Does Juice Plus really work? Problems and complaints seem to plague this network marketing company… but are the complaints founded in fact? This article reveals the truth about claims of a Juice Plus scam.

A Brief Review of National Safety Associates – The Company Behind Juice Plus

Juice Plus is a product sold and distributed by National Safety Associates, a multi-level marketing company founded in 1970 by Jay Martin. Based in Collierville, Tennessee, the company started out retailing fire safety products door-to-door, and later expanded to sell water filtration equipment.

In 1986, the company adopted a multi-level marketing business model. In 1993, NSA began marketing Juice Plus, and later developed other nutritional products in the Juice Plus line.

NSA Juice Plus – An Explanation of the Product

NSA Juice Plus consists of powdered fruit and vegetable extracts that are fortified with vitamins and minerals and sold in an encapsulated form. NSA claims the product offers benefits related to a reduction in anti-oxidant stress and decreased risk of cardiovascular health issues. Their website states:

“The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends we eat 7 to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Most people don’t come anywhere close. Clinically proven Juice Plus+ helps you bridge the gap between what you should eat and what you do eat, every day.”

Juice Plus Problems and Complaints

It’s not difficult to find internet posts by dissatisfied customers who claim to have taken Juice Plus. Problems reported most often include skin rashes and eruptions after taking the product. This could be due to a simple food allergy, as consumers may fail to read the fine print on the nutritional supplement label, and may inadvertently ingest the product unaware of whether it contains an ingredient to which they are allergic.

A common counter-claim made by Juice Plus distributors is that the skin rashes are normal, and to be expected when the body is “detoxifying”. While this a possibility (at least in my personal experience with fasting and cleansing regimens), it is doubtful that the product contains sufficient amounts of anti-oxidants and nutrients to cause a massive “toxic flush” of the sort that could result in skin eruptions.

Critics also argue the company makes unfounded claims regarding the health benefits of Juice Plus. Problems critics refer to include that there is no scientific evidence to support the marketing claims that NSA makes regarding the purported health benefits of the Juice Plus products.

Behind the Claims of a Juice Plus Scam

But are the critics’ arguments founded in fact? NSA cites the results of 14 studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals to support company claims regarding the health benefits of taking Juice Plus products. However, of the studies cited, critics claim only one study was actually independently funded; they say the rest were funded by NSA or the supplement manufacturer. While this does not necessarily mean that the studies are invalid, it does raise concerns regarding a conflict of interest among the researchers involved.

In addition, some critics claim that the studies cited used flawed methodologies and research. This points to the problem with citing “scientific” studies in order to support health claims of any nutritional supplement; that is, the general public, being unfamiliar with the scientific and statistical jargon used in such studies, is easily confused by such research. As any research scientist or statistician will tell you, research data and statistics can easily be manipulated to fool the unknowing.

Granted, the Juice Plus products do contain certain beneficial nutrients; however, this is mostly due to the fact that the product is fortified with nutrients during manufacturing. Having taken Juice Plus products myself, I can honestly state that I observed no noticeable difference in my health while taking the supplement.

However, such experiences are purely subjective, and the results one person experiences while taking a nutritional supplement may differ from another person’s experience. Case-in-point, a close relative continues to take the Juice Plus supplement and has related to me that they “feel better” when taking it on a daily basis.

The Juice Plus Business Opportunity

NSA offers a business opportunity promoting the Juice Plus products as an independent distributor using their “virtual franchise” model. Distributors earn money on the difference between wholesale cost and retail profit, in addition to a percentage commission of 6% to 22% based on sales volume.

While the compensation plan is extremely complicated, what it boils down to is that the distributor would need to build an organization of thousands of retail customers consuming the product month after month in order to build any significant income. Unfortunately, history and experience have shown that such compensation plans make it extremely unlikely that the average person will be able to trade their day job for a new career as a network marketing distributor.

In Closing

While NSA is proven to be a strong network marketing company, there are certain questions regarding their marketing practices and product claims that should be answered by anyone looking at the company. Any decision to join NSA or any other multi-level marketing company is obviously a very personal one, and should be made on the basis of the individual’s own research and due diligence.

