can’t tell the difference.
May 7th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
William
I have found that common sense is very un-common on this site. I’ve brought up that exact same argument about juicing. But the responses were that the fruits that are grown here, are packed full of toxins because of all the chemicals used, and have lost their nutritional benefits. But MonaVie has some special way “fast freezing” the acai berry when it is harvested, which apparently locks in the nutrition.
But as to the chemicals used, where is the acai berry grown, South America. The last I checked there are no regulations in place down there. They can fertilize their crops with anything they want. It is common practice to use human feces, and other nasty things on their crops. There have even been reports of people contracting Hepatitis from this practice. I’m not saying that’s what they use in the Amazon, and I’m sure the processing kills any bacteria in MonaVie, but if the bacteria is killed off, how much of the nutrients are too. I will not buy any produce that is grown south of the border, because of this. But that’s just my prefrence, why take a chance.
It’s also funny how they attack the concept of people using fruits and vegetables grown here in the USA, as being inferier due to the loss of nutrional value, and being filled with toxins. But the last I checked, the life expectancy in the USA has been going up. This is strange, I would think if we kept putting all these poisons in our bodies, the life expectancy should go down. If you don’t like buying the produce in the stores, grow your own with organic material and fertilizer. It would still be a lot cheaper than MonaVie. Plus, for all you greenies, you would be saving the planet due to using less of these fancy bottles filling up the landfills.
May 9th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Has anyone taken a look at Fruit-A-Vie Dietary Supplement drinks? Apparently they are now available at places like Sams Club…and Costco now I believe, and even now found at a few Wal-Mart superstores. When a product is hitting Walmart stores, you know it’s starting to go mainstream. From what I know, the FruitAVie bottles are only costing around $17 each… a much more discounted priced compared to Mona-Vie. Obviously they same to be coat tailing off the success of the the MonaVie name(with the whole “Vie” sounding part) and acai berry product brand as some have pointed out.
The sales pitch for Fruit A Vie is that it’s a supposed “masterful blend of super fruits in one concentrated ounce”. Here are the listed contents: Contains a proprietary blend of Acai Berry Puree, Grape Skin Extract, Mangosteen Peel Extract, Pomegranate Juice Concentrate, Goji Juice Concentrate, Cherry Juice Concentrate, Blueberry Juice Concentrate, and Acerola. Sounds pretty good. What do you guys think produce wise and price wise? Acai berry has gone mainstream and generic!
May 10th, 2009 at 12:41 am
Costco has the product known as Fruit A Vie for 16.99 with a 3.00 off coupon this month. I had a guy show me the program the other day. I can get a ride in the fancy helicopter or tour the luxurious headquarters when I get a large down line. The guy at the top is making money but hey, When does the guy on the bottom make money? $45.00 Retail or 16.99 Costco… Buy stocks if you want to make money.
May 10th, 2009 at 7:18 am
I TOO WONDER ABOUT THE STUFF, ONE GUY THAT KEEPS PUSHING LOOKS LIKE HE IS ON CRACK, HIS SLOGAN IS “JACKED UP ON JUICE” HE IS ANNOYING AND RUDE AND WE AVOID HIM WHEN POSSIBLE, I JUST FEEL BAD FOR THE PEOPLE HE HAS INFLUENCED TO SELL FOR HIM………THEY WILL LEARN…..AGAIN AND AGAIN….
May 10th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Don’t waste time feeling sorry for anyone that has been “influenced” into JOINING MonaVie (not SELLING for HIM) because they’re just fine. It’s too bad that there are some distributors that are a bit rabid about this stuff, but the vast majority of the ones I’ve seen are normal, just like you and me, and the juice is helping them – or they wouldn’t be drinking it or talking about it. It does give some people energy, and depending on how much they drink, it might give them a little more than seems normal, OR your guy is just a bit odd. But I’m sure you would agree that any slogan that a company comes up with is meant to get your attention, and Jacked on the Juice is no different. Many others sounds just as corny.
I’d be interested to hear what those of you have to say that are going to try the Fruit A Vie. I’ve seen it too, so please let me know. I’ve tried others so, now that I’ve found MonaVie and see how well it works, I’m not interested in wasting my money on them unless someone (or a few someones) tells me it’s done something for them if they’re being honest about it. I’ll wait to hear….
May 11th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I’m with you Jennie only I feel bad for anyone that’s involved in this over priced scam juice. They might learn but I doubt it very much.
May 14th, 2009 at 12:08 am
I used to sell cutco – it is one of the only products that actually lives up to it’s hype … the knives are awesome and stay sharp now for over 18 years – for the set I sold my parents … and I felt the same way about the selling of them. I am new to the mona vie, and the “you never know until you try” attitude I have makes me give it a shot … not sure on if it actually works – as I am not ailing in any way; but have people who have aches and pains that do swear by it … 10 of them now – that work in the casino business like me … and have lots of back/foot pain as a result of standing all day. I would say it is a good multi-vitamin – but that it is over priced, wish it wasn’t, would be a lot easier to market. Many people sell it oon e-bay, although they are not supposed to – anyone wanting to try it should buy a “case” – one months supply … first and make their own decision.
May 15th, 2009 at 1:32 am
For the question on the Fruit a Vie. And no one jump in and say I am a Mona Vie Fanatic trying to get ppl to believe me and sign up with me. This is just some info you you guys. I have an older guy mid 50’s, who was signed up under me. He has high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Mona Vie has one of their blends called Mona Vie Pulse. Good for people that have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Helps lower it naturally. Now please hear me out and do not scoff at what I have to say next. This gentleman has been taking the Pulse for a month now. He went into the doctor and his blood pressure and cholesterol are way down. Doctor asked what he was taking, he told him and he said keep on taking it. This is extraordinary. Well, the Fruit A Vie came out at Costco not too long ago. He saw the price difference looked at the label and thought he was getting screwed for the price, because the Fruit A Vie looks like it has the exact same stuff as Mona Vie for a whole lot less. So he switched to the Fruit a Vie and has been drinking it every day for 2 weeks. He just went into his doctor yesterday for his check up. His blood pressure and cholesterol are higher than they were before he started taking Mona Vie. His doctor asked him what happened and was he still taking the stuff. He said he had switched to the Fruit A Vie due to the price difference and it looked like the same stuff for less. His doctor told him to stop immediately and go back to Mona Vie. It was making his blood pressure and cholesterol spike like crazy. Now, just letting you guys know this. i am just giving information, not trying to start an argument. This is true, I swear to it. I say again….be your own judge of it, listen to no one else, not even me. Try it for yourself if you want, if you dont then dont. Do not be dissuaded by anyone. Try it for you and no one else. Plus as I said before. There are far worse things u can spend $143 a month on. The price is high, but they put a lot of time and effort to give u the highest quality un-surpassed by anyone else in the market.
May 18th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Lipton filed for the plant sterols claim years before Monavie existed. Monavie wasn’t even the first MLM scam juice to contain sterols.
There are many quality products on the market today that provide plant sterols for a fraction of the price. Minute Maid Heart Wise for one. Yoplait Healthy Heart is another and the list goes on and on. Fruit A Vie on the other hand doesn’t contain sterols, just like Monavie Active, so one shouldn’t expect to see results when it comes to cholesterol or BP.
May 19th, 2009 at 12:47 am
Ok………….was just telling the story. Wasnt trying to open it up or people to disprove what I was saying, or to give another reason why Mona Vie is a scam. sheesh, some people will do anything to try and take something good and make it out to be something it is not. It costs money, so what? Most things cost money, not to mention Mona Vie is a Concentrate. Not a watered down, form of juice that you get a mere fraction of the nutrients like you get from Minute Maid Heart Wise. It is good for you, I will give it that, but………u will spend several times over the amount of a months supply of Mona Vie before you get the amount of nutrients that is in one bottle of Mona Vie. Call me a liar, I really could care less……….damn there i go trying to start an argument, I apologize, I have been trying to be better at my understanding of some people’s view on Mona Vie. Yet, all in all it comes down to one thing that makes them skeptical and not willing to see anything beyond this one thing. The Price……..that is the only thing. It causes people to discount the science behind it, discount the claims, say it is a scam, it is a scheme to make you pay lots of money for nothing. When they arent willing to put a hand over the price, blot it out, dont think about it and look at the FACTS. Not what everyone else is saying, nor what all the competition is saying about Mona Vie. Look at the facts, look at the people it has helped, look at the people it hasnt helped. Then make up your mind and say yes or no. It is that simple. Once you have decided yes or no. Then go forward, see the price, commit to try it for 2 months. Follow the directions have 2 ounces in the morning and 2 ounces at night for 2 months. If it helps you out, then great, you then have the choice to keep going or decide the amount ti helped wasnt worth the price in your eyes. I am not here to convince you to listen to me. I am here to convince you to put your trust in common sense and give something a chance. I budget every penny I make. I have a family to raise and bills to pay. I decided out of my spending money, i would give this 2 months to try. If I wasnt satisfied by then, I am out $253 and I go on from there. Common sense tells you if something seems too good to be true it usually is. This isnt something too good to be true. If it was, they would do something like saying we will give you your juice for free, you dont pay a penny, no risk involved and you will become a millionaire over night. That is too good to be true. Ok………I think i have beat this into the ground enough. Looks like many people dont care, the blog comments on this website have dropped to virtually nothing. Let see, if anymore people stumble upon it.
May 19th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
LOL You need to really research this product before you make statements like the one above. It’s nutritional values are clearly labeled and it is less nutritious than Minute Maid; just a fact. It’s a juice made from fruit concentrates and powder. This is done to reduce the shipping costs on the fruit. Remove the water where the fruit is grown, ship it, then add water and sugar to the fruit before it’s bottled. Not from concentrate is a better sign of a quality juice but Monavie is absolutely from concentrate and contains two added preservatives.
