April 2010 - CAMcheck

DNA Diet

Posted 13 April 2010

There is an aggressive advertising campaign for you to part with your money for the DNA diet, which promises that an analysis of your DNA will result in diet that will be best suited to you, and will be the best diet around.Is this true or even possible?

The claims are based on one study only – a study by Nelson et al* and not published or peer reviewed but presented at a congress. Those wishing to make money from this expensive blood test reference this test as proof that the diet works and has been proven.

What was the concluding point made by Nelson and colleagues? They are quoted as saying: “The researchers said their findings were preliminary, and need much more confirmation before they could be used commercially“. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8550091.stm

We feel the claims are premature . . .

… Read the rest

ASA ruling – Breast Assured

I laid a complaint with the ASA against this product's claims, as advertised at http://www.breastassured.co.za/ which made, among other, the following claims:

That drinking the product will increase breast size
That the product has been proved to work

The ASA asked the company for substantiation, and as these claims are impossible to be proved true, ruled in my favour which means the product needs to remove these claims from their website and products.

… Read the rest

Leanor

Leanor herbal slimming drops has been marketed as an effective weight loss product for some years. In 2004, I complained to the ASA that there was insufficient proof to confirm that the claims are valid, and indeed, that the dosage of each ingredient was ridiculously low to have any effect at all.

The company asked Dr Jacques Rossouw to examine the claims for the product, and he concluded that "[A]lthough a clinical trial has not beep conducted on the effects of the Leanor Herbal Slimming Concentrate on weight loss, I am of the opinion that the individual ingredients will instill such activity."

However, Prof Roy Jobson, who I asked to evaluate the claims as my "independent credible expert" agreed with my arguments and I requested arbitration.

In the arbitration by Prof. Marc Blockman from the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Cape Town, he concluded as we did … Read the rest

Leanor – Dr Jacques Rossouw’s substantiation

The letter below is Dr Jacques Rossouw's substantiation for Leanor, i.e., his "proof" that the product works.

RE:Leaner Herbal Slimming Concentrate

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Leanor Herbal Slimming concentrate. This concentrate contains several actives. The literature support for each will be presented per active ingredient

Green tea (Camellia sinensis)

According to Dulloo and co-workers (Am J Clin Nutr 1999; 70:1040-1045) a green tea extract (50 mg caffeine and 90 mg epigallocatechin gallate) has thermogenic properties and promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content per se. According to the authors green tea may play a role In the control of body composition via sympathetic activation of thermogenesis, fat oxidation, or both. Relative to placebo, treatment with the green tea extract resulted In a significant increase in 24-h energy expenditure (EE) (4%; P < 0.01) and a significant decrease in 24-h respiratory quotient (RQ) … Read the rest

Biomix Slimming Solution

Biomix Slimming Solution Plus and Slimming Solution Caps posters are seen everywhere – could make one believe that the product must work!

Claims ". . . both scientifically and clinically engineered weight loss supplements"

But what are the facts?

… Read the rest

Supreme Slim’s original claims look just like Simply Slim’s

Compare the claims made for Supreme Slim and Simply Slim.

Claims for each product
Simply Slim	Supreme Slim
NO COMPULSORY EXERCISE	Get results without exercise
NO DRASTIC CHANGES TO DIETARY ROUTINE	No Special Diet Required
APPETITE SUPPRESSANT	Appetite Suppressant
100% NATURAL
NO CHEMICALS	No Chemicals
NON ADDICTIVE	Non Addictive
BODY DETOXIFICATION	Body Detoxification
ACCELERATES METABOLISM	Accelerates Metabolism
INCREASES ENERGY LEVELS	Increases energy levels
ENHANCES WATER INTAKE
FAT BURNER	Fat Burner
NO HARMFUL SIDE EFFECTS
SUITABLE FOR MEN AND WOMEN	Suitable for men & women

ASA Ruling: Food Detective

A number of allergies and intolerances are very difficult to diagnose, even by experts, which has resulted in a great number of scam or unsubstantiated tests being advertised that claim to be able to be able to determine the allergens or substances that are affecting you. The evidence for these tests are either scant or totally absent. This includes the ALCAT, IgG testing, hair analysis, etc. The Allergy Society of South Africa have published a Position Statement on the first two. Other international organisation, including EAACI (European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology) have also made Position Statements on IgG Testing. In South Africa, two companies are marketing this test: Food Detective by Davies Diagnostics and ImuPro by Molecular Diagnostic Services.

These tests have no proof that they have any benefit in predicting the correct foods or substances causing your symptoms: not a single robust study to show that they

… Read the rest

CAMcheck

DNA Diet

ASA ruling – Breast Assured

Leanor

Leanor – Dr Jacques Rossouw’s substantiation

Biomix Slimming Solution

Supreme Slim’s original claims look just like Simply Slim’s

ASA Ruling: Food Detective

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