[Note: The VP of Business Development, David Ciemny, has left a comment of which I responded to. On January 17, 2012 he has promised a response, but has not delivered yet. I have reminded him twice via email and he hasn’t responded to those requests either. I wouldn’t recommend aligning yourself with a company with such irresponsible management.]
Today I’d like to tell you about a scam that I find interesting. I find it so interesting because seemingly intelligent people fall for it. It’s not like the Nigerian Prince scam that we can all joke and laugh about, because it is so ridiculous that no one knows anyone who actually falls for it.
This scam about a fruit juice. Here are a few things about it:
The Juice
There’s a product of blended fruit juices – exotic fruit juices. It comes in a 750ml wine bottle that looks more suited for expensive. That bottle retails for around $50 and the suggested serving size is 2 oz., twice a day. The theory is that it packs a bunch of antioxidants.
The Company
The company has a scientific board of doctors to give the product an air of legitimacy. The company also puts a large focus on its charity contributions in an effort to market the company.
The company touts the patents it has. Many of its customers don’t realize that patents are granted for ridiculous things – things that don’t necessary work.
The Business
The business model is a multi-level marketing one. It is very complex and includes uses a bunch of confusing terminology. Some of this terminology involves distinguishing amongst sales of Personal and Downline creating a point system of PV (Personal Volume) and GV (Group Volume). There are at least 9 “ways to earn money!” marketing designed to nab the suckers who think that more ways to earn money is better.
If a distributor wishes to participate in most of these ways to make money, they are required to purchase a case of 4 bottles each month at a cost of around $140 to them. In this way, the company ensures that everyone involved in the pyramid has subscribed to paying them $140 a month or $1700 a year with the renewal fee to be a distributor each year.
The compensation plan allows for a luxury car bonus. While that sounds great, if a distributor doesn’t maintain the sames level (replacing people who quit after they realize that they aren’t making money), the distributor is on the hook for the car lease themselves – a financial burden that many find out the hard way.
There is an annual get together for all distributors that they have to pay for out their own pocket (traveling costs and hotel are extra). This is big win for the company because they get more income from its distributors who effectively pay for their own brainwashing.
The compensation plan ensures that around 99% of people will never make money in the business. That’s why the constant motivational meetings are necessary.
Did you Guess who the Company is?
If you are familiar with Lazy Man and Money and you probably think I’m writing another article about MonaVie. After all I’ve written enough about MonaVie over at MonaVie Scam to prove that MonaVie is a grossly overpriced product, with little nutritional value, wrapped in a poor business opportunity that appears to be an illegal pyramid scheme, which is itself wrapped in illegal medical claims, supported by nonsensical “scientific” studies, and tied to a fraudulent charity.
[Update: MonaVie appears to have been foreclosed upon according to my reading of the the Salt Lake City Tribune.]However, this is really an article about Jusuru. Don’t be upset, you didn’t really have a way of knowing which juice scam I was referring to. In fact, I almost didn’t write about Jusuru, but a friend convinced me that it was probably worth it to warn consumers before it got along too far. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right?
I could have gone into a lot more detail about the individual aspects of Jusuru, but in many cases you may wish to read that MonaVie website and substitute “MonaVie” for “Jusuru” just like you could have with most of this article.
Update: It appears that Vogel was kind enough to find a ton of dirt on Jusuru. Some of the things at that link:
- The President coaching distributors about how to walk the line of making fraudulent medical claims
- The fact that neither of the two people credited with inventing it are scientists
- The previous scammy products they’ve been a part of in the past
- Dr. Brady and Mike Lattuca participating in what sounds to me illegal medical claims about the product.
- … and much much more! See just like MonaVie
Meet the New Juice Scam. Same as the Old Juice Scam. Heed the The Who’s words and you Won’t Get Fooled Again.
Let’s Get into Jusuru for Real
I had presumed that if I showed people how Jusuru is a MonaVie copycat in just about every way, they’d be wise enough to understand that they just said, “Hey look, they are getting people to pay outrageous prices for fruit juice… we can do the same thing.” Clearly there are still a subset of people, likely Jusuru distributors, who aren’t able to make that mental connection.
With that being the case, I thought I’d slowly bring out a few more things about Jusuru:
Resveratrol as a “Star” Ingredient
For one thing, I couldn’t find Jusuru make a clear claim to how much resveratrol is in the product. There do say “one serving size (2 oz) contains the same amount of resveratrol as in four full bottles of red wine” (Source), but not all bottles of red wine contain the same amount of resveratrol, so which four bottles of red wine is Jusuru using? Using this chart below we can see there is a big difference in wines with some having 5 times as much as others:
Four bottles of red wine is 3 liters (a wine bottle is 3/4s of a liter or 750ml), so to have as much resveratrol as 4 bottles of red wine, it could have as little as 3mg per 2 ounces (0.99 * 3 liters) or as much as 15mg per 2 ounces (5.01 * 3 liters) of reseveratrol. I found NutriGold Resveratrol GOLD, 500mg, 120 Capsules on sale for less than $25 (as of this writing: 11/17/2012). A single pill will give you somewhere between 33 and 166 times the amount of resveratrol in a Jusuru serving (depending on their fuzzy claim of the resveratrol in wine and not specifying specific quantities). In any case there are about 12 servings of Jusuru in a bottle, so a single pill is worth anywhere from 3 to nearly 14 bottles of Jusuru. If you want to get your resveratrol, you can either spend $25 for those 120 pills or you can spend $14,400 (3 bottles/per pill * $40/per bottle * 120 pills) to $67,200 (14 bottles/per pill * $40/per bottle * 120 pills) to get it from Jusuru.
However, before you spend the $25, $14,000, or the $67,200 on resveratrol the Mayo Clinic says, “most of the resveratrol in the supplements can’t be absorbed by your body.”
While Jusuru spends a good portion on it’s website marketing resveratrol (Source) as a solution to the French Paradox, more research shows “the authors of a 2003 study concluded that the amount of resveratrol absorbed by drinkers of red wine is small enough that it is unlikely to explain the paradox” and that “some researchers have questioned the validity of this paradox altogether, particularly the connection between natural saturated fat consumption and cardiovascular disease. This view has recently received broad support through the results of the Nurses’ Health Study run by the Women’s Health Initiative. After accumulating approximately 8 years of data on the diet and health of 49,000 post-menopausal American women, the researchers found that the balance of saturated versus unsaturated fats does not affect heart disease risk, while the consumption of trans fat results in significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease.”
It’s also telling how easy Jusuru Canada replaced resveratrol that is in Jusuru’s USA product. From Jusuru Canada’s FAQ (PDF), “The difference between the two is that the Canadian formulation will contain all ingredients except resveratrol, lycium, jujube, and nopal. We have, however, replaced these ingredients with additional mangosteen, which has proven similar anti-inflammatory benefits as resveratrol. This will not change the efficacy of the product in any way. In fact, Jusuru Life Blend’s power comes from BioCell Collagen and antioxidants that are derived from a blend of superfruits.”
It is of note that Jusuru makes the claim that “it will not change the efficacy of the product in any way.” Since there are no clinical trials, the only way they can be sure is by admitting that Jusuru has zero efficacy and hence the change keeps it’s efficacy at zero. Furthermore, if resveratrol can be replaced without changing the efficacy of the product, it is logically not a critical ingredient.
Lastly, it is particularly telling that Jusuru uses the marketing term Superfruit rather than a more scientific term.
In conclusion, I find the following problems with Jusuru’s marketing of resveratrol:
- Reservatrol is not proven to do anything and it may not do anything.
- Most of the reservatrol in supplements can’t be absorbed by the body
- Jusuru’s marketing of reservatrol in tying it with the French Paradox only tells a portion of the story… a portion that my not be related to the French Paradox at all… even if the French Paradox exist… which it might not.
- The amount of resveratrol in Jusuru is so minimal that getting an equivalent amount elsewhere can literally save you tens of thousands of dollars.
- Jusuru itself dismisses the importance of resveratrol by replacing it in some of its juices.
Non-Profit Consumer Advocate Truth in Advertising (TINA) Warn Jusuru
In a letter with a subject of Deceptive Marketing for Jusuru International Opportunity and Products.
TINA continues to state: “Specifically, Jusuru distributors are making a multitude of unsubstantiated disease – treatment claims about Jusuru products, such as being able to treat, cure, or alleviate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, neuropathy, cancer, psoriasis, diabetes, fibromyalgia, and sciatica.”
TINA also found deceptive income claims and wrote that they’d be warning the FTC unless the issues were corrected to their satisfaction.
You are free to make up your own mind of whether Jusuru is a scam. I let you guess my opinion.
Do you know of any product for joint pain that IS on the level? Or even any type of product if you don’t want to promote any one brand. I’ve spent an hour trying to find an unbiased site or blog on various products and they all turn out to be sales pitches. I hope you’re for real!
I suggest you talk with your doctor. I’m good at detecting fraud, but I don’t bill myself as a doctor.
I’m glad you take the scientific approach. Don’t let these distracting and annoying people put you down. There’s nothing better than watching a James Randi video to support what you are doing here. Thanks again and keep on keepin on.
I was actually searching for a MLM company that had good products like BioCell collagen and hyaluronic acid, when I stumbled across this site – which hasn’t changed my mind. I think the MLM business model is a great way for people to share products they enjoy taking and make at least enough money to cover the cost of those products. So you think nutraceuticals are expensive? Have you checked the price of pharmaceuticals??? I don’t take any drugs, but I know people pay hundreds of dollars for one small bottle of pills.
I’m guessing you’re probably too young to actually have much cartilege or disc deterioration yet – and you seem to be brainwashed by Big Pharma and modern allopathic medicine, which is controlled by Big Pharma. When you do develop joint pain, you are free to take the aspirin, the Tylenol, the extra-strength Tylenol with Codeine etc. and when your pain killers don’t work anymore, then go get a knee replacement, hip replacement or disc fusion surgery – and enjoy life that way! Personally, I don’t take ANY drugs whatsoever and I’m a senior now. I much prefer the “expensive” nutraceuticals – and I haven’t even had a cold or flu in years. I may try this product, that you’ve been bashing, as well.
Well, in the United States, where Jusuru calls its home, “nutraceuticals” don’t exist. Wikipedia has a brief summery citing the relevant FDA sources (so you know it is accurate): “The term ‘nutraceutical’ has no meaning in US law. Depending on its ingredients and the claims with which it is marketed, a product is regulated as a drug, dietary supplement, food ingredient, or food.”