Before you start throwing stones, and making misleading statements, you should really get a better grasp of what you are talking about…
May 19th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
My husband and I became distributor’s 4 months ago. I was looking for a home based business and he was looking for something for his high cholestreol. After 3 month’s on MonaVie his bad LDL’s dropped from 1202 down to 643. He is self-employed and the cost of drug’s were alot more than this juice not to mention the health risk these so called drug’s can do to you. The side effect’s are worse than the high cholesterol. He has no health insurance so the juice is alot cheaper than the prescriptions that can destroy your liver. Even if i make no money it was worth it knowing he is getting healthier every day he drinks the juice. Some people spend alot more a month for tobacco or alcohol that will kill them and complain about the price of a product that can increase there life span. My Daughter had high blood pressure for 6 yrs. After 1 week on the MonaVie it was reading normal. Her Dr. even wanted to know what she was using and wrote it down so he wouldn’t forget. She also had A 7 lb. tumor on her ovary that was removed and they had given her Vicadan for her pain while she waited to have her surgery. This prescription drug did not help but the juice did. She still had small amount of pain but she said at least it made it alot less than the pill’s did. Also you commented that baseball player’s were only endorsing this product for the money. Why would they need more money when they make million’s a year now. If they make that much and still endorse MonaVie you can bet because it does what they say. And if it is for the money then this must be A pretty good company to join if you want to make money too. I haven’t really tried to sign anyone until we got Dr. report because I don’t support anything that doesn’t help me first with real result’s , and I still ended up with 2 family’s who signed up because they have health issue’s also. They shared it with their Daughter who was taking 2 prescription’s for A problem that had her hands swollen so bad she had terrible pain. The pills were not helping so they gave her 2 oz. of the juice and 1 hour later all the swelling was gone along with the pain. This company is about helping people. Almost 50% of all their profit’s come back to the distributor’s. Not to mention what they give to the M.O.R.E. project. And if you think $39 is a small fee to start your own business , MonaVie has waived that fee for the rest of 2009 because they want to help people who are struggling through this bad economy to achieve financial freedom and good health so you can live to enjoy it. Like any business if your willing to put the time into it the financial opportunity is unlimited. This company gives you the chance to rise in the rank’s just like the one’s who did the work and are there now. AS A matter of fact they already have designed A web site for you. All you have to do is put your name on it. As for other product’s out there they have some health benefit’s also, but when there processed they lose most of the nutrient’s in them. Most almost 80% is lost. MonaVie has A patent on there processing that allow’s the fruit to retain 98% of their nutrient’s. That’s why they have the best product out there for the cost. And try buying fruit to get 14 serving’s a day without emptying your wallet. The food pyramid now claims we need 9 to 11 serving’s of fruit a day just to maintain a healthy body. If your unhealthy you need 10 to 13 serv. a day. Plus the fruit you buy is grown with pesticides and chemical’s that cause cancer. Just the Acia berry alone has more anti-oxidents than any food discovered ever. That’s why it set’s at the top of the list. Then you get 18 more fruit’s to go with it that have been selected because of their health benefit’s. I suggest you find a distributor and try for yourself and chance’s are that distributor will give you that bottle of juice for free to take for the rest of that week so you can try it and see what it can do for you. I know most people who have been living with pain for year’s feel the difference in the first week. Feel free to visit my web site and get the fact’s and compare the difference in product’s at http://www.the-team.biz/mv1829458.
May 20th, 2009 at 1:12 am
just to let you know Jason, i do have my facts straight and I did extensive research before i even thought of trying Mona Vie. Nutritional Values are clearly labeled huh? Not really, they havent even begun to measure the full nutritional values that Mona Vie has. They tried to and all the other companies raised hell about it, saying it was false claims, they couldnt prove them, no way that it could have that much nutrients, etc. So they took all of it off and put the bare minimum on there. You yourself need to get your facts straight, Minute Maid is made from concentrate. Hmmm……most things made from concentrate, contain lots and lots of water. Hence why u go buy juice in a can, you add so much water to it, and you have a quart of Orange Juice or something. Minute Maid is known for it. Sure it has lots of healthy fruits in it, but it has such minuscule amounts you can hardly say it has it in it. You really need to get off your high horse and look at the facts, rather than what you want to believe or what you think you know. You seem to think all of us who are distributors for Moan Vie are liars. We are making all of this up. The proof is in the pudding persay. Be as doubtful as you want to be. If enough people actually try it, get results and start letting others know about it, are you going to call them liars too? Is everyone else getting duped into believing this and you and a select few who are smarter than the rest of us just know better and know we are fooling ourselves and others? Gimme a break………..Do your research and by research I mean…………try it for yourself. If you are only willing to rely on hearsay, then you are the one who is duped. Company upon company will discount the competitions claims and try to make themselves look better. They will pay these labs and such to come up with scientific proof that Moan Vie is a scam, whether the lab admits to it or not, it all comes down to the right amount of money to put out false claims. Hence why you dont believe everything you hear. Lots of things now-a-days………it is best to get some hands on information rather that he said she said bull. We are leeching the earth of its nutrients due to how much we mass produce everything. If you watched the news recently……it tells of how many companies are having to artificially inject nutrients into their food. Our food is no longer getting the amount of nutrients in it that it was 10 years ago, heck not even 5 years ago. Wake up and learn for yourself. Only way to tell if it will work for you. Everyone is different, some people it does wonders with, others…whom I have run into, it doesnt do all that much it seems to them. No biggy to me, everyone is different. I have people who feel it within days, others within weeks, some within a few months if they commit to it for that long. yet still others it does nothing for. It will affect everyone differently. The people that mainly need it. Are those who are constantly busy all the time. They usually dont have time to eat healthy. It is on the go, all the time. It is for people who dont think about what they eat. Those who didnt think about what they ate and now have health problems. It puts your body back in sync and gives you the nutrients your body needs. The cost of a months supply of Mona Vie, is about 3-4 times less that the amount the average person spends in a month, on capaccinos, or energy drinks. A months supply of Moan Vie, roughly is $4.30 a day. think about it people. There is the financial part of it broken down further, in terms most of us can relate to.
Also, one other thing most energy drinks, for a 16oz energy drink, the average is about $2.80 per can, and most people drink 2-3 energy drinks a day. On June 1st. Mona Vie is hitting the energy drink market, offering a Mona Vie energy drink, all natural, no taurine, ginseng, or any of the other stuff that is in most energy drinks that adds to your energy or gives you a natural source of caffeine, only to let you down later and make you crash. You order in bulk………a case, 24 cans……..equals to $1.50 per can your cost, plus more of a break per can, the more in bulk you order. Just a thought, most people drink energy drinks as a “healthy” alternative to soda pop. Or they need the energy because they dont sleep a lot. There is more info for you. Take a chance, make your own choice, dont listen to the he saids she said bull and dont listen to me. Do it for yourself and no one else and make the decision of yes try it or dont try it yourself, dont listen to me or anyone else that tells you otherwise. All I hope is that you read this and perhaps, decide to try it for yourself because you want to see if it can benefit you in any way. That is the #1 thing that Mona Vie is about. it is health first. The financial side of it is another side of it if you want to make money while helping others become healthy or stay healthy. Most people dont sell it. They just drink it, tell their friends about it and go on with their lives. Please think about what I have said.
P.S. i cant wait to read the rebuttal by Jason as to how I am a hyped up Mona Vie junkie. Who is an idiot, a liar and just trying to scam everyone else. Say all you want Jason………..you can only keep your eyes shut tight for so long. Until you are the only one un-willing to see the truth.
May 20th, 2009 at 8:39 am
LOL Wow a monavie distributor making wild medical claims about a juice that has been shown to have very little nutritional value. Will the wonders never cease. And breaking out the old 9-11 servings and patent claims that have been debunked over and over on this page. I’m just shocked
May 20th, 2009 at 11:13 am
I love these “get rich quick” and “get healthy quick” infomercials and sales pitches. Like the new Shortcut to Internet Millions infomercials featuring the big breasted hostesses, they are entertaining to watch, but completely bereft of all substance or content.
The “jacked up on juice” angle sounds kind of funny. Which juice product is that one promoting? Sounds kinda like something that Sham-Wow guy would be hawking…
May 20th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
The only medical claim I made are fact’s from a medical Dr. report of my husband’s recent and previous cholesterol test . If you would like a copy I could get one for you. Here are the actual number’s again.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Sorry dumb thing submitted before I was done. Those number’s were BAD LDL’s 1202 down to 643, total number 315 down to 287. I repeat this is actual test result’s!!! You won’t get result’s that fast eating cheerio’s.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Kitty no you actually talked about pain in reference to a tumor and tried to make people believe that a low quality fruit juice relieves pain better than a pain killer. Just so you know your post violates the law (if you live in the U.S.) and your distributor agreement.
Sasquatch there’s no need to respond to your rants, they speak for themself. But I will say that the nutritional label is very clear as well as the Monavie sponsored test. You have a very low quality juice. Just a fact. You can make up stories about other testing and how they aren’t allowed to release that info but no reasonable person would believe it.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:38 am
the post does not violate the law, she said what her husbands results were, she isnt Mona Vie, nor is she a spokesperson for Mona Vie, saying it is medically proven to do this or that. She is merely stating what her and her husband experiences and how great it was. Dont take her and her husbands happiness and turn it into some way that she is breaking the law and breaking her distributors agreement. How dare you turn something that is wonderful and cheapen it by trying to make her feel bad and make her feel like she did something illegal and wrong. There are certain things we can say that Mona Vie has said they stand by. Other things, like individual results, individual success stories. Those are things that Mona Vie cannot stand by. As every person is different, it will do different things for them and they cannot use individual people’s results as proof of all that this juice does.
