Hi to all my Adlandpro friends, The following is an article I posted 'WAY back in 2005 that I feel could be very helpful in wading through all the hype when you're looking for a good, home-based business. Note that you can help to protect yourself against scammers by going to http://scambusters.org Baby Boomers, Scammers and Snake Oil Salesmen by Dave Cottrell Baby Boomers (BBr) make up the single largest group on planet Earth at this time. If you are a BBr, you have a LOT of company! Generally speaking, a BBr is someone who was born between 1946 and 1964. This means that ALL BBrs are now over 40! The BBr group has always been known for being very active and on average, more financially stable than any large group in history. After WWII, the economy boomed in many areas of the world, creating undreamed of wealth especially for westerners. Many of the things we take for granted today would have been considered lavish luxuries for previous generations (cars, washing machines and driers, tvs, electric lights, vacations, etc., etc.) Prior to the BBr generation, people were content to have enough to eat and wear, and a roof over their heads! (Next time you hear someone born before 1946 reminiscing wistfully about the "good old days," remind them that most people at that time walked everywhere, had one pair of shoes, one set of work clothes, and one set of "Sunday-go-to-meeting" clothes!) The Baby Boomer generation has always been known for being very active, travelling extensively, playing hard, and doing everything possible to deny the aging process. But the fact is, BBrs ARE getting older. Add this to the fact that BBrs have more disposable income than any previous generation, and you open up a HUGE market for products that claim to improve health and/or slow the aging process! Do an online search for "health supplements" and you will find 7,481,585 pages on MSN and 6,760,000 on Google! High quality health supplements ARE good for most people. However, not all health supplements are high quality. Many of the products offered are simply a concoction of high-priced chemicals thrown together under a fancy name and some very questionable claims. Back in the "good old days" of the "wild, wild west," scammers known as "snake oil salesmen" used to travel from town to town selling bottles of elixir (read - health supplements), guaranteed to cure virtually all known ailments and conditions. They preyed on people who were suffering, selling them nothing more usually than a concoction of alcohol and some bad-tasting goop dumped in to make it taste legitimate (in those days, the worse medicine tasted, the better it was for you!!) Some of these "medicines" had highly toxic ingredients added like mercury and arsenic. See http://www.chemheritage.org/EducationalServices/pharm/asp/asp21a.htm So what IS a true health supplement? It is something that is taken in addition to the regular food you eat every day. Under FDA guidelines, it cannot claim to cure or treat any condition, ailment or disease. Such claims are illegal unless the product has been subjected to rigorous testing and then labeled as a drug. Today's snakeoil salesmen generally get around this by using "unsolicited testimonials" from people using their products. (The FDA is creating increasingly strict guidelines in this area, too.) It is also worth noting that the Placebo Effect is being seriously studied by accredited researchers at this time. See http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar02/placebo.html and http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume1/pre0010002a.html Many of the popular supplements available in local stores and pharmacies are chemically derived vitamins and minerals. Such minerals are virtually impossible for the body to absorb, and without them, the vitamins will not be used either. Most pass through the body doing little, if any, good. Taken in large doses, some vitamins and minerals are toxic and actually increase the risk of serious medical conditions. See this document from the Australian government and this one from American Longevity Information Center The best source of useable vitamins and minerals is from the natural food you eat. This means that it is very important to eat a regular, balanced and varied diet of unrefined foods. It is especially important to include an abundance of green, leafy vegetables, and brightly colored fruits and vegetables. Due to the fast-paced lifestyle of BBrs, pollution, and other environmental factors, it is often wise to use supplements. However, the best supplement is one that is totally natural, like a whole juice or berries from a very nutrient-rich plant. Before choosing such a supplement, do some online research. While the company producing the supplement may make many incredible claims supported by so-called "unsolicited" testimonials and "doctors", a quick search online will reveal much about the nutritional value of the source plant used for the supplement, as well as information on the health claims about the plant, research, and validity. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Cottrell markets online and off, writes like crazy, and publishes several newsletters and websites including http://tipsntools.com. Permission is hereby granted to reprint this article in full provided this resource box remains unchanged and attached. © 2005 Tipsntools.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- God bless, Dave