Pharmaceuticals are actually tested and developed through a painstaking process and proven to work in clinical trials. They aren’t just snake oil with a fancy name from companies that refuse to clinical trials to show their products work.
Don’t forget that Jusuru is juice and should be compared to cranberry juice that you’d find in your supermarket. You wouldn’t compare the cost of a bottle of aspirin to some other medication that may cost hundreds of dollars.
Make no mistake, there are a lot of issues with the pricing of pharmaceuticals, but that has no impact on Jusuru. It makes no sense for a gas station to suddenly charge $20/gal just because of the way the pharmaceutical industry works.
The MLM business model has been proven to be a pyramid scheme time and time again. I’m not sure how that can be considered great. Maybe if you are a criminal who enjoys illegal activity pyramid schemes are a good thing?
HAHAHAHA! YOU GO LAZY MAN!
The Life Blend is an expensive fruit juice that didn’t help me with my knee or hip pain due to deterioration.
Save your money.
Why don’t you file with the class action law suits if you can prove a scam? I personally just recently joined the company and had terrible hurting feet from diabetes. My feet hurt so bad I hated to stand on them. I now have no pain and enjoyed helping a friend with a wedding yesterday which 2 1/2 bottles ago I would never have made it there. I am sold plus I sleep better too.
I would need to find a lawyer who is willing to take on the case on contingency, which doesn’t happen often. I also wouldn’t be due any money because I have not personally been scammed.
It is a lot of work on my part, depends on a lot of help from others, and doesn’t do much to educate consumer about snake oil scams in general.
So it’s maybe some people benefit from this product. The price seems ridiculous. You can get all theses juices and the reservatrol and whatever else they put in there at a small fraction of what they’re charging. MLM or not. THe price makes no sense…
Why do they not put reservatrol in the canadian blend?
The some people who may benefit from the product would have likely done so from a placebo. That’s the answer you are looking for.
You didn’t address my main question. If you have all this info on Jusuru why don’t you start a class action lawsuit?
Lee, I responded with:
“I would need to find a lawyer who is willing to take on the case on contingency, which doesn’t happen often. I also wouldn’t be due any money because I have not personally been scammed.
It is a lot of work on my part, depends on a lot of help from others, and doesn’t do much to educate consumer about snake oil scams in general.”
If you want to fund the class action lawsuit, go for it. I’ll support as best I can.
How about the ftc or attorney General’s office? I am part of a class action lawsuit and it don’t cost anything. Costs are taken from lawsuit proceeds. Go to class action lawsuits and tell them your story. If they feel there is a concern they will let you know.
The FTC has turned a blind eye to pyramid schemes as I detailed here. Essentially they have to take the companies to court and one pyramid scheme company is worth 10 times their entire annual budget. They can hire the big lawyers and bleed the FTC’s budget dry.
Some have complained to the Attorney General’s office. It hasn’t seemed to do much.
It doesn’t cost anything to be part of a class action lawsuit, but you have to find the lawyer to do it. I don’t know who that lawyer is. If you know a lawyer willing to do the work, go for it. They’ve been somewhat successful in the past.
I just did a search and found that a similar company, MonaVie, has a class action lawsuit against them: http://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/38054-monavies-motion-dismiss-consumer-fraud-class-action-lawsuit-denied/. It isn’t the first time as they were sued in 2011: http://www.businessforhome.org/2011/10/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-monavie-in-arkansas-usa/. I believe that case was settled out of court for $4 million dollars.
Sounds to me like Mr LaZy Man is Just an upset person who did not make it in a Past MLM cause he was LAZY….SO he makes up this scam site…This will be my first and last post because commenting just gives fuel for a return comment…Then again the more he/she comments the more you can see he/she is just a pissed of LAZYman…
Well, you haven’t done your research, because you’d be wrong on all accounts. You can view the archives in the sidebar link.
Sorry I busted up your scam people. Next time get an honest career.
Fear nothing of the Lazy Man. His apostles are scant and the inquiries into his self-ascribed authority are even less. Mr. Lazy gets a comment to his ego site maybe twice a year at best where he merely rehashes his standard diatribe on the evils of MLMs and anything sold under such marketing hype. While I and others may agree with his stance on MLMs, his blind trust in the FDA is beyond intelligent reason. Pass over his response if you choose. No one pays attention to his mutterings anyway. Just another self agrandizing blog fart. I’ve known this for the last two years as I still get notifications anytime some poor innocent comes looking for information on a product and leaves a comment only to be insulted. Mr. Lazy Man never learned the fine points of making friends and winning conversations.
So, Bonnie’s been commenting under various names for a few years now. If you agree on my stance with MLMs, then you know that Jusuru is a scam. Their VP unprofessionally started to engage in the conversation and realized he was overmatched and never came back. It’s a tacit admission from the company that it is a scam and has no defense.
I don’t have “blind faith” in the FDA. I have nothing close to it. However, they are the only watchdogs we have against snake oil. The scientific method of getting large-scale clinical trials has been proven effective irrespective of any government agency. It is true in Europe, Asia, and Australia where the FDA doesn’t exist.
The only discussion of the FDA that matters here, is what their response is when Jusuru brings them the large-scale clinical trials. Of course Jusuru never will have the science done to bring them to the FDA, so it doesn’t matter. If you really wanted to hate the FTC, have Jusuru do all the research and present it to the world and the FTC at the same time. If it is scientifically proven to work, the FDA will have no choice but to approve it or the world will condemn them.
The ball is firmly in Jusuru’s court to scientifically prove the product works. So far they haven’t done anything and they can only blame themselves for their own laziness.
Oh dear, apparently Mr. lazy Man’s boxed troll has come out to simply prove my point that the only thing an interloper into the sacrosanct blog will get is an insult for disagreeing. What keen observation on behalf of Mr. Alter ego cyber -what-ever to be able to assertion the width and breadth of my ass via esp or other psychic phenomenon. Darling, you are simply laughable if not outright ignorant of your own incapable effort to influence anyone. Thanks for the laugh though
Disagreeing is fine if you present a reasonable argument. You insulted me first and have fraudulently tried to represent yourself as different people.
Again, if you took the insult as the main part of the comment, you need to enhance your reading comprehension. Also, when you defraud people expect to be insulted.
Oh, Bonnie. Poor little Bonnie. No, you collosal idiot, you were insulted for trying to deceive Lazy’s readers.
Think about what it says about you that you have commented here under several different aliases, even going so far as to agree with yourself as if you were two separate people. Which puts the lie to the claim that you just couldn’t keep your shit straight, by the way. That just isn’t something that someone who is involved in a legitimate business venture would do. It’s skeevy and underhanded, and you’re lucky that I limited my expression of disdain for you to a quip about your ass.
As for your assessment of me, seeing as between the two of us, you’re the only one who has actively tried to deceive people, you’ll forgive me if I don’t put much stock in it. You got caught with your pants down, and you’re desperately trying to save face. Pathetic.
Oh please, fraudulently representing myself? I dare think of how many identities you and your alter egos use in pretense of a conversation. And, considering how many different sites require registration of a unique user ID, I’m willing to bet no one person has just one. If I had been trying to disguise myself I’d likjy resort to using an anonymous identifier. Silly person. But nice try attempting to cast aspersions . The more you speak, the more you validate my point. It might behoove you to find a more worthy enemy besides those pathetic MLMs that you rail on. Perhaps you might do better calling attention to companies as MONSANTO that have been poisoning and genetically altering our food for well over a decade. Your efforts to warn the public about how GMOs inflame the intestines creating health issues in humans would certainly help more people than you are now. Considering that evil MLMs are your only thrust, it’s easy to presume that you have been seriously burned in the past by them in your Lazy Man search for an easy living. Find another hobby because blogging won’t get you that imagined contract that allows you get paid copious amounts of cash to tap away on your keyboard while blessing us with your perceived intellect. May as well save your breath tapping out your next reply. I’ll be sending it to the circular file with the rest of your alter ego mutterings. But I’m sure you’ll post them anyway since your ego demands self-stroking. Stroke away lazy dude.
Everyone here uses exactly one, except for MLM distributors. Sorry you weren’t even smart enough to use an anonymous identifier. If you have a problem keeping your online identities straight, perhaps you should stick to your own name. Or just maybe choose one online identity that you can keep straight.
There are more than enough people writing about Monsanto. It is well-covered and I’m more interested in pyramid schemes. If you are concerned about Monsanto, perhaps you spend more of your time railing on them than trying to defend a Jusuru fraud.
It may be easy to presume that I’ve been burned by MLMs in the past, but I haven’t. I simply learned about them and realized the fraud that surrounds them. I already had a platform to help consumers makes better money decisions, so it is obvious to include not getting defrauded by MLM as part of that.
You are right, blogging won’t land me a big contract or pay me copious amounts of money. I’m fine with that. If you read the rest of my website you’d know that I’m in a great place with my other businesses and investments. Maybe you should find a hobby that helps as many people.
SO rather than a MLM why not just buy from Vitamin Shoppe their Biocell Collagen Ii With Hyarulonic Acid 1000 MG (180 Veggie Caps). It has the collagen and the hyarulonic acid but just a capsule and a whole let less expensive without all the other juice and stuff that is in the Liquid Biocell.
I am a retired grandfather and no longer seek to build a MLM organization. I am presently happily living off the fruits of my MLM success.
While visiting my daughter, she noticed me limping when using her stairs and urged me to seek medical help.
The pain was so excruciating, I could not kneel on my floor to fix things without protecting my knee with a cushion. After much pain and swelling in my right knee plus limping, my doctor sent me for an MRI. It showed a torn ligament plus a bit of arthritis. He advised surgery and gave me a disabled parking pass.
I subsequently loaded up on store-bought glucosamine and chondroitin, with no tangible results.
I learned of Liquid Biocell and reviewed the human clinical trials:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=biocell+collagen
http://www.jusuru.com/www/science_overview.aspx
During my 5th week using Liquid Biocell (2 oz, twice per day), my pain was completely gone and my knee seemed to be back to normal.
Candidly, out of curiosity, after a year of using Biocell, I went for another MRI. To my surprise, nothing changed! However, until the pain returns, I’ll postpone the recommended surgery.
I live in Canada, our equivalent of the FDA is Health Canada. Based on the numerous rejections, they are reputed to be among the strictest in the world.