My posts are not rants as you like to call them. They are opinions with some facts that are there if you are willing to actually see them and that is it. Now the test results……….I dont think i remember posting anything about how they arent allowed to release certain information. I should have expanded upon what I said a bit more and clarified things a bit so people wouldnt take what i said and twist it like Jason tried doing. I should have said how the success stories they had, the individual results, they started out saying that it was medical proof of all that this juice does, then the other companies went ballistic. They were wrong in saying that and realized that they couldnt make these claims, as each person was different and how you cannot say this will cure cancer, just because somehow it seems to be the only explanation as to why this other person was cured of their cancer. Because they will call it false advertising and sue the company if it doesnt cure their cancer. That is why Mona Vie puts the bare minimum that is required by law into their nutritional facts. They dont want to leave anyone any way of trying to say that they guarantee it will do this, or they claim it does that. They are covering themselves so their is no legal issues. Do you blame them? With all of these claims of what this and that do for you being debunked and companies being sued, they want to stay safe and let those who use it, tell their own stories and let people decide for themselves.
Stop calling it a low quality fruit juice too. You have no way of claiming that except from bits and pieces of facts you have spliced together to form these ideas in your head. I am stating facts. If I told you, as a distributor, that Mona Vie will cure cancer………..and if you then called Mona Vie. Told them what I said. Then asked them if they support me on this, do they stand by this claim? They will say no, they will say they cannot by law. They will say that I am not speaking for Mona Vie in any way. The most I may be doing is speaking from personal experience. That I had cancer and started drinking Mona Vie and I got cured of cancer and in my mind it was the Mona Vie that did it. They cannot make claims such as this, nor can they break down every single fruit they have put in their fruit blend, give you exactly what is in it, and how much nutrients are in each one, then break it down more and tell you this fruit juice concentrate has 1000% of every vitamin your body needs and many of the vitamins listed are ones you have never heard of as they arent in any food that you remember eating as far as you know. Plus, did you ever think that maybe, the exact blend they have is a trade secret? They dont want someone to try and copy them. Like Fruit A Vie has tried to. Are you grasping this Jason? Or you calling bull on everything I am saying again?
You seem to like doing that, and your proof is little or nothing each time, it is usually a little snide comment, a little bit of fact mixed with your opinion of it all and that is about it. Well, I am off to a tasting, if anyone wants any information from me, feel free to ask and I will post it up. If I dont know the answer, I will tell you i dont and i will try to find out the information you desire.
May 21st, 2009 at 10:11 am
Roseann and Sasquatch + and all Monavie distributors/supporters:
I personally have nothing against Monavie or acai berry juices. I think they probably are well made drinks with some measure of health benefits. But I am wary of believing everything that anyone says about their products unless there is some personal marketing disclosure. Can you guys tell me what your personal stakes are in Monavie acai juice? How well have you been doing financially in the sale of Monavie and has this success been sliding or growing in this tough economic climate?
May 21st, 2009 at 10:25 am
OK Jason, we’ve had enough of your ridiculous comments that have no basis. Always calling a product that has helped MANY PEOPLE low quality and a scam. You say Kitty’s done something against the law – you’re wrong. IF someone has an experience with the juice and tells others about it, there’s nothing wrong with that. My husband has completely gotten off of his pain killers because of this juice, and another friend of mine that has had terrible arthritis for YEARS has finally gotten off of his pain meds as well from drinking this HIGH QUALITY juice. My cholesterol has gone WAY down, and we could all go on and on. So turn us in!
Anyone that listens to you is listening to someone that’s obviously got an axe to grind. Just because we can’t PROVE that you’ve got some ulterior motive for bashing this product that is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC and HIGH QUALITY (and MY comments are based on FACTS and PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, AND verified by scientists with doctorates in Pathological Studies and other health sciences – not some lunatic out there bashing something he knows NOTHING about), doesn’t mean you don’t. You’re too obvious – nobody would be anywhere NEAR as aggressive as you are in bad-mouthing something as innocent as fruit juice if you weren’t trying to promote something else somewhere else. You can deny it all you want. At least the distributors on here are honest about where they’re coming from. Trying to make them look bad, when they’ve had experiences with the juice and believe in something that can help others, does nothing to make you look good.
Kitty and Sasquatch – he’s obviously grasping at straws because whatever else he’s working with isn’t anywhere NEAR as good as MonaVie so this is his only way to fight it – by trying to make the competition look bad. We know the truth so don’t let him bother you or rile you. I’ve been seeing these posts and enough is enough. We’ve all repeated over and over again how great this juice is, and if someone can’t see that enough of us have had great results that they should try it, it’s time to move on.
May 21st, 2009 at 4:28 pm
See here is the big problem: Monavie distributors don’t even understand the law. Guess that’s what happens when the only requirement to become a sales person is signing up, and next to no training is provided.
If you weren’t a sales person you could say whatever you want about this juice. But you are a distributor so you cannot say much. Read your distributor agreement, you can’t even post here about the juice without violating it. If you make any non-approved medical claims (so basically anything other than pulse may help lower cholesterol), even personal stories, you are absolutely breaking the law.
But I’m sure I must have some kind of motive for pointing out your misleading and illegal medical claims. Oh that’s right I don’t. But wait don’t distributors have a financial motive for saying the ridiculous things that they say. Yup they sure do. Please keep it up, it will be the undoing of this juice scam. You aren’t doing Monavie any favors here so keep up the great work!
May 21st, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Sasquatch come back to reality buddy. 1000% of vitamins????? Vitamins I’ve never heard of? Wow, that’s just ridiculous. Are you for real? The vitamin & mineral content is published, as required by law, and it’s VERY LOW. If Monavie contained more then what they list they’d be breaking the law by printing the wrong information. The ingrediants are also published, all of them, and I don’t care about their formula. Why would anyone care? It’s been scientifically shown to be an inferior juice to most that are on the market. Why would someone want to copy that? Without the MLM model this stuff would be gathering dust on shelves because it’s not anything special and in order for it to sell it must be hyped.
You were right about one thing though. Monavie will never back the ridiculous claims made by distributors. Why? Because it’s not based in reality and they know it.
Larsen said in Newsweek that policing what distributors say is like “herding cats.” You guys are the cats. Monavies herding is failing and that’s what will shut this company down for good. Congrats!
May 21st, 2009 at 5:41 pm
For Sasquatch and Roseann, You took the word’s right out of my mouth. So well stated I don’t even need to respond to Jason’s unintelligent remark’s. As for Christine I personally have only been a distributor for 4 month’s and I do have 2 personally sponsered and all I did was tell them that I was going to try the juice because my husband refused to use cholesterol drug’s and I had been searching for 2 year’s to find something he was willing to try. If I never make any money at all i’m still going to buy this cause now I don’t have to worry about being a widow at 47. If you are really interested in seeing how much you can earn with this company the info is on the web site. They posted the income disclosure statement there from 08. I recently attended a meeting in Columbus and there was a gentleman there who was in his 70’s that was recognized for achieving the Gold Executive rank in only 2 yrs. and was now earning 100,000 a year. I thought that was pretty impressive. As I said before , if you put the time into it you can have an unlimited income. And now you can join for free for the rest of this year. I’ve done alot of searching out there and you won’t find any that is offering that. I have several that have been waiting to see how well it worked for my husband before they wanted to commit. Now they feel more comfortable with giving it a try when they’ve seen the result’s. Feel free to view my personal web site and check out all the fact’s. If you have any question’s just call or email me. http://www.the-team.biz/mv1829458.
May 21st, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Christine…………I am doing alright financially. I havent signed many people up, due to the fact that I really havent been trying that hard. I tell some people about it here and there. Give them a bottle to try, invite them to a tasting. That is about it, I mainly got into it for the health benefits of it, which i must tell you are fantastic. If you have read any of my posts, I am a workaholic, I want my family to live comfortably and I have been doing heavy labor all my life pretty much. This has caused my body to be broken down quite a bit, I ate fairly well, but every day the aches and pains got worse. I was given arthritis at an early age and have been coping with it for the past 5 years. I am 26 now and I used to hurt so bad in the mornings like you wouldnt believe. I would have to wake up about 2 hrs before work each morning just so I could get up, get moving and get my body to start working properly so I could go to work. My hands and back would cramp up and lock up so much I would have to run my hands under warm-extremely hot water just to get them to start moving again. MY showers lasted a while to take the tension on my back. I had tried Zango, Sea-Silver, Goji Juice, all sorts of things that I thought would help at least ease the pain a bit. None of them did. I tried Mona Vie off of the recommendation of a friend, who told me how it helped him. Figured why not. I have tried so many things, lets try one more, it couldnt hurt, if I dont find something then I am going to not be able to work pretty soon. I wont be able to support my wife and my 4 year old son. I have been using Mona Vie for almost 2 months now. I feel great, i have energy, I dont hurt when i wake up in the mornings, I dont come home from work, sit on the couch and not move until bedtime because of how hard i worked that day. I am active, I play with my son after work, I go to the park with my wife and him. It is wonderful. I went into my doctor who had started me on Zango and sea-silver and he was astounded. Somehow My immune system had seemed to put itself back in sync, my arthritis has seemed to go almost completely away, the deterioration of my joints had stopped, it almost looked like they were rebuilding themselves. He couldnt explain it, I am supposed to go back in a few weeks and he is going to look me over again.
Now that is my success, which is my health for myself, allowing me to be a father and a husband again, not just the money maker, who is unable to do anything but work and sleep because he is too tired and hurts too much to do anything else. I am out $253 a month now, I have gone to 2 cases per month so I have some to share. One case is mine, the other is to share. If you are going just for u. It is $143 a month. That is the shipping and handling included and it equals to about $32.50 a bottle. Financially……..well that will change soon enough. If I want to make money at it I can. It will grow as much as you want it to. You need to allow it to sell itself and dont try to get into all the technical stuff. People seem to like simplicity better. The financial side to it is a plus to the health benefit it is first and foremost. By next week, I will be making enough commissions to pay for my 2 cases a month. Which essentially means I am getting my juice for free. Once I get to that point, I may just stop. Or I may go on, get my wife into it and we will go full time. I dont know. It all depends on what you want to do. Until you know more……until you actually try it yourself and are a believer yourself. To where you can tell people how it has helped you. You are kinda stuck, people wont buy something like this from you unless u believe in it yourself. If you do get into it, start out slow, talk to other people who are successful at it. Who drink it and go from there. Learn as much as you can. Get some people together who you think would be receptive to it. As for how it does in the recession, sales are going up, not down. people are realizing the quality of life they are missing and are seeing how feeling great and living healthy, makes them able to live better, have a clear head and can work thru this recession, as they will outlast it and will emerge a stronger person from it. I have said enough, if u have any more questions feel free to ask.
