And not before time I'd add.
EU inquiry pours doubt on benefit of health foods
More than 50 food products and supplements have been exposed by a Europe-wide investigation for making unproven claims about their health benefits.Ocean Spray cranberry juice, Lipton black tea and some probiotic supplements are among the items whose claimed health benefits are scientifically unproven, according to an investigation by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).Fish oil supplements which purport to improve brain growth in babies and children have come under particular scrutiny, with the agency rejecting most of the benefits claimed by manufacturers.The initial results of the inquiry suggest that consumers could be wasting millions of pounds each year on products they think will improve their diet and lifestyle.
As anyone prepared to look at the evidence has already known for some time, the claims made about this or that food or supplement have all too often rested on dodgy poor quality studies of dubious scientific validity.
To give an egregious example, several years ago there appeared reports in newspapers etc about how a study had proven the benefits of fish oil.
These reports were the result of media outlets regurgitating a manufacturer's press release without question.
However, had they bothered to look a little more closely and ask some questions, they would have discovered that this "study" involved the maker of fish-oil capsules simply handing them out to people and then asking them later how they felt!
No independent measuring of the test subjects before, during and after the period they were taking the capsules, a total reliance on self-reporting (known to be highly unreliable) and no control group against which to compare outcomes.
In short, completely pseudo-scientific rubbish.
Bare that in mind the next time you hear the promoter of one of these quack remedies say that their product's health benefits have been proven by studies.
Bullshit.
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