Freelife International - Dr. Earl Mindell - Stu Ramsey - Dave Brisson - RAYMOND FALTINSKY - KEVIN FOURNIER Ripoff Milford Connecticut

I just received a phone call that I was able, using the phone number displayed on caller ID and my internet research skills, to trace to a FreeLife International office in Broward County, Florida. By checking out the websites connected with that phone number, I was able to verify that the office is for an agent of FreeLife International.

Why was I called? The office in question, according to that website, if for a work-at-home vendor recruiter. The website mentions Freelife's Goji juice products, but plays up the monetary advantages of having a primary or secondary income stream by being a FreeLife marketer. So now I know why they were calling me: I have allowed my name to be given to some websites that are affiliated with various work-at-home opportunities. I used to get calls from other work-at-home schemes far more frequently, but always let them know I had little or no up-front money to invest, which generally stopped them right away. Or in many cases, I used my internet research skills to track down consumer complaints about any opportunity that might interest me-- research which has often led me right here, to RipOff Report.

Here's what bugs me about this phone call: the agent asked for me by name, but refused to identify himself beyond giving a first name. As a matter of ordinary, sensible business practice, if I am the party being called, and it's from a phone number I don't recognize, I never, ever identify myself unless the caller identifies himself first. This caller's refusal to tell me more than a first name, and no mention of what company he's calling from, or why he's trying to reach me, is a giant red flag as far as I'm concerned. It tells me that either the caller is a fraud artist, thus somebody I would never work for, or else just a flat-out fool-- and still somebody I would never work for.

As Bob Dylan sang: "You just sorta wasted my precious time..."

BREAKING NEWS!!

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against FreeLife for False Claims!

http://www.gojitrees.com/FreeLifeClassActionLawsuit%5B1%5D.pdf 

CAUTION: "DON'T THROW OUT THE BABY WITH THE BATHWATER!!"

Nutraceutical (Medicinal) Grade Wolfberry/Goji

http://www.GojiTrees.com/

I don't know Mr Wheaton but I do know I have the right To not to believe him at
least completely. I have seen way to many peoples lives change for the Better
with Goji in their diets. The real stuff from Freelife not the copy cats trying to make
a buck with selling the "bad Berries" to people who don't know.

If I am wrong so be it. I can share from experience. I myself self used to
suffer from colds and allergies as well as constant numb feet. after about a
month or two my feet numbness went away as well as cramps in legs
at night that hurt like heck. Colds an allergies are a rare thing in my family's
life now.  All we do different now is take Gochi / Goji and other Freelife Products.
Un like most companies touting things FREELIFE is one of FEW if ANY that
exist that can back things up with Double Blind Placebo Test's
AND A WHOLE LOT MORE. So They Will be fine and Continue to GROW and FLOURISH
Because they Are Sincere as well as REAL. And work harder on Compliance than any
company I have seen in my 30 years in this industry! And offer more proof.
get the facts people. If Mangosteen was good for you Freelife would put
it in their line. But they have topped acai, mangosteen and others.
And can again back it up!

As far his acidic complaints. I don't know about that.  But I have seen the
science that shows Goji reduces a persons acidity. And people who have actually tested themselves after Goji and said WOW! Plus I am in better health now at age 50 than when I was 45 and start Goji. People always say wow what are you doing? Goji is my answer! You have nay sayer's when anything helps others. Or is positive.
You know some people's lives are all about being negative.

To each his own. Try it you decide. Not many offer 90 day 100% money back!

Like anything I have seen people who say it did nothing or didn't like taste.
I have seen people who loved the taste and can't believe the wonders
Goji has done for them. And are excited about their results! Freelife doesn't
claim miracles, but they can prove FACTS and will stand behind them.
People, happy excited people claim miracles.. Can you blame them?

Some see Jesus in their Toast! I see people with happy tears in their Eyes
thanking me for introducing them to Goji.

I say don't know what it may do for you, but it does seem to help many people
in many different ways. Aww what a refreshing drink! Goji, Crushed Ice & water!
healthiest drink I know of!

The owners of this company, Freelife,have the highest integrity I have ever known. They have not only responded to all the negative press with positive proof of the media's intentions,but now have proven through a clinical study,that has been peer reviewed...that their product does infact have an extreme value towards your good health, if you consume it on a regular basis.This study has been accepted and will be published in one of the most prestigious health publications in the world...The Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine in it's August 2008 Issue and has recently been posted on the United States Government's Library of Medicines web site..
http://www.pubmed.gov/ and in their search engine type in Freelife or Gochi...

Yes folks...it is a very legitimate and all natural product that is certified Kosher and Halal and has no preservatives.It is "THIS" product that has had the clinical study done and not any other Goji Berry Juice.

I just noticed that some of you are talking about Dr. Earl Mindell as if he is a medical doctor. Well, he is NOT. You need to check out this page, and be prepared for some big surprises:

http://goji.breathe.org/freelife-himalayan-goji-juice-doctor.htm

If you want the truth on Himalayan Goji Juice and GoChi, these are MUST SEE sites:

breathe.org - We help clear the air on "natural" products
http://goji.breathe.org

Canadian Broadcasting TV documentary on FreeLife: "Getting Juiced"
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2007/01/goji.html


A FreeLife employee states above that "Himalayan Goji Juice is NOT pasteurized." This is FALSE. The truth is, the juice is MORE THAN pasteurized, it is in fact heat sterilized. Read the shocking report at the breathe.org site.