Dont mind me when i stick it to the Mona Vie haters, who think it is their job to spread mis-information and must save us from ourselves. I get very vocal when ignorant people dissuade and lie to others about that which they do not understand.
May 21st, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Christine – I have no problem telling you anything you want to know about my MonaVie business so ask away! We became distributors to get the juice wholesale and my husband started drinking it in October. I started drinking it in November, though not as regularly as he was. Once the Holidays were over we both were pretty sold on it for all the reasons stated above, so we started telling friends about it. I don’t remember the exact numbers we signed up each month, but most of them came in once they waived the $39 fee to become a distributor which happened in February. By around March/April we’d grown to about 50-60 and now we have 97 distributors signed up under us, 33 of which we personally sponsored – about 6 per month on average. Maybe half a dozen or so haven’t really felt any benefit from it, and probably twenty of the 97 haven’t even ordered the product to try it – they will at some point, but wanted to get in while it was free (though the company has now said that they’ll be waiving the fee through the end of the year, initiall they’d said it was just for February and then just for March.) Of the rest of them, they’re all feeling something, some at the recommended dose, some less, and one guy had to triple his dosage, but once he did his really bad arthritis pain went completely away so he doesn’t care how much it costs since he’d tried everything else – including other “health juices.”
As for how much money we’re making, our first goal was to have our juice paid for – 2-3 cases per month at around $330 (we pick it up in Jacksonville so we save on the shipping costs, though there is still a small handling fee to pay the employees there) and we were doing that by April. We’re not setting the world on fire with the money we’re making, and never intended to become rich off of it or quit working, so I’m happy as long as the juice is free. Yes, my husband is looking for that Black Mercedes
and as we hear more and more stories about how great this is working for most all of our friends, we’re inspired to hold more tasting parties and talk to more people about it, so I believe we’ll start to earn more. Right now our “checks” (they’re not actually checks – they pay you on a debit card) are running between $100 – $150 per week. Our daughter has a spot as well and we share a “leg” so she has about 65 of those 97 under her too. Once she becomes qualified (meaning that she has to have a personally sponsored, actively ordering person – just one case/4 bottles per month – one each side) she has about $600 worth of points waiting for her. She’s sponsored about 7 people, but the ones that are ordering regularly are all on one side – the other two are some of those 20 that got in and did nothing else – didn’t even try the juice – due to monetary reasons. She’s bringing two people over in a week or so to a tasting so I expect that will happen for her before the month is over.
This will be a suplement to our income. If we get extremely lucky and get some real go-getters under us, it could turn into much more, but I’m 47 and don’t really think I’ll be retiring anytime soon (though my husband will answer that question differently.) If the economy was better, I’d have to say that most of the 20 people that haven’t ordered probably WOULD, OR they’d not have gotten into it in the first place because maybe they weren’t looking for a way to make some extra money. It’s hard to say, but I think that with the effort we’ve put into this and the number of distributors we’ve put in, I think the depressed economy has people looking and making them more open to looking at things that they might not have thought of looking at before – mostly because they didn’t understand MLMs.
I’d be happy to answer anything you might want to ask.
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:11 pm
hmmm…….i guess Jason did catch the “using this as an example” part of my post. With the whole 1000% thing. I didnt come out and say it, but I think I made it clear that was what I was trying to do. Use it as an example. At least some people caught that. Maybe I should use smaller words, make sure to post up some pictures, some graphs and charts, have a little coloring area off to the side, a couple of cookies for who ever is reading my posts so they can be enjoying those cookies while reading my post and perhaps, maybe actually be willing to read what is there instead of reading what they want to and trying to make me sound like an idiot and they know everything. I love it when people try to do that. I really do. Actually intelligent people can see it quite well and kinda laugh at the desperate efforts of the idiot trying to tell you to listen to them. Someone who has nothing to base any of what they say on. Except that they know………..and are right and that is it, just to believe them because they are right. Not anyone who has actually tried it. Who has experienced it. I could give a bit more credence to these people if they actually had tried Mona Vie, they had a bad experience, it didnt work for them, what ever. Even then, I doubt they would be such a staunch protester of it. They would just say that they had a bad experience with it and determined it just wasnt for them. Most people it doesnt work for, that actually are going into it for the health benefit will react this way. Those that think it is a get rich quick scheme that it backfired on, because it isnt that. Will usually react in the way Jason has. Explaining away with a little fact here and there, not actually giving the full information contained. They just give the parts they want to. To try and give a false idea that they are right in their assumptions. Plus expect people to believe it who know better and know what they are trying to do.
I know a lot of people are skeptic when it comes to businesses that are set up like Mona Vie is. Tell you what…………..take the business part, take the financial part and forget about it for now. The one and only reason you should get into Mona Vie is this. For better health and longer life for yourself and for those whom you love and care about. If you seek nothing else, then you will be successful and you will realize the truth. The financial side is a way for you to earn money by your want to share this with others. To reimburse you for wanting others to have good health. There is no need for doing this part of it at all. Or just do enough to make it so that you arent paying for your own personal supply. Some people have taken the financial side of Mona Vie and become very successful. That isnt the point nor is it the main drive for you to be a part of Mona Vie. You must realize that. If you are joining, just to sell it. Then I am afraid you will be sadly disappointed. You will be just another sales person, trying to get someone to by your product to make yourself a paycheck. Most people are un-receptive to people such as that. If you dont believe, in the product you sell, then why would people want to buy it? It is why Mona Vie is so good. It is set up the way it is for one reason. To give back to those who become a part of it. You may not see it, but that is it. The MLM thing? It is set up that way because it bypasses the retailers who will gouge the customers any way they can. It goes straight to the consumers and allows the company to offer it wholesale. With a little effort from you to help keep it that way. If not from you, others who want to sell it and make money at it after they are a believer. They are the ones who benefit from it a little more than those who just drink it. Financially anyways, as they are helping those who drink it, be able to get it wholesale price. So since they are the ones getting the new customers, they are getting it wholesale price and are getting commissions off of it. I dont know about you but I think that is fair. I dont think i should be making money just like those who are selling it, when all i am doing is drinking it. Seems a little unfair they are making all the effort and I am reaping the benefits for their hard work. Now….if we are both working at it, then we are reaping the benefits from one another. So in turn, we want to help one another succeed.
Now that I have explained everything quite extensively, while at the same time jabbing at those who wish to lie about any and everything having to do with Mona Vie. When they have no right to as they have never been part of Mona Vie so they cant make any judgment upon it. I think i am done, I hope that this may explain things a bit more to people. On a final note, Jason…………shut your mouth, stop trying to make people feel bad, telling them they are violating their agreement, are doing something illegal or anything. You have no right to say any of that, you speak of things and about things you do not know or understand, so stop trying to convince us and others you do. You blatantly lie to people, tell them half-truths, and back up all of your accusations with bits and pieces of facts and lies you have accumulated. I for one am sick of it, but hey, I am not in charge of this blog. If I was, I would have blocked you a long time ago. I am all for debate, but only when those debating actually have a semblance of truth in their claims. That it isnt all just opinion and half truths. Debates are only so good until the side that wants everyone to believe them so much that they will resort to lies, accusations, half truths, belittlement, any and everything to dis-credit the other party. This isnt a debate, this is several people trying to correct the lies that are being spread by a select few ignorant people. Lies about a company and a belief that all of us are a big part of. I am not some wacko that is trying to dupe everyone into a scam so I can make money. I have better things to do with my time than that. I believe in hard work and being paid well for hard work. So that i can live comfortably. That is all I care about. I do not care about owning 4 vehicles a 3 story house, 5 car garage, huge boat and living lavishly and carefree. That is blatantly absurd and stupid for people to live that way. It is a waste of money that could be going elsewhere and helping out others. Some people choose to live that, way. It is their choice, though if I was in their position and had what they had, I am pretty sure I would do things differently. Decent house, 2 maybe 3 vehicles, dont have to be super expensive but you know, maybe a nice work truck, a motorcycle maybe and a car. Nice yard, maybe a 2 car garage, but not really needed. Live comfortably, all bills paid, everything owned, not in debt. That is a nice and perfect life for me. Me, my wife and my son, maybe a couple more kids down the line too. That is just fine for me. Well, now that I have gotten personal on here, I think I will go to bed now. Worked hard today and have to be up at 5am to get ready for work. Hope everyone has a good night.
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:06 am
Oh Sasquatch told me to shut my mouth. I’m very hurt. Also said he or she was done with this site; again. I’m guessing that we’ll hear from Sasquatch again.
I deal with actual facts. It is a fact that posting here violates your agreement. It is also a fact that making medical claims is illegal and also violates your agreement. Might want to try reading it sometime.
