Unfortunately there are no dietary miracles. What Vibe, produced by the Eniva Corporation, does have is a lot of hype. The scientific adviser to the company (which he actually founded) is Dr. Benjamin Baechler, who graduated with an MD from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 2005. So he is pretty young and inexperienced, hardly someone who has the background to create nutritional marvels, such as those promoted and sold by Eniva. “Vibe” is nothing more than a vitamin-mineral supplement with a few extra seductive ingredients thrown in. Seductive in the sense that people have heard of the possible benefits of green tea, blueberries, pomegranate and tomato products. So they toss in some extracts, just so they can get the name on the label. The amounts are inconsequential. The vitamin and mineral doses are comparable to those found in virtually any supplement available in pharmacies and supermarkets. They make a big deal out of the fact that their ingredients are in solution and therefore better absorbed.
It is true that absorption can vary between different products but before we go down that road we want some evidence that supplements are beneficial to start with. There is no compelling evidence for this. In fact, most recent studies on supplements have failed to support earlier optimism. One can always argue that such supplements are good “nutritional insurance,” and that can be a valid argument. But you do not need to spend outrageous amounts for such insurance, the cheapest vitamin will do. But where the Eniva claims become really questionable is in the area of the “special water” they use to dissolve their nutrients “Eniva’s unique structured water process, called Negative Field Activation” produces superior “water-soluble nutrient density”, they claim. Then they go on to say that “VIBE's formula begins with USP23 pharmaceutical grade water. The water molecules are then enhanced using Eniva's unique process, called Structured Water Technology.TM A powerful magnetic field design, many times the strength of the earth's own magnetic field, is used. Water normally has polar bonds, which in the presence of a magnetic field, are modified. It is a process that "structures" and further purifies the water, resulting in: modified bond angles.” This poppycock is followed by “the composition and effectiveness of the solution are enhanced through the application of Vibrational FrequencyTM Technology.” This is justified by suggesting that “science has revealed that every substance and organism operates within a particular frequency. High frequency forms generally have a higher strength and wellness quotient than those at a low frequency.
Eniva has studied this amazing phenomenon and pioneered a process whereby vibrational energy is applied, penetrating the solution and resulting in: enhanced stability, increased solubility and improved composition and effectiveness.” It is hard to know what to say about such claptrap. It amounts to nothing more than scientific sounding terms being nonsensically blended together. How someone who has graduated Medical School can utter such absurdities is difficult to understand. Beachler of course is not alone in trying to cash in on the public’s fear of illness and the hope for nutritional therapies. Thousands of such types compete for people’s disposable income with hefty promises but lightweight evidence. Do they have any studies showing that people who take their products are in any way better off? No. What they do is take some scientific studies out of context and uses them to promote their products. There is indeed a lot of research on antioxidants and the antioxidant potential of foods. But to suggest that a product like Vibe is great because it has a high antioxidant potential does not mean much. Except in the test tube! Lets’ see a study that shows people who take Vibe have a reduced risk of disease! I think Hype would be a better name for this product than Vibe. Although it does make me vibrate with anger.
