My 78 year old mother-in-law has type 2 diabetes for which she is taking Glucophage [metformin], glyburide, and Actos [pioglitazone]. Her physician has suggested taking BiosLife 2 and says that it may eliminate the need for some of these medications. Is there any evidence to this effect to justify the expense of $60 per month?

I am not familiar with BiosLife 2 and could not guess what is in it. I have not read anything in the literature about it. You may want to find out what the active ingredient is and ask if scientific studies have been done and reported in “peer reviewed journals”. This means that not only has valid research been done but the results have been reviewed by other scientists, and they feel the information has merit.

VV

[Editor’s comment: After a websearch, we found the following link: BiosLife 2 from Rexall Showcase International. This product is sold through a multilevel marketing scheme (see The Mirage of Multilevel Marketing at Quackwatch), especially the following comment:

Physician Involvement
During the past few years, many physicians have begun selling health-related multilevel products to patients in their offices. The companies most involved appear to be Amway, Body Wise, Nu Skin (Interior Design), and Rexall. Doctors are typically recruited with promises that the extra income will replace income lost to managed care. In June 1999, the AMA House of Delegates approved ethical guidelines emphasizing that physicians should not coerce patients to purchase health-related products or recruit them to participate in marketing programs in which the physician personally benefits, financially or otherwise, from the efforts of their patients. The guidelines clearly frown on doctors profiting from the sale of health-related nonprescription products such as dietary supplements.
WWQ]

[Editor’s comment: For more information about multi-level marketing, see MLM Watch. Within this site you will find a document entitled “AMA Attacks Sale of Non-Health-Related Products in Medical Offices.”

JSH]