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(NaturalNews) It's sometimes difficult to predict just how NaturalNews readers will respond to a story. After publishing my critical review of Zrii juice yesterday (see http://www.naturalnews.com/023101.html ), I was expecting to receive a lot of complaints from readers due to the fact that some were already signed up as Zrii distributors. But the opposite happened: I received more thanks on that review than for any other in recent memory. My e-mail inbox was full of positive comments from various authors, readers and industry leaders who said things like, "Thank you for stating the Emperor has no clothes!"
Most responses fell into two categories: The first was from people who felt the same way I did about Zrii, and they were glad to see someone standing up and telling the obvious truth when it seems like no large health news website had yet published a critical review of Zrii juice.
The second response was from people who were surprised to learn that Zrii contained mostly cheap junk juices because they had thought, all along, that Zrii was made of only those seven highlighted ingredients! It turns out that "the Zrii deception," as I call it, had hoodwinked a whole lot of people in the industry who should frankly know better! The Zrii company, it seems, has done a really clever job of hiding the truth about the actual ingredients in the Zrii product, leading people to believe it's made primarily of medicinal herbs instead of the apple juice, pear juice and pomegranate juice that makes up the bulk of the product.
Why celebrity products warrant extra scrutinyI did receive one complaint from a reader who said, essentially, that nobody has the right to question anything endorsed by Deepak Chopra because the man is such a great author and teacher. Thus, to paraphrase, any Chopra-endorsed product should automatically receive a NaturalNews recommendation regardless of what's in the bottle. I found this complaint to be rather bizarre. Why should Chopra (or anybody) be granted immunity from an honest assessment of what's in their product?
I've found an inverse relationship between the celebrity status of the person and the quality of the products they create. Usually, the more famous the person, the worse their products are. It's the unknown person who really has to make the best products possible, because they know their products will be judged on the integrity of the ingredients and not on their celebrity status (because they don't have celebrity status). Too many celebrities, on the other hand, just sit back and decide, "Oh what the heck, people will buy it just because my name is on the label, or my big beard is on the label," and they end up making really atrocious compromises on the quality of the materials used in their products.
So remember this as a general rule: The more famous the person, the worse the product. (Usually, but not always.)
One exception to this "inverse relationship" rule is David Wolfe. Even though he has achieved celebrity status to folks in the raw foods community, he refuses to sell junk products. David's products from Sunfood Nutrition (www.Sunfood.com) continue to be outstanding, high-end, potent products that don't compromise on the ingredients. And that's extremely rare these days. It's one of the reasons why I continue to support David's company and product line. In fact, David has said no to a lot of opportunities to make a whole lot of money that would have required cheapening his products. I appreciate the fact that he simply refuses to compromise on the integrity of his product line.
In contrast to that, consider the products from the famous chef, Wolfgang Puck. Did you realize that most of Wolfgang Puck's canned soup products are made with hidden forms of MSG? Just check the labels yourself, and you'll find yeast extract or autolyzed yeast extract right there on the label. The first time I saw that, I said to myself, "What the Puck is this guy thinking?"
The most bizarre complaint you've ever heardThe most bizarre complaint I received on the Zrii story was in response to my statement that you can't meditate your way past what's really in the bottle. One reader said you could, in fact, use the power of your intention to alter the properties of the apple juice and pear juice to be more medicinal, so it didn't really matter what ingredients were in the bottle. Wow, where do I start with replying to that?
First off, if it doesn't matter what's really in the bottle, then why don't they just fill it with water and sell "Chopra Water" and say it's been "blessed by Deepak Chopra" or something like that? Maybe they could call it "Ayurvedic water based on 5,000 years of people drinking water" or something similar. Of course, water is healing all by itself, but selling it for $30 / bottle would be criminal, and I don't think that "blessed" water is any replacement for the genuine physiological powers of Ayurvedic herbs. Plus, if the bottle only contains water, then why not just buy your own spring water and bless it yourself? (This is also my answer to all those companies selling bottled water that's been blessed or prayed over. Can't consumers just bottle their own water and bless it themselves? Of course they can!)
