Posted by Randal on August 23, 2002, at 20:55:31
In reply to False Advertising » Randal, posted by IsoM on August 23, 2002, at 15:59:13
> Thought you might appreciate this one, Randal.
>
> I use supplements judiciously & while looking for a particular mineral, saw a new supplement being offered. Picking it up, it said that it contained compounds essential for life found in fresh fruits & vegetables. The ingredients listed were different disaccharides & polysaccharides, plus a few inert binders. Yes, sugar pills! I shook my head in disbelief. I no longer see it offered. I guess not eveyone is as stupid as manufactors would like us to be.
>
> Another new offer that ticks me off is SOD (superoxide dismutase), an enzyme said to have remarkable antioxidant properties. Never mind that it's among the commonest proteins in our body & is found in all our cells & that of the plants & meats we eat. Never mind that when we do eat it, it's digested into the amino acids that make it up & is no longer SOD. Never mind that the amounts offered in pill form are minute & not even listed by weight.
>
> There's a lot of money to be made by marketing half-truths.Those are great stories!
Actually I think the makers of the sugar pill really missed out. Think of it: they could've said that controlled scientific studies have shown that this supplement is just as effective for treating condition "x" as drug "y", as effective as supplement "a" for disease "b" and list all sorts of cases where a particular drug or supplement has been shown to be no more effective than placebo/sugar pill. They could make all sorts of (sometimes surprising) claims, and hey, they wouldn't even be saying anything untrue. Call the supplement something like MAX-PlaCeBo, package it well, and they could probably make a lot of money.
I have to admit that a couple times in the past I have actually walked into a vitamin store SOLELY for entertainment.
Unfortunately, a lot of people with serious illnesses do take things that either do nothing or make things worse. Very sad. I suppose I should make the disclaimer that I do take some supplements (a multivitamin and omega-3 fatty acids), and clearly not everything out there is bad.
Randal
poster:Randal
thread:111261
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020821/msgs/117584.html