I would guess that I know more about Monavie than you ever will and since you’re a sales person for Monavie that’s pretty damn sad. Unlike you I’ve never lied here. I did catch the wording of your post but there was no need for it since none of it was even remotely close to reality. Reality is this Monavie has low levels of vitamins, minerals. and antioxidants when compared to good juices that sell for a fraction of the price.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:49 am
are u in correspondence with the head people at Mona Vie? Do you have a way of contacting them? Do you tell them all the bad bad things we are saying and letting them know we are violating our distributors agreement and how you are gonna tell on them for allowing it? Gimme a break………You know nothing and will continue to know nothing. You know only what your opinions are and that you think you know it all about something you have no part of and are not privy to the information we are. Since you dont have the balls to get involved. All you wanna do is save everyone from us, because we are such bad people since we lie to everyone we meet and dupe everyone into believing what we do and brain wash them to think exactly what we do. Hell, if we are that good, maybe I should approach the President………Brainwash him and have him pass a law saying everyone must join Mona Vie, drink their juice and pay their prices and those that dont get shot. Now……..see how that sounded? About as absurd as you do. I guess we will not be getting rid of Jason so easily. He seems obsessed with the fact that he is right, we are all bad bad people and he must save everyone. Did you not have a pleasant childhood Jason? Not enough love from mommy and daddy? Do you need a hug? To let it all out and have someone pat u on the back and let you know that it is alright to cry, tell them how it is all unfair and that you are right and why no one will believe you, because you are right. They will tell you it is alright to be wrong sometimes and you need to grow up and learn to say I am wrong, I am sorry. Seems a bit drastic for me to say all that, but it is really making me wonder if you have some sort of superiority complex or something. With how strongly you think we are all bad people and we are out to scam any and everyone, plus telling us that we are not allowed to tell anyone………..the personal experiences that we have with Mona Vie. How it has changed our lives, how it has improved our way of living and our health. There is a lovely thing that is so great in this nation of ours. It is called Free Speech. Which means if I wanted to, I could say Mona Vie will make you live forever, be able to fly and be like superman. Of course any person in their right mind would know I was full of it, plus the fact that me saying that. Doesnt mean Mona Vie supports my statement at all. If ask, they will probably say, some of our distributors are over-zealous and they are in no way speaking on behalf of Mona Vie. That is all they have to say and they will say if anyone were to claim that. People are allowed to speak their minds and share their own personal experiences in any way they so choose. Be it in person, via letter, e-mail, blog, video, TV broadcast. It does not matter. They cannot limit what people say about Mona Vie unfortunately. If they could limit what we say and how we say it, then they would also be able to limit what you say about Mona Vie as well. They would have the power to bar you from saying anything bad about Mona Vie and if you did you would be put in jail for defamation of character and slander of their company. It just doesnt happen that way. By law they have no way, no matter how they word things, what agreement they have, what ever. Of stipulating what you say and how you say it, they cannot, by law, put any limitations on your right of free speech. I didnt mean to dig in that deep and put it down to the basic rights all American citizens share. But if you are going to keep spouting such ridiculous things. I am going to quote the laws by which all laws are governed in this nation and stop you from duping people in to believing what we are doing and saying on here is illegal and in violation of the agreement we have with Mona Vie.
May 24th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Glad I was right that Sasquatch would be back. Sasquatch will also say that he or she is done here again and be right back to post some more nonsense. Mark my words.
You haven’t read your agreement have you? Post your real name/distributor ID and I’ll be happy to contact Monavie so they can see all of the false things you’ve posted here. And if you’d like to offer a challenge I’ll contact Monavie as well as the FDA regarding Kitty’s post. Free speach is alive and well but it doesn’t protect you when it comes to false advertising or health fraud. You signed up as a distributor and it’s your, and Monavie’s, responsibility to ensure that you operate within the confines of your agreement and the law.
As far as the childish comments about me please keep it up. It makes me smile and it shows everyone reading this exactly who you are.
May 24th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Jason – you are correct in only one aspect of your comment – that distributors are not supposed to participate in any blog or discussion forum at all. But then it would be pretty boring out here, wouldn’t it? And people such as yourself would be able to mislead people all you want with no one to dispute anything you say. Not very fair, wouldn’t you say? But you’re wrong concerning the personal health claims if they’re factual. The agreement only says you can’t make “unlawful” health claims. I don’t see how personal results could be unlawful and I know what it’s done for me and my friends.
May 25th, 2009 at 1:24 am
unlawful health claims means that you “claim” that this person, who is a doctor said this about Mona Vie. Or that you yourself proclaim that it will cure this or cure that. What people are allowed to say, is that it cured this or that for me, not claiming it will cure everyone of the same ailments that Mona Vie cured in them. usually common sense will dictate to people that Mona Vie will affect everyone differently. Some people will see that it is beginning to regenerate their skeletal structure, helping their arthritis to go away and they fingers to be straight again. Other people who have the same problem, may not have this same thing happen to them, maybe it will help with the pain, maybe it will do nothing at all, maybe the same thing will happen. Individual results will vary.
Now……I admit that what I said about Jason and his parents was a low blow, I probably shouldnt have said that. It was wrong of me and I apologize. I shouldnt have resorted to name calling and making fun of someone else who chooses to try and justify his ignorance. With outlandish claims of legality and when he himself has claimed “scientific proof” of what he says. Again i do apologize, it was childish of me. I do however wish to point out one thing. Here is an example of sorts to explain how Jason is compared to those of us who are Mona Vie distributors and have experienced the effect Mona Vie has had in our lives in what ever way. Do not take this the wrong way, it is a very simple way of seeing it.
You have 2 people, one of them is a carpenter. He has be taught how to build houses, design them, he knows how to build a house from the ground up and has been building houses for many years. Now, you have another person, who has just graduated from high school, he took shop class as an elective his senior year. Both of them are on a job site, this high school student has been hired on as a carpenter’s helper. Now, the carpenter is telling his helper to cut these boards this length, and to lay them in a row over in a pile, so they can have the pieces they need to start building the forms for the foundation of the house. The helper refuses, saying that they dont need to build any forms, it is a waste of time and money. They just need to bring in a back hoe, have him dig a hole, pour it full of concrete and that is just as good. Now the foreman of the company, hears the argument and agrees with the carpenter. The helper, throws a fit and starts going around to all of the employees, telling them how the carpenter is spending un-necessary time and money on the foundation. He gets fired for his temper tantrum, he then makes it is mission to go around badmouthing this carpenter, his company and all of its employees, to everyone in the town. Giving them bits and pieces of the story, instead of the full story, trying to convince them that he is right, they were wrong and not to trust them.
Now, i know that is a long drawn out story, most people wont read it. It takes this little problem we have here and puts it in a different situation. If you couldnt guess, i am saying we who are part of Mona Vie are the carpenter and those who listen to us are the foreman and the employees of the company. The helper………..well I am sure you can guess. I do not mean to make this into an argument. One person says bad things about the other and back and forth endlessly. I do wish that the mis-information that is being spread about would stop, but I dont think it will. I joined this blog, to give myself a bit better perspective on people I would encounter in my attempts to expand my business in Mona Vie. See how I would react to certain ppl and those who are staunchly opposed to Mona Vie. all in all it has given me a lot of things to think about, it also shows me i need to be a bit more reserved in my comments and I need to learn to bit my tongue a bit more and not push an issue with someone who will call me a liar and a thief time and time again.
I have said I was going to leave this blog only once. That didnt happen, i chose to stay. I thought I needed a bit more exposure to the more negative side of things. So i knew what to be prepared for from the people who would demean me and do their best to ruin me, because they thought I was a scammer. This last little stint I think was the last I needed. I think i have gotten what I needed from this blog. I am not being run off, if some people think that. It is just that, there is nothing more I can gain from being involved in this blog anymore. It is the same old argument time and time again. That and the opposing side to me and the rest of the Mona Vie distributors. Is one person.
So I bid you all farewell, I might check back in the next couple of weeks, to see the responses, but that will be it. then I will leave for good. It is time I devoted more time into my business rather than a meaningless debate, that will come to nothing. It will not expand my business, it will not give me new people to sign up. The main idea of Mona Vie and its success is personal, face to face conversation, rather than e-mail or online debate with people whom I have never met in person or otherwise. People are skeptical of claims people make that they have never met. With that said I am going to bed, goodnight everyone.
P.S. Jason, there is no need for me to put up my distributor ID or my “real name” as you put it. You are not interested in experiencing what Mona Vie can do for you. So there is no need for you to correspond with me in any way. Therefore there is no need for you to know my name. Secondly, my distributor ID is my own and will not be shared with anyone, but those who are part of Mona Vie as I am. It is my own personal ID number that is for me to use to sign others up and to check the way my business is progressing.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:36 pm
What a great thread about monavie. Great product and great health benefits. Too bad for all of the naysayers who feel so inclined to swarm the online blogs and post their negativity. If it works don’t let others dissuade you that’s what I always say. I’m not a monavie seller but have been looking into such products. Has anyone had much success selling them on their own websites or via eBay or Craigslist? Is it against the rules to do so??
June 1st, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Hi Ginah,
Yes, it’s against the rules to sell MonaVie on eBay or Craigslist though people do – and MonaVie has a crew of people out there shutting them down. They’ll pull their distributorships if they can catch them. And all the negative people out there will try to say that that proves it’s a scam – which is ridiculous of course, but most all of what they say is. The bottom line is that they want people to TALK to others about the product and explain why it works and explain how to drink it so people don’t just try to buy one bottle and drink it however they end up drinking it (all in one night, only occasionally, etc.) and then say it didn’t work or they didn’t feel anything. If someone’s friend (be it an old or a new one – because I’ve made quite a few new friends in this business now) has the chance to explain this to them, the chances are much greater that they’ll have success with it. And there’s no reason for anyone to buy it at Retail (even if you can save a couple of bucks off retail on ebay) when they can sign up for free and get it wholesale. I’m not on this blog to sign up anybody or make money off of anybody, but if you need someone’s number to sign up under, I have many in my organization that would be glad to give you theirs so you could try this as inexpensively as possible. (I’d give you mine but I’m SURE somebody would have something negative to say about THAT too.)
To sort of address your question, no – I haven’t had much luck by doing anything over the internet on this. I’ve gone to Craigslist and advertised a tasting party we were having (NOT to sell the product) a couple of times but haven’t gotten any response. That’s really all I’ve ever tried. We have over 100 now in our downline (started around January/February) and it’s all been through one-on-one conversations with people we already knew, most of whom wanted it for a health reason. And as this grows, there’s much more money to be made by building your organization than just by selling some bottles. And I don’t feel guilty because I’m not making $15/bottle off of Friends! Good luck in your search!