With food supplements, they must approve each ingredient prior to permitting the product to be marketed. After intense review, Health Canada granted the license to market Biocell: NPN #80035861.
Also, after reviewing the many human clinical trials, Health Canada approved the following health claims:
Liquid Biocell, a drink (2 oz, twice per day), containing in part, Collagen and Hyaluronic Acid, has been clinically proven to help the body:
• Relieve joint pain associated with osteoarthritis of the hip and knee
• Maintain healthy skin
• Metabolize fats and proteins
• In the development and maintenance of bones, cartilage, teeth, and gums
• In connective tissue formation
• In wound healing
• Maintain good health
• Support younger looking skin, healthy aging, active joints
While I agree the price is high (Landed in Canada, including freight and tax = $193/mo CDN), my results compel me to continue consuming Liquid Biocell. I understand, one may lease a compact car for that price, but it’s a matter of prioritization, and I’m delighted to live without pain. BTW, as a side effect, my facial skin now shows significantly reduced wrinkles. I’ll take that anytime!
The most active ingredients; Biocell Collagen ll with Hyaluronic Acid are available in less expensive, capsule form through many other sources, Biocell has proven that the liquid is significantly more absorbed than the capsule. To eliminate bias: Actually, tdhe capsule form is manufactured on a private label basis by the co-founder of Liquid Biocell: http://www.gmplabs.com/
Please give us the reference that says that it was clinically proven in wound healing. I highly doubt this claim.
[Editor’s Note: There is a lot of misinformation here that I will address in the following comment.]
LM,
Thanks for your legitimate question. I had a link to a page which detailed 37 human clinical trials using Biocell (double-blind, placebo controlled, published, peer-reviewed) but, regrettably, that link no longer works. Perhaps when they changed their branding from JusUru to Liquid Biocell, the specified link was not updated.
Somewhere, there must be clinical proof supporting the claim regarding “Wound Healing”, or presumably, Health Canada would not have permitted it, nor would the company wish to risk losing their Canadian approval for making unsubstantiated health claims. However, unlike yourself, I lack the required time and/or patience to dig deeper.
This is a more recent link. While it fails to address your question regarding wound healing, it adds to the mounting body of credible info:
http://www.jusururesources.com/Press%20Releases/Jusuru_InTheNews_BioCellCollagenClinicalTrials_18APR2012.pdf
During my initial due diligence,upon my request, the list of permitted claims for Canada was sent to me by the company. I also asked for the permitted list of claims for the US and this is what they sent:
USA: BioCell Collagen® provides multi-dimensional support in helping the body:
Increase collagen
Build bone density
Improve joint mobility
Relieve joint discomfort
Improve vision
Tighten sagging skin
Fills-in wrinkles and scars
Personally, I have conducted my research to my satisfaction. I was impressed with the added credibility that JusUru has applied for and been accepted as a member of the DSA, which requires their applicants to undergo a rigorous,12 month trial to meet their high standards..
Another link which impressed me: http://www.mlmrankings.com/jusuru/news.htm
I was also impressed with the credibility of the founders:
Co-founder and President, Asma Ishaq, graduated from the University of California, at Berkeley with dual degrees both in psychology and business administration. Afterward, she went off to graduate studies at Princeton University on the East Coast, while finally completing her MBA with a dual concentration in finance and marketing at Rice University.
Before co-founding JusUru, she held executive level positions with Black Rock, Inc., a leading asset management firm based in New York City, and Biocell Technologies, a leading developer of cutting edge health and wellness products. Source: http://www.npros.com/execs/Asma_Ishaq.html
FYI: Asma’s father, Suhail Ishaq, has owned a multi-national manufacturing and R & D facility since 1994. They private label to some of the most prestigious health food retailers in the world.
http://www.gmplabs.com/ & http://biocelltechnology.com/
Best to All,
S
Steve,
You want to be careful that you aren’t confusing a Biocell and Jusuru…. they aren’t the same. You want to be sure that the 37 human clinical trials are for Jusuru itself because it wouldn’t be known if something in Jusuru could negate the effects of Biocell.
That assumes that there are legitimate clinical trials of Biocell itself. I saw a number of them linked to Alex Schauss, who was the fraud doctor providing “research” for MonaVie’s “expensive flavored water”. In fact the one clinical trial you cited mentioned Alex Schauss as a being involved in the study. With his past history of supporting fraudulent similar juices, it negates any value one can derive from the study.
In fact, it shines a spotlight that Jusuru itself is more focused on creating the appearance of a credible study and that people won’t do their research into the people involved in the study.
They clearly caught you Steve, as your due diligence missed it. In light of this information, are you going to re-examine your due dilligence as it failed?
It is pretty odd to use Canadian standards when Jusuru and this blog are based in the United States. When I searched for “Jusuru” and “wound healing” it was interesting that this discussion came up first. There wasn’t anything with Canada’s health departement on the topic. I scrolled down and found this PDF marketed by Jusuru that cites one study in 1998 that SPECULATED that hyaluronic acid may help with wound healing, which seems to not be based on a clinical trail, but a test-tube one.
So maybe the claim of “wound healing” has something more to stand on, but Jusuru’s own marketing fails any kind of common sense test. Without any kind of Canadian Health document, we have nothing else and it looks like smoke and mirrors like Jusuru’s previous marketings.
You know that, “The Direct Selling Association (DSA) is the name of several similar trade associations in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and New Zealand that represent direct selling companies, primarily those that use multi-level marketing compensation plans. On behalf of its members companies, the DSA engages in public relations and lobbying efforts against regulation of the multi-level marketing industry, and it funds political candidates through a political action committee.”
The Direct Selling Association tells consumers lies about about pyramid schemes that match up with the FDA. Also Avon left the DSA because it accepts pyramid scheme companies. Not only that, but Tupperware left them too.
Being involved with the DSA ia a badge of shame.
I didn’t see anything credible about the founders. If they were credible, they wouldn’t need something that looks like an illegal pyramid scheme to sell its product.
Does this look familiar? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVUUbEw_Pm8
Health Canada has never specifically approved any claims for any particular brand of hydrolyzed collagen – neither for Biocell Collagen nor for Jusuru. Health Canada’s factsheet on generic hydrolyzed collagen indicates that the compound’s potential efficacy is confined to relief of “joint pain associated with osteoarthritis”; nothing else.
Virtually none of the claims on Steve’s list are approved by Health Canada or the U.S. FDA; that includes: “build bone density, improve joint mobility, improve vision, tighten sagging skin, fills-in wrinkles and scars.” Some of his claims aren’t merely unapproved, they’re downright stupid – collagen is not a component of bone (it is a component of cartilage) so it most certainly doesn’t affect bone density; collagen only fills in wrinkles and scars when it’s injected under the skin; and there’s no reasonable evidence that taking collagen by any route can improve vision.
Regarding the potential use of hydrolyzed collagen for the relief of joint pain due to osteoarthritis, the Health Canada page indicates that the relevant dose range is 1.2 to 10 grams per day for a minimum of 5 months. There’s apparently no way to know whether Jusuru provides a sufficient dose because the company does not disclose the amount of collagen in the product on either the nutritional/ingredient label or in the company’s FAQ (the label does however show that the main ingredient is cheap old apple juice; Just like Monavie). By the way, read the legal disclaimer on the company’s FAQ; they basically stand behind nothing that they or anyone else may say about the product.
http://www.jusuru.com/www/Liquid_BioCell_Life_Instructions.aspx
http://www.jusururesources.com/Product%20Materials/LIFE%20Scientific%20Perspective.pdf
If the collagen dosage information is in fact publicly available somewhere, then the question arises as to why the company makes it so damn hard to find, given that the amount of collagen would be the product’s single most important attribute and a key determinant of its relative value.
Speaking of relative value, I did a quick Google search for hydrolyzed collagen supplements (of the non-MLM variety) and as expected they sell for a fraction of the price of Jusuru. The first product that popped up was Puritan’s Pride capsules. A bottle contains 180 g and sells for a mere $13 (no tax, no shipping fee). At a daily dose of 1.2 g (the lower end of the range), a single bottle would provide a 5-month supply, at a daily cost of 9 cents.
http://www.puritan.com/food-supplements-004/hydrolyzed-collagen-1000-mg-004596
Now let’s look at a few more of Steve’s comments.
Steve said: “Somewhere, there must be clinical proof supporting the claim regarding “Wound Healing”, or presumably, Health Canada would not have permitted it, nor would the company wish to risk losing their Canadian approval for making unsubstantiated health claims. However, unlike yourself, I lack the required time and/or patience to dig deeper.”
This is just amazing. First, Health Canada did not approve any claims for Jusuru or BioCell. Secondly, there is no clinical evidence, meeting the requirements of regulators in Canada and the US, that taking hydrolyzed collagen supplements promotes wound healing. It is an illegal claim. Third, Jusuru may have qualms about getting caught for making illegal claims, but they and their distributors are making them nonetheless. Lastly, if you lack the time and patience to research the product, then perhaps you shouldn’t be so cavalier with your claims. They have consistently been wrong and it seems that your intent is to purposely deceive people.
Steve said: “I was impressed with the added credibility that JusUru has applied for and been accepted as a member of the DSA, which requires their applicants to undergo a rigorous,12 month trial to meet their high standards.”
High standards??? That’s laughable As Lazy Man pointed out, being a part of the DSA is badge of shame, not evidence of credibility. The DSA is a political lobbying group that acts on behalf of its member MLM companies to push for deregulation of the industry and to buff up MLMs tarnished image by releasing bland misleading PR pieces. The DSA’s membership list is like a house of horrors – a veritable smorgasbord of disreputable pyramid schemes selling worthless lotions and potions.
Steve said: “I was also impressed with the credibility of the founders: Suhail Ishaq, has owned a multi-national manufacturing and R & D facility since 1994. They private label to some of the most prestigious health food retailers in the world.”
Har! You must be referring to his company Intellipi which sold “oxygenated” drinking water under the name Oxysource. That was a scam if ever there was one. Ishaq isn’t even a scientist.
http://web.archive.org/web/20090209103044/http://oxysource.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11&Itemid=25#sthash.kFTAhWmN.dpuf
Thank you for doing some research on this product. My daughter developed RA at 20 yrs old and this company came to our health club last week with pictures of a 30 yr.old girl with deformed hands. An after picture showed the hands to be perfect. My limited research of this disease doesn’t show this to be possible. I wish that money doesn’t cause people to give false hope to other people. It makes me very sad.
