Pills, Potions and Powders
By: Source: AARP Bulletin Today Date Posted: 2003-08-07 09:00:12
They cram the shelves of supermarkets and health food stores: dietary supplements promising to clean your liver, cure cancer, conquer arthritis, build muscle, prevent memory loss, make you thin, lower cholesterol and revive your sex drive.
Despite the exaggerated and in some cases deceptive advertising claims for many of these pills, potions and powders, Americans spend an estimated $6 billion a year hoping to slow, stop or reverse the aging process.
And the consumers aren't just graying baby boomers reluctant to grow older. As many as 40 percent are Americans age 65 and over purchasing expensive alternative therapies and herbal supplements.
"These products are marketed to our seniors in a variety of ways," says Sen. John Breaux, D-La., chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. "Some of the [promotional] articles and advertisements simply prey on [their] fears."
In fact, Breaux was so concerned by misleading and unsubstantiated claims made by some manufacturers, he convened a hearing in September to scrutinize the marketing tactics of the largely unregulated supplements industry and consider whether stronger federal oversight is needed.
Diet, Exercise are Best Medicines
Jeffrey Blumberg, professor of nutrition at Tufts University, says proper diet and exercise are "significant contributors to our health and longevity." He says research has shown that diet and physical activity can cut a person's risk for heart disease, cancer, eye disease, osteoporis and other conditions.
Researchers are "looking to better define the best dietary patterns to follow and the best exercises to do, such as strength training and aerobic exercise," he says. "Yes, you do inherent genes that dictate your risk for chronic disease and longevity, but it's not completely predestined. You have the ability to affect how nutrients affect genes."
While dietary supplements encompass a variety of substances—among them vitamins, minerals and amino acids—most of the anti-aging products under investigation are made with herbs, other botanicals or "natural" substances found in the body such as hormones and enzymes.
BUYER BEWARE
"Companies are allowed to promote products that are not shown to be safe and effective for any use. Consumers are essentially on their own," says Larry Sasich, a research associate at Public Citizen Health Research Group, a consumer research organization in Washington.
"We don't even know who's making [some of] this stuff and selling it in the United States," he says, since manufacturers no longer have to register with the government. "This leaves the American public essentially unprotected from dangerous dietary supplement products."
An industry spokesman disagrees. Supplements are adequately regulated by the government, says Michael Maves, M.D., president of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association in Washington.
However, he acknowledges the marketplace is rife with false or misleading claims by some producers.
"Unfortunately," he says, "it is true that there are currently some people involved in the dietary supplement industry who are trying to take advantage of people by making wild and outlandish claims about their products."
Maves adds it is important the government allot "the proper amount of resources" for enforcement programs.
Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the authority to punish companies that make deceptive advertising claims, the explosive growth of the supplements industry—with new products on the market weekly—has rendered that task nearly impossible. At one point, FTC investigators probing the scope of fraudulent health claims on the Internet found 1,600 sites peddling products that promised treatments and cures for a variety of diseases.
FIGHTING FRAUD
"We will never be able to bring an action against every deceptive ad that's out there in the marketplace," says Michelle Rusk, an attorney with the FTC. "We try to educate consumers so they're not duped quite as easily by some of the common scams and claims."
A report by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), released at the Senate committee hearing, found that supplements marketed as anti-aging therapies may be particularly harmful to older individuals—as well as expensive.
Studies have shown that some products contain harmful contaminants or an active ingredient that is much more potent than is indicated on the label, increasing the risk of overdose for some users, the GAO report said. It also said some supplements may interact adversely with certain prescription or over-the-counter medicine. And some products contain little or none of the active ingredients listed on the label, making them worthless, the report said.
Carolyn Feis Korman, a senior health analyst for the GAO and co-author of the report, says, "I don't think there's a product in our report that didn't have side effects or interactions that could be a risk."
HARMFUL OR HELPFUL?
Although some supplements may be potentially harmful, researchers say other products have shown promise for easing age-related conditions in people age 65 and above.
Buyer Beware
Before using any dietary supplement, scientific researchers and nutritionists say, it's best to consult your physician for possible drug interactions or other risks.
In herbal supplements, for example, one brand may contain ingredients that are "10 times less strong" than in another brand, says Anna McCormick, a biologist at the National Institute on Aging. "We don't have real standardization for testing," so the appropriate dosage as well as a product's purity level is unclear.
"Products can be contaminated" or may not contain what's on the label, so your dosing may not be consistent. "It's very much a situation of buyer beware," says Carolyn Feis Korman, co-author of a General Accounting Office report to the Senate Special Committee on Aging.
David Schardt, a nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, says glucosamine and chondroitin, in particular, have been shown in clinical trials to relieve symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Saw palmetto in clinical trials demonstrated a benefit for men with enlarged prostates, he says.
