I’m a science nerd. At one time I was seriously considering a career in medicine. Even though my life took a few different turns since then I still find topics like microbiology, biochemistry and cell biology fascinating, especially when it involves the science of the human body. We are all walking bags of millions of amazing chemicals reacting with each other in millions of amazing ways and it’s just incredibly fascinating to me.
In large part because of that, I am highly sceptical of “alternative” medical treatments, and doubly so of ones sold by MLM companies. It’s hard to believe that a product is a legitimate medical treatment when I’m purchasing it on a Thursday evening in someone’s living room after a glass of wine and some snacks. Medicine isn’t Tupperware.
I need to know how things work. If you are going to sell me a cure for diabetes and depression, or anything else for that matter, how is it going to cure me? I’ve found that most sellers and even many manufacturers of these products can’t answer this question. Statements like “resets your natural balance” or “heals your metabolism” are meaningless in and of themselves and need further explanation.
Example #1 – I currently take Metformin for my type 2 diabetes. It reduces blood sugar in two main ways- it restricts the liver’s ability to release glucose into the bloodstream and it stimulates cells to use glucose more effectively.
Example #2 – I also currently take Effexor for my depression/ anxiety issues. It works by interfering with the breakdown of two chemicals in the brain (serotonin and norepinephrine).
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t expect most folks to get excited over reading about how Metformin works within the mitochondria of the cell or the interaction between serotonin and nerve cells in the brain on the microbial level just because I enjoy it. I don’t expect everyone to do that deep of a dive into the wonderful world of human biology just because I think it’s fascinating.
What I do expect is that if you are going to tell me that hemp oil or crystal therapy or salt lamps or anything else is going to cure me you gotta tell me how. At the VERY least give me a pamphlet or a website where I can find this information. If you can’t, you might as well say it works by magic. I need real information- and I suggest you should as well. If you are selling a product that does not provide that information for its customers or even its sellers, I’m simply not interested. Furthermore, I would ask why you would want to be associated with a company who can’t – or won’t – let folks fully understand the products they are producing for sale for human consumption.
So, no, I’m not trying to “talk down to you” or insult you or anything else. I just need the answer to the question “But How?” And that shouldn’t be too much to ask.