Be suspicious of nutritional products developed by a brilliant scientists or doctor as the result of an important discovery or break-through.

The most abused phrase in the nutrition industry today is "miraculous discover," by a brilliant scientist or doctor. This usually indicates an idea the promoters haven't thought of before. The one sure way to making a fast buck is to have a new product or ingredient that sounds impressive and hasn't been around long enough to be debunked. Nutrition is not about discovering new "fad" products. Rather, it is knowing the systems of the body and what kind of nutritional ingredient or formulation is required.

Another interesting advertisement catches my attention in yet another Chiropractic publication. "End Arthritis Pain Forever!" the headline screams. One bottle of 100 capsules will cure arthritis. The product was discovered more than 25 years ago "by a brilliant research scientist from Canada." The active ingredient is cetyl myristoleate which is synthesized from cetyl alcohol and myristic acid. (Myristic is a saturated fatty acid shown to elevate cholesterol). It is sold under various trade names by various promoters.

The claim made for this product is based upon a single published rodent study in which cetyl myristoleate isolated from Swiss albino mice was an apparent protective agent against adjuvant arthritis in rats. Advertising literature also touts that a clinic study was conducted on humans. In the "study" an MD gave 42 arthritic patients the recommended product dosage and reported the favorable results achieved. The "study" was not peer reviewed nor published.

Red Flag Warning to Avoid Product Scams

1. The personal testimonial - "I lost 50 pounds (of water weight) in 15 days (and now I'm dehydrated)!
2. Any health claims not supported or documented in the scientific literature "Studies done in Munich, Berlin, Tokyo and Moldavia show our product cures arthritis but we're not giving you the information to check it out for yourself. Just trust us!"
3. Claims that  product can cure a multiple of unrelated human ailments and diseases - known worldwide as the Snake Oil Ploy.
4. Products developed by a brilliant scientist or doctor as a result of an important discover "While working for a major, big, huge research lab somewhere in the Swiss Alps, brilliant research scientist, I. cheetham Good, discovered a new ingredient that enables the lame to walk and the blind to see!"
5. Nutritional products that claim to cure incurable diseases - "This miracle product cures cancer, arthritis, and hoof-and-mouth disease within minutes while you sleep, and for only a mere $500 a bottle. Such a deal!"
6. The medical profession doesn't want you to know about this - "Or zog was developing a wart removers for hogs when he suddenly realized he had discovered a cure for cancer but the medical profession doesn't want you to know about this!" (The old conspiracy ploy).
7. Any nutritional company that claims its products are FDA-approved or FDA-regulated-call the FDA at 800-238-7332. They will want to know the name of this company since the FDA only approves and regulates drugs!

According to various advertising and literature, this amazing product appears to have the ability to erase the memory from T-cells which have been programmed to attack the cartilage which, according to the literature, is why arthritis is referred to as an autoimmune disease. "Your practice will be overwhelmed with orders when your patients discover this product" the promoters promise. A bottle of 100 capsules retails for approximately $300.

As if curing arthritis was not sufficient to justify the product's outrageous cost, testimonials were provided by folks stating the products ameliorated their cancer, liver disease, lupus, etc.

This product claims transgress so many red flag warnings that I hardly know where to begin. For starters, it violated all four of the warnings outlined previous. The legitimate clinical study conducted on rodents never addressed the issue of curing arthritis in humans, and never claimed to do so. The human "clinical study" to which the promoters refer is nothing more than the personal opinions of 42 individuals who were given the product by their doctor. No control group was used. The individuals knew they were being given a product on the belief it would cure their arthritis so the "placebo effect" negated honest results. No tests or examinations were conducted prior, during or following the "study" to ascertain the results. If this "doctor" had attempted to publish his "clinical study" he would have been laughed out of practice as a buffoon.

Of course, this product was also developed by a brilliant scientist in Canada as the result of an important discovery and alleviates numerous unrelated conditions and diseases. To the red flag warning above, let's add a few more, beginning with warning number five.

Nutritional products that claim to cure any incurable disease are frauds.

If cetyl myristoleate was discovered 25 years ago as claimed, and assuming it really could cure over 100 various forms of arthritis, don't you suppose this incredible ingredient would have been published in every medical journal in the world by now? With more than 200 million Americans suffering from osteoarthritis and another several million from rheumatoid arthritis, don't you imagine every health practitioner would be prescribing it> Which brings us to red flag number six.

Now the rebuttal.

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Last modified: July 06, 2000