Bill Gates recommends verifying a company by their “Best practices awards”
Credibility: Jusuru won the award 3 years in a row, from the prestigious organization, Frost & Sullivan: http://thejusurublog.blogspot.ca/2011/03/biocell-technologys-frost-sullivan.html
Recently, Liquid BioCell™ Announced as Global Winner of 2015 NutraIngredients Award:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/liquidbiocell/jusuru/prweb12709767.htm
S
Well Jurusu failed the “best practices” test, when their VP ran away from the conversation here when proven wrong.
Also, the NutraIngredients Award sounds less impressive that a 5th grade spelling bee. Ask 100 people on the street if they’ve ever heard of it and I’m very sure you’ll get 100 “no” answers.
Keep trying though… but maybe you want to go back an address the other areas you were wrong about first. It would be a good idea before you try to talk about “credibility.”
I don’t know about the Jusuru marketing plan, don’t care. In 2007 I was diagnosed with a degenerative spinal condition. The doctors said it would never get better, never go away and “maybe” with surgery I had a 50/50 chance that “some” of the pain would be relieved. After years of epidurals, narcotic medications with bad side effects and handfuls of aspirin, I opted for the surgery. A couple months before my surgery date, (had to quit smoking first), a friend (who is not a marketer of the product), told me about how it helped his knee pain. So (sporadically) my wife & I began taking Jusuru about 4 months ago. Last month I stopped taking all the pain medications. I don’t eat right, I smoke, I never exercise and never take vitamins. Today I am 110% pain free!!! Oh and there is hair 1/2 inch long growing in the area of my receding hairline!? But the best benefit… my wife’s hot flashes and mood swings are gone! Miracle? Yes.
I was disappointed to see such a narrow minded view to debunk a product. It seems to me you have a prejudice about MLM. Although I am not a fan of the business model you failed to mention the main ingredient that differentiates this product from other super-fruit antioxidant drinks that are available on the market and that is the presence of highly bio-available Type II collagen and low molecular weight hyaluronic acid which have solid independent clinical evidence to show efficacy in skin and joint health. It appears to me your intention is not to truly educate the public rather to harass Multi Level Marketing companies. I would urge you to reconsider the intention behind the opinions you provide to the public. I did not find your information useful.
Let me be clear in what I originally posted:
1) I DID NOT once criticize the MLM marketing model for Jusuru or any other corporation.
2) I AGREE with the benefits of Biocell consisting of Type II Collagen/hyaluronic acid.
Your previous post accused me of the above stated points which are FALSE.
What I stated was the Biocell compound that is distributed to Jusuru from BIOCELL TECHNOLOGY LLC is the SAME exact compound that is distributed to other companies to provide a non-liquid version of the SAME biocell produced by Jusuru.
Jusuru has patents on liquefying the biocell compound and combining it with a few antioxidants. That is it.
My previous post states that purchasing a non liquid compound of the SAME biocell product has a maximum cost of $30 combined with a liquid form of the SAME antioxidants found in Jusuru’s product which can be purchased for a maximum cost of $25.
That’s a combined cost of $55 vs $140 from Jusuru which is a ~300% markup. Having the patent and liquid formulation of the SAME biocell compound should NOT carry a 300% premium!!
I believe in the biocell compound manufactured from BIOCELL TECHNOLOGY LLC which is what is in the Jusuru product. MY POINT is you don’t need to pay $140 for a month supply to obtain the biocell benefits when you can pay $30 or less for a month supply from another biocell provider.
Clearly, YOU had other intentions when you decided to spin my comments and stating that I was attacking MLM structures and biocell technology…..Neither of which are true.
The bottom line is the 300% premium for obtaining Jusuru’s biocell product is not justifiable when I can get the same exact biocell product at a very significant discount.
Saila,
Odd back-to-back comments defending yourself as if you were criticized in-between. In any case, you should 1) criticize MLM and Jusuru for the comments mentioned in the article. 2) acknowledge that the company hasn’t reached the level of proof required by the FDA or (FDA equivalent in any country) that it has benefits at all.
Patents do not show whether something works or not. There are tons of crazy patents out there. The US Patent Office doesn’t test or ensure anything other than originality. You can patent a very stupid thing as long as it is original in its stupidity.
And yes the 300% mark-up is absurd, but that’s what MLM brings (again, why you should be criticizing it).
Let me start by saying that I don’t believe Jusuru is a scam. My problem with Jusuru is the 280-300%+ markup on the product when you get the same biocell/antioxidant ingredients in the marketplace. Yes, you heard me correctly.
Jusuru has patented the liquefaction form of the biocell ingredient. But does a liquefied version of biocell justify a 300% markup?
I don’t think so and let me explain.
Most of us know the benefits of collagen as well as hyaluronic acid (BIOCELL). However, we really need to get down to brass tax here.
Take a look at the following website by clicking on the link below:
http://biocellcollagen.com/?gclid=CLaOupO-iMYCFZOCaQod0h8Afw
This is the website for BIOCELL TECHNOLOGY LLC, which is the company that manufactures the key ingredient, which is the BIOCELL.
This company sells their patented BIOCELL to a whole host of companies (including Jusuru) that then sell to the end consumer. Once in the above website, click on “WHERE TO BUY” at the top which will take you to the full list of companies.
This is extremely important. The MAIN BIOCELL ingredient for Jusuru is from another supplier!!
You can see that the price points for these competitive BIOCELL products is typically $30 and below for a month’s supply. Remember this is the same exact BIOCELL that Jusuru has except in a non-liquid form.
Let us now look at the list of ingredients in the Jusuru liquid biocell. The key ingredient in the Jusuru Liquid Biocell is BIOCELL (hence the name). It also contains 13 antioxidants and resveratrol. However keep in mind that this product is NOT a complete multivitamin so you are still going to have to take additional vitamins/ supplements. Also note that the ingredients are NOT certified organic.
Thus, I would have to keep taking my multivitamin + minerals (there are several extremely reputable companies that sell organic multivitamins…..many in liquid form that contain numerous antioxidants including the 13 that are in jusuru’s product and a whole lot more…………and they are $25 or less)!
Now, let’s do the math.
I can buy the same BIOCELL product for $30 (non liquid form) and a liquid multivitamin/antioxidant supplement for $25. The total cost is $55 on the high end. I can probably get this combined cost down to $45-50. Jusuru BIOCELL is $140 wholesale. That’s a 280-300% premium over the competition! 300% more just because it is in liquid form!
I am sorry, but a 300% premium for a liquid form of BIOCELL vs a non-liquid form of the same exact BIOCELL is not justifiable at all!!
Lastly, don’t tell me that if something is in liquid form that is the only way it is going to get absorbed by the body. I am an educated consumer, am extremely health conscious, eat only organic/ locally grown and I know a great deal about health and nutrition. It all depends on how the product is formulated (the less binders and fillers, the better……….I can write a whole chapter on that) that is going to determine how bioavailable the product is.
As such, I simply cannot justify paying such an insane premium of 300%++ ($200 retail….or $140 plus a one time fee of $39 to get on their wholesale program and/ or join their multi level marketing program) for a one month supply of biocell in liquid form.
I am not saying that jusuru biocell is a good or bad product. What I am saying is that the 280%-300%++ price premium is simply not justified simply because the biocell is in liquid form. There are many other quality and much more cost effective products that contain the same key ingredient that Jusuru offers.
That is the bottom line.
D Sanford MD said: “Allhough I am not a fan of the business model you failed to mention the main ingredient that differentiates this product from other super-fruit antioxidant drinks that are available on the market and that is the presence of highly bio-available Type II collagen and low molecular weight hyaluronic acid”
Why would you say that this was not mentioned when in fact it was discussed extensively? Arguments about the putative merits of these ingredients aside, you don’t even know how much of them are present in Jusuru — the product label does not provide that essential information, If you were an MD, you would know at least a little basic pharmacology and would understand that dose is critical. On that basis alone your argument is inane.
LazyMan, my second post was in response to D Sanford’s comments on June 13 which I thought were directed at me (but now that I see the time of hia post, perhaps not).
In either case the sole purpose of my post was to help shed some light to others that there are several similar products in the marketplace that contain non liquid versions of the same exact biocell… without the ridiculous markup.
As for MLM, I am not here to bash or praise it………….although I do think that model in this day and age is becoming a dinosaur.
I was reading your article and comments. I do agree the marketing aspect is a scam or at least pyramid system. However, I do know two family members that tried it and benefited from it. My aunt for example recently went to the doctor and her high blood pressure was non-existent. They ask her what changed and she was like she started taking Jusuru. They were like, that can’t be it. It is something else, her response was she had high blood pressure for the last 10 years and less then 2 months of taking Jusuru, her blood pressure and other ailments are pretty much disappeared. They have no interest in spending the money that they have too but it is benefiting her health to do so. If Jusuru is not the answer, then what is. What is a cheaper alternative that will continue to help her so she doesn’t have to go back on blood pressure medicine, etc.
I have no association with Jusuru and don’t care to be involved in it, however I can’t ignore the benefits of it that they received. You don’t have to post this and just send me a personal email if you like. As I said, I have no interest in promoting Jusuru.
These miracle health claims happen with every health MLM product. Unfortunately the science doesn’t stand up and I don’t see companies putting forth the effort to get FDA approval. This shows me that they don’t think their products work, they’ve just found a gimmick of how to sell it testimonials, placebo effect, and pyramid schemes.
Lazy Man
Your comments section is like a sea saw back and forth battle ground.
So I feel the need to asked you what do you suggest? Grocery store fruit juice laced with sugar for $3) or what in lieu of Liquid Biocell ? Or what? Doing nothing would not be a good answer. Thank you.
It’s always a battle ground when a company brainwashes people with dreams of millions of dollars and fancy for selling snake oil. I’ve covered a couple dozen pyramid schemes and the comments are always people pushing for the scheme. Of course a pile of them have imploded and the people who lost money realize they were taken, but it’s too late for them now.
You probably want to see the section of my MonaVie article here titled: Juice in general is not healthy. A key quote from the the experts is: “Juice is just like soda… there is no difference. When you take fruit and you squeeze it, you throw the fiber in the garbage. That was the good part of the fruit. The juice is nature’s way of getting you to eat your fiber.”
So I recommend eating the fruit. Need something to drink? Here’s my guide to How to Get Clean, Purified Water (at The Best Price).
