A South African consumers' guide to scams, pseudoscience and voodoo science, OR, a critical thinker's guide to the ins and outs of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
In our post of 8th May 2018, Herbex Fat Burn for Men – paying for nothing, we pointed out that this product contains 3 ingredients. We measured the level of green tea constituents in a lab, and could work out that, as we stated:
In other words, Herbex Fat Burn claims that a mixture of about half a bag of green tea leaves, caffeine found in 7.5 mls of a cup of coffee, and Ginseng traditionally used to stimulate appetite, added to 1 litre of water to be drunk throughout the day, will result in weight loss.
In other words, this product is highly unlikely to have much more than a placebo effect.
A complaint was laid with the Advertising Standards Authority. Herbex refused to submit any evidence to contradict ours. Below is the ruling.
Intervene Herbal has launched the PREMIUM herbal supplement to ensure that all the essential oils and herbs are taken up into your system to be more efficient in removing diseases.We have used nano technology in our research until we were able to formulate the most effective herbal supplement.
The phrase nano technology is a red flag and suggests closer scrutiny of this product.
The label claims the product is composed of essential oils, various tree, Botanical and Citrus Extracts taken from the finest sources. Blended i a Nano Suspension with pure ionic antioxidant water. Coconut Oil, Chrysanthemum Oil, Cedar Wood Oil, Citronella Oil, Cinnamon Oil, Corn Oil, Geranium Oil, Oregano Oil, Neem Oil, Peppermint Oil, Frankincense Oil, Myrrh Oil, Garlic Extracts.
Black Salve appears to be available in South Africa. Biosil, notorious for selling MMS, sells a product called Black Salve Drawing Ointment.
Is there any evidence for the benefits of Black Salve?
The article below, from The Conversation, concludes: “In the future laboratory studies and ethical clinical trials might discover a beneficial role for blood-root products. But at present the use of black salve has no justifiable place in medical practice.“
In South Africa, an application in terms of s22A(9) is needed for exceptional access to THC-containing preparations for research or treatment, and a s21 application needed for access to unregistered THC (S6 when intended for therapeutic purposes) or CBD (S4 when intended for therapeutic purposes) preparations.
Medicinal cannabis products: Patient information
29 May 2018
Over the past few years there has been increased interest from Australians in the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. Commonwealth, state and territory governments have used existing laws or passed specific laws to allow the prescribing and dispensing of medicinal cannabis products, as well as cannabis cultivation and manufacture for medicinal purposes.
MNET / DSTV are running adverts for Oscillococcinum, which claims to be effective for flu.
This is a timely reminder that this product has no real effect.
We have posted a number of posts on this absurd product.
A class action lawsuit against the company was successful and a Canadian lawsuit is presently in the offing.
Wikipedia has this to say about Oscillococcinum:
Oscillococcinum(or Oscillo[1][2]) is a homeopathic preparation marketed to relieve influenza-like symptoms. It does not provide any benefit beyond that of sugar pills. It is a popular preparation, particularly in France. It is manufactured by Boiron, its sole manufacturer. Oscillococcinum is used in more than 50 countries and has been in production for over 65 years.
The preparation is derived from duckliver and heart, diluted to 200C—a ratio of one … Read the rest
You Can’t Use Pills as a Sunscreen, And Apparently The FDA Needs to Remind Us of That
By Mike McRae 24 May 2018
Owners of companies marketing ‘sun-protection’ pills have been warned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to cease making spurious claims, or risk breaking the law.
Meanwhile the FDA also has a word of warning for the rest of us; a number of methods have been proven to reduce the risk of damage posed by the Sun’s UV radiation, and dietary supplements just aren’t one of them.
Four products have been specifically called out by the recent statement: Advanced Skin Brightening Formula by GliSODin Skin Nutrients, Sunsafe Rx by Napa Valley Bioscience, Solaricare by Pharmacy Direct, and Sunergized LLC’s Sunergetic.
It’s claimed that by taking these nutritional supplements, consumers can reduce the risks posed by UV radiation
A podcast in Afrikaans of a discussion featured on the program, Uit ‘n ander hoek, on 20 May 2018.
“Goedgelowige mense word maklik deur kwaksalwers uitgebuit wat nuttelose en selfs gevaarlike middels ten duurste aan hulle verkoop. Jean Oosthuizen gesels met die wetenskapjoernalis, George Claassen, en die redakteur van camcheck.co.za, dr. Harris Steinmann, oor kwaksalwery en pseudo-wetenskap.”
“People with good intentions are easily exploited by scam artists who sell the costly and even dangerous products to them. Jean Oosthuizen talks with science journalist George Claassen, and the editor of camcheck.co.za, dr. Harris Steinman, about scams and pseudo science”.
I RECENTLY came across a remarkable headline in the New York Post: “Doctors warn women against putting wasp nests in their vaginas”.
Those of us with the relevant anatomy are no doubt relieved to have been warned about this before we succumbed to the ever-present temptation to, well, put a wasp nest in our …
To be fair, the “all-natural” product being spruiked for vaginal rejuvenation does not actually contain live wasps, though it may contain remnants of larvae. The wasp nests, or oak galls, are ground up and turned into a paste for topical application.
As is so often the case with snake oil, the sites peddling this stuff use a bewildering blend of grand promises, ancient precedent and “sciency” language to support their marketing claims.
Women are being exposed to these chemicals weekly and sometimes even daily, without their knowledge
Thomson Reuters ·
Hair products used primarily by black women and children contain a host of hazardous chemicals, a new study shows. The findings could explain at least in part why African-American women go through puberty earlier and suffer from higher rates of asthma and reproductive diseases than other groups. “The truly scary thing about this is that women are being exposed to these chemicals weekly and sometimes even daily, without their knowledge, because they assume a product is safe simply because it is on the shelf,” epidemiologist Tamarra James-Todd said after reviewing the report in Environmental Research.
What if you had problems associated with attention, depression, or anxiety—would you pay even more to rewire your brain and overcome your condition?
For a few thousand dollars, many brain-training practitioners claim to provide this service. Using a technique called neurofeedback, they provide individuals with a live feed of their own brain activity. By watching our brain, neurofeedback advocates argue, we can learn to regulate its activity and, in turn, control our behavior. To implement this technique, these practitioners place a few sensors on a participant’s scalp to record electrical brain activity and provide a simple graphic or auditory cue to tell participants when their brain is “performing well.”
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