Secondly, if this reader really believes they can transform the apple juice and pear juice in the bottle into something else that doesn't demonstrate the physiological properties of high-glycemic apple juice and pear juice, then why are they wasting their time writing me? Shouldn't they be touring the world, amazing scientists with their new-found transmutation abilities that would be nothing less than the most amazing discovery in the history of the modern world? There are a few accounts in the Bible of miracle workers turning water into wine, so perhaps it's possible, but I haven't heard of anybody doing it in, say, the last 2,000 years or so. But just in case there's someone out there who can really perform this miracle, I'm officially announcing a $250,000 reward to anyone who can transmute water into wine in front of my eyes, using nothing but the power of their mind. I'll even settle for transmuting apple juice into pure water, for that matter (pun intended).
Call me crazy, but I happen to think that what's in the bottle really matters (ingredients matter, duh...) and it's utterly insane to think that a manufacturer should fill a bottle with junk ingredients and then rely on some supernatural transmutation abilities of their customers to compensate for it. And besides, if a person can really transmute one juice into another juice, why do they need to buy Zrii at all? Couldn't they just go to the store, buy some super cheap apple juice, and transmute it into Ayurvedic medicine anyway? And if they can really transmute substances, couldn't they be instant billionaires by conquering the classic challenge of alchemists throughout history: turning lead into gold? (I suppose that means they won't need my $250,000 reward after all, huh?)
You see, reader complaints like the one described above just make no sense at all. Look, I believe in the power of intention, prayer and visualization to help create your new future, but some people just take it way too far and misapply those beliefs to things like a bottle of juice. Someone explaining the power of intention to me (which I strongly believe in and use on a daily basis, by the way) once said that the lottery was a contest to determine who could focus the most on creating their winning outcome. Oh really? That's funny, because I always thought the lottery was a tax on people who can't do math. And all the winners I've seen don't look too enlightened to me. Nearly all lottery winners end up flat broke again within five years. I guess their "abundance intention" was only a temporary pass.
Call me a skeptic if you wish, but I think playing the lottery is a silly application of the Law of Attraction, the power of intention, prayer or creating your own reality. You want to create a better future? You have to apply intention AND some effort. In my experience, the universe does not reward the lazy. Expecting to just win your way out of financial trouble, marriage trouble, work trouble, or whatever, is a fool's journey. Personal problems need to be resolved from the inside out. They are presented as challenges to learn through, not as obstacles to be bypassed by a lucky win in a game of chance.
Why critical reviews are important to defend the natural health industryGetting back to Zrii juice (sorry to deviate so much from the point of this article, but that piece of reader feedback needed a lot of explaining), I'm happy to learn that NaturalNews readers are so well-informed about nutrition and ingredients that they appreciated my review of the Zrii product. I think it's important for organizations like NaturalNews to serve this critical, skeptical role in order to protect the reputation of the natural health industry as a whole.
Because what happens if someone new to natural health gets excited about some junk juice product and they start drinking one ounce every day (not knowing it's most apple juice, pear juice or other junk juices), and they get no results? The answer is that they lose confidence in Ayurvedic medicine and natural health in general! Thus, I think that products made with junk juices are a great disservice to the natural health community because they make the industry look bad.
It's the same thing with people who practice bad acupuncture. One lousy acupuncture experience makes people afraid of acupuncture forever! In reality, they probably didn't see a good practitioner to begin with. (There are a lot of bad acupuncture schools that teach it all wrong, thinking that acupuncture is all about the points and that it has nothing to do with intention. Acupuncture has been "Westernized" in America today, sadly.)
I want people to know that if they're interested in really high-density nutrition that has an opportunity to genuinely revolutionize their health, they should skip all the junk juice products and go right to the supplements that are really potent and loaded with high-density nutrition. I can't think of a better example than Jameth Sheridan's company, Healthforce Nutritionals (www.Healthforce.com) which makes such high-vibration, high-density superfood powders that it puts Zrii to shame.
I'd like to take all the people drinking Zrii and show them something way better, like Healthforce's "Vitamineral Green" product or their "Earth" product which uses a lot of Ayurvedic ingredients, by the way. I think people would directly experience tremendous results from just 30 days on those Healthforce products.
Sure, they don't taste like apple juice. In fact, his "Earth" product can be a bit sharp on the tongue, depending on what you blend it with. But since when was medicine supposed to be about entertaining the tongue anyway? Shouldn't it be about getting the best nutrition into your body, even if it tastes bitter? If you want entertainment, eat a Twinkie. (Actually, don't. It's not good for you.) But if you want medicine, don't expect it to taste like a Twinkie.
