Risky Business: The XIMO Golden Energy Drink

Written by Roger Silen Tuesday, 10 May 2011 09:37

I've always been a health supplement enthusiast. I have spent the past five years studying not only preventive health but diet and medicine as well. My experiences have given me the opportunity and the insight to follow the ever changing MLM industry. All of these experiences have piqued my interest in the emerging XIMO Health business opportunity.

As XIMO approaches its release date, the fate of the company may be decided by the results of the initial launch. Although the outcome of the company may show to be different than these first results, more often than not, these results will make or break a company- especially one based around a single product.

To understand XIMO, we'll need to know more about what it is.

XIMO is a green-tea-based energy drink featuring a proprietary formulation of various ingredients, including the herb ephedra. As you know, the sale of ephedra has been banned by the FDA. While I don't always agree with FDA decisions regarding natural medicines, which, in my expert opinion have the potential to improve quality of life and even to cure cancer, I think the ephedra ban was a correct choice.

"There are no formal requirements for standardization or quality control of dietary supplements in the United States, and the dosage of effective ingredients in supplements may vary widely from brand to brand or batch to batch. [25][26][27] Studies of ephedra supplements have found significant discrepancies between the labeled dose and the actual amount of ephedra in the product. Significant variation in ephedrine alkaloid levels, by as much as 10-folds, was seen even from lot to lot within the same brand. [28][29]" This quote is from an article that discussed the death of a man due to several factors, including the use of ephedra. The article goes on to state that "the medical examiner found that the ephedra toxicity played a 'significant role' in Belcher's sudden death" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephedra)

The ephedra-related death might have been the result of supplement abuse. Whatever the case, the ban is real and probably here to stay. In this case, it's for the best, because I don't think ephedra should be part of a beverage formulation. Having said that, I think that over-regulation of supplements can be a very negative thing, that ephedra can be very safe in controlled doses, as demonstrated by traditional Chinese medical use. The coca leaf, for example, a mild stimulant and an excellent natural source of calcium, has health benefits, but is regulated because it can be refined into cocaine, a deadly drug.

The question remains- is XIMO something to worry about? I feel that it is. It skirts around the ephedra ban by a few tweaks to its formula, tweaks that increase safety, but at a price. The primary medical component of ephedra is removed, leaving behind taxing secondary elements for a weaker energy boost. It's not even a healthy drink due to the other stimulants that had to be infused to make up for those tweaks!

The lack of positive health benefits could potentially have a dominating role in your XIMO business. Not only do the loopholes utilized to overcome the ephedra ban beg the question of the life of the product, but they make for a weaker energy boost than people would search for.

So, after due consideration, I've come to the conclusion that I should not invest my time, energy, and money in XIMO. Though it's a shame in many ways, it is unlikely the natural supplement market will become less regulated over the coming years. It is likely to become harder and harder to sell supplements, though they are, in many cases, safer than pharmaceutical drugs. If the FDA closes the ephedra loophole, XIMO could be up the proverbial creek without a paddle, left with nothing to sell and facing potential litigation.

I don't know exactly what will happen. Maybe XIMO will succeed. I do know that good business sense requires you to consider the risks when you choose your investment. It seems foolish to me to buy into something with so many apparent risks.

*On a different note- XIMO currently only has 101 fans on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ximorocks) and I have to say, I'm not surprised.