How NOT to get Scammed by Health Products
TL:DR - ASK QUESTIONS. If you opt in to a product with dubious claims, do so with eyes wide open and an awareness of the risk you’re taking.
Saffron refers to the red ‘threads’ of the crocus flower.
‘You’re probably not going to like this but…’
is a sentence I hear with some regularity in my clinical practice, usually in reference to a product someone has seen and started taking via TikTok or Instagram. Even at parties, when folks find out what I do (I hate telling people what I do) they’ll share their late night social media wellness purchases. Most recently I was hearing about some sort of special sublingual iron strips?
Regardless, the next question I get is “Do you think this is legit?”
Sometimes yes, and sometimes no.
Today I’ll share with you the questions I ask to discern if a product is potentially worth trying so that you can make better informed decisions for yourself.*
Is this too good to be true?
Hate to break it to you, but the promise of losing 20 lbs in a week is… absurd. So too is the promise to ELIMINATE chronic pain in ONE treatment! Or have a GENIUS level IQ with THIS supplement!!!
Not going to happen.
Good marketing exists because it works — we want to believe the outlandish claims. We buy the version of ourselves we believe a product will help us create.
Notice when you’re getting pulled into the marketing, and always ask yourself, it it sounds too good to be true.
In my experience, meaningful health changes typically take at least a month, typically 3 to see solid progress.
Does the cost make sense for what it is?
You may need to do some comparison shopping here to see what the market rate is. This is important because if something known to be more expensive, simply because it requires extensive processing or precise harvesting, is selling for dirt cheap… you’re probably not getting the real deal. There’s a great episode of Bob’s Burgers where Bob trials meat from a vendor cheaper than the beef he’s been buying… turns out it’s horse meat. Same applies to supplements.
Let’s look at saffron for an example. There’s some great research focusing on saffron for depression. It tends to work pretty well. But, as you might imagine, looking at the photo to the left, it takes some precision and care to harvest. MSRP of saffron containing supplements ranges from approximately $35 to $65 for a 30 day supply, depending on what else is included in the formulation. Culinary saffron, on average, runs about $10 per gram. That said, if you see a medicinal saffron product that costs $15, unless it’s a small amount (eg a gram and a half, or a 14 day supply), it would be important to question the validity of that product.
Does the mechanism make sense?
Periodically patients will bring up a particular company that makes ‘phototherapy patches.’
Phototherapy is a legitimate treatment. There’s great research looking at bright light therapy for seasonal affective disorder, red light therapy for skin health, [green?] light therapy for migraine treatment…
But you’ve got to have the light.
These ‘phototherapy patches’ have no light bulb within them. The story they tell is that the patches reflect back your body’s infrared light and therefore creates healing…
If that were true, why not wrap some aluminum foil around your back for your low back pain? Surely that would reflect some light back, no?
The mind is a powerful thing, and I don’t deny that there are folks who have found benefit from this product from a placebo effect. On one hand, a benefit is a benefit and who am I to judge.
But when we’re talking about “patented wellness technology” that “elevates the flow of your body's innate energy” for more than $100/month? Well, that’s a fairly nonspecific claim for quite a bit of money.
Be aware of very nonspecific, science-y sounding claims.
Ginkgo improves cognition (in part) via improving micro-circulation in the brain. This is measurable via looking at blood flow and via cognitive testing before and after taking ginkgo for some length of time.
How to you measure ‘elevating the flow of your body’s innate energy’? A sense of subjective improvement is great, to be sure, but when a product is claiming scientific backing, I would want to see things like x% of people who used this had y% less pain, which we measured via z validated measures.
If a supplement or product page purports to have ‘research’ and that research is inaccessible via their website… eh. I’d chalk it up to slick marketing and move on.
What’s the Quality of Manufacturing?
GMP stands for Good Manufacturing Process, and is a set of standards companies must (should) abide by through the process of creating supplements. This requires specific documentation of sourcing, timelines and lot numbers, processes and procedures. In the USA, “The regulations make sure that a product is safe for use, and that it has the ingredients and strength it claims to have.” Theoretically and hopefully, anyhow.
Many reputable companies will have a nod to GMPs on their website; you can also reach out to companies and ask for more information. A few years ago, I reached out to a company selling glandular products asking for more information, and they gave me a cagey run around… I went the other way.
While trade secrets are legitimate, there should be standardized processes and procedures that a company can share, eg how are they tracking product? What safety standards do they have in place? How are they testing the ingredients to ensure they’re not using adulterated products? Where are they sourcing their ingredients from?
I’m not sponsored by any supplement companies (not sponsored by anyone), but something I liked when I initially looked at Heart and Soil is that they share their Certificates of Analysis from third party testing sites on their products. They’re not testing products internally, which is, of course, a conflict of interest, and they’re willing to tell customers what was found in the testing that was completed. When I reviewed their website for this post, the information had been updated a year ago, so I’d hope they’ll do another update sooner than later.
Risk/Benefit Analysis
If you’re looking at a product that has questionable claims, that costs $200 for a month’s supply, and has questionable manufacturing standards… that’s a high risk. You’re likely going to be out $200 for nothing at best, or have an adverse response at worst.
Meanwhile, if you’re looking at a product that has some preliminary research behind it, that costs $60 for a month’s supply, with good manufacturing practices… that’s probably a low/moderate risk. It may well help, but it probably won’t hurt.
Think too about possible interactions with other medications you may be taking.
We all have different risk tolerance; if you’re ok with a high risk high reward situation, maybe that $200 product is worth it. If you’re struggling to get food on the table, save that $200 for your groceries.
And for goodness sake, don’t go into debt for these kinds of products. The peace of mind alone from not having to deal with credit card payments and exorbitant interest will do wonders for your health.
Manage Health Anxiety
The folks I see get taken in the most by slick marketing claims are those who have intense health anxiety.
By which I mean folks who are terrified to get sick, who perhaps have hyper-awareness of their internal sensations. Folks who have seen people they love get sick. People who are desperate to find solutions for problems they once had that they’re afraid will come back, or that they may not even have.
The truth of being human is that we are fallible.
Illness comes for us all, sooner or later.
So too will death.
Hopefully later, of course.
In the meantime, it can be helpful to stay grounded in the fact that mastering the basics can do more for your health than a supplement ever could.
Keeping a regular sleep/wake schedule will supportive of cognition and emotional well-being than any supplement.
Eating a whole foods based diet with adequate protein, fat, and fiber, cooking at home as much as possible, transitioning away from fast and ultra-processed foods will support health more than any supplement could.
Exercising on a daily basis and steadily building your capacity for movement is more of a panacea for overall health and longevity than any product on the market today.
If you’ve mastered the basics, and are looking for further improvements, by all means. There are myriad companies that will take as much money as you’d like to give them.
If you look around, you’ll also come across any number of studies of someone who had done everything they could for whatever chronic/debilitating/life threatening condition, and tried something off the wall that cured them.
Personally, I’m of the mind that miracles can and do occur.
But desperation can make folks do things that they otherwise wouldn’t, that they regret after the fact.
So as best you can, be smart as you prioritize options.
ASK QUESTIONS, and if you opt in to a product with dubious claims, do so with eyes wide open and an awareness of the risk you’re taking.
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Note: This post is intended for information and entertainment purposes only; nothing in this article or episode is a substitute for medical or mental health treatment; do not delay necessary medical care; please work with a qualified and licensed health care provider in your area.
