Alternative Therapies: Are You Getting Scammed?

There are a lot of products, services, and touted cures out there when it comes to health and wellness. Cancer seems to attract a large variety of products as does weight loss. It’s not uncommon to see a product advertised as a "cancer cure" or one that claims to "melt the fat off". When it’s almost too good to be true, we should know that it IS too good to be true!

It’s not always simple to determine credibility. When it comes to cancer, there are many products claiming to be cancer fighting. Unfortunately, a lot of products exist to make someone rich, and have little or no research showing that it works.

What’s the Cost?

It’s necessary to evaluate the cost of the therapy and who benefits from it. Many herbs, supplements or other products that are delivered to your home are operated under the model of "multi-level marketing". Multi-level marketing means that there are multiple layers of salespeople and that the higher up the person is, the more money they make.

These companies are most interested in making money and secondarily interested in your health. I believe that sales people have good intentions, but are slightly taken by the promotional materials and possible financial gain of joining the company.

Many nutritional supplements fall into this category including Juice Plus and Herbalife. Other product lines that follow this model include Mary Kay and Artistry. For more information on multilevel marketing, click here.

Should I Buy It?

I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy the product in question. You do need to know the facts. Most of the products being sold aren’t any more beneficial than what you can get cheaper at the store.

I can get a product similar to what I got from Mary Kay by going to Target. However, sometimes I’m willing to buy it from the salesperson because I want to support them or it’s more convenient. (Keep in mind that the person getting rich is NOT the person selling it to you).

It’s the same with multi-level marketing of nutritional supplements. An equivalent product is available at your local drugstore. There’s nothing special about the particular product being sold. If you have the extra money and want to spend it supporting the salesperson, it’s your choice. Just try not to get sold that their product is something more than what the facts say!

Which Therapies Are Proven?

So what therapies have been proven beneficial? In my next post I will discuss the importance of complementary therapy, which ones I recommend and how to find a good practitioner. For a good place to search a product or therapy, try QuackWatch.

Until then, if you’re interested in selling a miracle cure product that I have developed to increase energy and extend your life I’d love to hire you.  It’s called Miracle-Nutri-Vita.  Just send me an email or post a comment.  If you think I’m serious, you should re-read the above post!

– Julie