Medicinal products that do not cure

Pseudo-medical food products occupy the shelves of stores
Forbes tried to evaluate the usefulness of some advertised products
(Snake Oil in Your Snacks, translated by Inna Titova, RB.ru )

Recently, there are more and more food products issued by manufacturers almost for medicines that can lower cholesterol and increase immunity.

The sad truth is that in most cases, clinical studies conducted with food products, such as yogurt, allegedly having a therapeutic effect, have failed miserably. 

For example, ProBugs yogurt sold in the United States, whose advertising claims that it improves digestion, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal of Georgetown University, in trials involving 125 children did not reduce the frequency of diarrhea associated with taking antibiotics and did not help with abdominal pain.

This, however, does not prevent Lifeway, which produces this product, from continuing to promote it on the market as a healthy product. At the same time, the company expressed distrust of the results of the Georgetown University study, claiming that scientists confused the results of patients who received yogurt with those who received a placebo. They refuse to pay for further tests. University scientists insist that they are right, noting that the company had no complaints about their work until the results appeared.

In the food industry, the magazine writes, food masquerading as medicines is now a major hit. The largest food manufacturers are trying to add a variety of beneficial bacteria, omega-3 fatty acids and other healthy supplements to their products. They fund clinical trials to give weight to their advertising statements, which, however, are often very vague.

Packaging treatsMore and more food products, according to the marketers promoting them, increase immunity, protect the heart and digestive system or help fight insomnia.

Sometimes manufacturers do not even bother to add any new ingredients to the product, but, as, for example, in the case of some fermented milk products, they simply change the packaging, providing it with promises of health benefits.

According to the research company Packaged Facts, the global market for so-called "functional" food products is $160 billion. Sales of such products are growing at a rate of 7% per year. This includes $4 billion spent by consumers on yogurt with "probiotics"; $1.8 billion from bread and other products with omega-3 acids; $1.5 billion from cereals and cereal bars with various vitamin and other additives; $900 million from "energy" drinks.

Thomas Pirko, president of the Bevmark consulting company, whose clients include Coke, Kraft and Nestle, says: "A revolution is taking place in the food world right now. Consciousness is completely changing – every product should strengthen your health or prevent diseases."

However, as the head of the cardiology department of the Cleveland Hospital, Steven Nissen, says, most of the statements of manufacturers of such products turn out to be untenable. Industrial products, experts say, only mislead people and distract their attention from really healthy products, such as fresh vegetables and fruits.

Strange effectsSome of these products even promise unexpected benefits such as sun protection from the skin (Nestle Glowelle drink for $42) and healthy sound sleep (DreamWater from Sarpes Beverages).

However, the independent research group Natural Standard has not found sufficient evidence for these claims.

The exception is a small set of dietary supplements, the benefits of which have been confirmed – for example, dietary fiber. However, there are a minority of such products.

Back in 2006, the European Food Safety Control Authority began studying manufacturers' claims about the health benefits of their products and has rejected 80% of applications so far. Recently, the Danone company surrendered in a battle with this management, which, after many years of attempts, refused to claim the health-friendly qualities of its yogurt.

Forbes magazine also lists well-known products allegedly beneficial to health with comments:

Pomegranate juice
The miraculous properties of pomegranate juice to strengthen the cardiovascular system were used in their marketing campaign by the manufacturer of expensive juice POM Wonderful. The company spent $32 million on clinical trials, but there were no "significant differences" in the subjects who received pomegranate juice with those who did not receive it.

Vitamins
Only lazy people don't add vitamins to their products now. Even Coca-Cola and Pepsi have vitamin drinks. Vitamins are certainly good for health, but experts say that if you take multivitamins and eat normally, while receiving a daily daily dose of essential vitamins and trace elements, then the additional vitamins in other products no longer bring additional benefits to your health. Moreover, an excess of vitamins can be harmful.

Cholesterol Lowering ProductsPlant sterols contained in nuts and cereals are among the few products whose benefits have been confirmed.
Studies have shown that they can reduce cholesterol levels by 10%. Cardiologists even recommended earlier such products with their content as the Promise Activ oil substitute from Unilever, and orange juice with the corresponding Minute Maid Heart Health Orange Juice supplements from Coca-Cola). However, sterols do not prevent heart disease. In addition, the opinion of scientists on this score is ambiguous, and many of them doubt that margarine can be called a useful product, even if it contains sterols.

Energy drinksManufacturers' statements about the invigorating effect of energy drinks are based on experiments on animals and on cells.
The number of trials involving humans is very small. For example, one such study involved 11 top-class cyclists. As a result of the tests, it was revealed that after they consumed the energy drink quercitin for six months, their speed in competitions increased by an average of 3.1%, and the difference with the placebo effect was insignificant.

Yoghurts of famous brandsSome studies suggest that an imbalance of beneficial bacteria in the intestine may be associated with obesity, diabetes and other diseases.
However, manufacturers of "healthy yogurts" are not waiting for more accurate confirmations, but are in a hurry to proclaim their products useful for health.
An advertisement for Activia yogurt from Danone (with annual sales of $ 2 billion) says that it helps with "digestive problems", and in an animated insert similar to those in drug ads, bacteria "work" in the actress' stomach.
Some human trials have shown that probiotics can somewhat alleviate the symptoms of diarrhea in children. However, it depends on the strain of bacteria. In some cases, bifidobacteria will be useful, and in others, lactobacilli, but manufacturers rarely specify in what proportion their yogurt contains these types of bacteria.

Omega-3Everyone knows that omega-3 fatty acids protect the heart.
It is less widely known that not all omega-3 acids are the same. Most major studies confirming the health benefits of omega-3 have been conducted on docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), omega-3 acid found in salmon, sardine and breast milk, or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), also found in fish. However, many products whose packaging says "contains omega-3" actually contain other types of omega-acids, which may not be as beneficial for heart health.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru21.05.2010