Noni research:
how good is the evidence?

Noni research, evidence and good science. Learn what to look out for in the world of natural juices.

My aim here is to give you some background and examples to help you weigh up claims made for aloe, noni, mangosteen (and others) for yourself.

With a little practice, you can soon tell if someone is s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g their imagination rather than making a sound claim, within the limits of the evidence, produced by the (say) noni research.

You may want to take a more detailed look at the main authors of research used here - their backgound and interests. If so, click here.

I'm generally enthusiastic about the health benefits of these natural nutritional supplements (otherwise I wouldn't be writing this ...!). I also think I have a role in helping you make decisions for yourself by thinking about the quality of the research and the evidence it produces.

I believe it empowers you to be able to challenge the evidence for claims made for a particular product. How good was the noni research that led to a specific health claim, for example?

When you check the quality of the evidence, and the research looks good - you're in a strong position to make a real choice for yourself. It ain't rocket science - stay with it. I'll guide you. We'll have some fun with it along the way!

What might distort the interpretation of evidence?

If information is distorted to make a sale, beware of a scam! I present a valuable criticism of network marketing and of mangosteen. We can use that to explore some ideas.

Evidence needs to be interpreted. That is also part of the research process. Though scientists like to make claims for the objectivity of their research and the pristine quality of their evidence, issues of interpretation often muddy the waters. One research process seldom points directly to a clear conclusion.

Evidence based medicine has resulted in an over-used phrase: "There's no evidence that product 'X' - say a specific form of noni juice - helps condition 'Y'".

I've frequently heard doctors say this when they'd prefer not to discuss a tricky issue ... or maybe they just don't know (I have no problem with that). Watch out for prejudice and the twisting of evidence on all sides!

People tend to think it means that -in this example - the noni research has been done, but no evidence was. More likely, it means the research hasn't been done in the first place!

To protect yourself from scams, you need to weigh up noni research, mangosteen research, aloe research and so on. Does it lead to sound evidence and a justifiable claim for a particular benefit?

When someone tells you, "Aloe is good for irritable bowel syndrome" it's a good idea to check what evidence this 'claim to knowledge' is based on. Is this knowledge ... or groundless opinion?

All claims for knowledge are based on something. In the health field, it's a good idea to check whether the claim fits the evidence ... or is the claim being ... er, let's say ... embellished?

Could this all be just media hype? Could the latest noni research story be a feeding frenzy delivered by network marketeers to get the vulnerable and needy to part with their hard earned cash? Could the mangosteen story be a scam?

I hope I can provide a few ideas for you to bear in mind while you read any claims made in the rest of the site. Following advice blindly is disempowering. Please just remain thoughtful and challenging.

From experience of using the stuff, and stories I’ve heard from patients who have been helped, I’d say it’s very unlikely to be all hype … but there is both credible evidence and hype “out there” for health benefits of noni, aloe, mangosteen and the others.

Be on your guard … and don’t simply take what I say on trust, either!

Can you bear an aside on ”crap detection”?

I’m not sure when I read Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner’s book called Teaching as a Subversive Activity. But I loved it. Delacorte Press published it in the USA in 1969.

It helped me decide to become a teacher (before witnessing too much “schooling” decided me to get out!! … FAST!). I decided to hunt it down in a second hand bookshop recently.

I still love it. If you’ve got the message, skip this quote (from page 16 of the 1971 Penguin edition):

We believe that the schools must serve as the principal medium for developing in youth the attitudes and skills of social, political and cultural criticism.

Sounds a bit stuffy? It gets better!

No, that is not emphatic enough. Try this: in the early 1960s, an interviewer was trying to get Ernest Hemingway to identify the characteristics required for a person to be a great writer. As the interviewer offered a list of various possibilities, Hemingway disparaged each in sequence. Finally, frustrated, the interviewer asked, “Isn’t there any one essential ingredient that you can identify?” Hemingway replied, “Yes, there is. In order to be a great writer a person must have a built-in, shockproof crap detector.”

… One way of looking at the history of the human group is that it has been a continuing struggle against the veneration of ‘crap’.

The key is: remain open-minded AND questioning

This is my plea to you to be sceptical. Please, be sceptical (or skeptical, if you live in a different part of the world to me!).

Scepticism is a really valuable thinking tool. It helps you stay in questioning mode while you weigh what you’re being told. It’s not the same as being cynical … “Oh, they’re just in it for the money.” Full stop.

Scepticism doesn’t really have that “full stop”. It’s an invitation to weigh up evidence, to keep inquiring, to keep asking important questions.

And there really are some important questions to be asked as you seek to gain greater clarity in managing your own health. I invite you to remain sceptical as you make your way round this site.

Are the traditional uses of medicinal plants valid for us in modern society? Can we use those plants in the same way? Will they affect us in the same way?

You need to think about the value of individual testimonies. If uncle Charlie’s stomach ulcer is helped by a particular product, what are the chances it will help YOU? Can benefit be predicted from his good result?

You need to think about bias. It’s relatively easy to see that companies could be biased, and drive the conclusions of their product research in a particular way. It’s good for sales. Drug companies have attracted a lot of justifiable criticism from time to time for this kind of behaviour.

Noni research - and any form of research, for that matter - finds it difficult to deal with individual effects.

If you want to think this through more carefully, follow this link to consider how one person's enthusiasm might skew the picture?

The impact of network marketing the products

Network marketing is so bound up with the recent history and success of noni juice and the rest, it’s worth listening to a robust criticism of MLM and its potential distorting effects.

Some noni research should focus on potential lifestyle benefits of mlm distributors. If mlm really delivers powerful lifestyle benefits - such as freedom from financial worries - this is almost certain to be reflected in health benefits.

Can we expect natural health products to be tested in the same way as orthodox drugs? Do we wait for the results of randomised clinical trials of aloe vera juice to be published before we can start to use it safely?

Use the links if you’d like some support in asking your own questions. As in other parts of the site, this will develop.

I’d like to know what troubles you in sorting out noni research evidence.

Use the “contact us” button to ask, and I’ll respond in the e-zine. I hope we’re in this together. We all need to know what the powerful questions are! And we all need to work our whether we’ve heard believable conclusions drawn from noni research evidence ... and the other juices, too!

Return to home page from this "noni research" page