Given the pain, nausea, intestinal distress, craving, and other unpleasantness involved in opiate withdrawal, it’s understandable that people might be tempted to put their faith in an herbal supplement that promises to alleviate these problems. However, the Federal Trade Commission says the marketers of one such product had no science to back up their claims. [More]
dietary supplements
NutriMost ‘Ultimate Fat Loss’ System Slammed With $32 Million Judgment For Overblown Weight Loss Claims
By 4.21.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The marketing for the NutriMost Ultimate Fat Loss system claimed that users could drop 40 pounds, or more, in just 40 days, and without having to fret about calories. However, the Federal Trade Commission says that this $1,900 program is not backed by any science, actually requires a starvation-level diet, uses before-and-after examples from people related to the company, and forces customers to sign agreements that prevent them from saying anything bad about the program. [More]
A Supplement Company Sued Over Research It Didn’t Like… And Lost
By 2.8.17
Unlike FDA-approved medications, makers of dietary supplements are not required to demonstrate that their products are safe or effective. That shouldn’t stop independent researchers from doing their own tests to find out if a product works or is dangerous, but when one Harvard professor tried to do just that, supplement makers tried to shut him up.. [More]
5-Hour Energy Ordered To Pay $4.3 Million For Deceptive Ads
By 2.8.17
Four months after a Washington state court ruled that the maker of the popular 5-Hour Energy drink had misled consumers into believing that its product was superior to caffeine, the judge has ordered the company to pay a total of $4.3 million. [More]
30 Stories We Didn’t Expect To Write In 2016
By 12.30.16
As a wise internet meme once said, some things are worth waiting for. Often, we end up waiting for them for so long, that when they finally do come to pass, we can’t help but be a bit shocked. And some things… Well, we never expected in the first place. [More]
GNC Agrees To Improve Efforts To Keep Illegal Dietary Supplements Out Of Its Stores
By 12.7.16
When you buy a dietary supplement, you never know quite what you’re getting, because supplement manufacturers don’t have to prove to the Food and Drug Administration that their products work — or are even safe — before putting them on the market. GNC, the world’s largest dietary supplement retailer, has now agreed to try to ramp up efforts to ensure that the products it sells are safe and legal. [More]
5-Hour Energy Loses One Deceptive Advertising Case; Wins Another
By 10.10.16
More than two years ago, the attorneys general for Washington and Oregon each filed separate (but very similar) deceptive advertising claims against the makers of the popular 5-Hour Energy drinks, alleging that the ads misled consumers into believing that doctors recommend the product, and that the combination of ingredients provides some sort of benefit that is superior to just drinking coffee. In the last few days, judges in both those cases came to very different decisions. [More]
Doctor Who Endorsed Sketchy Joint Pain Supplement Failed To Mention She Was Married To Company’s Owner
By 10.5.16
When you turn on the TV and there are one of those infomercials that pretend to be a talk show, you’re probably justified in questioning the bona fides of anyone endorsing the product being sold. Case in point: A joint pain supplement that not only made unsubstantiated claims about being able to treat medical conditions like fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis, but which failed to mention that the doctor endorsing the supplement also just happened to be married to the company’s owner. [More]
Marketer Of Pills Claiming To “Prevent & Reverse” Graying Hair Ordered To Refund $391K
By 9.23.16
Sporting an ashen ‘do can make a person look distinguished — or fashion forward — but there will always be people who want to stave off the gray as long as possible. But why shell out big bucks for dye jobs, when dietary supplements promise to actually reverse the presence of gray hair? Maybe because there’s no proof that those pills will actually do anything to get rid of the grays? [More]
15 Dietary Supplement Ingredients To Avoid
July 27, 2016
Taking a stroll down the dietary supplements aisle can be bewildering, what with the variety of ingredients plastered all over labels, suggesting they can help with this or that ailment. But there are some ingredients out there that may do more harm than good. [More]
What Do Those Seals On A Dietary Supplement’s Label Actually Mean?
July 27, 2016
When you pick up a dietary supplement with a “seal of approval” from some organization or other, you might think, “Hey, someone vetted this, so it’s totally fine for me to take!” But despite words like “verified, “certified,” or “approved,” those seals shouldn’t be confused with any sort of official approvals granted by the Food and Drug Administration, and they don’t necessarily mean the product is effective and/or safe to take. [More]
Florida Man Barred From Selling Unapproved “Natural Herpes Medicine”
By 2.26.16
Five years ago, the Food and Drug Administration first warned a Florida man to stop peddling a supposed cure for herpes until he proved it worked and was safe. He subsequently tweaked the marketing to make it less cure-like, but federal prosecutors say he still went too far in promising his supplement could treat the sexually transmitted disease. [More]
CVS Sued Over Claims Its Algae Supplement Improves Memory
By 2.1.16
Drugstore giant CVS is being sued for marketing and advertising its algae-based Algal-900 DHA supplements as proven memory enhancers, when the science used to prop up that claim is allegedly bogus. [More]
7 Things You Need To Know From Frontline’s Investigation On Supplements & Safety
By 1.20.16
They look like drugs, they’re regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, but Frontline‘s new investigation found that supplements are very, very different. [More]
FDA Recalls Several Weight Loss Supplements Containing Unsafe Ingredients
By 12.23.15
Earlier this year, the owner of a dietary supplement company was sentenced to 30 months in prison for selling “all natural” products that secretly contained harmful active ingredients that shouldn’t even be available to U.S. consumers. Today, the FDA announced recalls for more than a dozen additional products containing these same, unsafe ingredients. [More]
Feds File Criminal, Civil Cases Against More Than 100 Supplement Companies
By 11.17.15
A sweeping multi-agency federal investigation has resulted in a slew of criminal and civil charges being brought against more than 100 companies that either make or market supposed dietary supplements for selling products that allegedly contain ingredients other than those listed on the label, or products that make unsubstantiated health or disease-treatment claims. [More]
Supplement-Maker Who Diluted Products With Other Powders Sentenced To 40 Months In Prison
By 9.9.15
When you buy a food product or a dietary supplement, you should be confident that the product’s ingredients are listed on the label, and that you’re getting what you paid for. Federal prosecutors say that one dietary supplement wholesaler in New Jersey spent four years selling products diluted with products like maltodextrin or rice flour, increasing profits but defrauding customers. The company’s owner now must forfeit $1 million in profits and has been sentenced to 40 months in prison and one year of supervised release. [More]
Court Shuts Down Iowa Supplement Company Distribution Over Misbranding, Unfounded Safety Promises
By 8.17.15
There are about 200 fewer adulterated dietary supplements on the market today after a district court ordered an Iowa company and its owners to stop production of products over allegations the company sold potentially unsafe dietary supplements and falsely advertised them as treatments for diseases ranging from colds to cancer. [More]
