| High / Low Carb-Fat-Protein Diets | Blood Type Diet | MLM Products | Sterols & Sterolins |
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| Chocolate & Cocoa | Sugar & Glycemic Index | Vitamin C Supplementation | Vegetarianism |
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Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) Products,
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Coral Calcium, and Random Self-Supplementation
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Years ago, icons such as "Avon" or "Tupperware" started a trend for convenient home-based sales
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among neighbors and friends. "Health-promoting" products quickly followed, supported by colorful
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brochures and pamphlets, promising cures and relief from all sorts of medical complaints that could
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not be resolved by various regular medical practitioners, but were now available in a bottle at a hefty
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multi-level-marketing price - except, the original housewife is now joined by full-time employees and
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even "medical professionals" to become part of a billion-dollar MLM pie, targeting anyone receptive
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to "improving their health" with an aggressive sales pitch.
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I regularly get calls from patients whose neighbors or friends are selling Matol, Intra, Herbalife, Noni,
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Goji, Mangosteen, Acai, Barley Green, Blue-Green Algae, NuSkin, Calorad, Mannatech, Microhydrin,
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Amway, Metabolife, Omnitrition, and all kinds of other MLM products, and they want to know whether
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there is any truth to their health claims. At the same time some patients are selling some of these
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products themselves already, and they have approached me to promote these products among other
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patients, promising a cut of the profit.
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I have made it a point to actually read the promotional literature or watch their videos, and many times
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I even try out the products to see whether any of these MLM companies have actually come up with a
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breakthrough product that could benefit some of my own patients, and so I run an Acu-Cell Analysis
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before and after these "health products" are consumed. In other words - I am trying to be open-minded
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in the event that such a product has indeed been developed, and in which case I would have no problem
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recommending MLM products myself. Unfortunately, I have not come across such a product to date.
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The reasons are very simple:
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• If a product is powerful enough to create a positive / beneficial effect, it is powerful enough to create
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a negative / harmful effect. Sellers, unless they are medical practitioners, do not have the resources
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to distinguish between the two, or predict the outcome in a client. Even many doctors fall into that
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category because of their lack of expertise in dealing with, and evaluating nutritional strategies.
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• When drugs are used, the amount and potency per dose (pills, injections) are - with rare exceptions
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precise and replicable. Herbal potencies often vary with the part of the herb used, the season it is
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harvested, and the brand, or manufacturing process. Analyzing different herbal product brands yield
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frequently different medicinal effects.
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• There are people with Hyper and Hypo conditions. In other words, some people suffer from high
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blood pressure, high blood sugar, or high stomach acid..., while other people suffer from low blood
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pressure, low blood sugar, or low stomach acid..., etc. How would a seller (or the MLM product) know
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what to do without an examination, and/or without any resources to monitor the progress?
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• When dealing with a single ingredient or chemical (vitamin, mineral, or other nutrient..., drug...etc.),
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it can be matched to a patient following a nutritional analysis. On the other hand, it is impossible to
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match multi-ingredient MLM or store-bought formulations to a patient's chemical profile since there
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are just too many variables.
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• Most single herbs have already more than one active ingredient, so these "Botanical Blends" or
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 "Herbal Tonics" typically sold contain several herbs -- with consumers ending up with literally dozens
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of different medicinal actions - all in the same product. Now these products are supposed to help all
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people with all their various medical backgrounds! I like comparing that to walking into a drugstore,
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and asking the druggist to give me "One of Everything!"
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Most MLM, or health food store sales clerks of course do not appreciate the possibility that their
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products may not work, or that they could trigger health problems. A standard reply typically consists
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of referring to all their clients, "whose lives have been changed" on account of these products, and who
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now have "incredible energy," or "who have lost all that weight..."
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Well, I have seen, and treated some of these people. Yes, they may have had an increase in energy
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the first few weeks, or even months, or they may have lost some weight as well - before all of a sudden
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ending up with serious genitourinary or kidney problems, gastro-intestinal disorders, or impaired liver
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functions!
