May 4, 2020 — We’re learning a lot about health scams. When people feel scared and desperate, promises of a “game-changer” for a dread disease (e.g., COVID-19) can arouse passions. But an objective look at actual evidence brings the truth into view. Then the scam becomes a mess for people who fell for it. That experience should be instructive […]
April 25, 2020 — It’s startling to see a medical journal and a major university promote magical thinking. But there it is. A press release from Oregon State University offers this headline: Dietary Supplements an Important Weapon for Fighting Off COVID-19 We’ve said it before. Beware of such poppycock. Using a Marginal Journal to Promote Nonsense This particular example […]
March 18, 2020 — A public health emergency can have an unfortunate side effect. With the coronavirus pandemic, pseudoscience, quackery, and fraud are emerging, too. Diets and supplements to “boost” your immune system are a common form of this fraud. Honestly, sometimes this sort of misinformation flies under the radar of normally discerning people. But we praise Dietitians of […]
February 18, 2020 — The strongest defense of a scammer often comes from the people who fall for the scam. For inexplicable reasons, people sometimes like sweet little lies and insist that liars are dispensing truth. So it is with herbal supplements for weight loss. People desperate for help in overcoming issues with obesity latch onto these scams. They […]
December 31, 2018 — Many consumers consider dietary supplements to be natural and, therefore, safe. In fact, the Council for Responsible Nutrition reported in 2017 that 87 percent of U.S. consumers have confidence that dietary supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, botanicals, oils, microbiome bacteria, and amino acids, are safe and effective. Unfortunately, their confidence may be a mistake […]
September 14, 2018 — The World Anti-Doping Agency has banned a stimulant called higenamine. It’s present in the berries of a poisonous plant found everywhere in the south – nandina. Also, you’ll find it in many dietary supplements sold for weight loss and workouts. But a new study in Clinical Toxicology raises even more questions about this banned stimulant. Labeling […]
February 6, 2018 — Five supplements that claim to speed up weight loss – and what the science says When you google “weight loss” the challenge to sort fact from fiction begins. These five supplements claim to speed up weight loss, but let’s see what the evidence says. 1. Raspberry ketones Raspberry ketones, sold as weight loss tablets, are […]
April 5, 2017 — A remarkable collaboration is taking shape to set a higher bar for the quality and safety of dietary supplements. This week in Washington the Dietary Supplement Quality Collaborative (DSQC) brought together people from the supplement industry with consumer advocates, health professionals, and scientific organizations. This group has been taking shape over the last year. The shared […]
January 31, 2017 — Dietary supplements live in a unique regulatory space. That space lies somewhere between food and drugs. Sometimes that’s just fine. Vitamins and minerals that your body really needs can be well-regulated for purity and safety. But therapeutic agents also squeeze into this space. For example, glucosamine and chondroitin supplements advertise benefits like “joint mobility.” People with […]
October 20, 2016 — To understand the potential for harm from herbal and dietary supplements (HDS) for weight loss, consider this observation recently published in Hepatology: HDS-induced liver injury now accounts for 20% of cases of hepatotoxicity in the United States based on research data. The major implicated agents include anabolic steroids, green tea extract, and multi-ingredient nutritional supplements (MINS). This observation […]