Also, breathe.org talks about FreeLife's polysaccharide claims. You gotta see this.

I was signed up as a freelife marketing executive by a friend for a very short time, I decided to try goji before i sold it to others and also had a case sent to my parent's who are both diabetic, dad much worse then mom. A week into taking the Goji dad was developing bloody noses atleast 4 time's in one week which contained huge clot's,he has been taken to the emergency and has also seen his doctor but have not yet found the reason but has been taken off his daily baby asprin that he has been taking to keep his blood from clotting.I don't know that Goji caused this reaction, but I do know that they state Goji is 100% juice and i do not dispute that statment, but it is not 100% Goji, it also contains grape juice, apple juice, pear juice etc. they do claim that it is benefical for diabetic's,I don't know how this can be possible when some of these juice's contain sugar even though there is no sugar added. I really diden't notice any change in my own health issue's but in all fairness i only drank it for approx. 4 week's. After hearing of my dad's bloody nose issue I decided to do a little research of my own. I learned that the nose bleed's may be a way for the goji to detoxify itself and the reaction is a manifestation of toxins being purged from the body. If this is true then pure organic 100% Goji juice no added juices,no sugar or additives not watered down with other ingredeints for much less. The way i look at it, if freelife's juice can do what they claim then I would think pure organic 100% Goji juice can do the same with quicker result's.needless to say,I just sent the juice back to freelife on a 90 day money back gurantee, time will tell, but i have no reason to believe freelife would not honor their 100% money back gurantee. I want to believe that goji will help and not harm you.I will try pure organic goji before i send it to my mom and dad or recomend it to anyone else, It may not be for everyone.I hope everything works out for you. K

I have used the product myself and have had no bad effects from drinking the goji juice, there are others that have used the product also and their testimonials of the product can be seen at gojiwiz .

My own testimonial is I have a hyperthyroid after drinking the goji juice I feel much better than before. I am not a doctor and I tell everyone keep taking their medication I feel sorry for this man that he has these medical issues, but I feel from my own experince with the goji juice that these conditions that he has developed was not caused from drinking goji juice.

I'm sorry Tim has had a bad experience with Himalayan Goji Juice. I've had just the opposite results. I have tested my PH and have come up with a very positive result. Also, there is ample evidence that Himalayan Goji Juice is good for a person. There are numerous doctors reports and scientific data supporting Himalayan Goji Juice. Plus, the Trademarked Himalayan Goji Juice from Freelife International is unconditionally guaranteed, it has a spectral signature, and it has polysacharides thate are healthful. In addition, Himalayan Goji Juice is NOT pasteurized. My experience with Freelife's Goji Juice has been a diminished blood pressure that has helped me reduce the chemical drugs, it also has balanced my blood sugar, and it has helped my wife reduce her insulin intake even though she has been a type 1 diabetic since she was 15 (she's 52 now).

I've been drinking Goji for more than a year. I tried other brands and types of Goji, other than Freelife's and I had poor results. So, I've always gone back to Freelife's genuine Himalayan Goji Juice. Goji was sold to me as a "Food". It is a natural fruit juice blended with a small amount of a few other fruit juices. There is no sugar added. I don't see how a natural fruit juice can harm a person. It has only helped me. I know Tim has already made up his mind, but anyone else who may be wondering or would like to know more, please do some deep research and decide for yourself. Don't take Tim's word or mine at face value. There's also a "Wellness Report" where many doctors speak out. Please check it out.

Dr Earl Mindell is respected all over the world. The UN invites him to speak on issues concerning nutrition and health. He has a record of more than 400 regular appearances on radio and TV programs all over the world. He is known as father of revolutionary nutrition. His book the vitamin bible is a house whole book and has sold more than 10 million copies and translated in many international languages. He is respected for the stand he took more than 45 years ago to provide natural and effective products to the world. He refused to work with huge companies who had money to pay for his services and did not care about the health of the public. Don't you think the three or four of you who are disgruntled with him and his formulations have a problem? You are just a few grains in a huge bag of grains. You have to consider where you went wrong.

More than a year a go I depended on 25 or more pills daily for survival because a series of health complications I had, some one introduced me to The Himalayan Goji Juice Formulated by Dr. Earl Mindell. I followed instructions given to me, though my metabolism was slow I kept on faithfully taking this product for four months and it took me off my medications. I have not been sick for a year today and I am so health and very strong. I use goji today to save the lives of so many people I come in contact with.

If you did not get result from Goji it means you did not follow instructions given to you in the kit that come with it. You are just one of those few who do not want to fallow instruction of the manufacturer and want to get result. I am not saying that Himalayan Goji Juice is not a pharmaceutical drug and you should not expect it to work over night. It is a nutrient dense food and only provide the body with what it needs to effect healing. When you give your body the nutrient it needs it will heal itself and you need to give it time. It took me one year to reverse all the complications I developed all through the years. My former doctor told me I will fall very sick in three months and die if I went off medication though she never believed in herbs and nutrition is forced to believe in goji and takes it when she say its miracle on me.

If any one deprived himself of the vitamin bible which has saved the lives of millions of people you just know that that person has a problem. To doubt nutrition as a source of good health is an indication of an unhealthy lifestyle.