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Trying out some products can be a real eye opener. In one instance, after trying a particular "green
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powder" - compliments of a patient (and where I deliberately did not look at the ingredients to not sway
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my judgment) - within days my originally perfect VLDL triglycerides headed for the sky. No wonder it
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tasted so sweet, and had an energy effect similar to a candy bar... it was the added maltodextrin!
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Another "anti-aging" product (compliments of another patient) made reference to "negative hydrogen
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ions" it contained, like "the water of some native people in Pakistan, who, drinking that water, live to
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over 100 years of age... and don't get cancer...!" It was supposedly thousands of times more effective
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than other known antioxidants... and it carried the usual lengthy list of ailments it was supposed to cure.
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With that particular product however, the scientific camp was somewhat divided, with some "experts"
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calling it total nonsense, while other "experts" related anecdotal success stories involving several
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"scientific" people themselves.
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Measuring the chemistry of patients before and after using that product showed a significant increase
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in cellular sodium (perhaps due to the sodium-raising effect of its active ingredient, silica xerogel [?],
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or silica hydride / hydrated silica [?]), which, for the right type of person, could actually increase athletic
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endurance, but it would be bad news for people with renal problems. Of course, Choline Bitartrate, a
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commonly available B-vitamin, causes the same effect of raising cellular sodium, at pennies a pill.
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Even single herbs should be used with caution, or best left to the experts to match them to someone's
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chemistry. For instance, kelp, in addition to containing appreciable amounts of iodine and bromine,
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raises potassium and sodium, while alfalfa also raises potassium, but lowers sodium.
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Most people are aware now that licorice, by raising sodium and depleting potassium, could be bad
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news for patients who retain too much sodium, or suffer from kidney-related disorders. Milk thistle,
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if used by the wrong patient, could induce iron-deficiency anemia, devil's claw taken over time could
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worsen hepatitis, cirrhosis, or migraines, while Kava Kava could cause congestive liver disease.
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Despite the health benefits antioxidant-rich juices made from Mangosteen, Noni, Goji, Acai, etc.,
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appear to offer, they carry a significant risk of severely imbalancing an individual's electrolytes, and/or
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impairing renal, or hepatic functions when consumed in a highly concentrated form over time - which is
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quite different from the way the unprocessed products have been used in those areas where they are
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grown.
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Research has shown that even the much touted and celebrated antioxidant Resveratrol significantly
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increased plasma homocysteine after long-term intake, with a negative effect on homocysteine and
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HDL metabolism in a murine model of hyperhomocysteinemia, and that it may induce nephrotoxicity.
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Coral Calcium has enjoyed a most aggressive advertising campaign through television infomercials,
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books, interviews, and thousands of Web sites promoting the product. While different forms of calcium
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may be preferable for people with specific complaints such as high or low stomach acid or constipation,
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the absorption of various types of calcium still falls within a reasonably narrow range when taken with
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food and at limited amounts throughout the day. (see also Acu-Cell Nutrition "Calcium & Magnesium").
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There are no miraculous healing effects taking place as a result of taking a specific type of calcium,
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which includes "coral" calcium. People should not expect to be cured of any number of degenerative
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medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, multiple sclerosis,
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lupus, and others, by supplementing coral calcium as claimed by many of the promoters of the product,
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neither should they expect to increase their live expectancy to that of the Okinawans who have one of
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the world's highest concentrations of centenarians. This - according to more misleading claims - is
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supposedly attributable to the consumption of coral calcium in their diets.
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Coral calcium is sold in a variety of formulations, some of which contain added vitamins and minerals.
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Of course this creates the same dilemma which all other multi-mineral products have in common in that
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the health effects on the consumer are unpredictabe. This is confirmed when monitoring the cellular
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status of patients who have started to take coral calcium as a result of falling victim to its advertising
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hype.
