Greed Aint so Good

I've been hip deep in boxes today and contemplating my poo flinging activities and have come to the realization that I'm not alone in my distaste of the marketing of Juice Plus or supplements pertaining to the fitness/weight loss industry. There are disillusioned JuicePlus customers and others out there that are so unimpressed with the whole sham that they've set up a dedicated blog. It's called www.juiceplusresearch.blogspot.com . Suggest that if you want to find out more about the product you check out this link and then make up your mind.

I've been thinking about why the marketing of such supplements irritates me and it really touches on the fact that such companies and people are exploiting the fact that many people are searching for hope, especially when it comes to their health, weight control and overall vitality. If it were as simple as "eat less and exercise more", nobody would ever have a problem with their weight for a start.

Yet, the health and fitness industry, which should be aimed at improving the consumer's quality of life is driven by blatant greed, misrepresentation and false illusion. It seems that any opportunity to self promote and make money is way more important than really helping anyone.

Examples of such exploitation include Terry White Chemist's Tony Ferguson Program. In fact, I disagree so vehemently with the principles of it that I refuse to work in a Terry White Pharmacy. The same goes for the smaller pharmacy meal replacement programs - if I've ever been asked, my ethics have always won - I explain how these programs work and the pros and the cons and then let the consumer choice - but it is really buyer beware. I'm proud to have talked many would be customers out of the diet shake merry go round towards more fruit and vegetables and lean protein.

The unfortunate thing is that there are certain supplements out there that can be really beneficial for all sorts of health conditions. The difficulty is in being able to find reliable information without bias. It's worth looking for a health professional that has no bias towards a supplement company. It's similar to finding an independent financial advisor who does not receive commissions for selling certain financial products.

I'm going to be splitting this blog into two shortly - one to share personal anecdotes and the second one to provide reliable health and fitness info without bias - and to fling poo with a slingshot where indicated.

Life Imitating Art

Buzz: Right now, poised at the edge of the galaxy, Emperor Zurg has been secretly building a weapon with the destructive capacity to annihilate an entire planet! I alone have information that reveals this
weapon’s only weakness. And you, my friend, are responsible for delaying my rendezvous with Star Command!
Woody: [pauses and looks incredulous] YOU! ARE! A! TOYYYYY! You’re not the real Buzz Lightyear! You’re - you are an action figure!
[holds hand up to eyes indicating something small]
Woody: You are a child’s play-thing!
Buzz: You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity. Farewell.
[starts to walk away]
Woody: Oh, yeah? Well, good riddance, ya loony!





I must confess to feeling some affinity these days with Woody, the cowboy character from "Toy Story" - these last few days as I've had the misfortune to navigate towards some really disturbing purported "health and fitness" sites . Poor old Woody finally loses the plot after trying to point out to Buzz Lightyear that he's a toy, not a real "Space Ranger" - and trust me, there are a few "health" conscious" Space Rangers out there who truly are off the planet in my opinion.

Take Pauline Nordin's FighterDiet Blog for example - the last two posts are a classic. In the latest one she extolls the evils of fruit, dairy and red meat; all of which can be consumed in moderation as part of a healthy intake. It's frustrating as a someone with university qualifications see somebody who blatantly lacks any credentials in the field of nutrition glorifying a lifestyle of disordered eating. In the second last post she complains that it's hard but that achieving this goal of leanness is of the highest importance to her. It's like the Pro-Ana movement with muscle - if Pauline is eating what she says she is and not paying attention to her nutrient timing at her supposed level of leanness, what's making her retain her muscle, my dear readers....any guesses?

Then I stumbled across a site called Helen Frost , who claims to be "Australia's Leading Nutrition Educator."
"Wow," I thought, "this sounds awesome." In being curious to find out what makes Helen so special, I clicked on the "about us" tab, keen to know more. I was to be sorely disappointed. "Australia's Leading Nutrition Educator" has no formal qualifications in nutrition - I would have expected a Science Degree at the minimum - and surprise, surprise, owns a supplement company that promotes "Juice Plus", a product that sounds good in theory but unfortunately is under the microscope right now for making spurious claims about its efficacy and benefits - here's the link .

Now I'm sure I'm not going to be too popular with the Pauline or Helen fans of the world, but just as my mission is to make fitness for everyone, I want to make it my other mission in life to help others make sense of credible nutrition data. I'm thinking of compiling a database of recommended sources for all things health and fitness so if you're a practitioner with a qualification who wants referrals, let me know and if you're keen on the idea of a one stop place to get more unbiased information then please leave a comment.