Tag: antioxidants

Buzzword Medicine – Anti-Proinflammation

Does it make sense to simultaneously recommend interventions to suppress and boost the immune system?

/ August 11, 2021

Okinawan Flat Belly Tonic

Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic is yet another scam weight loss product made up of a random grab-bag of vitamins, minerals, and powders.

/ May 25, 2021

When Doctors Refuse to Believe Evidence

Paul Offit's new book covers the evidence for many surgeries, medications, and screening tests that have been proven ineffective and harmful yet are still being used by doctors who refuse to follow the science.

/ November 17, 2020

Juice Plus+: Good Marketing, Not Good Science

Juice Plus+ is a multilevel marketing company selling fruits and vegetables that they have reduced to a powder and put into capsules. It's clever marketing using deceptive advertising. There is no scientific evidence that it benefits health.

/ June 11, 2019

A Call for Caution on Antioxidant Supplementation

Antioxidants have gotten a lot of press here on SBM; this post digs a little deeper into the basic science of antioxidants, and the importance of understanding more than just one part of a complex biological system before you interfere with it.

/ October 23, 2018

Living Water

A device called Living Water will convert your tap water into acidic or alkaline water that supposedly is ionized and has antioxidant properties. There is no evidence that it offers any health benefits.

/ May 8, 2018

Macular Degeneration, Genes, and Grandma’s Vitamins: To test or not to test?

Is genetic testing necessary to optimize treatment for patients with a potentially blinding eye disease? The stakes are high and the answer depends on which of the two feuding, financially-conflicted groups you believe. In the end, the best evidence wins!

/ March 30, 2018

I Was Wrong about Protandim

A seriously flawed Protandim study seemed to show that side effects were no more common than with placebo. Actually, they were almost twice as common. The researchers were looking at the wrong numbers and didn't even add correctly.

/ December 5, 2017

Protandim Update: New Studies and an FDA Warning Letter

Multilevel distributors of the dietary supplement Protandim think that evidence from scientific studies supports their claims for their product. The FDA disagrees.

/ May 9, 2017

Beetroots Don’t Cure Cancer

Alternative medicine, like all good marketing, is largely about creating a narrative. Once you have sold people on the narrative, products essentially market themselves. That narrative has been evolving for literally centuries, although it seems to have accelerated with the advent of mass media and now the internet. It is optimized to push emotional buttons in order to sell products. There are...

/ April 13, 2016