Need another tip? Use the money you save for a sweet treadmill desk like I have.
(Now I am curious to see who in the battle ground is going to take the side of dirty water, stationary work all day, and never eating fruit.)
Well, all is interesting! Have a Jusuru rep. we know from gym breathing down our necks to listen to the speel, and tonight is the night. I guess when you consider his going from owning a string of franchise McDonalds lost to divorce
to selling cemetery plots and cremation, Jusuru might be on a more positive
note. I have done my homework on this MLM, not saying the product doesn’t
work. But, he’s going to have a hard time with me. I sold insurance for 25
years. I know bullshit when I hear it., and I cannot justify a 300% markup , when
I see 5 Star across the board positivie testimonies from people who buy from other companies with the same patented technology ingredients. He better
bring a bottle of that stuff with him. I want to see the breakdown.
Interesting reading. Buddy of mine has done extremely well with Jusuru and wants to get me involved. Impressed that he sent me a 2 month supply to test since I would have to be sold on the product to participate. I (age 67)I have a couple “pain” issues being a former athlete and some neuropathy that is unrelated to diabetes. There is no chance that I will get relief from any kind of “placebo effect”. On day 2 of using BioCell. Personally, I’m quite pessimistic, but will be impressed if anything dramatic occurs. I also have a checkup with my doctor in October and will be interested to see how the number from my blood work compare. Will keep you informed.
Michael, there is always a chance of “placebo effect.” It operates subconsciously. There’s a reason why no researcher takes the information of one person and tries to draw a conclusion on it.
Rather than keeping me informed about your one person sample size, convince your doctor to do a large-scale trial when you have a check-up with him.
Not much into MLM and no one is more pessimistic than me about the possible effects of Jusuru. If, however, the neuoropathy I’m being treated for were to disappear, my blood pressure and cholesterol went downed, my skin improved, wrinkles disappeared, joint pain was reduced and I noticed a regrowth of hair and all this was a placebo, then I’d strongly recommend “placebo” get taught in medical school.
I’m not sure why you are stating pessimism. It sounds like you are trying to discount the “placebo effect” before even trying it. Again, it simply doesn’t work that way. If it did, we’d test all potential medicine by telling one person, “Hey this probably won’t work, but for fun let’s see how it works.” If that was an accurate test of products, it would save companies and researchers millions of dollars, not to mention ginormous time and effort.
I just want you to be aware that your experiment is flawed from the start and thus can’t produce any useful conclusions.
I’m sure that the placebo effect is taught in medical school. It’s probably covered in pre-med or even before that. Heck, I learned about it in the 10th or 11th grade.
If you aren’t interested in MLM, you can get Health Logics BioCell Collagen Joint and Skin Care without a MLM/pyramid scheme attached.
One last thing Lazy Man, testing Jusuru isn’t costing me a penny. My friend was confident enough to ship me a 2 month supply at no cost. I also have several highly talented doctor friends who have seen surprising results with holistic medicines not approved by the FDA. Then you have the FDA approved drugs where you see all those commercials on TV by personal injury attorneys because of the damage or deaths that are caused by taking these medicines. As a former cancer patient, I often wondered why some people with my exact same disease survived while others didn’t? Maybe the “brain” (or call it placebo) plays a much bigger role in getting well than we give it credit.
I understand that taking Jusuru is initially not going to cost you anything. This is a smart move by your friend because the “placebo effect” does appear to people to work about 1/3rd of the time (Source: American Cancer Society).
So if he has to give up a couple of months of product to get a customer for life, it’s not a terrible deal.
You know the lawyers are the ones pushing those commercials on television, right? They are the ones trying to drum up business for a big lawsuit where they make lots of money.
We give the brain tons of credit for the role it plays in health. Ever hear the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine?”
My friend of some 45 years is 72 (looks 50) is a multi, multi millionaire and certainly does need me as a client or a “distributor”. He claims to have seen some wonderful benefits, but I wanted to see that for myself and he put his money where his mouth was. All the testimonials in the world aren’t going to work with me (see plenty of them with other questionable products). In truth, the one thing that would convince me of the benefit of Jusuru would be if it eliminated my neuropathy. B-12 injections have helped a little, but there is very little other treatment available (I’m not interested in the prescription drugs with their side effects). And I promise you, no placebo effect is going to eliminate the symptoms. I’ll let you know.
By the way, keep an open mind with some of the crazy stuff out there. In most cases, I would agree with you, but one of my best friends (top oncologist at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago) is willing to try anything to help his terminal ill patients. One happened to be my sister’s boyfriend who had lung cancer. All the other doctors he saw gave him 4 months to live before I talked him into seeing my friend. My friend had read about a real out there treatment like some of the things you discuss. They tried it and my sister’s boyfriend got 7 more “quality” years of life.
Keep in mind, that if the product actually worked they’d get claims approved with the FDA for what it works for.
What was the treatment that you are saying gave a terminally ill person with lung cancer 7 more years? Can we talk to the doctor to verify this claim?
If I knew you, no problem. Right now you’re just some person out in cyberspace called “Lazy Man” that has an opinion. Meet me for lunch or out on the golf course and I’ll put you in contact.
My friend John treated a lot of celebrities including Gene Siskel. It’s interesting that another good friend of mine and well know sports newscaster in Chicago (Tim Wiegel) was Siskel’s roommate at Yale and died of the exact same kind of brain tumor (billion to one odds of that happening according to John).
So you won’t even tell us the magical treatment that can save lives from end-stage lung cancer?
Extraordinary claims require proof. You can’t simply say, “I haven’t played golf with you, so I don’t need to prove this extraordinary claim that has never been seen in the history of documented medicine.” That’s what it sounds like.
I was almost duped into buying this stuff/junk, thank goodness my girlfriend saved my blind eyes from this scam! Just eat healthy people. fruits, veggies, coffee… lol
Hey Lazy Man I just wanted to say you’re like my new internet superhero. I was reading about MLM schemes because some random guy on FB messaged me asking me to join one (Tim Sales was the guy, or at least the original scammer), which lone behold ended up being nonsense.
Why I use Liquid Biocell (AKA Jusuru): Without any injury, my right knee slowly became swollen and painful to the point where I needed to use a cushion under it when kneeling on my floor to fix things. My Dr sent me for an MRI, which resulted in his advising me to have surgery plus a disabled parking pass. I declined the surgery and loaded up on the popular Chondroitin and Glucosamine capsules. No results after 2 months.
That’s when I encountered Biocell: I reviewed a few of the double blind, peer reviewed, published, human clinical trials and ordered. After 5 weeks of 2 oz., twice per day, I was pain free and the swelling disappeared. After 2 years of drinking Biocell consistently, I summoned the courage to go for the surgery, because my Dr said, in spite of no pain, due to what he observed in the MRI, it could only get worse.
At the hospital assessment, the technician took X-rays and showed me that some healing occurred and my knee no longer meets the criteria for surgery. Being it couldn’t be the Chondroitin and Glucosamine, it must have been the Hyaluronic Acid and the Collagen. Instead of bashing the high cost, let the user make that decision.
I agree, Biocell is expensive, however, knee surgery will prevent me from driving for at least 5 weeks. Therefore, my results using Biocell far outweigh my costs.
Award winning product: http://jusururesources.com/2015_SupplySide.pdf
I’m not surprised that Chondroitin and Glucosamine didn’t help. I looked into glucosamine a ton when I reviewed MonaVie Active here. I found that the clinical trials were mixed at best and not showing effectiveness. Similarly, WebMD says this of Chondroitin: “However, several more recent studies have been less promising. Several found that chondroitin supplements had only a small benefit, if any. If you’re interested in using chondroitin for arthritis pain, talk to your doctor about the latest evidence.”
Glucosamine and Chondroitin have a fair amount of large-scale clinical trials in comparison to Jusuru’s version of Biocell and it is inconclusive. Thus I find it difficult for one to put faith on Jusuru’s BioCell that doesn’t have any large-scale clinical trials that I could find. Maybe you can share which clinical trials of Jusuru’s BioCell you reviewed.
I looked quickly and found one for BioCell in general (not Jusuru’s version), but it was sponsored and run by BioCell themselves. Specifically it was this one that cites Joosang Park as being with “BioCell Technology, LLC, Newport Beach, CA, USA” with the disclaimer of “The study was funded by BioCell Technology LLC (Newport Beach, CA).”
When you understand funding bias and the small sample size of 26 people, it’s easy to move on and say, “There’s nothing to see here.” After all, it’s easy to get science published to show almost anything… see this scientist who tricked millions into thinking chocolate helps people lose weight.
As someone reminded me in my article No, Your MLM Health Product Doesn’t “Work”, there’s often, “Spontaneous Improvement Regardless of Intervention.” When you claim “it must have been the Hyaluronic Acid and the Collagen”, you are making a classic error of assuming correlation means causation. My research lead me to write the following about this on that article:
My friend makes award-winning BBQ, but let’s not pretend it is something it isn’t. “Award-winning” is probably the most over-used adjective as it doesn’t show the value of the award. In this case, the award that Jusuru won was not very valuable. Looking at it another way, how many years did they lose previously? How many other products beat them to win the award? Did you try to take all those as well?
S said: “Why I use Liquid Biocell (AKA Jusuru)…”
We know why — it’s to qualify for commissions in the pyramid scheme. No need to pretend that this crap juice actually does anything.
S said: “My right knee slowly became swollen and painful…My Dr sent me for an MRI, which resulted in his advising me to have surgery plus a disabled parking pass…That’s when I encountered Biocell: I reviewed a few of the double blind, peer reviewed, published, human clinical trials and ordered.”
Looks like only 4 articles have been published on Biocell collagen; none on Jusuru. Of those, the only ones that were RCTs were one study on exercise recovery and another on skin dryness.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4271657/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4110621/
Aside from the fact that you completely lack the skills needed to critically review a scientific research publication, how on earth would studies on a product (not Jusuru itself) that examined exercise recovery and skin dryness prompt you to use the juice to cure a crippling knee injury? The entire premise is beyond idiotic.
S said: “After 5 weeks of 2 oz., twice per day, I was pain free and the swelling disappeared.”
Even if were to believe that story about the knee pain and swelling disappearing after only 5 weeks, it’s inconceivable that Jusuru was responsible. Why even bother sharing these stupidly vague anecdotes, given that we know already that virtually every seller of MLM supplement products is a chronic liar. These fairy tales just make Jusuru look worse.