June 1st, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Why the prohibitions against selling Monavie acai products on eBay or Craigslist? Is there some marketing or promotional advantage to stopping such practices?
I know what you mean about feeling the need to visit blogs and Internet forums to counter the negative press and hearsay. Sometimes, they really don’t know what they are talking about and feel content simply bashing a product without knowing how it actually works and the benefits it provides to users. It makes them feel good about themselves to level attacks and tear down the views and opinions of others. It’s a trait I haven’t figured out in people…don’t know why they insist on such practices. Not everything is truly a scam out there…
June 1st, 2009 at 11:15 pm
It’s like I mentioned in the first paragraph – it would be really bad for their marketing if people didn’t drink it the way they should, and think that one bottle will change their health. Because when it doesn’t, or when they’re sporadic with their drinking of it, and then have no results, they’ll go around telling people that it doesn’t work and it’s too expensive, etc. If those same people learned a little about it first and gave it a real try for long enough and were consistent with it, they’d have a much better chance of seeing some good results – AND they wouldn’t have to be paying $45/bottle if they signed up, so they wouldn’t be quite so quick to stop drinking it and to call it a rip-off. If you buy 12 cases at a time, they price it so it’s like getting 5 of them free (and the ones you’re buying are at wholesale prices.) It works out to around $20/bottle – which is very comparable to the inferior products on the grocery shelves.
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:41 am
I was asked to research this product for a friend of mine, since I am a food technologist. As mentioned above, MonaVie makes a great deal about the antioxidant content of its product.
Last year, a study was published in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The study was sponsored by MonaVie and conducted by AIBMR Life Sciences. AIBMR is directed by Dr. Alexender Schauss, who is the acai “expert” for MonaVie.
In their study, they listed the ORAC score for MonaVie as 22.81 umoles/ml. The total phenolics (polyphenols) tested at 1.48 mg/ml. Total phenolics is the combined plant-based antioxidants in the product.
To compare some other commonly consumed foods, we find:
Cherries have an ORAC of 33.65 umoles and total phenolics of 3.39 mg/gm
Raisins have an ORAC of 30.37 umoles and total phenolics of 10.65 mg/gm
Peanut butter has an ORAC of 34.32 umoles and a total phenolics of 5.36 mg/gm.
Data from the USDA ORAC Table of Selected Foods (2007)
The list goes on and on.
So the antioxidant levels in MonaVie is unimpressive. Their claim that it is equivalent to 9 to 13 servings of fruits is, simply, bizarre. There are no daily standards set for antioxidants, so how does one make such a claim?
If you really like the taste of this product, and feel it’s worth $40+ a bottle, then by all means, enjoy. If you’re looking for a quick way to consume antioxidants, this won’t cut it.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:51 am
Bingo Food Tech! The vitamin & mineral levels are very low as well. Paying $20-40 per bottle for a juice that is nothing special is a personal choice. A strange choice but people can do whatever they want. But of course they aren’t selling it based on taste. Hype sells.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:34 am
Well, Mr. Food Tech in CA, (IF that’s really what you are – sorry, but I’ll have to point out we have no way of knowing that or what that really means), first of all, you’re comparing the liquid of MonaVie to whatever else you’re comparing it to. If you were to take the separate ingredients – the acai for example – your results would be quite different, wouldn’t it? I don’t see anyone drinking raisins, cherries or peanut butter – all good foods, but not a blend of all the different 19 ingredients that are in MonaVie, and it’s not just one or two foods that your body needs. From everything I’ve read (and not all put out by MonaVie) you’re supposed to get a combination of different nutrients that are specific to the food they’re in – somehow related to the color in some cases – and that’s how this blend was formulated. These people – Dr. Schauss and Dr. Carson – have credentials to back up their claims and years and years of experience in the field – long before MonaVie came along. And if they wasted their time on these blogs, I’m SURE they’d blow your comments out of the water. If not, I’m sure they wouldn’t be backing the product. And I already KNOW that raisins, cherries and peanut butter haven’t done anything at all for me like this product has. So you can quote numbers all you want. It doesn’t seem to be comparing apples to apples and if I needed that information to convince me that it works, I’m sure I could find it, but I don’t.
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Roseanne, I’m comparing the liquid of MonaVie, because, quite frankly, they sell it as a liquid. A juice, by nature, is mostly water. The ingredients added to MonaVie are concentrated fruits, and must be reconstituted with water.
I’ve seen the presentation by Dr. Schauss regarding the freeze-dried concentrated acai. Orac 1027 umoles. He somehow forgot to mention (at this presentation) that this is only an ingredient in MonaVie. After reconstituting, the 1027 number becomes meaningless if the amount added to the batch is small.
As Dr. Schauss ponted out, the acai concentrate has a greater ORAC when unfairly compared to other fruits. Unfortunately, this includes the fruits added to MonaVie.
Using the 1027 of the freeze-dried acai as a starting point, the other fruits will actually lower the total ORAC score of the finished blend.
I’m not sure why you have a disdain for solid foods. The reason I mentioned them, was because they are inexpensive, easy to obtain, and all contain a lot more phenolics than MonaVie. However, if you want to compare only juices, we can do that too. Here is a list of some common juices that can be purchased at the grocery store and their total phenolic content:
POMEGRANATE JUICE: 3.8 mg/ml
RED WINE: 3.5 mg/ml
CONCORD GRAPE JUICE: 2.6 mg/ml
BLUEBERRY Juice: 2.3 mg/ml
BLACK CHERRY Juice: 2.1 mg/ml
ACAI Juice: 2.1 mg/ml
CRANBERRY JUICE: 1.7 mg/ml
Here’s where MONAVIE would rank – 1.48 mg/ml
ORANGE JUICE: 0.7 mg/ml
APPLE JUICE: 0.4 mg/ml
The MonaVie data was taken from Dr. Schauss (AIBMR Study) The data from the other juices was found in a study conducted by UCLA (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2008, Vol 56, pgs. 1415-1422) reference this study at: http://www.pomwonderful.com/pdf/Antioxidant_Beverage_Study.pdf
You wanted to compare apples to apples. How about apples to MonaVie? A Fuji apple contains 2.10 mg/gm of total phenolics. An average apple (150 gms) would have 315 mg of phenolics. At 1.48 mg/ml, an entire bottle of MonaVie (25.5 oz) would total 1116 mg of phenolics. This equates to about 3.5 Fuji apples for the ENTIRE bottle.
(data from USDA ORAC Table of Selected Foods 2007)
If there’s something that you really like about MonaVie, then please, drink away. But, you won’t be able to use science to support your claims.
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:30 pm
LOL
Shauss who achieved “PHD” status from a non-accredited university (California Coast University) and has faked his credentials. Monavie sure hooks up with reputable people. http://www.accessmylibrary.com
Ralph Carson – http://www.quackwatch.org
Food Tech is well known with the Monavie and Anti-Monavie crowd online. He put up his own money to have an independent test run on Monavie. The sample was shipped to a lab by a Monavie distributor and the results have been well documented. He’s shared the results via email with many people both for and against. The results, while poor, were actually better than Monavie’s own study yet Monavie distributors still accused him of being biased or somehow rigging the results. It’s comical that people can’t take a step back and realize that if Food Tech somehow rigged the results he was doing Monavie a favor. Truly sad how so many people can’t see the forest through the trees.
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
WOW! Bravo Food Tech!
It’s amusing how Anti-Monavie people bring sources to the discussion while the Monavie folks expect everyone to buy into the “I know it works” philosophy. The Anti-Monavie people have nothing to gain and back up their claims. The Monavie folks have a financial motivation yet still can’t back up their product with documented facts that help their case.
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Jason~
What’s your beef with Monavie anyway? Are you a lawyer, blogger, or journalist? Trying to get a news scoop or take down the company or something.
Monavie is a legitimate company with many distributors and highly interested staff wanting to spread the good news of a product that actually works. Such products are frequently bad mouthed by people like you with little faith who believe everything in this world is a scam. If it works for so many people and leads to real tangible health benefits and positive changes in people’s lives…why shatter their views with negativity. Does it make you feel all proud and good when you attack the supporters and tear down their dreams? Do you think well known celebrities like MLB baseball players, martial art practitioners, Rachel Ray, and Oprah Winfrey are all completely ignorant when they tout the health benefits of the acai berry? It works!
June 2nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Jason,
Good point about Alexender Schauss. CCU is now accredited, but remains an off-campus college. This means the majority of the coursework is presented on-line. I wonder how he received a PhD without having a lab available to him? What is his PhD in, exactly?
As Jason pointed out, I paid for an independent lab to perform an antioxidant analysis on two bottles of MonaVie Active. The product was shipped directly from a distributor to the lab. Both, he and I, received copies of the report directly from the lab.
This infuriated many MonaVie distributors, who made every accusation in the book.
As Jason mentioned, the total phenolics from my report was actually higher than in the AIBMR report (2.91 mg/ml vs. 1.48 mg/ml) Even so, as a scientist, I was obligated to release this data.
The second part of the test was for anthocyanins, the “pigment” antioxidants. Acai is known to contain high levels of anthocyanins. Therefore, we would expect a product that claimed to have a large amount of acai, to also have a high anthocyanin level.
We found the opposite. The anthocyanin level was an anemic 0.095 mg/ml.
I speculated that the cause may be that the product may actually contain far less acai, and far more white grape juice. Why? Because acai is expensive, white grape juice is inexpensive.
White grapes do not contain anthocyanins (no pigments). They do have phenolics, though. So, increasing the white grape juice and lowering the acai would give us the results that were found on the test.
There are other tests that can be performed to verify this, but I am not willing to put any more money into this.
Since, the accusations continue, I now refer only to the MonaVie sponsored AIBMR study.
Using the 2.91 mg/ml from my sponsored tests, MonaVie would move up in the juice rankings to number two. Pomegranate juice remaining number one, with a 3.8 mg/ml phenolic content.
Having said this, the next step in an antioxidant level evaluation would be: how many total phenolics does one get per day based on the serving size recommendations?
