Dietary Supplements

The FDA recently issued a warning about a number of tainted diet supplements. Many of the products claim to be "natural" or contain only "herbal" ingredients - but actually contain pharmaceutical ingredients.

On the way to work this morning I heard an ad (one of many) about a dietary supplement.

The ad featured two women discussing life, health, vitamins and supplements. The women began talking about the advertised product (which can remain nameless).

One woman's comment was this: If it's been advertised for years and it's natural - it must be good.

CoffeeSlender is being released in the UK (link).

The Norwegian coffee drink has become one of the fastest selling weight loss products in Scandinavia (src)- and even has a number of clinical trials to back up its claims.

Ephedra-based diet supplements have finally been completely and fully banned. The last 18 months has been a series of mixed messages.

Here is where things stand:

Yet another long held belief is about to be turned on its head. Researchers spent $18 million in a huge study (36,000 women aged over 50) that tests calcium supplements. In a nutshell - they found no broad benefit in preventing broken bones. The differences between the placebo group and the supplementation group were so small as to provide no conclusive outcome.