S said: “Instead of bashing the high cost, let the user make that decision.”
The high cost (for dirt cheap ingredients) deserves to be bashed. You’re just irritable because facts make it harder for you to scam people.
I saw some very amazing before and after photos I can send you as that is what convinced me to order the product yesterday. One of a woman with terrible rhumatoid arthritis hand all curled up and months later almost normal or dramaTIC IMPROVEMENT. THE OTHER WAS OF A very elderly man who I’m assured did nothing else and he literally looked 25 years younger as if he had a facelift. I was sure it must be fake but I was trusting the woman owner of this local healing center it was authentic plus all about her own experience.. Wow, do I feel dumb . So trusting and can’t believe I didn’t research more before ordering but the pressure to heal and look young is so powerful,. Tell me how and I will email pictures.
Scammers! It’s not too late to get a refund. Ask for your money back immediately.
Placebo? YOU’RE CRAZY LAZY! I put my Pekingese on it because she had a deep scratch on her eye that caused very frequent vet visits….After 2 weeks on the Pet formula, THE SCRATCH ON HER EYE IS COMPLETELY GONE and we haven’t had to visit the vet in over 3 months. She is also running and jumping around like a puppy! That blows your ‘placebo affect’ theory!
Are you claiming that Jusuru’s Pet Formula repairs eye damage? If so, let’s hear it from Jusuru first. Show me where they say that!
Paula Carreon said: “Placebo? YOU’RE CRAZY LAZY! I put my Pekingese on it because she had a deep scratch on her eye.”
So let me get this straight: you fed your lapdog a scammy, horrifically expensive pyramid-scheme fruit juice (called, of all things, “Jusuru”) — to treat a scratched eye no less — and you call Lazy Man crazy?
That’s just so absurd it beggars the imagination. Where do they find you MLM freaks?
Yes….they make a pet formula. And yes, I give it to my Pekes. And yes, it has done wonders for her. And yes, it’s less expensive than a vet. And I don’t really give a shit about what you think.
The human eye is primarily made up of connective tissue. The sclera (the tissue that makes up the white of the eye) is all collagen and represents 80% of the eye.
What is one of the major components of Liquid Biocell? Collagen….I rest my case. I have the proof ‘in my lap’.
Paula,
The human body is some 73% water. That doesn’t mean that I can fix any ailment by drinking a glass of water.
There are so many logical fallacies with what you posted that it’s hard to even address them all. If you have the proof, let’s hear Jusuru themselves make the claim loud and clear. Surely they believe you and are going to support you, right?
Paula Carreon said: “And I don’t really give a shit about what you think.”
Then why bother posting here? Who exactly was it you were trying to impress with your idiotic fairy tale about Jusuru healing your lapdog’s corneal abrasion? Why would you expect anyone to be moved by such a far-fetched story.
I didn’t post it for the likes of such a monster as you Vogel, but for someone who may have a similar issue. It must be terrible to be you :(
Says the person who is at best deluding herself, and who is at worst willfully lying through her teeth. I don’t know that it makes you a monster, but I’d certainly rather be Vogel than someone of whom the best can be said is that she’s maybe too gullible for her own good.
I HAVE USE JUSURU FOR 3 MTHS NOW THE JUICE IS HARD ON STOMACH AND I KNOW NOW THEY HAVE A NON JUICE VERSION AND IT WORKS ON THE SKIN. I AM A 64 YR OLD WOMAN AND MY SKIN HAS GONE FROM WRINKLY TO NO WRINKLES AT ALL AND MY MY SKIN HAS A LOT MORE MOISTURE THAN IT’S HAD IN THE LAST 10YRS..BUT I STARTED CHECKING THE PRODUCT OF PURITANS PRIDE WITH THE SAME BIO CELL COLLOGEN AND HYALURONIC ACID IF IT WAS JUST AS GOOD BECAUSE IT’S A LOT CHEAPER…
Hi. I would like to add that I have been using Jusuru Biocell for about 4 years. Because I cared for my husband with Parkinson’s Disease and my aged mother, my physical body had to function well. Bending, lifting, exercising both of them and not getting sufficient rest for myself. When I drank the Jusuru liquid I felt good and not stiff at all, even to the point that I felt like I didn’t need to exercise (I do anyways). If I neglected to reorder and was without it for 2 weeks…..I started feeling very stiff and full of aches and pains….like I had arthritis throughout my body. I checked out purchasing just the pills of biocell chollagen with hyaluronic acid and they did not work. The juice has a better delivery system I guess. That is my experience.
Be careful of assuming that either product worked. I don’t think the juice has large scale clinical trials showing that it works. Could be placebo effect.
I have a senior citizen relative who is very much into Jusuru. All the claims and all the MLM stuff – all of it. He went off the deep end into a “holistic” lifestyle several years ago with supplements, oils, positive thinking, organic eating, water deprivation (because it’s super-charged with an oxygen supplement) and so on. He has numerous legitimate health issues and ends up in the ER suddenly and once he gets a dose of whatever medicine he truly needs, he claims the doctors poisoned him and goes back onto his “healthy” regimen. It’s so incredibly sad because he can’t enjoy a simple family gathering around a meal because it’s not his food, his meal plan, and so on. It’s become so divisive.
But he has lots of new friends -AKA suckers- who sign up because he’s a sweet old guy. But they disappear a few weeks later and then he’s heartbroken when his calls go unreturned.
The new thing for Jusuru adherents is to recruit chiropractors and other non-MD persons to “prescribe” Jusuru to their patients. I think it’s absolutely immoral and unethical to do this, but those who are brainwashed into this product think it’s just fine.
I detest the people who help facilitate these kinds of “healthy living” scams. It breaks up families, sucks out hard-earned money, and robs people of true peace and happiness of living in the here and now because of false promises of perfect health and great wealth.
It’s shameful.
Thanks for the comment, Elle. I’ve seen MLMs go after the chiropractor and naturopathic doctors to try to sell their products as legitimate.
All I can do is spread the good word and hope consumers make an informed decision.
As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished. I’m being sued by another MLM company, Le-Vel Brands, which markets a weight loss patch and a “premium lifestyle capsule.”
The lawsuit has the potential to bankrupt my family. I need money for lawyers to defend myself.
If you could read, help, and share my story on GoFundMe, I’d really appreciate it: https://www.gofundme.com/LazyManAndMoney
Let’s help keep consumers informed and tell the bad guys that there’s this thing called freedom of speech in the United States.
I’ve just spent the last hour reading through this site, and have enjoyed it immensely. I am a 59 year old, young-looking physician and my 55 year old, less young-looking partner just returned from a job in Clearwater, FL. Seems several Scientologists talked him into buying this product. I was dismayed and told him so. His feelings were terribly hurt that I wasn’t supporting his efforts to look better. I’ve since kept my mouth shut. I’d like to forward this site to him, but now am thinking otherwise. I’m terribly dismayed to see this last posting of yours, asking for money. Wow, you really blew it. If what you’re doing is just honest dissemination of information (as it seems to be with this product), then what have you to be so worried about? Bankrupt your family? You must be afraid of losing, so now I am suspect.
I’m not afraid of losing, I’m afraid that the expense of lawyers to defend myself. The lawsuits that I’ve seen from these companies in the last three years could each cost $30K-40K too defend.
It’s similar to this article of a website operator raising $33,000 to defend himself against United Airlines.
I wish you had taken a minute to understand how the legal system works before suspecting me of being any less than 100% honest.
Love the article. I noticed that in the first couple of comments on this post, there were many similar misspellings and improper use of commas. Almost seems like all the comments came from one person using different names/computers/VM’s. I also noticed that almost all of the reviews for “Liquid BioCell II”on WebMD had similar misspellings and all of them referenced this product specifically.
I am a big believer in supplements. $0 years ago I had bad sport injury, a right ankle that was in constant pain and swelling and after two years it still wouldn’t heal and couldn’t walk far on it and the doctors said they could do anything that would help. If I had broke instead they could fix that but I had torn everything and seriously damaged the cartilage.
I took a joint product which for a month I could tell if it was doing any good but I continued with it and by the 6th week I could tell there was some minor improvement – I was hopeful and excited. Six months later I was walking but still had some trouble with it. I continued and 2 years later I was completely healed – all because of supplements.
There are a lot of scams and snake oils out there but some work well. I wish there was more regulation to help consumers.
The law suite you are threatened with is of course design to get you to take down your valuable information and it works – how many have been silenced because they could not afford to protect their right to speak responsibly.
I hope you survive, if you do and win you can get the legal cost to defend yourself but that doesn’t help you now. Good luck and God Bless you for sticking your neck out and caring.
I am interested in a product with the key ingredients of Jutsuru at a lower price. Do you know of any?
I believe in good nutrition and supplements. However supplements do not address the spinal vertebrae which need to be physically adjusted in order to promote circulation so that the blood can get to all body parts and nourish the body. You wouldn’t take a supplement to the the place of braces on your kid’s teeth, so why would you think that taking supplements are a substitute for spinal adjustment. I know that one either needs to buy a bed that allows for proper circulation, and only a waterbed can do that. Without a healthy spine the body could have a barrage of issues because the nutrition just can’t get through because of poor circulation and vertebrae that don’t move. I’m in the process of getting adjustments to fix my back which is causing problems with my knee. Today I discovered that the wedge pillow I have been using to lift my head to prevent sleep apnea has interfered with the normal alignment in my back. I pulled it out and immediately felt blood rushing to my feet. No wonder the poor knee is dysfunctional. I remember my knee was fine while I was away on vacation because I was sleeping on a different pillow. These interferences caused by environmental impingements has a lot to do with spinal health. Supplements can help the healing process but you have to fix the vertebrae. No amount of supplements will correct a crooked spine. I’d like to hear from you out there who beg to differ!!
Hey Lazy Man…how old are you?
http://www.lazymanandmoney.com/about/
This is a terrible review. It has nothing to do with fruit juices, they are just a bonus! You need to understand the component of the joints and why you need low molecular weight hyaluronic acid
In a synergistic matrix.
After a decade of my joints deteriorating after a high speed head-on collision I finally have my life BACK!
Please be very careful who you put your stock and faith in. Don’t avoid a potentially life-changing product b.c. of this review. That being said, there is also a 90 day money back guarantee to make you feel like you won’t lose anything trying it.
Best wishes!