MonaVie recommends 4 oz. per day. So, 1.48 mg (AIBMR data) times 29.57 (number of ml in a fluid ounce) times 4 equals: 175 mg of phenolics per day. Using the independent lab results (2.91 mg/ml) would give us: 344 mg of phenolics.
For pomegranate juice, the label indicates an 8 oz. per day serving. Therefore, the daily total phenolics would be 899 mg.
So, pomegranate juice easily beats MonaVie Active in total daily plant-based antioxidants (phenolics or polyphenols) The deciding factor would be cost.
Pomegranate juice can be purchased at the local grocery store for $4 for a 64 oz. bottle. Divide this by 8 oz (recommended daily serving) equals $0.50 per day. Times 30 (average days per month) gives us a total of $15 per month for a grand total of 26,970 mg of phenolics.
MonaVie, depending on your source, costs a minimum of $30 per bottle (if less expensive, please re-calculate). 25.5 oz. per bottle. 4 oz. recommended daily serving.
25.5 divided by 4 equals 6.375 daily servings per bottle, or 4.71 bottles per month. This equals $141 per month for MonaVie (per individual) Total monthly phenolics for 4.71 bottles of MonaVie is 10,335 mg. of phenolics (using the 2.91 mg of phenolics from my independent tests). Using the AIBMR data (1.48 mg), the total monthly phenolics would be 5256 mg.
Bottom line: Per individual per month:
POMEGRANATE JUICE: $15 Phenolics: 26,970
MONAVIE (using AIBMR data): $141 Phenolics: 5,256
MONAVIE (Using FT’s independent lab results:
$141 Phenolics: 10,335
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Nala my beef is with people getting ripped off and misled. You don’t have to read anything about Monavie beyond this page to know that has happened and continues to happen daily. I have no problem with Acai at all. I have a problem with false health claims which are typical in supplement MLM. Even Oprah had to put a disclaimer on her site that she doesn’t endorse Monavie. Seems she’s a little tired of the false claims too. As far as athletes endorsing it; that means absolutely nothing to me. Jonathan Papelbon is one of their higher profile athletes. He also advertises for Dunkin Donuts on TV here in Boston daily but that doesn’t mean it’s good for me or that I’ll be eating that crap any time soon. He’s making a buck while he can. And honestly I’ve seen hundreds of interviews with him and I wouldn’t base a life choice on anything the guy said.
My question for you Nala… What dreams am I tearing down???? Do you mean the dreams of the huge majority of distributors earning less than minimum wage for their work? Or maybe the dreams of people who have been misled into believing that they are somehow getting their daily servings of fruit by drinking this vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant deficient juice? If by stating facts I’m somehow tearing down dreams then those dreams deserve to be torn down.
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:00 pm
I have no idea if what you’re saying really means anything – and I don’t say that sarcastically. I’m simply admitting that I am no expert in what you’re talking about. I’ve seen different studies that show that the acai is far superior to any other fruit out there, and I believe I’ve referenced some of them in my ealier posts. So I have no idea why your tests would come up differently, so of course, I would doubt them. There may be a good reason. In fact, the one you linked to says that there are different types of tests, and that one used 4 different measurments. Maybe there are 10 – I have no idea.
One thing I did find, was that the link provided to discredit Dr. Schauss was very outdated at the least. Here’s the bio I found on him on line – NOT on a MonaVie site:
(And I think you can see – if you read 1/2 of it – that he’s more than qualified to talk about this stuff.)
Dr. Alexander G. Schauss, Ph.D., FACN
Biographical Sketch
Alexander G. Schauss, PhD, FACN, is the Senior Director of Natural and Medicinal Products Research, at AIBMR Life Sciences, in Puyallup, Washington, USA.
Dr. Schauss has held a number of academic positions, including Clinical Professor of Natural Products Research and Adjunct Research Professor of Botanical Medicine at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon; Senior Director of the Southwest College Research Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona; Associate Professor of Research at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences in Tempe, Arizona; Director, Institute for Biosocial Research, City University, Seattle; and, Lecturer in Biostatistics and Epidemiology at Bastyr University in Seattle.
He has been a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) Advisory Council (AMPAC); a member of the Ad Hoc Developmental Planning Committee of the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS); a reviewer of botanical standards and information monographs for the U.S. Pharmacopoeia Convention (USP); and, a reviewer for the International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS) database, maintained through an interagency partnership with the Food and Nutrition Information Center, National Agricultural Library, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which provides access to bibliographic citations and abstracts from published, international, scientific literature on dietary supplements.
In 1985, Dr. Schauss was appointed to represent the United States as a voting member to the WHO Study Group on Health Promotion based on the recommendation of the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Hafdan Mahler, which led to his confirmation as the United States representative by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Schauss has studied nutrition and botanical medicine for over 35 years. He is a Member of the American Society of Nutrition, the Society for Experimental Biology in Medicine, the Society for Food Science and Technology, a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition (FACN), an Emeritus Member of the New York Academy of Sciences, former Chairman of the Food Policy Council of the National Council for Public Health Policy, an Honorary Founding Member of the British Society of Nutritional Medicine, and Emeritus Executive Director of the American Preventive Medical Association. He is also a member of the: American Chemical Society, International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, International Society for Horticultural Science, International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, and an Associate Member of the Society of Toxicology.
In 2005, Dr. Schauss received the Linus Pauling Lecture Award “for contributions to the medical sciences” from the American College for the Advancement of Medicine.
He earned his undergraduate, graduate (summa cum laude), and doctoral degrees at the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque and, California Coast University in Santa Ana, respectively. He completed post-graduate studies at the University of New Mexico, the University of Washington at Seattle, University of Washington at Tacoma, the University of Puget Sound, in addition to continuing education studies at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and California State University – Fullerton.
Besides having chaired and served on Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) Self-affirmation expert panels, Dr. Schauss has chaired the Safety Subcommittee of the Compliance and Labeling Integrity Committee (ComPLI) of the Natural Products Association since 1992, the nation’s largest natural products trade association, founded in 1935. ComPLI oversees the association’s GMP certification program and its TruLabel Program and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding quality and purity standards for products sold by the over 10,000 members of the association. In 1996 he was an official NGO member of the US FDA delegation to the Codex Meeting on Special Nutritionals held in Bonn, Germany.
He is the author or a co-author of some 150 papers that have appeared in a diverse range of scientific journals, including: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Renal Failure, Food and Chemical Toxicology, International Journal of Neurology, Journal of Applied Nutrition, Nutrition Research, Biological Trace Element Research, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, International Journal of Integrative Medicine, Nutrition & Health, and the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. In addition, he has contributed to numerous edited works, including a number of chapters in each edition of the Textbook of Natural Medicine (Elsevier Science).
Two papers in which he is the senior author and published in 2006 in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, were selected in 2007 as among the “top 5 medical studies of 2006” in fruit and berry research.
From 1979 through 1992 he served as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Biosocial and Medical Research. A strong believer in the peer-review process, he continues to serve on numerous editorial boards and/or as a reviewer for scientific journals.
He is an author or co-author of 19 books, including: Obesity: Why Are Men Getting Pregnant? (Basic Health); Acai: A Remarkable Antioxidant-Rich Palm Fruit from the Amazon (Biosocial Publications); Minerals, Trace Elements and Human Health, 4th Edition (Life Sciences Press); Feed My Brain (Biosocial Publications); Mulberry Leaf: Herbal Support for Diabetes (Pacific Wellness); Cat’s Claw: Uncaria tomentosa (McGraw Hill); Nutrition and Behavior (McGraw Hill); Anorexia and Bulimia (McGraw Hill); Zinc and Eating Disorders (Keats); Eating for A’s (Simon & Schuster); Nutrition and Behavior (Keats); Nutrition and Criminal Behavior (Brain Shuppan); Diet, Crime and Delinquency (Parker House and Life Sciences Press); and, Orthomolecular Treatment of Criminal Offenders (Parker House).
As lead scientist, Dr. Schauss has been a part of the AIBMR Life Sciences team for 29 years. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the wide-range of services provided by this internationally respected consulting, CRO and R&D firm that during the period of 2003-2007 worked on projects in over 40 countries.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Roseanne,
Thank you for the bio on Dr. Schauss. I’ve already read it. However, my opinion is not changed.
You are discussing acai, and I am discussing MonaVie. Acai is but one ingredient in MonaVie.
If I may, I’d like to give an analogy. Let’s say I had a 5,000 gallon swimming pool. I took a glass of orange juice and tossed it in. Now, on my ingredient statement, I include “with 100% orange juice added”. This would be legal. It also would be deceptive.
If you want to argue about eating acai berries, I might be inclined to agree with you.
The facts are clear: According to AIBMR (Dr. Schauss) MonaVie has an ORAC score of 22.81 umoles. The freeze-dried acai is a concentrated powder, with an ORAC of 1027 umoles. The concentrate is diluted with the other ingredients, including water, to a factor 0f 1:45 to bring the ORAC down to 22.81
I worked in a fruit juice lab for five years when I was younger. I have a good idea how they work. And yes, MonaVie most certainly adds water to the blend. If they didn’t, there would be no way to correct a batch, and you’d have a wide variance in taste between batches.
Now, back to Dr. Schauss. The only technical paper that I’ve read of his was the AIBMR study, which, by the way, he only tagged his name on, since the real contributors were three outside labs.
Part of the study was to verify that MonaVie had enough of the type of antioxidants that would show levels of bioavailability. Ones that would actually be used by the human body.
So, the study had 12 subjects drink 4 oz. each of MonaVie. Then, they tested the blood serum levels for antioxidants for the next two hours. After two hours, the test was ended. They found high serum levels of antioxidants throughout the two hour blood serum tests.
Sounds good? Maybe not so good. Do you see what’s wrong with this picture?
A single 4 oz. dose of MonaVie!? MonaVie’s label clearly states: “2 to 4 oz. twice a day”
So, now they’ve started out with an inflated blood serum level. At this point, the data becomes invalid.
