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I told a group of people that they need to be careful about alternative treatments. Some are highly effective, while others are entirely bogus and potentially dangerous. One of them asked me to read a book of hers on reflexology¹ and let her know what I think of it.

I only needed to read a few pages to confirm my initial reaction. In case you are wondering, reflexology is the practice of massaging hands and feet to affect and heal internal organs. Yes, it is bogus. However, I formed that conclusion before I even knew what it was by discerning the level of confidence the writer of the book displays.

“It should also be noted here that Reflexology is not a panacea . . . it is an adjunctive to medicine and must be regarded as such.” Note the passivity of this sentence from the very beginning of the book; not only the statement itself but the writing tone. I have quoted this exactly as it appears in the book, including the bold “not.”

These next statements are found in the first of five forewords. “It must be said that foot reflexology has not yet been proven as effective.” You will not find a wimpy statement like this in my father’s manual. “For whatever reasons, we do know that patients treated with foot reflexology feel better, function better, and often improve in the biological and psychosocial disorders that lead them to seek help.” For whatever reasons?! This statement is the epitome of subjective standards of evaluating patient improvement. My father did not tolerate subjective standards in his practice. When a patient said “I guess I… I kind of… I don’t know. Maybe I… feel better” that meant “no” according to my father. Furthermore, he measured improvement objectively by comparing speed, fluidity, and range of motion before and after treatment. There is none of that in this book; not even case histories. “Quite probably, it will eventually be shown that foot reflexology alters energy flow in the body.” Now it reveals its true colors. Any treatment dealing with “energy flow” apart from the measurable transmission of nervous electrical impulses or the circulation of nutrients is bogus, without fail. There is no need to bore you with any other details from this book.

We need to scrutinize alternative models and techniques rigorously. We should forcefully reject and oppose the ones that don’t stand up to scrutiny. The problem we have in medicine today is that conventional medicine rejects most alternative treatments, not based on their effectiveness, but based on their philosophy. Meanwhile, alternative medicine accepts almost all alternative treatments, once again not based on their effectiveness, but based on the fact that conventional medicine rejects them. Those of you who are practitioners know this is true. I think it became this way in alternative medicine because few practitioners wanted their own treatments to be scrutinized. They could not stand up to it. So there is an unwritten policy that I will not question yours if you do not question mine.

This practice must stop. We need to start asking the hard questions. How do you know that touching the center of someone’s foot will affect their kidneys? If you do not have a logical, rational, reasonable explanation, then I will reject your model and oppose it. There are large variations in the effectiveness of alternative models and treatments. To build an alternative healthcare system – one that will become the standard system – we must take what works from alternative medicine, and also from conventional medicine, and leave behind what does not.

A confident practitioner should be able to stand up in front of other practitioners and, as my father did, ask for their most difficult patients. It is a bit counterintuitive that this confidence comes from being willing to recognize failure and then taking the necessary steps to improve techniques and adjust the model.

Alexander Typaldos

¹ Byers, Dwight C. (1991). Better Health with Foot Reflexology. Saint Petersburg, Florida: Ingham Publishing, Inc.

I took a class in college where successful entrepreneurs came and told their stories. One of them was a man named Sam Caster, founder of Mannatech. Mr. Caster’s presence screamed VIP. And he spoke in a way that was friendly yet commanded attention. He told us how his business got started and grew, and displayed a passion that was contagious.

Mr. Caster then described Mannatech’s main product, Ambrotose, in great detail. He told of marketing strategy and patent applications, and what Ambrotose is able to do for people who take it. The benefits of this one supplement were astounding! By the end of the lecture we all felt as though our lives would be incomplete until we had some.

Honored to have such an important businessman take the time to share his story, we little understood that our guest salesmen had just made a sale. My professor soon purchased some Ambrotose (which is not cheap, I should mention). I asked him how he felt after taking it. He said he felt a little better in one specific way; maybe he slept better or had more energy, I can’t remember. And he was still very pleased to have discovered Ambrotose.

How Ambrotose works

Ambrotose supplies the body with all of the eight necessary glyconutrient saccharides. According to Mannatech, the average person’s diet only gives them two of these monosaccharides. And all eight are required for cellular communication and glycoprotein structure. Mannatech claims that these molecules help the immune system communicate, so without them a person could develop autoimmune disorders. But if they take Ambrotose, they might recover. Of course, Mannatech cannot come right out and say that or Ambrotose would legally be considered a drug and subject to FDA regulation.

Mannatech suggests that every person on the face of the earth take a dose of Ambrotose every day for the rest of their life. Before I thank Mannatech for their life-changing discovery and service to humanity, let me ask a few questions. Where did Mannatech find these glyconutrients? The answer: plants. Their argument is that “primitive” humans ate more raw fruits and vegetables, thus receiving a full dose. But “modern” humans eat a lot of refined foods, and are thus depleted in glyconutrients.

Their argument is logical; however, I come to a different conclusion. Eat more raw, organic vegetables. The body digests, absorbs, and utilizes nutrients in natural form more easily than altered supplements found in capsules or powders. We know that Mannatech alters the nutrients in Ambrotose because it has a patent for the substance. You can’t just put some aloe gel in a capsule and apply for a patent. There has to be a chemical alteration.

That brings me to my next question. If Mannatech is so interested in the greater good, why does it have a total of 45 patents all over the world? This is no mere formality. Mannatech has a record of bringing suits against smaller companies it suspects of patent infringement, with mixed outcomes. Sounds like big pharma tactics to me.

Finally, if Mannatech has such great products, why do they resort to multilevel marketing to get their products out? The answer is that the validity of their products is based purely on testimonials, not scientific research. I for one am not going to discount the value of personal testimony. But when I put all the facts together, Mannatech starts looking like another pyramid scheme from Texas (where it is headquartered).

The bottom line

We do need all eight glyconutrients, but we can get them by eating a balanced diet rich in raw, organic vegetables. If you have had a bad diet for a long time and don’t want to change, you could benefit from a glyconutrient supplement. Though, your health is unlikely to improve dramatically. And any brand of glyconutrient saccharides will suffice. It doesn’t have to be Ambrotose.

I do believe that occasionally people who take Ambrotose are cured of debilitating diseases like lupus. However, people who play the lottery occasionally win. That does not make it an effective strategy for accumulating wealth. So let’s stop playing the lottery with our health, start eating a healthier diet, and foil Mannatech’s wealth-generating scam.

Alexander Typaldos, JD