(As far as a business is concerned, never forget that with an MLM you can make as much money as the work you are willing to out into it)
Vanessa, that was a terrible comment ;-).
If the juices do nothing, then why did they essentially copy MonaVie with look, pricing, pyramid selling, etc.? We read about other MLM products being “synergistic” and it turns out that’s never been proven to be the case.
I think Vogel will probably give you a better response than I could on the science stuff. However, if it can really help people get their life “BACK” (your screaming), it would be FDA approved for doing so. I don’t believe that Jusuru is an FDA-approved joint medication, but let me know if I’m wrong there.
Yes, be careful about putting stock and faith in companies that choose to use MLM which at best MAY be a pyramid scheme and 99% of the people selling the stuff lose money. Never trust a money back guarantee from an MLM company as they typically make it very difficult. I like to think of it as the most difficult rebate procedure ever. It’s just easier to give up. If it was truly that effective, they’d give the appropriate amount of free sample to show you it works, rather than depend on you to be too busy to jump through the hoops to get your money back.
As for the MLM “business”, never forget that MLM is NOT a Business. Remember that 99% of people LOSE money in MLM. Working harder might get you to the 98% of people who lose less money in MLM. There’s a reason why the FTC smacked Vemma and Herbalife for false income claims.
If you want to make money in MLM, make sure you get a sweetheart deal to be placed the top of the pyramid. You don’t want to be at the bottom competing to sell products to others with no barrier to entry.
Hey Guy, When you review a product make sure you yourself are not misrepresenting! Jusuru’s Liquid BioCell Life’s claim to fame is in the clinically-proven ingredients that strengthen the health of all the connective tissues in the body, including all the organs and bones: HA (hyaluronic acid), Type II Collagen, and chondroitin sulfate. The body recognizes these as its own building blocks for connective tissue health and uses them efficiently to maintain good health in all the organs and bones. Do your homework! The juices are just a bonus, and irrelevant in terms of your misguided review.
– James Meek, PhD, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, Sept 16, 2016
Just to be clear with readers here, “Doc Meek” is in education, not medicine, right? From one educator (I consider myself as an educator to readers) to another, why do you use the term “clinically proven?”
It seems like “clinically proven” doesn’t mean anything. See this article, or this article, or this article, or .
I’m not sure that the body uses those ingredients as “building blocks”… did the FDA, FTC or other other government body approve of that language?
Odd that I rarely get comments on this article (it’s years old), and in a few hours I get two people saying that the juices “are just a bonus.” Same exact words!
Obviously you missed my main point. These 3 Jusuru Liquid BioCell Life ingredients are not juices (hyaluronic acid, Type II Collagen, and chondroitin sulfate), and these 3 ingredients have real value for the body, not comparable to other formulations, which are just juices. – James Meek
James Meek said: “Hey Guy, When you review a product make sure you yourself are not misrepresenting!”
Hey guy, when you make thinly veiled accusations that a blog is misrepresenting facts, have the courage and decency to spell out what they are instead of resorting to vague innuendo.
James Meek said: “Jusuru’s Liquid BioCell Life’s claim to fame is…”
…is non-existent. Neither Jusuru nor “Liquid Bio Cell” are famous in any remotely conceivable way. Had you said claim to infamy, I would have raised no objections because it is blatantly obvious that this product is worthless crap that’s used as bait to lure idiots and desperadoes into a pyramid scheme.
James Meek said: “…in the clinically-proven ingredients that strengthen the health of all the connective tissues in the body, including all the organs and bones: HA (hyaluronic acid), Type II Collagen, and chondroitin sulfate.”
There is nothing about your worthless juice that has been “clinically proven”. It does nothing.
James Meek said: “Do your homework!”
I’ve done my homework — written a tome’s worth of background material on the company, the people behind it, and their moronic product. You came here to share a few vapid few lines of incoherent nonsense and somehow think that gives you the high ground to admonish others to do their homework. How foolish!
James Meek said: “The juices are just a bonus, and irrelevant in terms of your misguided review.”
The juice is neither a “bonus” nor irrelevant. The worthless juice — pretty much a carbon copy of the snakeoil “flavored water” that Monavie concocted to separate fools from their money — is the principal ingredient in Jusuru, so it can’t and shouldn’t be ignored. You provided not a single stitch of evidence to support your accusation that the review misrepresented facts or was misguided in any way.
== Jusuru IDS Analysis ==
To become a Jusuru distributor, a $40 enrollment fee and a monthly $140 autoship purchase (4 bottles, shipping not included) is required. This qualifies the distributor to be eligible for base-level commissions; the option to qualify for an additional “fast start” bonus is available within the first 28 days of signup if a fast start pack is purchased for $280.
https://www.jusuru.com/www/Assets/PDFs/The_Jusuru_Reward_Compensation_Plan_USA.pdf
The company charges roughly $15 for UPS ground shipping per 4-bottle case. So the annual costs tally up to a minimum of $1,680 for juice, plus $180 for shipping, and $40 for the initial signup fee – an astronomical $1,900 per year.
Non-distributors can get the same wholesale pricing as distributors but only if they commit to the same $140-a-month autoship. Otherwise, the retail price is $199 without shipping, or approximately $53.50 per bottle with shipping, which is absurd.
So what does that outlay of nearly 2 grand per year (at minimum, not including time and business costs) get you as a distributor? Well, let’s dispel the fantasy once and for all that becoming a Jusuru distributor is a “business opportunity”. According to the company’s income disclosure statement (IDS), which presents average commissions for each of the distributor ranks, three out of four Jusuru distributors (75%) receive no commissions whatsoever, and they are excluded altogether from the company’s data analysis. The IDS states:
“On average 25% of iReps who are Commission Active earn a commission. iReps who did not earn a commission are not part of the iRep percentage quotient.”
Note that this failure rate applies to all ACTIVE distributors so it wouldn’t include any wholesale customers; just distributors who were on monthly autoship. Of those who did receive commissions, 96.2% earned below $20 K annually, which is roughly a third less than the median individual income in the US (approximately $30K).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States
http://jusururesources.com/Business%20Basics/Income%20Disclosure%20Statement.pdf
But if we refactor the percentages based on the original pool of all active distributors (i.e., not excluding the 75% that received nothing and were omitted from the company’s IDS data), then the results are even worse. Less than 1% earned more than $20K and only 0.5% (1/200) earned more than $40 K.
Worse still, for those who did receive commissions and were included in the IDS analysis, their annual income wasn’t calculated based on a 12-month span but rather extrapolated based on earnings in a single month (i.e., multiplied by 12). It’s likely that many of them did not maintain those commission levels year round and that the data reported are greatly exaggerated in the company’s favor.
“The annual earnings have been calculated taking the monthly income per Rank, and multiplying it by twelve months.“
And even worse still, the data don’t reflect business costs. The cost just to stay qualified as a distributor knocks a minimum of close to $2,000 off the annual commission amount, and other costs, like hours worked, meetings, promotional materials, event tickets, etc. would be further subtracted.
So to answer the question of what that $2 grand a year gets the prospective distributor, the answer is a 75% chance of getting no money back and a 99% chance of grossing at least a third below poverty level wages before expenses.
The last thing I’ll comment on is the company’s practice of promoting tax deductions as an incentive for becoming a Jusuru distributor. This ridiculous video, featuring none other than Jusuru VP David Ciemny, claims that there is “no risk”, “no overhead”, “great tax advantages”, and “unlimited earnings potential” with the Jusuru business opportunity, and urges distributors to take 1099 deductions, saying “it’s worth more than the product itself” (18:15 – 19:30).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPRJKHeJ-44
Keep in mind that a home business is not legally eligible for any business deductions if there is no reasonable expectation of revenue/profit. Given that 3 out of 4 Jusuru distributors lose at least $2K a year and most fare little better, it’s hard to see how their distributors taking home-business tax deductions wouldn’t constitute fraud in the vast majority of cases, and also hard to escape the conclusion that Ciemny’s pitch was misleading and unethical, to say the least.
https://www.irs.gov/uac/business-or-hobby-answer-has-implications-for-deductions
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2006/07/522418-12684.pdf
There are plenty of examples of distributors who are running their Jusuru businesses as LLCs. I found two on the first page of a Google search for “Jusuru + arthritis”. For example, Nancy Addison, a distributor in Dallas, TX (distributor ID# 22055) who is DBA as “Organic Healthy Lifestyle, LLC” (and, sadly, also making and posting video testimonials that illegally market Jusuru as a treatment/cure for arthritis and other medical conditions), and also distributor Grazyna Pajunen (ID#189782; DBA “Beauty And Health From Within, LLC”), a realtor in Fort Lauderdale, FL, who is also, sadly, plugging Jusuru as a remedy for arthritis (Grazyna Pajunen is an Enterprise Silver level distributor — the second highest rank in the pyramid – who goes around referring to herself as “Doctor” even though she has a PhD in electrical engineering obtained from a university in Finland in 1985, and is a featured guest speaker at Jusuru corporate events).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SpYW-BGIOg
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/7219026-pam-had-fibromyalgia-she-has-recovered-and-is-feeling-great-now-thanks
http://www.jusuru.com/220555/AboutMe.aspx
https://cepage548.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/find-the-most-effective-method-for-management-of-arthritis-knee-pain/
http://yourhealthyguide1.blogspot.com/2013/12/find-best-method-for-management-of.html
http://www.jusuru.com/grazyna/AboutMe.aspx
http://www.regionalsuccesssummit.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gpajunen
The bottom line is that taxpayers are subsiding Jusuru’s BS snakeoil pyramid scheme and putting money in the pockets of the kingpins; we are paying for the manufacture of snakeoil scam juice and for sad-sack idiots to write off their cell phones, computers, internet, gas, and meals while they go around lying to people about how this BS product cures arthritis; we are subsiding predation upon the thousands of people (many of them ailing and vulnerable) who are used as fodder for Jusuru’s human grist mill and will inevitably lose life-changing sums of money. To call this an outrage is an understatement. It’s bad enough that they victimize people within the MLM network, but in the case of the illegal tax deductions, MLM makes victims of every American citizen. They are essentially stealing from our national treasure chest.