One thing I have discovered With Himalayan Goji Juice is that when some people start taking it they have mood fluctuation. At times their pain may increase, for a few days or weeks. Some people with high blood pressure or diabetes will experience an increase or drop in some days and then balance in others, but this will last only for a few days or weeks and then comes to a balance as weeks and months go by. The more you stay on this product the more you feel better. So is the case with making a decision to change your diet from bad to good.

If you did not follow instructions on how to take Himalayan Goji Juice and you did not get result you have to go back on it and give it enough time to help your body to heal itself. Remember Himalayan Goji Juice is not a drug but you can find results that drugs may not have. It is the miracle discovery of the 21st century. Anyone who wants to see my medical report a year ago and now could contact me at the address bellow.
Mallo

(((ROR REDACTED LINK AND E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR SECURITY PURPOSES)))

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Research article by Dr. Robert O. Young (Oct 9, 2006) -http://www.phmiracleliving.com/search/index.php?category=Articles

Mangosteen, Noni, Goji, Xango, Thia-Go, G3 are ALL Acidic and Detrimental to Health

Goji ... and many similar fruit juices claim to provide nutritional health benefits, or do they? I have tested all of these so-called nutritional health drinks and they are all highly acidic at a pH ranging from 2.5 to 3.0 with an ORP (oxidative reduction potential for buffering acids and providing body energy) ranging from +250 mV to +450 mV. All of these so-called nutritional health beverages would have the same toxic acidic effects as drinking an acidic cola drink at a pH of 2.5 with an ORP at +250 mV. Great for cleaning the corrosion off the battery cables of your car, but destructive to the digestive system and especially the delicate intestinal villi of the small intestine where blood is made. All of these exotic, proton rich fruits and fruit drinks will pull energy from your body robbing you of needed electrons to keep your body running healthy and strong.

You are better off eating or drinking green vegetables like broccoli and other electron rich, cruciferous vegetables that contain several anti-acidic compounds that have been shown to provide protection against cancerous causing agents like nitric and lactic acid. However, there aren't any companies selling expensive broccoli juice. Or are there?

The reason that products such as Mangosteen, Xango, Goji and Noni seem more attractive is because the ingredients are "exotic" and most people just don't know much about the ingredients. The truth is that these exotic fruits and fruit juices are generally pasteurized, full of sugar, and will acidify the blood and tissues making you sick, tired and fat! Whatever little nutritional value they might claim to offer is lost in their saturation of hydrogen ions making these beverages void of any nutritional or energetic value!

Yes, there is some research on xanthones, a phytochemical found in Mangosteen, Xango, Goji, Noni, but the scientific interpretations are incorrect. The phytochemical xanthone is a potent anti-acid by itself. But, the value of the xanthones found in these exotic fruits are not sufficient enough to neutralize the high concentrations of acidic hydrogen ions, leaving these beverages highly acidic at 2.5 to 3.0 pH and deficient of any energy value at +250 mV and up.

I would suggest looking at the published research on bioflavonoids (lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, luctein, beta-carotene, and over 600 more of them), polyphenols (which include proanthocyandins, anthocyanidins, catechins, etc), indole-3-carbinol and sulfurophane (broccoli extract and cruciferous vegetables), iridoids (mainly found in olive fruit), not to mention all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants naturally found in electron rich fruits and vegetables. The list could go on and on and on. Nearly all of these compounds are found in the nutritional supplement that are in "The Comparative Guide To Nutritional Supplements" and in our book, The pH Miracle for Weight Loss. You could literally pull up hundreds of thousands of studies on all of these phytochemicals.

Xanthones may have beneficial properties in the right concentrations but it is only one compound among thousands that have well-researched benefits. If people
think they are getting some miraculous compound, secret juice or magic formula, they are being misinformed. What they are getting is a highly acidic, enervating
fruit juice that will increase the acidic state of the body and damage the delicate alkaline pH of the digestive and circulatory system. Add mangosteen, Noni, Goji or Xango fruit or juice to your current vitamin/mineral regimen and expect short term benefits from the acidic laxative affect and long term damage to the small intestine and large intestine. Eventually the acidic damage done to the small intestine will affect the quality of the blood that will in turn affect that quality and health of every cell in the human body. This can then lead to a serious health challenge. The nutritional health benefits of these exotic fruits are highly exaggerated and misleading.

A scientific scale called the ORAC scale was developed to measure how well foods neutralize oxidation or acids. Due to the varied antioxidants (water soluble, fat
soluble, etc.) in the tablets, there really isn't an accurate way of giving a legitimate ORAC score to a nutritional supplement. As such, the ORAC scale has little relevance to Mangosteen, Noni, Goji and Xango juice!

The following offers a more detailed explanation of some disadvantages of relying on ORAC scores too heavily. In addition, there are some marked drawbacks
to the ORAC score.

The disadvantages of using the ORAC score, or at least in relying too much upon it, are several, such as...

1) Despite the fact that it is sometimes touted as a "Total Antioxidative Power" score, the ORAC assay can only measure one particular type of antioxidative activity, namely the ability of antioxidants to quench or neutralize only one specific type of oxidizing free radical (aka "reactive oxygen species", or ROS) known as the peroxy (e.g., as found in peroxide) radical. The biggest problem with this test is the peroxide radical is released by the white blood cells to buffer or neutralize metabolic acids to help maintain the delicate pH balance of the body fluids at 7.365. All "oxygen species" or free radicals are released by the cells, including the white blood cells to neutralize the damaging affects of metabolic acids. You see, free radicals are good guys not bad guys and are part of the body's protective system against hydrogen ions or acids. When you drink Mangosteen, Noni Juice, Goji Juice, Xango, Thai-Co, G3, etc. you have just increased your acidic levels of hydrogen ions and the body responds by releasing free radicals to buffer the poison or acid or hydrogen ions from these exotic drinks. In truth, the ORAC assay
measures the acidity or toxicity of a food or drink, not its ability to neutralize free radicals.

