From the category archives:

News

Attorney General Jack Conway has announced an agreement in principle with Coke, Nestle and Beverage Partnership Worldwide (BPW) resolving questionable claims that Enviga, a green tea beverage, will burn extra calories resulting in weight loss.

Under the agreement, the companies will add disclosures to Enviga, and any similarly formulated product, to disclaim any weight loss benefits and note that weight loss is only possible through diet and exercise. The companies will also pay $650,000 to the 26 states involved in the settlement. Kentucky will receive approximately $15,800 of this amount. Final settlement documents will soon be tendered to the Franklin Circuit Court for approval….

Read more about the study they did…

The study investigated 31 people consuming Enviga over a period of 3 days. The study claimed that the high caffeine (and caffeine like substance) content in Enviga sped up the metabolism and caused the participants to burn more calories from fat rather than carbohydrates, up to 60-100 extra calories per day. However, it has been extensively researched and proven that pure caffeine as a supplement will have the same effect over that time period, thus rendering the content of Enviga (aside from the caffeine) to be mostly irrelevant to the “negative calorie” claim. Furthermore, research has shown that caffeine sensitivity drops exponentially over time. Like with all stimulatory drugs and agents, the same dose of caffeine is no longer equally effective over time, requiring higher and higher doses in order to provide the same effect. The 100 calories burned per day will drop to 0 in a period of a few weeks, unless dramatically more caffeine is utilized. The net conclusion of these observations is that the extrapolation from a 3 day time period onto a permanent 60-100 calorie weight loss per day is completely unjustified.

Read the entire article below.

Louisville City Hall Examiner: Ky. Attorney General settles claim against Enviga.

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As the years tick by, Sumner Redstone just gets more optimistic. Earlier this year the 84-year-old said he planned to live another 50 years; two years ago he was predicting another 20.

Sumner Redstone at 84

Lately been getting a bit of help in the form of a little-known superjuice called MonaVie. “It’s a miracle drug,” he told Fortune. “I feel great.”

A dark-purple elixir with a cult-like following, MonaVie is an antioxidant-rich concoction whose main ingredient is the Brazilian açai berry (pronounced ah-sigh-ee), long touted among health nuts for its anti-aging ingredients.

Redstone attributes his good health to a Brazilian berry.

Redstone says he’s never felt better. “I know I look a lot younger than I am,” he says. “I feel like I’m 40 years old.”

via Sumner Redstone’s anti-aging secret – Aug. 24, 2007.

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Good thing drinking old fashioned green tea or even Mona Vie is not the same as popping weight loss pills.

An interesting article appeared today in Globeandmail.com which pointed out some interesting things that I’d like to share with you.

in January, 2007, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission received a $25-million settlement from the makers of four prominent weight-loss supplements – Xenadrine EFX, CortiSlim, TrimSpa and One-A-Day Weight Smart – for false advertising. Like many products, these supplements made claims of effectiveness without supporting research.

What’s more, some supplements have side effects that can be downright dangerous.

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And the part about Green tea.

Despite the flood of green tea supplements on store shelves, the evidence is sparse that it can melt the pounds away. In one study, green tea increased fat burning and metabolism in 10 healthy men who were lean or mildly overweight. But the study was not designed to assess weight loss.

Preliminary research did suggest that a specific green tea extract could help reduce weight in overweight people. However, recent studies concluded that taking a green tea extract does nothing to reduce body weight or maintain weight loss.

The article concluded:

The bottom line: The most effective way to lose weight is the old-fashioned way – by making sustainable changes to your eating and exercise habits. Even if a weight-loss supplement did help you take off a few pounds, you would have to continue taking them to keep the weight off. And that may not be practical – or safe.

Read the entire article below.

globeandmail.com: You won’t lose weight by popping pills.

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This article appeared on MSNBC local news site on Jan 14th 2009 and talks about one company scamming people out of their money over the Acai Berry Supplement Scam.

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The acai berry has been hailed as a cure-all, capable of fighting cancer and promoting weight loss. But the Better Business Bureau is advising consumers to stay away from one South Florida supplier.

Boca Raton-based SFL Nutrition makes grand claims about the acai berry supplement it markets on the Internet.

“They’re alleging that it’s curing cancer and that it’ll prevent cancer,” Better Business Bureau spokesman Mike Galvin said. “It’s alleging that you’ll have a high-energy level and weight loss. All these things are not documented with any type of research whatsoever.”

But it’s not those claims that earned the company an F grade with the Better Business Bureau. Most of the 2,000-plus unanswered complaints against SFL Nutrition accuse the company of cheating customers.

“They’re indicating that it’s a free trial for 14 days,” Galvin said. “But on their Web site, they ask that you provide the credit card number, and once they receive the credit card number, they start sending you the supplies.”

One customer wrote on the Better Business Bureau Web site of having to cancel a credit card instead of waiting eight hours on hold to get hundreds of dollars refunded.

“In today’s world, in these desperate times, people will not tolerate that and they try to get their money back and there’s no response whatsoever,” Galvin said.

WPBF News 25’s Brian Albert called SFL Nutrition and got no response. No one answered the door at the company’s Boca Raton address either.

“My partner tells me he thinks they may have moved out,” Debbie Wexler, co-owner of the Two Fat Cookies bakery next door, said.

Wexler said she’s been hounded on the telephone and in person by angry SFL Nutrition customers.

“People have been calling looking for the company at this address and people are telling me that they’re being overcharged on their credit cards for merchandise that they did not order,” Wexler said.

The Better Business Bureau claims that another company in the same business park is part of the alleged scheme.

GlobalNet Pharmacies deflected questions about its sister company, even though it shares the same owner as SFL Nutrition. Now, the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to stay away from both companies.

“Consumer beware: If it looks too good and sounds too good to be true, it normally is,” Galvin said.

Read the entire article below.

Better Business Bureau Warns Of Acai Berry Supplement Scam – News- msnbc.com.

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Vitamin Water

Nutrition advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest sued Coca-Cola on Thursday for what it calls “deceptive and unsubstantiated claims.”

To be more specific, the accusations build around Coca-Cola’s line of VitaminWater. The consumer group released a statement on Thursday saying that Coca-Cola “markets VitaminWater as a healthful alternative to soda by labeling its several flavors with such health buzz words as ‘defense,’ ‘rescue,’ ‘energy’ and ‘endurance.’” Moreover, the company says its drinks also reduce the risk of chronic disease, reduce the risk of eye disease, promote healthy joints and support optimal immune function.
David Schardt, a senior nutritionist for the nonprofit group, called “nonsense” the company’s claims that one can improve immunity just by drinking one of their VitaminWater drinks.
CSPI nutritionists go even further saying that one such drink contains 33 grams of sugar, which can increase someone’s chances of becoming obese, developing diabetes and other health problems than “the vitamins in the drinks do to perform the advertised benefits listed on the bottle.”
CSPI leader Steve Gardner said it’s shocking that a company like Coca-Cola “feels the need to market a soft drink as a vitamin pill to hide the fact it is really sugar water.” read more by following the link below.

Coca-Cola Faces Suit over VitaminWater.

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