A Berry for Life?

In January 2006, the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences published a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry about the effectiveness of a berry from Brazil that apparently triggered a death response in 86% of leukemia cells.

The berry is called Acai (ah-SAH'-ee) berry. Acai berries are produced by a palm tree known scientifically as Euterpe oleracea, common in floodplain areas of the Amazon River. When ripe, the berries are dark purple and about the size of a blueberry. They contain a thin layer of edible pulp surrounding a large seed. The rush now will be to determine what beverages, supplements and other products can be made from this berry.

Since the berry is a dark purple color, it would obviously be a good antioxidant. The blue pigment (carotinoids) in fruit and berries are very helpful with preventing and reversing damage to the heart, blood vessels and eyes. When I treated patients who had AMD (Macular Degeneration), I would strongly suggest they increase their intake of "blue/red foods". These would include blueberries, blackberries, pomagranets, cherries and currant. These "colored" foods are helpful in protecting the eyes and reversing damage to them.

I wonder, though, if the selling of this newly "discovered" berry will be over-hyped and over sold by unscrupulous companies. This is a danger when a new, improved product is brought out as a heal-all product. What may happen to this berry is what we've seen before with other products:

1. Coral Calcium: In the 1990's this product swept the nation like a California wildfire. Coral Calcium was touted as superior to any other form of calcium. Multi-level salespersons promoted this product as curing almost everything under the sun...heart problems, cancer, sexual problems, hormonal problems...you name it and a MLM salesperson would pronounce coral calcium as the treatment. It came from the coast of Japan and although was actually Calcium Carbonate-which is the "cheapest" form and least absorbable yet this product cost was 2 - 3 times the price of regular Calcium Citrate. FDA studies later showed the product to be high in lead toxicity. So much for this ballyhood miracle product.

2. Also in the 1990's a miracle of miracles came on the market as "Sea Silver".
Sea Silver was touted as a must have for anyone looking for good health. It contained microscopic amounts of minerals, yet the MLM folks had everyone believing this microscopic amount (colloidal) was much better absorbed and assimilated and thus would cure cancer, colds/flu, provide energy, _________ (you fill in the blank). Again the FDA investigate the claims and the products and the product quietly disappeared from the shelves and home MLM parties.

3. Goji berries! Along came these little red wonders. Touted in magazines and radio ads as an absolutely necessary berry to eat for its many fine vitamins and minerals. Again, the benefits touted were far more than the little berry could actually perform. Being a red berry, it probably had antioxidant properties and had a decent level of vitamin C, which made it a good berry to eat. Yet the promotors of this vastly overstated the benefits, all in an effort to take money out of peoples pocket.

4. Noni Juice! In my opinion this is (besides coral calcium) the biggest scam of the past 15 years. There is not one disease, or medical condition that Noni Juice won't completely cure; if you listen to the MLM purveyors of this juice. I tried a couple of bottles to see what the hype was about. I admit it was a pleasant tasting liquid, probably had a decent amount of vitamin C and minerals in it. I would even say it is a nutritious drink. But it is not a cure all! It has been sold to people as curing anything they have. This over-hype is simply wrong!

The problem is when the Multi-level Marketers (MLM) get involved with a product and then recruit people who usually have no medical or health training and the promotors send this army out to sell the products and recruit other sale persons (who usually do not have medical or health training, either). These people are out hustling a product that has not been tested or used by trained medical people to see if it has any value, much less if the product will actually do what the MLM companies claim! Instead by exagerrated magazine and radio ads, and fraudulant word of mouth praises, the product ends up being a cure all and unsuspecting people become entraped in this pyramid scheme. Only the MLM owners make any money, all the sales people and buyers lose out.

People, if a product sounds too good to be true, if it promises to cure the world...please put your hand over your wallet and run like hell!

I hope this new berry that has a promise of being effective against some cancer cells does not end up like coral calcium, sea silver, goji berry, and noni juice. I hope if the studies show it does have health benefits that the MLM companies do not got their grubby little greasy hands on it.

I very much want people to have choices in their healthcare, but I want the people not to have to wade through the muck to find it. The industry needs to police itself closer and shut down the snake oil salesmen and MLM hucksters who prey on the latest "cure-all" to a gullible public.