Having said that, I would personally encourage anyone who is thinking of joining a traditional MLM company such as NSA to stop first and take a look at a direct selling business that follows the G.P.T. model. If you would like more information on the business I chose, feel free to contact me at my website listed below.

About the Author:

The Network Marketing Maverick helps average networkers build above average incomes through savvy business training and advice that flies in the face of conventional industry wisdom.

Want to know more? Fill out the response form on the home page for a FREE 7-Day Crash Course on how to succeed in networking, the Maverick Way.

Sincerely,

Success Solutions for Network Marketers:

• Strategy
• Marketing
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Free Life International – A Brief Review of the Company and Products

FreeLife International is a network marketing company founded in 1995 by Ray Faltinsky and Kevin Fournier. The company initially launched with a focus on vitamins and nutritional supplements, but has since switched it’s focus to marketing products containing juice from the Chinese wolfberry, also known as the goji berry.

The latin name for the wolfberry is “Lycium barbarum”, and the plant is a member of the family Solanaceae, which includes plants in the deadly nightshade family (potato, tomato, eggplant, deadly nightshade, chili pepper, and tobacco). Wolfberries have been traditionally used in Chinese herbal medicine for nearly 2,000 years, and are considered to be a safe food substance.

Although the wolfberries themselves contain polysaccharides and carotenoid antioxidant compounds which are shown to have beneficial properties in vitro, as yet there are no substantiated studies that prove the various wild claims that have been made regarding the medicinal and anti-cancer properties that Chinese wolfberries are purported to possess.

However, a recent study did conclude that consumption of Goji berry juice produced subjective feelings of increased well-being in the test subjects. Even so, the researchers conducting the study stated that further research and data would be necessary since no physiological changes could be detected in the test subjects.

The FreeLife Business Opportunity Selling GoChi Juice

As a multi-level marketing company, FreeLife International offers a home business opportunity that centers around selling their products to retail end-users, who are encouraged to purchase the products on a monthly “autoship” subscription basis. Autoship programs are prevalent in network marketing companies that sell consumables, as it tends to stabilize distributor sales volume and income.

Unfortunately, industry statistics show that the average customer only stays on an autoship subscription approximately three months. This indicates that a FreeLife distributor would have to build an organization by recruiting mostly other distributors, who would then have a vested interest in continuing to use the products and would therefore be more likely to retain their monthly product subscription.

Although it is possible to build a substantial income with a company that adheres to this business model, for the average person this is a highly improbable outcome. Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of network marketing distributors are able to succeed at these types of business models.

Having said that, the cost of entry to become a FreeLife distributor is quite low at around $40, and the company clearly states that distributors “can earn anywhere from a few dollars to a five-figure monthly income.” According to the 2007 annual income statistics posted to the FreeLife International website, the average entry-level distributor earned $104.48 in 2007, and only the top 3.5% of distributors in the company earned any substantial income (upwards of $60,203.12 annually).

In Conclusion

That FreeLife International sells nutritional supplements that are as good as any on the market is without question. However, the verdict is still out on the health benefits of their flagship product, “GoChi Juice”.

With regards to their business opportunity, FreeLife is similar to most other multi-level marketing companies in that they follow a business model that favors the small percentage of distributors who are highly skilled marketers and sales persons, who are able to build huge downline organizations. Unfortunately, most distributors in these companies will fail to make any significant income at all, despite their efforts.

It is for that reason that this author left the traditional network marketing business model behind and instead chose a business model that allows even the average person to create an above-average income.

If you’d like more information on which company I personally recommend, feel free to contact me at my website listed below.

About the Author:

The Network Marketing Maverick helps average networkers build above average incomes through savvy business training and advice that flies in the face of conventional industry wisdom.

Want to know more? Fill out the response form on the home page for a FREE 7-Day Crash Course on how to succeed in networking, the Maverick Way.

Success Solutions for Network Marketers:

• Strategy
• Marketing
• Training