Do companies advertise ineffective supplements?

Pricey Dr. Roach: I see health supplements advertised on tv that are supposed to very clear “brain fog” and do lots of other valuable points. Are these any excellent, and can they really do the points that they assert to? If they are powerful, why aren’t they offered at drugstores? If not, how is it that providers are authorized to make these fake claims and promote these nutritional supplements on tv?

— J.L.P.

Pricey J.L.P.: I think there are around-the-counter nutritional supplements that are effective for managing some clinical situations, and there are a handful of occasions in which there is robust proof of reward, these types of as a vitamin and mineral method to gradual progression of macular degeneration. Extremely usually, there is not plenty of info to be sure a complement is possibly efficient or ineffective.

It is unquestionably legitimate that health supplement companies from time to time make promises that they can not support. By regulation, nutritional supplement promoting can claim to support a physique element or perform (which is why you see statements like “supports coronary heart health”), but these claims should be followed by: “This assertion has not been evaluated by the Foods and Drug Administration. This solution is not meant to diagnose, treat, remedy or protect against any sickness.”