Snake Oil in Your Snacks -- Foods masquerading as drugs have become a $160 billion business.

[HuckleB]

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0607/health-probiotics-vitamins-supplements-snake-oil-in-snacks.html

"ProBugs, a yogurtlike beverage for kids, is tasty, fun and good for your child's digestive system, if claims from its maker, Lifeway Foods, near Chicago, are to be believed. Sold at high-end stores like Whole Foods, it comes in flavors like Sublime Slime Lime and contains a hefty dose of 7 billion to 10 billion good bacteria that "inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria" in the gut, according to Lifeway's website. The label promises ProBugs will give bad germs "a time-out" and adds: "You can never have too many good bugs."

You'd never guess from the breathless marketing that when Lifeway tested ProBugs in a clinical trial, it failed spectacularly. In the study a daily dose of ProBugs did nothing to reduce the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in 125 young kids. Nor did it impact measures like stomach pain or missed days of school, according to the results published by Georgetown University researchers in a medical journal last August. Only the sickest kids showed a hint of a benefit.

When a drug flops doctors prescribe it less and insurers stop paying. But Lifeway continues to tout ProBugs' digestive benefits as if nothing has happened. It put out a press release about the failed study, claiming ProBugs "may have a positive effect on reducing antibiotic-associated diarrhea."

...

"It's the marketing folks within these companies that make these decisions, not scientists," says Cureton. "When the marketing people decide what they want to say, they go try and find some evidence to back it up." FRS says the science behind its supplement is "unassailable."

..."


-----------------------------------------


I just don't get it. I just don't get it. I just don't get it. A little truth in advertising. A little regulation. Something is needed. Something.

:-( :hide:

[lazarus]

1. see also

8 Health Foods That Are Bad For Your Health

Why don't people want regulation for this stuff? I do not understand it.

[HuckleB]

11. That is a fantastic piece. How did Cracked become one of the better journalism outfits around?

[jmowreader]

15. It's nice that they did...

because when they were in print they were just a cheap imitation of MAD. Now they're like the new SPY magazine.

[Bok_Tukalo]

2. Great ... there goes my placebo effect

My stomach has been great since I started eating Activia.

[HuckleB]

3. Remember: This was all a bad dream.

It was a just a dream.

Just a dream.

The placebo effect is real.

Real.

Keep the mantra going.

:shrug:

[KittyWampus]

7. there's a huge difference between plain, unsweetened yogurt and that which has sugar,

flavorings etc.

Don't know what is in Activia.

[tridim]

4. Can't vouch for Probugs, but plain old unsweetened yogurt does calm my adult belly

A cup a week and my digestive system is a happy camper.

I can now eat ice cream without 24 hours of intestinal distress.

[Catshrink]

14. Me too...

I have plain unsweetened yogurt with a little fruit or some Kashi for breakfast nearly every day. I used to have bad tummy problems but not any more.

And...one of my dogs has an occasional problem with gas so I give them a little plain yogurt once a week or so. They love it and no gas.

Mountain High plain nonfat yogurt - just milk and active cultures and none of the other crap found in store brands.

[customerserviceguy]

5. You're right, something is needed

We can start with education that instructs people that corporations selling stuff often lie about it.

[HuckleB]

6. What's partially "amazing" is that these companies moved in on an area served...

... by companies like Nancy's Yogurt, who just made the stuff, but didn't make any highbrow claims like we see today. But pushing in on that market wasn't enough, they had to expand it, and to expand it, they had to push BS marketing.

[Odin2005]

8. But the woos say these scammers shouldn't be regulated! It's a BIG PHARMA CONSPIRACY!!!

:eyes:

[HuckleB]

9. Well, you know what BP really stands for, don't you?

[HuckleB]

10. Wow! A DUer unrecced this?

Aren't we supposed to be in support of keeping corporations honest?

:shrug:

[Mojeoux]

12. On one TV channel, they advertise "Yaz." On another channel there's ads for attorneys

to sue "Yaz" for damages? WTF?

[HuckleB]

13. Hey, it's all about increasing the "GNP," right?

Oh, man.

[krabigirl]

16. IDk, why can't people research this stuff themselves? I'd never buy stuff like that without ro

making sure to read reports on if it worked or not.