2) Thus, the ORAC score when interpreted correctly offers a picture of the true antioxidant, or better said, anti-acid power of an antioxidant or mixture of antioxidants since antioxidants like xanthone works with free radicals like peroxide by quenching or buffering metabolic acids. Other alkalizing free radical species commonly found in the body and released by the white blood cells are the superoxides, triplet oxygen, singlet oxygen, and the hydroxyl radical which protects us against acids from digestion, respiration, fermentation and degeneration. Indeed, some highly powerful and effective antioxidants or anti-acids like sodium bicarbonate, potassium hydroxide, sodium chlorite, singlet oxygen, superoxides, triplet oxygen and peroxide would score extremely poor or low on an ORAC assay. What does this tell us about the ORAC score? It is being misinterpreted!

3) An excellent example of naturally occurring antioxidants or anti-acids (and in reality there are plenty more) are the carotenoid family of antioxidants which includes beta carotene, lycopene, luctein, canthaxanthxin and zeaxanthin, among others, and which are found extensively in strongly-colored fruits and vegetables. Most carotenoids show little activity against the peroxy radical because they work together to buffer metabolic acids.

5) The ORAC score derived from the ORAC assay shows only antioxidant activity in liquids in a test tube (in vitro) rather than within complex living biological systems within the body. The problem here is that some substances or foodstuffs may show great ORAC scores in test tube measures, but may perform poorly in the body due to poor bioavailability, and vice versa.

6) A number of incorrect or invalid ORAC scores for common fruits and vegetables are now in circulation due to faulty methods of testing or faulty interpretation
and reporting, or both. Why? Because the ORAC score does not take in consideration the fermentation of sugars that turns to acid in the body.

7) The original ORAC assay method, called the B-PE method (for beta-phycoerythrin, a reagent), has been largely discredited in the scientific literature in the past few years as being inaccurate and yielding poor repeatability. Many of the original advocates in the antioxidant field of the ORAC B-PE Assay, including Dr. Guohua Cao, a USDA research scientist) now recommend a more sophisticated ORAC assay, called the ORAC FL method, where the "FL" stands for fluorescein, a fluorescent reagent used in the test. The newer ORAC FL method yields an ORAC score ranging from 95% to about 400% (4X) of the older ORAC score, and, on average, yields a score which is about 120% to 200% of the score from the older ORAC B-PE method.

8) Unfortunately, the vast majority of ORAC assay scores to be found on the web and in the scientific literature for various foodstuffs, including fruits, vegetables, juices, and supplements, were produced using the older ORAC B-PE method.

9) Indeed, most of the ORAC scores to be found in the literature and on the Internet are from a set of ORAC scores published by the USDA in the late 1990's, all derived using the ORAC B-PE method. There has also been some confusion in interpretation of the USDA scores, with some companies and authors reporting
scores for freeze-dried (concentrated) samples as scores for fresh samples, resulting in inflated scores, and with others reporting the score in units per 100 grams (or even 65 or 6 grams) rather than the standard score which is reported in ORAC units per gram.

With any of the putative "single score" "total antioxidant" assays, the older ORAC B-PE assay and the newer ORAC FL assay may offer a single score, but they
hardly offer a true picture of total antioxidative or anti-acid ability.

Bottom line: stay away from all these exotic fruits and fruit drinks. They are all acidic and by drinking them you put your health and fitness at risk!

Research article by Dr. Robert O. Young (Oct 9, 2006) -http://www.phmiracleliving.com/search/index.php?category=Articles

Mangosteen, Noni, Goji, Xango, Thia-Go, G3 are ALL Acidic and Detrimental to Health

Goji ... and many similar fruit juices claim to provide nutritional health benefits, or do they? I have tested all of these so-called nutritional health drinks and they are all highly acidic at a pH ranging from 2.5 to 3.0 with an ORP (oxidative reduction potential for buffering acids and providing body energy) ranging from +250 mV to +450 mV. All of these so-called nutritional health beverages would have the same toxic acidic effects as drinking an acidic cola drink at a pH of 2.5 with an ORP at +250 mV. Great for cleaning the corrosion off the battery cables of your car, but destructive to the digestive system and especially the delicate intestinal villi of the small intestine where blood is made. All of these exotic, proton rich fruits and fruit drinks will pull energy from your body robbing you of needed electrons to keep your body running healthy and strong.

You are better off eating or drinking green vegetables like broccoli and other electron rich, cruciferous vegetables that contain several anti-acidic compounds that have been shown to provide protection against cancerous causing agents like nitric and lactic acid. However, there aren't any companies selling expensive broccoli juice. Or are there?

The reason that products such as Mangosteen, Xango, Goji and Noni seem more attractive is because the ingredients are "exotic" and most people just don't know much about the ingredients. The truth is that these exotic fruits and fruit juices are generally pasteurized, full of sugar, and will acidify the blood and tissues making you sick, tired and fat! Whatever little nutritional value they might claim to offer is lost in their saturation of hydrogen ions making these beverages void of any nutritional or energetic value!

