Anemia or diabetes improvement or simply another scam?   (November 11, 2008)

I just received an e-mail that perhaps some of you might also have received. The text is reproduced here, minus the name of the wondrous product being pitched:

Have you tryed [product name deleted] Juice to help with Diabetes?

I have been using [product name deleted] Juice and my Haemoglobin has been reduced from 14 to 7.5 within 2 months when I started drinking [product name deleted] Juice.

One bottle of juice is one month supply, if go to www.[deleted].com you can buy it from here.

You can also phone the company and give them my IPC NUMBER [deleted]

If you are interested i will send you a DVD. that exsplains how the product work.

[product name deleted] Juice is available in 86 countries around the world.

Thanks

[name deleted]

Besides the spelling and grammatical errors, the author of this e-mail claims to have become severely anemic while on the product - a hemoglobin level (a test for anemia) of 14 is normal, and 7.5 is at a level that blood transfusions are recommended.

Or did he mean to say that his hemoglobin A1C (the test for diabetes control) decreased from very high to nearly normal in two months? Well, that's simply unbelievable; A1C levels may decline some over two months, but the only way to go from that high to near-normal in two months would be (a) lots of insulin, (b) laboratory error, or (c) a flight of imagination.

I went to the website he mentioned, and learned

When I started selling [PRODUCT NAME DELETED] Juice, I was just looking for a way to supplement my income. I never could have imagined what an effect it would have on my life. I wake up feeling better about myself, and my situation. My health and energy levels have improved-and I'm more positive about life than I've been in years! And it's not just my health that has improved-my finances have as well. Selling [PRODUCT NAME DELETED] products has given me the freedom that I've always wanted. I no longer feel chained to an office. Instead, I'm able to enjoy life with my family and friends-thanks to a wonderful juice and a great company.

Well, finally, the rationale: he wants to supplement his income, not be chained to an office, and to enjoy life.

But I then Googled a key phrase from this testimonial, and, as expected, found several other websites where several other distributors used exactly the same words to describe the "effect it would have on my life." Somebody's plagiarizing, methinks.

Well anyway, the moral of the story: don't believe a word of this. It's an attempt to separate you from your money. And nothing more.