First, I want to say that I am very happy to hear that your husband is doing so well. That is excellent news and a wonderful thing for you and your whole family!
Regarding your question about Mona Vie, I have heard of this product and I have heard of acai berries as well. I don't recommend Mona Vie. This is because at this stage, there isn't any research that demonstrates that the product will help prevent recurrence of colorectal or any other type of cancer.
The Florida studies are cell studies, meaning that the researchers examined the effect of the product in a test tube, not in a person, or even in an animal. This is an excellent first step to understanding if a nutrient, combination of nutrients, food, or combination of foods may have benefit for fighting cancer. The next step would be animal studies, and finally, controlled clinical trials in which some people with cancer use a product, while others don't use the product. The researchers then see if this has an effect on how these people do over the long term.
Regarding whether he remains cancer free due to Mona Vie, it's important to note that there are many, many things that could account for why he is still is cancer-free, while his other friends have had a cancer recurrence.
Each person is very individual and any number of things could affect whether a person has a cancer recurrence. Things like the type of cancer cells, the treatments received, stage of disease at diagnosis, whether or not the person exercises, his body weight, his total diet, whether he smokes or drinks alcohol, the skill of his surgeon and medical team, and many, many other factors can affect who has a cancer recurrence.
In fact, it is interesting to note that good research in humans shows that among people diagnosed with colorectal cancer, those who exercise are less likely to have a cancer recurrence than those who don't.
Also of interest is a recent research study demonstrating that among people diagnosed with stage III colon cancer, those who eat a more "western diet" (high fat, lots of meat, refined grains, and dessert) have a higher risk of recurrence (more likely to have a recurrence) compared to those who eat a "prudent diet" (high intake of fruit, vegetables, poultry, and fish).
These research findings on exercise, total diet pattern, and colon cancer recurrence risk support the idea that even after diagnosis, what a person does can help him or her stay healthy. And these findings on exercise and diet pattern come from research studies of humans with cancer, which is much stronger evidence of benefit than currently exists for Mona Vie.
As a final note, I do want to add that while I don't recommend Mona Vie, I think it is fine for your husband to continue using this product. In essence, Mona Vie is a fruit juice that happens to contain types of fruit, such as acai, acerola, and bilberry, that aren't commonly consumed by most Americans. I am a big believer in the "power of plants". I often say that if a plant food doesn't have human research suggesting that it fights disease, including cancer, just give it time and this research probably will emerge.
One possible downside of a product like Mona Vie is sugar content. I recommend that people limit their consumption of most fruit juices to no more than 6 ounces one, or at most two, times per day. I could not find the nutrition product label for Mona Vie on their website, so I couldn't determine how much sugar it contains. But fruit juice can contain a fair bit of sugar, so this is something to be aware of.
In summary, even though I don't think enough research exists to warrant me recommending Mona Vie, I don't recommend that your husband stop using it either. Both you and your husband believe it is helping him to feel better. Also, using Mona Vie may be helping you both feel like you are taking positive steps to keep him healthy, which is an important part of the healing process.
Nutritionist Suzanne
Suzanne Dixon, MPH, MS, RD