Yes, there is some research on xanthones, a phytochemical found in Mangosteen, Xango, Goji, Noni, but the scientific interpretations are incorrect. The phytochemical xanthone is a potent anti-acid by itself. But, the value of the xanthones found in these exotic fruits are not sufficient enough to neutralize the high concentrations of acidic hydrogen ions, leaving these beverages highly acidic at 2.5 to 3.0 pH and deficient of any energy value at +250 mV and up.

I would suggest looking at the published research on bioflavonoids (lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, luctein, beta-carotene, and over 600 more of them), polyphenols (which include proanthocyandins, anthocyanidins, catechins, etc), indole-3-carbinol and sulfurophane (broccoli extract and cruciferous vegetables), iridoids (mainly found in olive fruit), not to mention all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants naturally found in electron rich fruits and vegetables. The list could go on and on and on. Nearly all of these compounds are found in the nutritional supplement that are in "The Comparative Guide To Nutritional Supplements" and in our book, The pH Miracle for Weight Loss. You could literally pull up hundreds of thousands of studies on all of these phytochemicals.

Xanthones may have beneficial properties in the right concentrations but it is only one compound among thousands that have well-researched benefits. If people
think they are getting some miraculous compound, secret juice or magic formula, they are being misinformed. What they are getting is a highly acidic, enervating
fruit juice that will increase the acidic state of the body and damage the delicate alkaline pH of the digestive and circulatory system. Add mangosteen, Noni, Goji or Xango fruit or juice to your current vitamin/mineral regimen and expect short term benefits from the acidic laxative affect and long term damage to the small intestine and large intestine. Eventually the acidic damage done to the small intestine will affect the quality of the blood that will in turn affect that quality and health of every cell in the human body. This can then lead to a serious health challenge. The nutritional health benefits of these exotic fruits are highly exaggerated and misleading.

A scientific scale called the ORAC scale was developed to measure how well foods neutralize oxidation or acids. Due to the varied antioxidants (water soluble, fat
soluble, etc.) in the tablets, there really isn't an accurate way of giving a legitimate ORAC score to a nutritional supplement. As such, the ORAC scale has little relevance to Mangosteen, Noni, Goji and Xango juice!

The following offers a more detailed explanation of some disadvantages of relying on ORAC scores too heavily. In addition, there are some marked drawbacks
to the ORAC score.

The disadvantages of using the ORAC score, or at least in relying too much upon it, are several, such as...

1) Despite the fact that it is sometimes touted as a "Total Antioxidative Power" score, the ORAC assay can only measure one particular type of antioxidative activity, namely the ability of antioxidants to quench or neutralize only one specific type of oxidizing free radical (aka "reactive oxygen species", or ROS) known as the peroxy (e.g., as found in peroxide) radical. The biggest problem with this test is the peroxide radical is released by the white blood cells to buffer or neutralize metabolic acids to help maintain the delicate pH balance of the body fluids at 7.365. All "oxygen species" or free radicals are released by the cells, including the white blood cells to neutralize the damaging affects of metabolic acids. You see, free radicals are good guys not bad guys and are part of the body's protective system against hydrogen ions or acids. When you drink Mangosteen, Noni Juice, Goji Juice, Xango, Thai-Co, G3, etc. you have just increased your acidic levels of hydrogen ions and the body responds by releasing free radicals to buffer the poison or acid or hydrogen ions from these exotic drinks. In truth, the ORAC assay
measures the acidity or toxicity of a food or drink, not its ability to neutralize free radicals.

2) Thus, the ORAC score when interpreted correctly offers a picture of the true antioxidant, or better said, anti-acid power of an antioxidant or mixture of antioxidants since antioxidants like xanthone works with free radicals like peroxide by quenching or buffering metabolic acids. Other alkalizing free radical species commonly found in the body and released by the white blood cells are the superoxides, triplet oxygen, singlet oxygen, and the hydroxyl radical which protects us against acids from digestion, respiration, fermentation and degeneration. Indeed, some highly powerful and effective antioxidants or anti-acids like sodium bicarbonate, potassium hydroxide, sodium chlorite, singlet oxygen, superoxides, triplet oxygen and peroxide would score extremely poor or low on an ORAC assay. What does this tell us about the ORAC score? It is being misinterpreted!

3) An excellent example of naturally occurring antioxidants or anti-acids (and in reality there are plenty more) are the carotenoid family of antioxidants which includes beta carotene, lycopene, luctein, canthaxanthxin and zeaxanthin, among others, and which are found extensively in strongly-colored fruits and vegetables. Most carotenoids show little activity against the peroxy radical because they work together to buffer metabolic acids.

5) The ORAC score derived from the ORAC assay shows only antioxidant activity in liquids in a test tube (in vitro) rather than within complex living biological systems within the body. The problem here is that some substances or foodstuffs may show great ORAC scores in test tube measures, but may perform poorly in the body due to poor bioavailability, and vice versa.

6) A number of incorrect or invalid ORAC scores for common fruits and vegetables are now in circulation due to faulty methods of testing or faulty interpretation
and reporting, or both. Why? Because the ORAC score does not take in consideration the fermentation of sugars that turns to acid in the body.