For those people who think medicine should taste like fruit punch, there's Zrii. But for folks who want real medicine, there are thousands of products that offer greater nutritional density, more potent ingredients and a lot more value for your dollar. I really do recommend www.Healthforce.com and in fact, I've completed an interview with Jameth Sheridan that will be running on this site very soon. Did you ever wonder why I go out of my way to invite people like Jameth Sheridan (who is not a well-known celebrity) onto NaturalNews.com while I have virtually no interest in inviting guys like Deepak Chopra (who IS a well-known celebrity) for an interview? It's because I believe that character matters, and I look at what people DO, not merely what they SAY. And I'm not dazzled by name-dropping or how famous people are. Sometimes the most famous person is the biggest idiot. George Bush is famous, after all. Or infamous, at least.
Some Hollywood agent could call me up and say they have the most famous person in the industry ready to do a live interview with me, but I have to plug some crappy product they're pushing in exchange. My answer would be very clear: Sorry, Jack. No deal. I would not insult the intelligence of NaturalNews readers wish such a compromise. And if I even tried such a stunt, my readers would call me to task for it anyway! (Nobody gets a free ride on NaturalNews, and that includes me.)
Now, of course, if Mr. Famous or Mrs. Famous has a really great product, or is involved in great work for protecting the planet, protecting health freedom, or whatever, then of course I'd be thrilled to have them on NaturalNews! For precisely that reason, we are currently trying to hook up an interview with Woody Harrelson, a celebrity who still has integrity and is involved with meaningful projects. If anybody out there knows Woody and would like to hook us up, please let me know by calling our offices at 520-232-9300.
Be wary of celebrity endorsementsAnyway, the bottom line to all this is that celebrities do not get a free ride here on NaturalNews.com, and if they put out a product that I see as being made with junk ingredients, I'm going to say so. If we had more people willing to stand up and shout, "The Emperor has no clothes!" then we wouldn't see so many junk products being put out by famous people. I mean, why do people even buy Dr. Weil's vitamins anyway? Did they ever stop to read what's in those products? Why do so many people just blindly believe in some guru personality and not engage their brains for ten seconds and ask some basic questions like, "I wonder what's in this?"
Of course, celebrity endorsements do cause people to disengage their rational minds, which is exactly why the food companies, cosmetics companies and drug companies spend so much money paying off celebrities to promote their junk products. Celebrity endorsements work! They bypass the "reason" portion of the brain and tap into the emotional portion where people make good-feeling decisions based on zero factual information. This is what I think happened to a lot of people with Zrii: They had all these positive feelings about Deepak Chopra (I did, too), and when the Chopra name was associated with Zrii, then zamm! All those good feelings were attached to the Zrii product and people just bought it without thinking. Literally. Don't blame yourself if you did this, the power of emotional association can sometimes be overwhelming. Just take the time now to think critically and reevaluate the situation to see what really makes sense for you.
By the way, I do want to make one correction to the story published yesterday. After listing the three primary ingredients as apple juice, pear juice and pomegranate juice, I accidentally stated later that the product contained grape juice instead of apple juice. What I meant to say was that it tasted like grape juice to me, even though the three primary ingredients were not grape juice. They are apple, pear and pomegranate juices, all pasteurized, processed and non-organic juices. So I've corrected that slip-up in the original story. Sometimes, flavored apple juice tastes a lot like grape juice. Anyway, they're all quite similar in terms of cost and liquid sugar content. In my view, they're both the same sort of "junk juices" used by companies to add low-cost filler to a juice product.
Don't be fooled by celebrity-endorsed products, folks, not even if the celebrity is someone you deeply trust. Always, always, ALWAYS engage your critical thinking skills before buying products or supporting a particular company. By doing so, you will avoid being hoodwinked by celebrity power and you'll greatly improve the value of what you're getting for your dollar.
And please, folks, if I ever completely lose my mind and launch a silly line of "Health Ranger Juice" products made primarily with apple juice and pear juice, somebody please slap me back to my senses.
About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a manufacturer of mercury-free, energy-efficient LED lighting products that save electricity and help prevent global warming. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and adult gymnastics. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org
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