Cookie cutter nutrition and MLM’s, Should you drink the “kool aid”?

With the advent of the internet and social media the amount of miracle health care cures has exponentially increased over the last decade. I have said over the last 15 years about once a month a “new miracle” nutrient drink, pill, diet, multivitamin, weight loss program etc…is created/found/invented. Marketing itself as an answer to what all ails you and often makes unrealistic, unfounded claims. The sad part of this is many people gambling with these approaches could be wasting precious time they may never get back.

Who has the largest marketing budget usually does quite well. The websites are nothing short of amazing, the testimonials are out of this world. Most profess to have organic, all natural, GMP certified etc…nutrients that will heal all that needs to be healed within the body.

We abide by that old saying, “if something sounds too good to be true it probably is”.  The current trend is these products come with many testimonials from MDs, Ph.Ds, nutritionists and of course the consumers who line up and claim to have experienced the miracles of this exciting new product.  Meanwhile, many of these companies will still not share the research they spew nor will they divulge where their miraculous ingredients come from…hmm.

The simple answer to the question of “well, do they work” is a difficult question. Will they enhance the body? Perhaps, but will they balance the myriad of physiological imbalances occurring in the body? HIGHLY UNLIKELY!

Now, lets keep this in perspective. If you buy into a particular MLM weight loss program/wellness program or Amazonian rainforest drink etc..and stop eating refined foods, quit caffeine, sugar, alcohol and begin to exercise, then suddenly notice this incredible change…wow, that extra money being spent is fixing you, right? Yes and no. Paying all that extra money, sharing it with countless “distributors” may give you the incentive to not eat that extra helping of mashed potatoes or that small serving of ice cream at night. Great, spend lots of extra money and maybe that will motivate you to do what should have been done way before that exotic, never found before fountain of youth program was devised by someone looking to make lots of money off the desperation of many.

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Let me set the record straight. I have been dealing with pharmaceutical grade supplementation for a couple of decades. I was a distributor of a well known herbal company (N. S.) back in 1990 (during my first year in Chiropractic college) and believed I was doing the “right thing” recommending cookie cutter supplements, herbs, detoxes and more to everyone.  I believed in my mission and sometimes did see changes although was I really helping those people in the long run? Unfortunately, I was probably doing more harm them good as some of the protocols I recommended may have helped with the symptoms but allowed a much deeper issue to fester.

Part of the fundamental philosophy within my primary Chiropractic technique has always been a system that works hand in hand with supplementation. The basic premise of the technique is that Chiropractic patients will not realize the full potential of their healing ability without utilizing specific supplementation. Because of this, supplementation was not a “choice” it was specifically what I did and there was never a part of me that looked at it differently. It was not an added way to increase my revenue stream or entice hurting people into a barrage of costly supplements with no end in sight.

At ICS we stock probably in the neighborhood of 300 different supplements, herbs, homeopathics, cleanses etc… (Targeted, referenced and designed specifically for rehabilitating exact pathways.)  Taking even the most pure supplements, lots of them all the time does not automatically give you a free pass to health. In fact, in some cases it could be hurting you more than helping you. Yes, I am against everyone simply taking a multi or something without knowing the pathway they are trying to remedy. You could be creating more work for your body as it takes energy to absorb, filter, and utilize anything you put in your body. In some cases many people are already running very low on energy and anything extra, even something natural will create a stress response.

This is where it gets tricky. Thru specific laboratory testing we must determine what is impaired at a physiological/metabolic level and focus on the stressors that created the issue not just the symptoms we may be feeling. Once we define what I like to call “triggers” or causal factors, then the first step begins. We must figure out a realistic way to put the brakes on and halt the daily assault on the body.  Mind you, this is no easy task and quite honestly if you are not able to comply and get thru the initial phase than taking supplements or any other product to improve your health will simply waste your time and money.

So the original question remains…do the multi-level supplements, drinks, tonics, weight- loss programs work? In my opinion, no, they do not. These recommendations by professionals and consumers will simply allow things that could create a major health issue to go unresolved and fester to a point of disease. There is no product that targets the vast array of issues that can occur in the body. For instance, there are exact pathways that need to be supported in order to re-sensitize cellular receptor sites when someone has insulin resistance (blood sugar issue). There are only a handful of specific herbs that have been shown thru valid peer reviewed research to make a difference with this issue. Also, it is imperative how the supplement was combined so it will achieve the desired effect at the correct level. The same hold true for leaky gut issues but the herbal/nutrient combinations are totally different. Or, what if blood work shows you have a B12 anemia…to the un-trained (and even trained in some cases) practitioner they will simply recommend their product because it has B12 in it. But, what if you eat well, consume plenty of nutritious foods that contain B12…why are you not absorbing it? Generally, this is due to a condition called “leaky gut” which is a relatively new term that we could not officially use 10 years ago but now has gained recognition thru Pubmed.com, other conventional and alternative websites.  Are all these researched based very specific nutrients included in the Amazonian drink or perhaps the multivitamin from the doctor endorsed MLM?  The answer is NO. Trust me, I have always wished there existed something that was a "one shot" wonder and had everything one needs but again this would be an impossibility and could potentially create an issue as taking many things you do not need could corrupt your physiology in another direction.

This is the key. If root issues like anemia, sub-clinical infections or blood sugar problems are not corrected there is no chance for the body to function optimally and create a healthier you. Will your MLM multi or fancy green cocktail correct anemia or an infection? If so, what type of infection do you have? Will it target a parasitical infestation if one is present? If it can and has the references from accredited institutions I'd love to read them and potentially add something additional to my arsenal. ;)

In my experience I have never found a product that supports all of the different “weak links” all at once. There is not one supplement, one specific drink, nothing. The body is much more complex and requires very specific and tailored approach. Keep in mind even with the supplements we recommend our goal is to stop the assault on the body and then use a very specific protocol to rebuild and rehabilitate the body. Once you are there and the objective lab tests show things have been rehabbed back to an optimal level, how you handle your remaining years is up to you. If you choose to give up your recognized healthy lifestyle and “cheat," which some do, you may suffer a setback and require some help again with specific support. In many cases, we see auto-immune conditions that require lifetime support with very specific supplements that will never "fix" the auto-immune condition but will lessen the damaging consequences on the body. This is a very specific and non-forgiving area of natural health care. Even though products are natural/organic does not imply "no harm".  There are numerous very good supplements, vitamins and even green tea that have been found to stimulate an auto-immune condition if a certain balance is not present in the immune system.

All in all, keep in mind just because it is natural does not mean it will be good for YOU. Like everything, the root cause must be found and things must be sorted through methodically using scientifically based approaches with absolute logic. In the age of technology much mis-information abounds and one is challenged to find the real answer. To me the only way to separate fact from fiction is using research and science as a guideline and not assuming everything natural(with great marketing) is going to restore and maintain the health of the human body.