7) The original ORAC assay method, called the B-PE method (for beta-phycoerythrin, a reagent), has been largely discredited in the scientific literature in the past few years as being inaccurate and yielding poor repeatability. Many of the original advocates in the antioxidant field of the ORAC B-PE Assay, including Dr. Guohua Cao, a USDA research scientist) now recommend a more sophisticated ORAC assay, called the ORAC FL method, where the "FL" stands for fluorescein, a fluorescent reagent used in the test. The newer ORAC FL method yields an ORAC score ranging from 95% to about 400% (4X) of the older ORAC score, and, on average, yields a score which is about 120% to 200% of the score from the older ORAC B-PE method.

8) Unfortunately, the vast majority of ORAC assay scores to be found on the web and in the scientific literature for various foodstuffs, including fruits, vegetables, juices, and supplements, were produced using the older ORAC B-PE method.

9) Indeed, most of the ORAC scores to be found in the literature and on the Internet are from a set of ORAC scores published by the USDA in the late 1990's, all derived using the ORAC B-PE method. There has also been some confusion in interpretation of the USDA scores, with some companies and authors reporting
scores for freeze-dried (concentrated) samples as scores for fresh samples, resulting in inflated scores, and with others reporting the score in units per 100 grams (or even 65 or 6 grams) rather than the standard score which is reported in ORAC units per gram.

With any of the putative "single score" "total antioxidant" assays, the older ORAC B-PE assay and the newer ORAC FL assay may offer a single score, but they
hardly offer a true picture of total antioxidative or anti-acid ability.

Bottom line: stay away from all these exotic fruits and fruit drinks. They are all acidic and by drinking them you put your health and fitness at risk!

Research article by Dr. Robert O. Young (Oct 9, 2006) -http://www.phmiracleliving.com/search/index.php?category=Articles

Mangosteen, Noni, Goji, Xango, Thia-Go, G3 are ALL Acidic and Detrimental to Health

Goji ... and many similar fruit juices claim to provide nutritional health benefits, or do they? I have tested all of these so-called nutritional health drinks and they are all highly acidic at a pH ranging from 2.5 to 3.0 with an ORP (oxidative reduction potential for buffering acids and providing body energy) ranging from +250 mV to +450 mV. All of these so-called nutritional health beverages would have the same toxic acidic effects as drinking an acidic cola drink at a pH of 2.5 with an ORP at +250 mV. Great for cleaning the corrosion off the battery cables of your car, but destructive to the digestive system and especially the delicate intestinal villi of the small intestine where blood is made. All of these exotic, proton rich fruits and fruit drinks will pull energy from your body robbing you of needed electrons to keep your body running healthy and strong.

You are better off eating or drinking green vegetables like broccoli and other electron rich, cruciferous vegetables that contain several anti-acidic compounds that have been shown to provide protection against cancerous causing agents like nitric and lactic acid. However, there aren't any companies selling expensive broccoli juice. Or are there?

The reason that products such as Mangosteen, Xango, Goji and Noni seem more attractive is because the ingredients are "exotic" and most people just don't know much about the ingredients. The truth is that these exotic fruits and fruit juices are generally pasteurized, full of sugar, and will acidify the blood and tissues making you sick, tired and fat! Whatever little nutritional value they might claim to offer is lost in their saturation of hydrogen ions making these beverages void of any nutritional or energetic value!

Yes, there is some research on xanthones, a phytochemical found in Mangosteen, Xango, Goji, Noni, but the scientific interpretations are incorrect. The phytochemical xanthone is a potent anti-acid by itself. But, the value of the xanthones found in these exotic fruits are not sufficient enough to neutralize the high concentrations of acidic hydrogen ions, leaving these beverages highly acidic at 2.5 to 3.0 pH and deficient of any energy value at +250 mV and up.

I would suggest looking at the published research on bioflavonoids (lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, luctein, beta-carotene, and over 600 more of them), polyphenols (which include proanthocyandins, anthocyanidins, catechins, etc), indole-3-carbinol and sulfurophane (broccoli extract and cruciferous vegetables), iridoids (mainly found in olive fruit), not to mention all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants naturally found in electron rich fruits and vegetables. The list could go on and on and on. Nearly all of these compounds are found in the nutritional supplement that are in "The Comparative Guide To Nutritional Supplements" and in our book, The pH Miracle for Weight Loss. You could literally pull up hundreds of thousands of studies on all of these phytochemicals.

Xanthones may have beneficial properties in the right concentrations but it is only one compound among thousands that have well-researched benefits. If people
think they are getting some miraculous compound, secret juice or magic formula, they are being misinformed. What they are getting is a highly acidic, enervating
fruit juice that will increase the acidic state of the body and damage the delicate alkaline pH of the digestive and circulatory system. Add mangosteen, Noni, Goji or Xango fruit or juice to your current vitamin/mineral regimen and expect short term benefits from the acidic laxative affect and long term damage to the small intestine and large intestine. Eventually the acidic damage done to the small intestine will affect the quality of the blood that will in turn affect that quality and health of every cell in the human body. This can then lead to a serious health challenge. The nutritional health benefits of these exotic fruits are highly exaggerated and misleading.

A scientific scale called the ORAC scale was developed to measure how well foods neutralize oxidation or acids. Due to the varied antioxidants (water soluble, fat
soluble, etc.) in the tablets, there really isn't an accurate way of giving a legitimate ORAC score to a nutritional supplement. As such, the ORAC scale has little relevance to Mangosteen, Noni, Goji and Xango juice!