Thru my digging thru the internet I’ve found that the Biocell technology is not exclusive to Jusuru. The collagen molecule is very large and thus it is poorly digested because it can’t go thru the gut wall. In 1997 a company call Biocell Technology LLC was formed. They patented the Biocell technology which essentially makes the collagen molecule much smaller and thus it will penetrate the gut wall. Biocell Technology sells their patented product to many supplement companies, not just Jusuru. http://www.biocellcollagen.com click on the link “where to buy” roughly 40 different supplement companies will come up. Jusuru is $165 a month, but I bought a collagen product with the Biocell technology for $35.15 for a 4 month supply. So I guess all the additional expense from Jusuru is to pay for the upline. I want my money to go to a good quality product, not an upline.
Thanks, I think if you dug through the comments in my article you would have found it is not exclusive to Jusuru. You might have even learned more information.
If you are a doctor, please don’t be anonymous. For all we know you could be Dr. A like Dr. Dre or Dr. Pepper. We don’t want to see misrepresentation here.
A collagen molecule is a collagen molecule, is a collagen molecule. You cannot make is smaller. You can’t shrink the size of an atom (and many atoms comprise the molecular structure of ONE molecule of collagen). Thus, NO one has found a way to make collagen smaller so that it will pass through the gut wall. I am a bonafide, M.D. Also a bonafide pharmacist. This is a ludicrous claim that brand new, tiny shrunken molecules of collagen have been formulated to pass through the gut wall. Can. Not. Happen. Physiologically and anatomically impossible. Dr. T. MD (Emory U. school of Med, 1993).
hi.
I see that you are jealous of the pyramid business since you mentioned it so many times… :)
Let people be and have hope for the future.
You also did not try the bio cell product.
I am a massage therapist and I recommend or comment only on products and modalities I had tried, so maybe you should do it too.
I am not a distributor or a buyer. I haven’t seen my friend for three months or so and when I saw her last time she looked 20 years younger. I asked if she had a surgery because she looked 60 and she is 79!!! and still running around with the table and doing massages. No one wrinkle on her face or hands.
I can not get into her joints but what I see from the outside is amazing.SO, please make an opinion only about things you personally try, not only stupidly commenting ruining somebody’s business!!!
Do you believe in God? …. Have you seen him?…
I’m not jealous of pyramid businesses. I simply seek to warn people about the dangers of them. If I wanted to be in a pyramid business, I could. They’ll take anything with a pulse. It’s not like there’s an entrance exam or anything like that.
In general I don’t try products run through a recruiting scheme. However, I’m not sure why I’d try it. Would it give me the magical ability to fly? What kind of benefit could I possibly receive? It’s pretty clear to me that they don’t work as evidenced by this Huffington Post article. People shouldn’t waste their time and money “trying” things that aren’t approved by the FDA for a medical condition. However, if you are going to waste your time and money, at least make sure it isn’t a pyramiding business with additional strike against it (see Huffington Post article above).
Also Jusuru seemed to steal the MonaVie playbook in creating their product and marketing plan as I mentioned in my article. Did you see what happened to MonaVie?
I don’t believe I’ve been “stupidly commenting.” I think I put some real research into it. It seems like the doctor who posted previously backs my research. I’m not sure how you think my article ruins anyone’s business. I’m still waiting for Jusuru’s VP of marketing to continue the conversation we started years ago.
This is not a theological discussion. Do you believe that I have an indigo, juggling unicorn in my garage? Have you seen him?
Hey lazyman :) . Thanks for writing this article. I wanted to shed some insight from a person that had been attempted to be courted into the pyrimid, but didnt fall for it. I have a friend who invited me to this get together, a networking meeting they called it. She said it would be a good place to meet people and find a better job. So i went. Well, then came the moment i realized, oh crap, i got suckered into a pyrimid scheme trap meeting lol. I actually was intrigued though. My friends face popped up on the slideshow. She looked horrible! I mean like 10 years older and exhausted. The after pic looked great! Like she actually looks. I never knew her when she supposedly started drinking biocell so i dont know if she actually looked that bad or if she waited till she had been crying all night or something to take the pic, but i was pretty convinced this stuff was magic lol. At the end of the show, anyone who was interested was asked to stay behind. I got a sign up sheet shoved infront of me and a pen and was pushed to sign away, give them my credit card info, ect. Ummm no… not gonna do that. I was still interested though, at this magic juice. I still hung out with the ladies, several times. Even went to the seminars, which quite honestly seemed pretty convincing. But my friend never seemed to be making the money she said i woud if i became a distributor. I felt like i coudnt trust it. After meeting so many people whos lives it changed though, looking them in the eye and feeling convinced, i must admit i still want to try it. I dont want to be a distributor though. That just seems like a road i dont want go down and get suckered in to, it seems like once youre in, your trapped. Or at least it scares me that theres some hidden thing no one is talking about that keeps you stuck in the hustle. And the people who do it, seem to be always on a new kick, a new idea to make money, or gain extra income. But i met a hell of a lot of actual doctors who reccomend it. Teachers, vets, and a lot of people with honest jobs were doing it. They said that the body cant absorb all of the biocell collegen, hyaralonic acid and biotin in supplements and we end up peeing most of it out. Supposedly the company found a way to make the molecules “smaller” and more absorbable. Thats their claim to why it works. They said the added the other superfruits and stuff to just flavor and enhance the product to being even healthier and beneficial. They even had a guy with horses saying he healed his lame horse with it. I recently bought a powder with the same ingredients, not jusuru, just 30 dollar stuff from a vitamin shop. So far i actually feel less achy and my acne and skin seems to be improving. Only time will tell though. But if it keeps helping, i may just splurge and try the liquid biocell finally. Just to see if its actually worth the price. I will update if i do with my results if you like. It is very pricey though, thats been the main reason why I haven’t tried it sooner. Scammy pyrimid scheme? Most likely. Does it work? Im pretty certain it does. Is it worth the price though. We will see i guess. Lol
Lori said: “But i met a hell of a lot of actual doctors who reccomend it.”
Who are these doctors you speak of? If any of them are recommending Jusuru, you can be sure it’s either because they have a financial interest in the product or that they are third-rate hacks; or most likely, both. Give us some names please; so that they can be reported to the proper authorities.
Lori said: “They said that the body cant absorb all of the biocell collegen, hyaralonic acid and biotin in supplements and we end up peeing most of it out. Supposedly the company found a way to make the molecules “smaller” and more absorbable.”
They lied, plain and simple. Not even a good lie.
Lori said: “They said the added the other superfruits and stuff to just flavor and enhance the product to being even healthier and beneficial.”
Again, they lied.
Lori said: “They even had a guy with horses saying he healed his lame horse with it.”
Guess what? He lied too. But surely that was already painfully obvious right?
Lori said: “I recently bought a powder with the same ingredients, not jusuru, just 30 dollar stuff from a vitamin shop. So far i actually feel less achy and my acne and skin seems to be improving.”
Ingesting collagen doesn’t relieve aches or have any beneficial effects on skin. It’s your imagination.
Lori said: “i may just splurge and try the liquid biocell finally.”
Or you could just burn $50-dollar bills in the fireplace. It’s a much easier way to dispose of excess cash than wasting it on Jusuru.
Lori said: “I will update if i do with my results if you like.”
Sure, if you can convince someone qualified to conduct a proper case study and report all the results in a credible manner. If not, then no thanks.
Lori said: “Scammy pyrimid scheme? Most likely.”
Unequivocally.
Lori said: “Does it work? Im pretty certain it does.”
You are most certainly wrong.
Lori said, “My friends face popped up on the slideshow. She looked horrible! I mean like 10 years older and exhausted. The after pic looked great!”
Huff post has a great article on manipulation of before/after photographs. Do not get swindled by these types of evidence. They can be misleading at best, and are regularly not real.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-dixon/weight-loss-secrets_b_3643898.html
Lori said, “But my friend never seemed to be making the money she said i woud if i became a distributor. I felt like i coudnt trust it.”
BINGO! If you already have noticed this, then you are way ahead of the game. End the story here and stay away from this nonsense. Even if the product does work, the criminal organization running it should not be supported by your hard earned dollars!
Lori said, “And the people who do it, seem to be always on a new kick, a new idea to make money, or gain extra income. But i met a hell of a lot of actual doctors who reccomend it. Teachers, vets, and a lot of people with honest jobs were doing it.”
Lori, you should always be concerned and ask questions about other people’s motives. You have noticed they are always looking for a way to get rich quick, and constantly go from one idea to the next…chances are, the last person they are concerned about is you.
Also, why are you trusting the opinions of teachers and veterinarians? Regardless of their bias toward making money from your purchases, they are not qualified to speak on skin care. Also, if you run into a dermatologist pushing this product, that is someone to stay away from, because they are utilizing their degree/trustworthiness to take advantage. These products do not have science to back them up, and are not comparably better than any other over-the-counter drug.
Lori said, “They even had a guy with horses saying he healed his lame horse with it.”
DANGER! DANGER! That is not what this product is designed to do, and people spinning tales of amazing results are not being honest! Run away when you hear things like this!
Perhaps Jusuru isn’t responding to you because they were acquired by another company.
[Editor’s Note: It appears that they were acquired by another company years after they refused to continue the conversation.]
I started using the Biocell Life 3 weeks ago and haven’t used a heating pad since. My knees no longer pop and I feel amazing. Like I did in my 20s. This 45 year old Grandma will never stop using it. I feel great. And the MLM model is great. It might not be for you but it’s helping a lot of people earn extra money in their spare time. People knock what they are afraid of and get hostile toward people who don’t agree with them. I think you should actually try the product for a month before posting stuff like this. If anyone else wants to try it [Editor’s Note: I deleted the rest of this comment. Please doesn’t use this space to sell your product… especially after using medical claims.]
I work for a MLM company and make good money with also helping people ..and dam if it was a scam then why did I get a tax T4 at the end of the year and why are the teaching it at a University
I haven’t found an MLM that helps people yet. Enron delivered lots of tax documents to people as well. The IRS doesn’t review pyramid schemes for validity. That’s not their area of law enforcement.
Which university is teaching your MLM? I don’t know of any university in the US that endorses or teaches an MLM. Please give a link to the class.
Hey Lazy,
If you enjoy this stuff go read “Do you Believe in Magic: The sense and nonsense of alternative medicine” by Paul Offit. Great read. Very informational. After reading your comments I am sure you would enjoy it.
I have that book on my Kindle. I haven’t gotten a chance to read it. For those who don’t have the money or time here’s a good review: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/health/mind-over-matter-debunking-alternative-medicines.html
I ABSOLUTLEY LOVE how you shut down these people! KEEP IT UP! Cracks me up!