What happens:
When most people hear the word 'supplements' they most frequently equate the word with some sort of weight loss pill, potion or some such concoction.
As a pharmacist, my definition of 'supplement' is focused more on health support and on providing the body with nutrients that many of us are missing (much to our peril).
Unfortunately, many supplement promoters try to associate with some sort of miracle weight-loss 'fad' that is over-hyped and under-studied. Buzz-word laden Information on these 'fad' compounds are brought to you by either its maker or a paid affiliate.
In this instance, the definition of affiliate is someone who finds a hot product and makes money by selling it to a targeted and hungry market.
For the affiliate who latches onto such a product there are very lucrative commissions involved. A focus on big bucks motivates the affiliate to go to great lengths to find you. Once they do they wish tell you what they have been told to say about the product.
Often, the affiliate will fully believe the message the product creators have loaded into their heads. The affiliate's complete belief in what they have heard makes them come across to you as being very sincere. So you believe it and buy it. The affiliate stuffs your money in their pocket and moves on to the next target.
The products come and go in terms of convincing-sounding names and claims. You can literally take a product that sold very well several years ago with promises of easy weight-loss and insert the name of today's hot replacement. The names change, the claims (and cash-flow incentives) remain the same. And when they tell you that their experts pore over scientific journals to find the truth about the most effective fat burners on the planet, you take them at their word.
True supplements (by my definition) provide you with a valuable health-promoting nutrient that you likely need and are NOT getting for a wide variety of reasons. Weight loss may or may NOT be a factor.
I am NOT at all interested in weight-loss 'magic bullets' that defy science. The truth of the matter is that you cannot lose 30 pounds in 30 days! The only way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more.
What should happen:
What I am interested in is digging out the truth on health-promoting and health-sustaining nutrients. Take Selenium, for example. A few years ago, the Cleveland Clinic conducted a study wherein they took a look at levels of the element Selenium in the soil of various locations throughout the United States.
What they found was a much higher level of auto-immune and heart disease as well as psoriasis associated with areas of the country where Selenium levels are on the low side.
Today, Selenium is a nutritive supplement available in a wide variety of retails settings. Importantly, the price of Selenium supplements is very low. It is not a high-priced 'fad' pill being promoted by cash-hungry affiliates Don't listen to the 'hype'. Instead, do your own research to find what your body needs to sustain itself.
You can learn the truth about various claims by contacting the FTC at 1-877-ftc-help. Or on line at http://ftc.gov/redflag
To your good health
K.C. Moore, RPh
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