The following offers a more detailed explanation of some disadvantages of relying on ORAC scores too heavily. In addition, there are some marked drawbacks
to the ORAC score.

The disadvantages of using the ORAC score, or at least in relying too much upon it, are several, such as...

1) Despite the fact that it is sometimes touted as a "Total Antioxidative Power" score, the ORAC assay can only measure one particular type of antioxidative activity, namely the ability of antioxidants to quench or neutralize only one specific type of oxidizing free radical (aka "reactive oxygen species", or ROS) known as the peroxy (e.g., as found in peroxide) radical. The biggest problem with this test is the peroxide radical is released by the white blood cells to buffer or neutralize metabolic acids to help maintain the delicate pH balance of the body fluids at 7.365. All "oxygen species" or free radicals are released by the cells, including the white blood cells to neutralize the damaging affects of metabolic acids. You see, free radicals are good guys not bad guys and are part of the body's protective system against hydrogen ions or acids. When you drink Mangosteen, Noni Juice, Goji Juice, Xango, Thai-Co, G3, etc. you have just increased your acidic levels of hydrogen ions and the body responds by releasing free radicals to buffer the poison or acid or hydrogen ions from these exotic drinks. In truth, the ORAC assay
measures the acidity or toxicity of a food or drink, not its ability to neutralize free radicals.

2) Thus, the ORAC score when interpreted correctly offers a picture of the true antioxidant, or better said, anti-acid power of an antioxidant or mixture of antioxidants since antioxidants like xanthone works with free radicals like peroxide by quenching or buffering metabolic acids. Other alkalizing free radical species commonly found in the body and released by the white blood cells are the superoxides, triplet oxygen, singlet oxygen, and the hydroxyl radical which protects us against acids from digestion, respiration, fermentation and degeneration. Indeed, some highly powerful and effective antioxidants or anti-acids like sodium bicarbonate, potassium hydroxide, sodium chlorite, singlet oxygen, superoxides, triplet oxygen and peroxide would score extremely poor or low on an ORAC assay. What does this tell us about the ORAC score? It is being misinterpreted!

3) An excellent example of naturally occurring antioxidants or anti-acids (and in reality there are plenty more) are the carotenoid family of antioxidants which includes beta carotene, lycopene, luctein, canthaxanthxin and zeaxanthin, among others, and which are found extensively in strongly-colored fruits and vegetables. Most carotenoids show little activity against the peroxy radical because they work together to buffer metabolic acids.

5) The ORAC score derived from the ORAC assay shows only antioxidant activity in liquids in a test tube (in vitro) rather than within complex living biological systems within the body. The problem here is that some substances or foodstuffs may show great ORAC scores in test tube measures, but may perform poorly in the body due to poor bioavailability, and vice versa.

6) A number of incorrect or invalid ORAC scores for common fruits and vegetables are now in circulation due to faulty methods of testing or faulty interpretation
and reporting, or both. Why? Because the ORAC score does not take in consideration the fermentation of sugars that turns to acid in the body.

7) The original ORAC assay method, called the B-PE method (for beta-phycoerythrin, a reagent), has been largely discredited in the scientific literature in the past few years as being inaccurate and yielding poor repeatability. Many of the original advocates in the antioxidant field of the ORAC B-PE Assay, including Dr. Guohua Cao, a USDA research scientist) now recommend a more sophisticated ORAC assay, called the ORAC FL method, where the "FL" stands for fluorescein, a fluorescent reagent used in the test. The newer ORAC FL method yields an ORAC score ranging from 95% to about 400% (4X) of the older ORAC score, and, on average, yields a score which is about 120% to 200% of the score from the older ORAC B-PE method.

8) Unfortunately, the vast majority of ORAC assay scores to be found on the web and in the scientific literature for various foodstuffs, including fruits, vegetables, juices, and supplements, were produced using the older ORAC B-PE method.

9) Indeed, most of the ORAC scores to be found in the literature and on the Internet are from a set of ORAC scores published by the USDA in the late 1990's, all derived using the ORAC B-PE method. There has also been some confusion in interpretation of the USDA scores, with some companies and authors reporting
scores for freeze-dried (concentrated) samples as scores for fresh samples, resulting in inflated scores, and with others reporting the score in units per 100 grams (or even 65 or 6 grams) rather than the standard score which is reported in ORAC units per gram.

With any of the putative "single score" "total antioxidant" assays, the older ORAC B-PE assay and the newer ORAC FL assay may offer a single score, but they
hardly offer a true picture of total antioxidative or anti-acid ability.

Bottom line: stay away from all these exotic fruits and fruit drinks. They are all acidic and by drinking them you put your health and fitness at risk!

Very good points!! In thinking of natural as being good, didn't think of cocaine and heroin as also being natural!

I took anti-depressants in the late 80s, in their infancy, and did not have success, which was why I was pinning my hopes on perhaps vitamins helping balance out the chemical imbalance that tests said I had, that caused some of the depression. I didn't find the relief I was hoping for.

In 1997, I tried St. Johns Wort, as it was being touted as the cure-all for depression, for EVERYONE who was depressed. The manufacturers may dispute this was their ad campaign, but this was most assuredly the perception, and not by only me.

