Acai Berries Diet

MonaVie “Scam” Review
Mixed reviews are circulating about one of the acai berry’s best-known products, MonaVie.  Many opponents call MonaVie a “scam”.  However, I do not think MonaVie is actually a scam.  A scam suggests that you are being sold a bill of goods; they take your money, and leave you with an unsatisfactory product.  MonaVie does none of that.

Consisting of a nationwide web of distributors, MonaVie, and its myriad of other products, is sold to friends, family and acquaintances.  I hardly think that someone who was involved with a scam would sell to their very own family.

It is hard to dispute the effectiveness of a product that has a cult-like following.  Each member with a unique testimony of how MonaVie has changed their life.

MonaVie’s Beginnings
Launched in January of 2005, MonaVie was founded by Daillin Larsen, a 17-year direct sales veteran. Larsen decided to begin his own direct sales venture with a health and wellness product featuring unique nutritional value that would set itself apart from other health products.

Larsen decided that in addition to selling pure Açai berry juice that he would introduce additional tropical fruit juices to the product. Larsen worked with a team of scientists to collect an additional 19 fruits which would be combined to form the MonaVie that we know today. The juice touts itself as a product with natural healing properties, helping to boost the immune system and provide additional energy, among other benefits.

According to Wikipedia, “MonaVie has been the subject of recent media controversy, and several sources have questioned both the product’s value and the legality of claims regarding its reputed health benefits. The manufacturer of MonaVie products, as well as some of its senior distributors, were involved in four lawsuits between 2007 and 2008.”

MonaVie is Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
MonaVie is sold through an MLM-style distributorship similar to Amway or Herbal Life.  Each representative receiving commissions from the sales and recruitment efforts of those under him (known as the downline) similar to the shape of a pyramid (hence the term pyramid scheme).  The more the downline sells and the more the downline recruits other salesmen, the more money the upline makes.  This is a great model for marketing purposes, after all word of mouth advertising is the best form of advertising known to man.  But for sales, the pay schedule for such an operation only leads to an inflated product price.

But business model aside, just how effective is the product?  Does it do exactly what is claims to do?  Or, are the sales representatives embellishing their results in order to sell product at the bequest of their upline?

MonaVie Ingredients
MonaVie’s most talked about ingredient is the Acai Berry.  Harvested in the Amazon rainforest, and known for its acai berry benefits antioxidant the acai berry is most nutritious is a freeze dried state.  It is unknown how much acai MonaVie actually contains because the company refuses to release that information.  About 5.7% would be a good conservative guess.

MonaVie Original and Active juices list the following ingredients: blend of açaí (freeze-dried powder powder and puree); 100% fruit juice from concentrate (white grape, apple, acerola, purple grape, cranberry, passion fruit, apricot, prune, kiwi, blueberry, wolfberry (goji), pomegranate, lychee, camu camu); fruit purée (pear, banana, bilberry); citric acid, sodium benzoate. In addition to these ingredients, MonaVie Active lists d-glucosamine hydrochloride and esterified fatty acids as additives.

No Wonder MonaVie tastes so good.  It’s like a fruit salad comprised of many of the fruits I eat every day, and that are available at the supermarket.

MonaVie is Expensive
A one-week supply of the wonder drink will cost you $45.00.  So, for an entire month of health you are looking to have to spend $180.00.  That would buy a lot of fruit!!

For a product rich in acai with wonderful acai berries benefits antioxidant click here.

For additional information on the MonaVie controversies, visit Wikipedia.