From: Melody Cloud <persona@sandwiched.com>

Subject: RE: Nutrition fraud: A quick buck?

Dear Kevin:

Thank you for pointing out some of the more glaring abuses in (especially) the MLM or Network Marketing nutritional supplements business.

As a professional (and professionally trained) direct salesperson and lay researcher, I too am disgusted with the purveyors of propaganda. I look forward to the day when companies will require their salespeople to undergo rigorous product training-and a thorough overview, if nothing else, of the human digestive processes!-before they are allowed to sell nutritional supplements. I am self-training, and will not sell a supplement until I understand as much about it as an intelligent layperson can-and should-know.

Please maintain your open-mindedness, as there truly are excellent products in the 'alternative' mainstream-products that make the labor of sorting through the hype, worthwhile. I offer as an example, a personal testimonial. My daughter and I both have attentional disorders, and I am aware (thanks to independent research, not MLM hype) that the psychoactives normally prescribed for these disorders have serious side effects and do nothing to replenish the neurotransmitters they enhance or the enzymes and other nutrients whose normal action they may short circuit. I am a recovering addict, and so is my daughter's father; I HAD to find a gentler solution. We found a partial solution (I call it our 'distractions-diminisher') in Golden Neo-Life Diamite's Mind Enhancement Complex. If you would like, I will send you the ingredient profile and research. For the 'attention-focusing' enhancement we need, we are going to try KareMor International's Vitamist(r) brand oral spray Pycnogenol(r) (oligomeric proanthocyanidin from French maritime pine bark), as several people we know and respect have had good results-people with attentional disorders, like people with alcoholism and drug addiction, help one another--as do people with other problems.

Insofar as the 'overpricing' of some of these products is concerned...more later. Gotta go chat with Mom (I'm a member of the 'SANDWICHED' Generation!).

Have you seen the movie Lorenzo's Oil? Oversimplified, but illustrative of the very hard work some of us do to OVERCOME PREJUDICE in the scientific community...for the love of ourselves and our families.

I enjoy this mailing list, and welcome its arrival. I hope I have made a positive contribution.

Sincerely,

Melody Cloud

"Take The Shoes Off Your Mind!"(c)

Webmistress, The WebPlex at Sandwiched Dot Com, http://www.sandwiched.com

-----Original Message-----

From: owner-ismnt mailing list [SMTP:ismnt@pprz03.HRZ.Uni-Marburg.DE]

Sent: Thursday, January 16, 1997 3:45 PM

To: ismnt@lists.uni-marburg.de

Subject: Nutrition fraud: A quick buck?

****

From: Kevin Kelly <kkelly@rrnet.com>

Subject: Re: Nutrition fraud ?

Richard and Linda (from Seattle, WA),

I need to respond to some of your comments. You stated:

kevin;

i can agree with about half of what you said in this posting. i too

get distressed by people self medicating especially with hormones like

dhea without proper consultation and testing. but i do have some

problems with some of your statements and with the ADA's approach to

nutrition.

My statement was:

>misinformation and bogus products know it. Just follow the money

>trail. Quacks push products that are glitzy, glamourous, and offer

>instant gratification. That appeals to many people.

Your statement:

what about the medical industry money trail? many aspects of modern

medicine are not vigourously tested with double blind studies. for

instance heart bypass surgery.chemo/radiation treatments for cancer.

until last year (or the year before)modern medicine didn't know how

aspirin worked, yet its been prescribed for decades.

My response:

I agree that thee is a money trail in the medical profession. Some

studies are flawed and medicine is an evolving practice. In reality,

doctors are practicing on us, but there are many good doctors out

there.

My statement was:

>It is easy to fool people who are looking for the quick fix.

Your response:

i agree but dr's also promote the idea of a quick fix.

My response: I agree, some do.

My statement was:

>People claim they feel better after taking a product. If there is a

>true nutritional deficiency, a supplement may help. Besides, a

>diagnosis is needed by a physician to determine a true deficiency.

Your response:

how many dr's are educated about supplements and diet to even look for

a deficiency?

My response:

Very few. That is why there are dietitians.

My statement was:

>look at many food records and many people are deficient in calcium.

>That doesn't mean they have osteoporosis. Yes, it could happen in the

>future. Calcium is involved in muscle contraction. Even though

these>people lack adequate amounts of calcium in the diet, their muscles

still work. Most people who feel better are almost always

experiencing a placebo effect.

Your response:

calcium is envolved with alot more than osteoporosis and muscle

contraction. what's so wrong about the placebo effect.?

My response:

Calcium is involved in much more than osteoporosis and muscle

contraction. It is not practical to list all functions. The placebo

effect is fine and is use often. I example is with athletes. Mind

over matter is powerful. The problem I have is the countless false

claims made about nutrition products that are worthless. If they

can't help physically, but do so mentally, that may be OK. However,

what are we taking? If we are so health conscious, why are we so

quick to put something in our mouth because we are told it is good for

us? Most people selling this nutrition garbage only have the

information from a brochure and from a weekend pep rally. I know. I

have talked to countless people who sell this stuff and I have the

literature and products. This is nothing personal, but most of these

people haven't a clue what they are talking about or selling. It is

just a quick buck.

My statement was:

Why trust your nutritional needs to someone whose nutritional

background is inadequate?

Your response:

if you've ever had to stay in a hospital or other instition that is

feed by a ADA nutritionist and get feed artifically flavored and

colored gelatin you know that something is wrong. here in seattle

there was a professor of nutrition at the university of

washington who said that cola and carbonated beverages were good to

drink because they contain phosphorus , a essential nutrient!!

so the ADA has a long way to go before it can claim to have the

interest proper nutrition as its highest goal.

My response:

I think the ADA has nutrition as its primary goal. However, I do not

agree with much of what the ADA does with my membership fees and the

direction it seems to be going. It has become too political.

Regarding the cola example: like any profession, there are people who

are not current and have the facts wrong. I do wonder how some

individuals got their degree and became health professionals. I think

there are dietitians who are stagnant and not up to speed on

nutrition. Unfortunately, these people are not good for the dietetics

profession and leave a negative impression. Do not formulate an

opinion of a whole profession on a bad experience. For example, I

know some excellent physicians and a few bad ones. The few bad ones

do not make the whole profession bad.

Kevin Kelly, Licensed Registered Dietitian