My BIL swears by the stuff, and he’s given me two bottles of what is very expensive berry juice to help my through my health difficulties. A quick Google search only pulls up scam alerts on the MLM of the stuff and the expense, not the actual health benefits. A lot of places are touting the benefits of the acai berry, but Mona Vie claims only theirs is pure and best. Of course. My BIL claims that the Univ of Florida did a study that showed acai berry juice killed 87% of cancer cells in a petri dish. To which I replied, they’re not putting my tumours in a petri dish. Still, he means well, and hey, since I’m not paying for it, why not?
I had my 2 oz this morning, and it was okay, a bit thick, but tolerable. I certainly won’t buy the stuff. But what’s the Straight Dope on this supposed miracle drink?
I dunno but I’ve also tried it and found it didn’t taste good enough for me to drink without knowing for sure about the purported health benefits. So consider this a well-meaning bump.
I know a couple of ordinarily reasonable folks who have tried it, but the regimen they described seemed too similar to many other scams. I don;t think they saw any real benefits.
It’s like the “miracle diet pill”- to activate it, make sure you walk for 20 minutes before and after you take it!
Because I’m interested in food science I did a little digging around this morning, and I have to say the research on any possible health benefits of acai berry is very limited relative to other herbal/plant/food products.
I searched JSTOR and had not a single hit on “acai berry”, nor did my many IRL textbooks on foods cover it. The best my academic library had was a fluff January 2007 “Vogue” article on it. I would have to say that based on the lack of information out there that one would be very unwise to draw conclusions on the cancer-fighting ability of acai berry (let alone being aware of any possible side effects…not all plant and herbal things are good for us).
Never fear…I’m drinking it to humor my BIL, is all. It’s not like I’m going to cancel all further treatments because I’ve found Teh Miracle Cure!!!11111!!!
A friend sells the stuff, and she gave me a card. My meter went up near the red line right away. Instead of Goohooing Mona Vie, I gooed Quackwatch, and looked it up there. The stuff is good for washing hogs and generating profit margins, but little else. I kept the card, because she’s still a good friend, but I didn’t buy any miracle juice.
I have a friend that sells it too. I think it’s just a fruity drink that has found a niche using the same mechanism of Amway/Quickstar and some other new companies - friends pushing junk on friends at twice the store value for an equivalent item. Some people really get into it - I even saw someone’s car fully decked out in “Mona Vie” stickers and a phone number. I think in the end they probably get some extra income from it, but in my opinion it’s never worth the cost of alienating friends and family - I’d rather just take a normal part-time job on the side for extra cash (and probably earn more). I’ve had friends invite other friends out to lunch, and when they arrive they start discussing Quickstar…there’s no faster way to lose a friend IMHO.
There’s a new one out in my neighborhood too, which is some sort of “food party” where someone has the neighborhood wives over and they sample food from a menu, and then pay 2X store cost for it, and it is mailed to you. I actually don’t mind it because at least I can consume it, and some of the products are unique (like an olive-flavored chip dip). But in the end it’s just a unique approach to marketing, just like Mona Vie.
I got in a cab at the airport here in AUS the other night and the young guy driver fiddled around in his console before locating a CD and popping it in the player. It turned out to be a recording of a scholarly dissertation or paper presentation allegedly made at a “Big Medical Conference” or similar, all about this new wonder drug. The words “Mona Vie” were used sparingly. I recall hearing the introduction and figuring it was about herbal medicines and that my driver must have been studying or something, but he talked over the commentary from time to time and showed no interest in the content.
Before long I realised that I was being marketed to. The average cab ride from the airport must be close to 45 mins, and the driver is no doubt paid (by his brother in law or whoever) to play it to middle aged business types when they get in his cab. It’s the perfect crime because you’re a captive audience and you feel it’s impolite to ask the driver to turn it off. And it did sound quite “scientific” in an Amway kind of way. I tend towards skepticism and some of the claims made were clearly ludicrous when thought through, but most others would no doubt have wanted to find out more…
On the few times that’s happened to me, that equates to a tip of $0.00. Especially if I can’t talk on my mobile phone because I’m hearing at 90dB about how some scam can change me from a Human Being to a Human Doing.
My cousin swears by this stuff…says it keeps her regular and gives her more energy. She gave me two bottles of it to help with my afternoon fatigue and I drank it every morning and afternoon until the bottles were gone and…nothing.
Just to point out here that Mona Vie when spoken rapidly sound exactly like “mon avis” or “my opinion” in French. Not exactly something you’d want to have crop up in a sales pitch, especially with a Francophone.
My boss swears by Re-liv, another quack miracle cure. How a rational, thinking person can believe that any one thing can cure (and prevent) any and all ills is beyond me.
Still, he means well, and hey, since I’m not paying for it, why not?