Think about it a minute! Advertising is almost never about your welfare. It is a very effective tool that plays on your emotions to get you to buy something that you don’t need. That increases profits for the sponsor of the advertisement. It is almost never about you and it rarely gives you a broader appreciation of the issues involved. It is always best to be skeptical about advertising—especially medical advertising. You have all heard the phrase “buyer beware” or caveat emptor. That has been a principle in our law for hundreds of years. The original case in 1603 was about a medical treatment that did not work. A type of stone was promoted as having healing properties, and it did not deliver! The buyer wanted his money back.
You are exposed to ads every day that will not deliver. For example, there is a supplement in a pill form that is promoted to help avoid forgetfulness as we age. It is recommended to help keep your thinking sharper. It contains a protein apoaequorin that is supposed to help us think and remember better. If you take a protein by mouth, it becomes a very expensive protein supplement. Your body breaks down proteins before they are absorbed as peptides or amino acids. That is why effective proteins like insulin for diabetes or Humira for autoimmune diseases are given by injection. The entire idea is nonsense. This “brain health supplement” costs anywhere from $40 to $110 a month. Metformin costs $4 a month and it is effective when taken by mouth. There is much more evidence that it reduces the small vessel disease burden and memory decline in patients with type 2 diabetes. A six-year dementia study in Australia showed that patients with type 2 diabetes on metformin had one fifth the risk of dementia progression compared with those not on metformin. These medical advertisements will never tell you that part. One fourth of Americans over 50 take these supplements for brain health. “Indeed, one AARP analysis of spending on just six different supplements marketed for brain health shows that 50-plus adults spend more than $93 million a month on these proprietary blends alone. “These people taking these pills are spending between $20 and $60 a month and flushing dollars down the toilet that could be better spent on things that actually improve their brain health,” Lock says.”
There is a similar problem in treatments for obesity. I have been too fat all my life— topping out at 307 pounds. I always hated being fat. I certainly did not want to be sick, and I am convinced that my obesity contributed to my development of large cell lymphoma at age 43 which was a personal catastrophe. I even think part of my reason for going to medical school was to learn how to lose weight. I am not alone. Here is a quote from NPR about the American’s efforts to lose weight: “in 2022, nearly half of New Year's resolutions in the U.S. were based on fitness and 40% were based on weight loss. We spend over $30 billion on diet products annually and an estimated 45 million Americans diet every year.” It is really remarkable. So many want to lose weight but look around you. Despite all these resolutions and billions in spending, the people you knew last year who were too heavy are about the same this year.
We are bombarded by advertisements for prepared foods, pills, behavioral programs, abdominal surgery and now injections of medication that cost about $1000 dollars a month. The ads are very seductive. Crowds of happy fat people are singing about this new miracle weight loss drug. None of it works permanently. You might as well strike a match and burn your money. If you keep eating sugar, carbs, highly processed and fast foods you will not permanently lose weight. Period. Diets don’t work. You can still gain weight after gastric bypass surgery.
There is only one way to lose weight permanently, and that is to eat real, whole food. You see no advertising about real, whole food because there is no money in it for the person doing the advertising. Once I figured that out, I have lost 70 pounds and kept it off. The least expensive, most effective path to weight loss is also the easiest way.
These are just two examples of hundreds of misleading advertisements for healthcare products. I was recently approached about advertising to sponsor some of what I do. The answer was a firm no. Once I accept ads to support what I am doing, my ability to provide facts to keep you healthier longer is compromised. You have my pledge that I will never do that. I make every effort to ensure that what you read here is true, factual, consistent with the best scientific evidence, and practical in your efforts to stay healthier longer. I always welcome your comments.
Thanks, Bill. And this is why so many of us count on your to share those facts and learn from your writing. You are indeed an honorable man. Keep it up...
Thank you for not accepting sponsors! I appreciate your perspective and the information that you share. Best, Jeanne