You Ask, I Answer: Mona Vie

I was at a cocktail party the other day with women in their late 30s all RAVING about [an acai berry juice blend called] Mona Vie.

[They said] they give it to their kids and their whole families; [some referred to it as] their miracle drink.

Do you know anything about it?

-- Dennise O'Grady
Bay Head, NJ

Of course they were raving about it and throwing the word "miracle" around -- Mona Vie is sold through multi-level marketing!

If they can convince you to become a customer, there's some financial gain for them through distributor commissions.

Although Mona Vie aggressively advertises the acai berry on their website (with vague statements like "scientific experts have referred to the açai berry as the most nutritious and powerful food in the world,") it is one of nineteen fruits contained in the juice blend.

They are, oddly enough, tight-lipped about just how much of their product is composed of acai berry juice: "The exact amount of açai, or of the other fruits, contained in our blend is not disclosed. This is considered one of the company's greatest intellectual assets."

Uh, okay.

Look past the glossy website and attractive packaging and all you have is some very expensive ($50 a bottle!) fruit juice.

Yes, acai berries are healthy, but so are all other fruits. Besides, if your general diet patterns aren't healthy, no amount of acai is going to perform any sort of miracles.

Save yourself the money and instead eat any of the many fruits available at your local supermarket.

Remember -- you're always better off eating whole fruit than simply drinking juice.