WE wrote about the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issuing a public alert on June 1, 2009 for consumers to “stop using Hydroxycut Products, dietary supplements used for weight loss as fat burners, as energy-enhancers, as low carb diet aids, and for water loss under the Lovate and MuscleTech brand names.” While this was not scam, the deadly side effects led to the recall of all of their 14 products.
The FDA reported that “thus far Hydroxycut has been linked to at least one death and 23 reports of serious health problems; consumers who use the products are at risk of serious liver injury. Some of the health problems associated with the Hydroxycut products include jaundice, elevated liver enzymes (an indicator of potential liver problems), seizures, cardiovascular disorders, rhabdomyolysis (a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure) and liver damage requiring a liver transplant.”
On the other hand, there are hundreds of products marketed as “food supplements,” including untested herbals, that are nothing but a scam, victimizing the unsuspecting, innocent, uninformed, and gullible consumers. The manufacturers of these items hide under the name “food or dietary supplements” to be exempt from the stringent scrutiny of governmental agencies like the FDA, and similar agencies in other countries. As food supplements, these products are then NOT considered as DRUGS and do not have to pass the super-strict and extensive laboratory and clinical investigation by these agencies.
However, while they advertise them as “food or dietary supplements,” these manufacturers claim or imply that their products have medicinal or health benefits, or even effective against various diseases. As such, they should literally be considered drugs, and not food supplements.
Some of the herbals on the dangerous list include: Aconite, Bitter Orange, Chaparral, Colloidal silver, Coltsfoot, Comfrey, Country mallow, Germanium, Greater celandine, Kava, Lobelia, and Yohimbe. All of these were found to have serious side effects, including organ failure and death.
But the sad part of it all is that, while the manufacturers and merchants of this deception enrich themselves with trillion dollar sales around the world each year, the poor consumers are duped into thinking that the very expensive version of the “food supplements” (“designer” vitamins, weight-loss products, beauty aids, immune system boosters, whiteners, sex enhancers, etc) are better than the regular over the counter and cheaper versions. Most of them do not have any proven good effects or advantages over the conventional household products people have been using five decades ago. The hype is so much, because of the tremendous marketing blitz (print media, TV and via the Internet) that uninformed or misinformed people easily fall victims to them.
In the infomercials, some manufacturers or dealers even promise a “100 percent satisfaction or money-back” guarantee. What these companies do is to deposit all sales proceeds in the bank, which earn interest. By the time they refund the customer’s money, if ever, and perhaps after a lot of hustle, it will be at least eight weeks after they have already earned the bank interest on the money of millions of customers. And this translates to billions of dollars in “extra” income for these companies.
A good example of another scam is the so-called “Oxygen Bar” that is seen in many shopping malls and airports. For $10-$15 dollars, one can sit on a stool and breathe in oxygen flowing through colorful fluid (whose cleanliness and sterility are suspect since the liquid is not changed from customer to customer). This is terrible and unhealthy. This obviously contaminated fluid could transmit diseases. The ambient oxygen we breathe in daily is the right dose, healthy and also free. Too much oxygen is even bad for our lungs.
Another is the popular Slim Tea or weight loss tea. If that tea is all one drinks in a day and does not eat, then one would lose weight. Water can do the same. But if one does not diet and controls the food intake, and simply drink the Slim Tea, the result is obvious. The other diet control beverages could also have chemicals in them that are unsafe for the kidneys or liver, etc. Energy drinks are outright dangerous and deaths have been reported among consumers.
Then there is the breast enlarger cream or lotion, or the penis-enhancer pill or lotion. These are all ineffective, useless, and nothing but scams. Let us be thankful for whatever we were blessed with, and not mess around with Mother Nature too much. Enlargers and enhancers are not necessary — the character and the personality of the individual truly count and matter.
Worse is the cure-all tablets or beverages, which claim to be good against several diseases, such as acne, high blood pressure, immune diseases, allergies, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, athlete’s foot and so on.
But the most despicable of them all are those “food supplements” that suggest that they are effective cures for cancer. They are not only baseless and have unfounded claims, but deliver lies that rob cancer patients of their dignity by giving them false hope, while the manufacturers and vendors take their money.
The sage strategy for a healthy lifestyle is exercising daily; eating a diet low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and carbohydrates; consuming a lot of vegetables, nuts, and some fruits daily; maintaining a desired weight; abstaining from tobacco and excess alcohol; taking regular time out to relax; perhaps taking a regular multi-vitamin with minerals daily, if desired; and whatever prescription medications, if any, as ordered by the physician.
We do not really need those “food or dietary supplements” to be healthy, attractive and happy. These products are not only expensive but useless and a waste of money and expectations. As we have reported in the past, a few of them could also have harmful side effects, some serious or even fatal. Unfortunately, it may take time before these adverse effects or organ damage/failures manifest or become evident. By the time the damage is obvious, it is too late.
Let’s be smart and live healthy lifestyles, and stop contributing funds to the already filthy rich CEOs of this multinational trillion-dollar industry at the expense of our wallets, health, and safety.
As always, caveat emptor (“let the buyer beware”) is a wise rule to follow.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus in Northwest Indiana and chairman of cardiac surgery from 1997 to 2010 at Cebu Doctors University Hospital, where he holds the title of Physician Emeritus in Surgery, is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Philippine College of Surgeons, and the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society. He is the chairman of the Filipino United Network – USA, a 501(c)(3) humanitarian foundation in the United States. Email: [email protected]