Second point. They terminated the test after two hours??? What about the other 22 hours in the day? Aren’t the free radicals still bouncing around, seeking to become stable? What would the blood serum levels be after 4 hours? How about 12 hours?
You don’t need to be a scientist to see deceptive science. The proper methodology would be: two- 2 oz. doses of MonaVie given 12 hours apart. Blood serum levels every two hours for 24 hours.
After thirty years as a food technologist, I’ve seen lots of weasels in the food and beverage industry (mostly marketing people). I’ve become quite good at spotting them from a distance.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
What it really boils down to is this:
Pro Mona-Vie and Con mona-vie
Pro – Mona-Vie also utilizes Blue-Berry’s which is the 2nd highest anti-oxidant
Con – while this juice has lots of fruits and anti-oxidants do you need to pay so much for it? (especially in this economy?)
Pro – it makes no difference on one hand the exact nutrition level, it does work for some people, but then again, so do placebo’s, it’s all a matter of faith and belief, which is what is caused by the hype in some cases. what you believe in always works whether it’s real or not (this can be traced back to quantum physics – see Quantum Evolution by JohnJoe McFadden) So it does work regardless of nutritional value in many cases.
Con – it’s a Multi-level scheme as if this hasn’t been said hundreds of times already.
the cost to make this product is obviously about $2 or $3 per bottle, the inflated cost beyond that is to line the uplines pockets (believe me, I know, my father owned health food stores all my life, the cost to buy the seperate products and make your own drink is far less, and the health benefits are the same, and you feel just as good, you just have to be less lazy and gather and prepare the ingredients yourself)
Pro – Mona-Vie ACTIVE has Liquid Glucosimine, which really does help to reduce joint problems and pain.
Con – the cost of Fruit-a-vie at costco, sams club, and walmart is about half the price, and while it has a little less of the anti-oxidants and no glucosimine, you can still buy Fruit-a-vie and a Glucosimine supplement for a lot less money and get close to the same results. Mona-vie distributors themselves admit this:
http://monaviehawaii.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/fruitavie-vs-monavie
and Mona-vie hates it, but who really hates it is the distibutors, because in this economy, who is going to pay almost $50/bottle w/shipping, when you can buy Fruit-a-vie for $16/bottle w/ no shipping and spend the shipping costs on the glucosimine supplement and get almost the same benefit? the ditributors know this, and of course, they’re are going to fight hard to make you believe otherwise because this is their bread and butter (I know, I’m a Mona-Vie Dist)
Bottom line, In this Economy the price is just retarded, when you can barely pay rent and put food on the table who is insane enough to pay that outrageous price, risk failure because you’re at the bottom of the MLM, and end up eating the product??? not many, look at the Documented 70% distributor drop out rate. I myself know many Distributors who were in Mona-Vie from the beginning, and they have long tales of going broke, eating product, and having to charge $60/bottle just to break even. Therefore most of them dropped out rather than fight the scenario.
I’m all for what works, and Mona-Vie does work but like I said, so will anything you believe wholeheartedly in. If I had bundles of money, I would sip Mona-Vie all day under a shade tree and not flinch at paying the price, but I don’t have bundles, as is the same for many people these days, especially the older generations whom these nutritional benefits are needed by the most.
Pro – If you’re rich and don’t mind tossing money away, go with Mona-Vie, be a distributor and give it all you got.
Con – If you don’t like being a slimy MLM sales person who is knowingly overcharging people, and don’t want to sell, but drink, and don’t have the money to throw away; do yourself a favor, Get some Fruit-A-Vie and supplement it with Glucosimine Powder or Liquid.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Obviously, Mr. Novel Writer, YOU’RE the Slimy MonaVie Distributor that you’re speaking about since you say you are one – IF even that’s true. Your Dad’s a Health Food store owner huh? I don’t suppose YOU benefited (or perhaps still do) from all the profits HE made from overcharging people, did he? Check out the prices in THOSE places. For PILLS that everyone KNOWS isn’t anywhere near as effective as something in liquid form. Everyone has to make a living, and I’m fairly certain that it costs MonaVie more than $2 or $3 a bottle to make, package, hire employees, ship, etc. product to their distribution centers. But even if it didn’t, people pay for convenience and quality. Go get your own acai and see how much that costs you. Why you pulled out Blueberries (correct spelling) in your little rant above, from the 19 fruits and berries that are in there is curious – why didn’t you mention all the others that you can’t find – even of inferior quality – in the grocery store? Like camu-camu or wolfberry? What’s the matter? Wouldn’t that have helped your “point” – if there WAS one? Or did you just want to make it sound like it’s just a boring little drink with nothing special in it? There’s a post at the end of the link you attached above that makes sense – go to it. It talks about whether you’d rather give your money to Sam’s Club or to a friend that showed you a great product, how to get it at wholesale or possibly free. Up to you. (What’s sad is that the one person said they paid $47 for one bottle and apparently got it from their niece – THAT’s sad that the niece had to make $15 off of their aunt or uncle.)
You, and MANY of the others on here, try your best to make people think this costs $50/bottle – it certainly doesn’t. And I’ve NEVER heard of anyone trying to sell it for $60. The TRUTH is that if you buy just one case, just 4 bottles – and EVERYONE can do it at wholesale because it costs NOTHING to be either a distributor or a preferred customer – it’s $32.50 a bottle plus shipping. Anybody that’s paying more than that is either just stupid because they won’t sign up to get it at wholesale, or they don’t know about it because SOMEONE has led them to believe they have to pay more. If you were one of those slimy distributors that only sold it at retail and never told your customers that they didn’t have to pay that, then shame on you. But obviously, while you try to act all concerned that people are paying too much, you weren’t all that concerned then, were you?
And get over this placebo notion. Sure, that works in some cases, but it sure as hell doesn’t account for blood test results. VERY FEW people reading this will juice their own fruits and berries for any length of time – not that they could get the quality anyway – so that argument doesn’t hold water either. And YES – people can buy another product and would probably feel some results from that as well. So? The same can be said for almost everything on the market. The results won’t be as good in most cases or you’d have heard a LOT more about it by now. AND, with MonaVie they give you the chance, if you spread the word, to earn some of that money back. It took me about two months to have my juice completely paid for – so it’s FREE now. Don’t think that would’ve happened if I’d told someone about some inferior juice I’d bought at Sam’s or Costco. and I didn’t take advantage of anyone to do it. I simply told them how to get it at wholesale if they liked the product and they did the same thing I did – and now THEIR juice is free too. And I really hate to burst your bubble, but there are PLENTY of people out there that are more than willing to pay for this – even in this economy – because they know a good product when they see it. It’s flying off the shelves.
What I don’t understand is why people like yourself don’t go around bashing all the other products that are out there that are making people SICK and cost an arm and a leg. What’s the matter? You’d rather hide behind your computer and pick on individuals instead of taking on real companies? What about Red Bull? Or Monster? They’re out there charging $2.50 – $3.50 a can for a ton of sugar and caffeine that can kill people if they do enough of it. Where’s your outrage about THAT? MonaVie just came out with an energy product (Emv) that is actually GOOD for you for about the same price – since you’re SO CONCERNED about people, why aren’t you telling them about THAT?
If you actually made sense and bashed who needed to be bashed, people might actually pay attention. But the BOTTOM LINE as you say, is that you’re just another one of those out there that just want to complain about the price and make it sound like everyone that believes in the product is just out there to rip people off. You’re no expert on ANYTHING you’ve written about so don’t try to come off as one. It’s laughable.
July 7th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
“Superjuices” don’t come close when comparing costs for antioxidants. Example: A day’s serving of MonaVie (4 oz.) is $7.20 ($45/bottle) or as low as $3.20 a day (at $20 – distributor’s cost) A single Delicious Red Apple costs about $0.75
For MonaVie,that gives you a ORAC of 2,698 umoles (29.57 ml per oz times 4 oz.times 22.81 according to AIBMR). That also gives you a total phenolics (all antioxidants) for the day, of 175 mg. for 4 oz.
The 22.81 ORAC and 1.48 mg phenolics are from the MonaVie-sponsored study by AIBMR Life Sciences.
Now compare it to a SINGLE Red Delicious Apple. Average weight 150 gms.
Total ORAC per apple: 6,413 umoles. (42.75 umoles times 150 gms)
Total phenolics (total antioxidants): 520 mg per apple. Apple data from USDA ORAC Table of Selected Foods – 2007
SUMMARY: ORAC: MonaVie 2,698 Apple 6,413
PHENOLICS: MonaVie 175 mg Apple 520 mg
COST: MonaVie $3.20 to $7.20 per day Apple $0.75/day
July 7th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
You can type all the numbers you want to to try to confuse people, but it’s pretty ridiculous that you’re trying to compare a delicious red apple (as if they’re delicious anymore) to the nutrition in MonaVie. When’s the last time that someone told you that they had incredible health results from eating a store-bought apple? Come on. Make some sense. I admit MonaVie isn’t inexpensive. At least I don’t try to twist things around to discourage people from trying something that can help them.
July 7th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Boy you guys sure got under Roseann’s skin. But I agree with both of you. I have also noticed a drop off of the distributor’s in my area. It seems that the hype is begining to wear off, and the guys who planned on getting rich off this scheme are finding out that they may actually have to keep their day job.
There is a product out there if you want to spend the money and don’t want to make your own drinks with fresh fruits and vegies. This product actually works, and is not a MLM scam lik monavie. It’s called “Shakeology” by Beachbody. It cost a little less then monavie, but does work. I’ve tried monavie, and noticed no difference, but tried this for a week and have noticed a significant change in energy level and have even lost some weight. What’s nice about this product is that you can just purchase it on line without being pressured by a salesperson.
July 7th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Well Scott, I was wondering when you’d show up again. EVERYBODY gets under my skin when they start slinging names around like Slimy MLM Salespeople. But we’ve been through this before. Agreeing with t