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While the chemical profiles of a smaller percentage of patients remained largely unaffected, cellular
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calcium levels in the great majority of patients tested either increased or decreased to unacceptable
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levels, making coral calcium products worthless as predictable supplements to help normalize
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someone's calcium levels.
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In addition, these patients also presented with a decrease in stomach acid levels and subsequent
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gastrointestinal symptoms in many cases (among other complaints), which they had not experienced
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while taking other calcium supplements prior to switching to coral calcium. It is unclear whether all, or
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only specific coral calcium formulation are responsible for this effect, however from the mostly negative
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clinical experience encountered with coral calcium so far, and the time and effort it takes to restore a
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patient's nutritional profile back to normal, the supplementation of coral calcium is not recommended.
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AAACa / AdvaCAL Calcium - developed by Dr. Takuo Fujita, MD and colleagues - consists of a type
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of patented oyster shell supplement that is made by heating calcium to about 800°C in a vacuum, which
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breaks calcium carbonate up into calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide.
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AACa (active absorbable calcium) is then combined with a heated algal ingredient (HAI) Cystophyllum
Fusiforme to form AAACa, which results in better calcium absorption without the need for Vitamin D.
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In a number of clinical trials, "AAACA was apparently more effective increasing trabecular bone density
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than calcium carbonate or AACA (without the algal ingredient) containing the same amount of elemental
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calcium." Some studies also propose that AAACa is capable of reversing bone loss and preventing
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malformation of bone. However, there are some aspects regarding AAACa therapy to consider:
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• While the cost of calcium citrate is about 4 - 6x higher than calcium carbonate, the cost of AAACa is
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about 40x higher than calcium carbonate! The question is - does the marginally better absorption of
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AAACa justify its very high cost if larger amounts of other types of calcium also meet requirements?
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• For individuals with normal calcium absorption and bone metabolism, the use of AAACa does not
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serve a useful purpose considering its exorbitant cost. When calcium absorption had been a major
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problem and several grams of calcium carbonate were needed to meet requirements, even the 2 g
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maximum suggested daily amount of AAACa still failed to normalize calcium levels, which made
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the use of other types of calcium much more cost-efficient despite the larger doses required.
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• Since AACa without the HAI is not much better absorbed than other forms of calcium, it would make
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sense to isolate the active ingredient of the Heated Algal that increases calcium absorption and test
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it for long-term safety, because a), there seem to be notable changes in stomach acid, potassium,
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copper, and other levels, even after just a very short trial with AAACa therapy, and b), some therapies
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that are capable to increase bone density are also capable to increase the risk for cancer.
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Dr. Fujita, the developer of AAACa, holds some highly unconventional and unshared views on basic
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aspects of calcium metabolism. In a 1999 interview, he proposed that:
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• "All of us are calcium deficient.
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• The ratio of calcium to magnesium is not important, as long as we are taking enough of both.
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• Too much calcium intake is never dangerous, but too much magnesium can be. So I think calcium
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is the only one of which you can take as much as you want and get away with it, but you shouldn't
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take too much magnesium.
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• Milk is a very common source of calcium, but it also contains a lot of phosphorus, which combines
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with calcium and prevents it from being absorbed.
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• We don't need Vitamin D because HAI performs the same function and it's a natural product..."
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However, living in the Northern Hemisphere, or taking larger amounts of calcium increases the risk for
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developing Vitamin D deficiency with all its negative consequences. It also increases the risk for lung,
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breast, colorectal, prostate, pancreatic and ovarian cancer, which Vitamin D is somewhat protective for.
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Very poor calcium absorption and subsequently severe calcium deficiency requires adequate amounts
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of Vit D and higher intake of calcium, regardless of whether it consist of AAACa, or any other type. ¤
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Copyright © 2000-2009 Ronald Roth MLM Products, Random Self-Supplementation & Coral Calcium
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