The experience I had with St. Johns Wort - that should've turned me off of seeking natural remedies altogether!! It was horrible. A nightmare I'll not soon forget, and it was almost 10 years ago. It is interesting to me that I rarely hear of St. Johns Wort like I used to.

My experiences with anti-depressants, medically devised and natural, did me a disservice in that I had to be convinced, for quite some time, of the depth of my problem to even try the new ones, in 1998. Thankfully, I DID try them. It took a lot of time, and trying different ones until I found the ones that worked, without life inhibiting side effects, but IT HAS BEEN WORTH IT. Freedom from the PHYSICAL suffering, that I didn't even know the depression was either causing, or caused by, or I don't know what - but that relief was a huge benefit I had no idea was possible.

With the Goji juice - my impression is that it may provide energy, but if it doesn't, no harm done. Tim's report shows another side, and for that, I'm grateful for his report.

What ticks me off is that if Earl Mindell IS a doctor, and endorses this product, without caveats, that is not what I expect from a doctor. As I said, I have never trusted him to not be pushing a hidden agenda of his own, for some reason. This is not changing my mind about him.

Natural options may work for any number of people, and if so, I have nothing but happiness for them. But the absolute non-regulation of their distribution is NOT RIGHT. They seem so harmless, and they AREN'T.

As for vitamins, again, you CAN overdose on them, with serious side effects. As for the positives, when I was taking a particular complex, it did wonders for my hair and skin! That's where my initial interest came from. The improvements were dramatic!

Hopefully someone will get another point of view from these posts, and spare themselves, their health, and their pocketbooks, some grief.

If you have none, you have a problem;
If you have enough, you have no problem;
If you have more than enough, it won't do you any additional good.

Last year, extra Vitamin-E was bad.
This year, extra Vitamin-E is good.
Next year, extra Vitamin-E will be bad.

'Natural' is not, by definition, 'good'. Arsenic is 'natural'.

If you are depressed, see a good doctor for some antidepressants. There are many different antidepressants, each for specific applications and featuring specific advantages and drawbacks. Vitamins and mystic drinks aren't going to help.

WebMD can be useful.

If you have none, you have a problem;
If you have enough, you have no problem;
If you have more than enough, it won't do you any additional good.

Last year, extra Vitamin-E was bad.
This year, extra Vitamin-E is good.
Next year, extra Vitamin-E will be bad.

'Natural' is not, by definition, 'good'. Arsenic is 'natural'.

If you are depressed, see a good doctor for some antidepressants. There are many different antidepressants, each for specific applications and featuring specific advantages and drawbacks. Vitamins and mystic drinks aren't going to help.

WebMD can be useful.

If you have none, you have a problem;
If you have enough, you have no problem;
If you have more than enough, it won't do you any additional good.

Last year, extra Vitamin-E was bad.
This year, extra Vitamin-E is good.
Next year, extra Vitamin-E will be bad.

'Natural' is not, by definition, 'good'. Arsenic is 'natural'.

If you are depressed, see a good doctor for some antidepressants. There are many different antidepressants, each for specific applications and featuring specific advantages and drawbacks. Vitamins and mystic drinks aren't going to help.

WebMD can be useful.

If you have none, you have a problem;
If you have enough, you have no problem;
If you have more than enough, it won't do you any additional good.

Last year, extra Vitamin-E was bad.
This year, extra Vitamin-E is good.
Next year, extra Vitamin-E will be bad.

'Natural' is not, by definition, 'good'. Arsenic is 'natural'.

If you are depressed, see a good doctor for some antidepressants. There are many different antidepressants, each for specific applications and featuring specific advantages and drawbacks. Vitamins and mystic drinks aren't going to help.

WebMD can be useful.

Tim, I am so sorry to hear that you have been so harmed by this health scam. I so much appreciate it, personally, that you have posted your experience with Goji juice. I have spent my adult life in search of energy and better health, and the new flavor of the week, Goji juice, has certainly had me wondering what it could do for me.

Dr. Earl Mindell - I remember that name from the 80s, I am CERTAIN, when I was trying to find out about whether vitamins would truly help me with depression, for starters, and a host of other ailments, vanity ones, included!!!

I just looked him up on Amazon, and there's the title I remember, although updated, Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible. My friends, who were as educated as me, on the subject, i.e. NOT, swore by his book. It just never sat right with me. I have no idea why. I still believe vitamins can make dramatic differences for us, and I believe in natural alternatives, as an OPTION to try, as I have had wonderful results regarding skin and hair, for one example.

But never have trusted Mr/Dr. Mindell. I have no doubt legions of his devotees will flock to post rebuttals, but your experience, with a product HE ENDORSES, as he has endorsed so many for so long, that's disturbing as all get out.

I know that even a email newszine I receive has been touting him in their ads, and I just was like, nope, I remember him, not someone I'm going to rely on for factual information, with NO HIDDEN AGENDA, about what I should be concerned about, healthwise.

I'm not saying he's not a doctor. I'm not saying he knows nothing. I just know to trust my gut. Never have trusted him, for over 20 years now.

I hope you are successful in your lawsuit if the damages have, indeed, occurred as you indicate. I don't doubt that you are being totally truthful. It makes total sense, from what I know on the subject. I just want to say how truly sorry I am that you have been so terribly harmed, for what it's worth.

Good Luck, please keep us posted on your court case. Have a wonderful holiday season, and may we all have an abundance of peace in 2007.