ecently, we received an e-mail touting what is being called a "diabetes miracle":
I'm sending this for serious thought.
I have Diabetes and am now off all medications, all in 3 weeks!
FDA & FTC Compliance
with the 1999 Nobel Prize and a U.S. Court Case.
Please look at this serious page.
http://www.sportron4life.com
Charles Gray
Sure enough, http://www.sportron4life.com/
touts a product and claims "a 2 yr. track record with Success of Doctors taking Diabetics OFF insulin & oral medications"
with something called "The FoodMatrix Diabetic Pack"
or
"The New Diabetic Pack".
"The New Diabetic Pack"
contains four products:
CarboTone™ Food Matrix™,
CalciTone™ FoodMatrix™,
UltraGard Forte' FoodMatrix™, and
Omegatone.
Mentioned, among other ingredients, are
chromium,
corosolic acid (a "traditional medicinal plant in Asia" which is
an extract from the leaves of Lagerstroemia speciosa per an abstract in
PubMed),
calcium and magnesium.
Is it safe?
"All FoodMatrix products are 100% natural and safe, with no side effects."
Hmmm, rattlesnake venom is 100% natural, but not exactly safe!
At another website, http://www.naturalhealthconsult.com/Monographs/Glucosol.html, corosolic acid has the following caution:
"CAUTIONS
Glucosol lowers blood glucose in normal as well as diabetic persons. Those with hypoglycemia or wildly fluctuating blood sugar should avoid it. Diabetes is a serious condition. Consult your health practitioner before taking this product and monitor your blood sugar frequently."
No side effects? Doesn't hypoglycemia count?
Scientific studies?
"Clinical trials that show a 31.9% drop in blood sugar within 30 days" (with this product). But there's no mention at any website of the title and authors of these studies, making it difficult to interpret the claimed results.
One of the studies on corosolic acid seem to have been conducted at the
Southwestern Institute of Biomedical Research, but a search of Google for
Southwestern Institute of Biomedical Research
only brings up 9 pages, all about this one study. Leads one to wonder if the SWIMR exists, and if it does, why is only mentioned in relation to this product?
And at
http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/col_0081.shtml, PDRhealth states that
"Colosolic acid, sometimes called corosolic acid,…has been reported to activate glucose transport in cell cultures and to lower glucose in diabetic mice. There are a few reports that colosolic acid lowers blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetic subjects. However, none of these reports has appeared in peer-reviewed scientific literature."
Is it for anyone with diabetes, or
only
type 2 diabetes?
Per
http://diabeticsfightback.com/gray/cause.htm,
the discussion is all about type 2.
Wait a minute, that's not the same webaddress! Searching Google for a phrase from these websites
("New Diabetic Pack")
we can also find that
http://www.diabetes-support.com,
http://www.robertdorsey.com,
http://www.diabeticsmiracle.com, and
http://www.helpdiabetics.com,
are all selling this!
What's going on?
The answer seems to be at
http://www.robertdorsey.com/contact.htm (and other websites):
"Distributors Wanted
(Serious Inquiries Only Please)".
From
http://www.helpdiabetics.com/Links.htm?Id=lou, there's a link to another website
by the same couple, where they openly admit "Imagine getting paid a handsome 40% commission for introducing people to a product that has a 96% success rate, (over 2 years) with Doctors getting type 2 Diabetics OFF their Insulin & medications and vastly improving their quality of life! Thereafter earn 35% on re-orders PLUS earn on 8 other bonuses!"
They also sell a
"Non-Surgical Face Lift Program" at
http://www.radiancereverseaging.com/
And the good doctor who promotes this product at
http://diabeticsfightback.com/drdaniel/diabetescontent.htm
also has a blurb at
http://www.successedge.com/
("Get the EDGE to Start PROFITING Today!
Your online success information is here!
Get everything you need to profit worldwide!")
at
http://www.successedge.com/malls/directory.cfm?c=18&m=4
that states
"Do You Know Anyone Who Has Diabetes? Wow!'' Diabetes Breakthru'' Millions Affected! Free Information."
Conclusion: this is a MLM (multilevel marketing) scheme —
see
The Bottom Line About Multilevel Marketing Plans
at the FTC website.
Multilevel or "network" marketing plans are a way of selling goods or services through distributors. These plans typically promise that if you sign up as a distributor, you'll receive commissions - for your sales and those of the people you recruit to become distributors. These recruits sometimes are referred to as your "downline."
Some multilevel marketing plans are legitimate. However, others are illegal pyramid schemes. In pyramids, commissions are based on the number of distributors recruited. Most of the product sales are made to these distributors - not to consumers in general. The underlying goods and services, which vary from vitamins to car leases, serve only to make the schemes look legitimate.
Joining a pyramid is risky because the vast majority of participants lose money to pay for the rewards of a lucky few. Most people end up with nothing to show for their money except the expensive products or marketing materials they're pressured to buy.
If you're thinking about joining what appears to be a legitimate multilevel marketing plan, take time to learn about the plan. What's the company's track record? What products does it sell? Does it sell products to the public-at-large? Does it have the evidence to back up the claims it makes about its product? Is the product competitively priced? Is it likely to appeal to a large customer base? How much is the investment to join the plan? Is there a minimum monthly sales commitment to earn a commission? Will you be required to recruit new distributors to earn your commission?
Caveat emptor
Do these people really make money while selling unproven stuff to gullible people with type 2 diabetes? Probably yes — as P.T. Barnum allegedly said
(but didn't)
"there's a sucker born every minute."
Caveat emptor.
[From the Latin, "let the buyer beware".]