Hi Dave! Great article. There are a couple of reasons that the Baby Boomers, and everyone else, for that matter, are deficient in the vitamins and minerals they need to maintain a healthy life. The first and most obvious reason is, we eat too much junk food. Fast food and snack foods are so bad for you. I watched a TV special about a guy who decided to do an experiment, and eat nothing but McDonald's food for 30 days. Three meals a day from Micky D's! After the first two weeks, his doctor was begging him to stop the experiment. His body was beginning to die. His cholesterol levels were sky high, his liver resembled that of a man suffering from chronic alcoholism, he couldn't complete the cardiac stress test, and he'd already gained 15 pounds. By the last days of the experiment, he was 24 pounds heavier, and could not climb the two floors to his apartment. It took him a year to lose the weight and detoxify his body through a strict diet. The second reason for our lack of nutrition is actually one of soil depletion. Due to improper crop rotation and over farming, the soil our food is grown in lacks the nutrients to make our food as beneficial as it was 50 years ago. To get the proper amount of vitamins and minerals from our food, we would have to eat 10 times more of it! Supplementation is the answer, but you are right on the money when you say that store brand vitamins don't fill the bill. These vitamins, even the popular health food store brands, only absorb into the body at a rate of 3% - 9%. So, to make them effective, you'd have to take them by the handful. You may as well be dumping them down the toilet, because that's where the end up anyway. Liquid vitamins work better and are absorbed at a rate of almost 98%. This is one reason that I promote Himalayan Goji Juice. It is proven to be absorbed at the rate of 98%. And, it is a whole food, made from berries, with nothing chemical added to it. There are no preservatives. It is so safe that the FDA approved it for pregnant women. It is 100% juice. (I drink it every day.) Melaleuca has developed a patented process for their supplements that also allows for a high absorbtion rate, called Fructose Compunding. This method is remarkable! They bond fructose to the vitamins at the molecular level. What this does is trick your body into thinking you are giving it sugar, which it will absorb with ease. These companies have the real deal in beneficial supplements. I know first hand, from using them for years. They are the only vitamins I've ever taken that actually made me feel different (better) after taking them. There are many health drinks on the market today, claiming to be the best, but one should really investigate to avoid the 'snake oil'. Several have reported side effects that can be fatal. You have to go to the FDA web site and do research. Some of these drinks have had deaths linked to them from brain hemmorage, and blood clotting abnormalities. After reading the web site, go to sites like the FDA, oe even WebMD and research the ingredients before buying into anything. Your life could depend on it. Trina

Hi Trina, Yes, soil depletion is becoming a big problem, and so is atmospheric pollution that ends up in the food as it precipitates over the fields. Soil depletion is in most cases today dealt with by dumping large quantities of chemical fertilizers on the fields. While these chemicals cause beautiful and healthy looking growth, the plants often have very little actual food value, as it takes very little more than nitrogen, phosphates, water and sun to grow beautiful crops. It's interesting that you mention goji juice and products from Melaleuca. I also use both, having done plenty of research, and am very pleased with both. I would encourage anyone looking at a food supplement to start by googling it online. In the vast majority of cases, you will find that all the claims about a health supplement are GREATLY exagerated and even blatantly untrue. I would encourage anyone who is at present marketing any food supplement who has not already done so (shame on you if you haven't) to do a google search on your product right now. I COULD name the names of companies making exagerated and false claims, but I'll leave it up to the individual to do their due diligence. Suffice to say, you could be selling or consuming something that does nothing more than produce expensive human waste.

Hi I enjoyed reading your article Dave it's great information. I would love to share it and I will keep the resource box intact as you wish. Thanks you for the invite, have a great night. Warm Regards Speak out & pass it on! Broadcast Decency United Voice Against CHILD ABUSE

Hi Flo, Glad you enjoyed the article. It there to share. God bless, Dave