But knowing which products may provide benefits is tricky.
Some researchers and nutritionists say supplement makers have saturated the market since the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), enacted in 1994, essentially deregulated the industry in the United States. Under the act, supplement manufacturers are not required to prove their products' safety or provide reports of adverse side effects by consumers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"We've been calling for the repeal or major amending of DSHEA. It really is a piece of legislation that deregulated the marketplace and opened the door for fraud and deceit," says Sasich of Public Citizen, which also publishes a monthly newsletter, Worst Pills, Best Pills News.
'SNAKE OIL SALESMEN'
Citing unproven products as examples of the kind of deception peddled to the public, specifically to older people, Breaux scolded a company—subpoenaed to appear at his hearing—for its misleading claims involving a variety of anti-aging products. The company, G.B. Data Systems, and its president, A. Glenn Braswell, are currently under federal investigation for business-related practices. Braswell's attorney, Jerry Feffer, told the AARP Bulletin he will not respond to the Senate committee's allegations.
"These are clearly cases of 21st century snake oil salesmen," Breaux said. "They sell slick-looking advertisements that look like medical journals but take advantage of the elderly by putting both their health and their finances at risk."
MAKING MEMORIES
There is no shortage of products on the market suggesting they'll boost memory. Examples: the herbal remedy ginkgo biloba and supplements Senior Moment, Focus Factor and Cognita.
Senior Moment calls itself "the latest innovation in the fight against memory loss." Focus Factor says it will "improve your focus, concentration and memory." Cognita says it supports brain health because it contains gingko biloba, which it says improves blood flow to the brain.
FTC Action
Some products whose makers have been fined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for false or misleading claims:
- Herbal Outlook, which promised to treat patients with AIDS, herpes simplex and tuberculosis
- Liverite, which claimed to treat or prevent a variety of liver disorders as well as ease hangovers
- Longevity Signal Formula, which touted its ability to reverse the aging process and prevent or cure age-related conditions, including arthritis and high blood pressure
- St. John's Kava Kava, which promoted its treatment of HIV/AIDS, colds, syphilis, tuberculosis, fatigue and hysteria
- Colloidal Silver, which claimed to treat arthritis, blood poisoning, cancer, cholera, diphtheria, diabetes, lupus and other diseases and disorders.
Those claims are unproven, nutritionists say, and could cause adverse side effects in certain people with underlying medical conditions.
"Senior Moment is saturating the airwaves," Schardt says. "We looked at the research and talked to researchers; the claims [of all three products] are unsubstantiated. They claim you can reverse age-related memory decline. It's a lot of hyperbole."
Not so, says Paul Deblinger, a spokesman for Nutramax, the makers of Senior Moment. He says some of the product's ingredients "have been proven in many studies … to overcome mild memory loss."
"We're not saying it's treating or curing a disease. We're offering people a nutritional supplement that supplies what is already in their diet or that's lacking in their diet," he says.
HOPE IN A BOTTLE
Other products offering hope in a bottle include DHEA, a growth hormone that may be best known for its claims to slow aging, improve memory, stimulate libido and increase sex drive, boost energy, promote weight loss and build muscle mass.
Some say it may in fact make your body leaner. It may also increase the risk for breast and prostate cancer, promote liver abnormalities, increase risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke, grow facial hair and interact with blood thinners, the GAO said.
St. John's wort is thought to ease symptoms of mild depression, but it may be dangerous for those who take blood thinners or who are undergoing chemotherapy. Ginseng, promoted to ease stress and boost immunity, may also decrease the efficacy of prescription anti-clotting drugs and could alter bleeding patterns, the report said.
Ephedra is touted as an energy booster and diet aid. Garlic is promoted to lower blood pressure. None of these claims is proven, however, and may in fact deter consumers from seeking the appropriate medical treatment.
Vitamins Are OK
People who take vitamins and minerals should not worry that the General Accounting Office (GAO) report applies to them. The GAO did not study vitamins and their safety and efficacy. Some doctors say they encourage older people to take certain vitamins and minerals to compensate for age-related deficiencies.
"There are no compounds currently available on the shelf that have been rigorously scientifically tested that have benefits in the experimental models," says Mark Lane, a scientist for the National Institute on Aging.
"Anyone can walk into a drugstore or supermarket and pick up any number of compounds that have [anti-aging] claims on the bottle to improve health, renew vigor," he says. "None has ever been shown to reduce the effects of aging."
Daniel Perry, executive director of the not-for-profit Alliance for Aging Research in Washington, says medical research aimed at the aging process and at diseases that occur more frequently with age is an important area of scientific endeavor.
But he cautions, "We are shadowed by literally hundreds if not thousands of years of … quackery and charlatanism … that someone has [found] a way to cheat death, cheat aging and escape the declines that come with aging. This quest for immortality is pre-Christian and very ancient."
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