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Show DESERET NEWS, THURSDAY, AAAY Living 26, 1977 Man Do-- lt Weddings Dear Abby Theater TV Today Comics What's Doing Music 1 ! k False nutrition claims the fraud thats legal By Carina Wadley Deseret News staff writer Health frauds, fads and fallacies are costing consumers billions of dollars a year, according to Victor Herbert, M.D., J.D., Vice Chairman of Medicine at the State University of New York Downstate. And not only are these fads very expensive, they can be hazardous to your health, he said. (Dr. Herbert was participating in a conference for food and consumer writers sponsored by the National Dairy Council in Louisville, Ky., recently.) Medical quacks no longer sell their miracle cures and secret potions from the backs of covered wagons, but health fraud is still a flourishing business. What many people dont understand, said Dr. Herbert, is that its not illegal to lie about nutrition. There is no law preventing any quack trom going on any TV or radio station in the country or publishing a book saying anything thats false or making any fantastic claims. People buy books and think this must be true or they couldnt sell it.' Thats not so! There is no law against lying about nutrition in on the print, with one exception label. You can lie everywhere else, but not on the label. Another problem, he said, is that nutrition quacks spend a lot of time making nutrition sound like a difficult subject, making the public believe they have to know how much vitamin A there is in a carrot, calcium there is in milk, how much iron there is in meat. The public doesnt need to know all this information any more than they have to know how a carburetor functions in order to be a good driver. Of course, the more they know about nutrition, the better. But all the public really needs to know is that one must eat a varied diet, as varied as possible, and in moderahow-muc- The best guide, he said, is the If you get four helpings from the fruit and vegetable group, four helpings from the grain and grain products group, two from the milk group and two from the meat group, you can assume you have had a diet. Unfortunately, he said, thats too simple for a lot of people with Basic Four Food Groups. d It's not illegal to lie 'J it VI'Vs about nutrition. There is no law preventing any quack from going on any TV or radio station or publishing a book saying anything that's false or making any I: y, . tion. a I medical, psychiatric and other fantastic claims. prob- lems who like to believe that answers can be found in magic. Unfortunately, also, there's a lot of money to be made in health fraud. One problem is that the "confused crusaders, as he terms them, are very charismatic people but that doesn't make their claims true. For instance there was the Rodale case. Rodale, who founded "Prevention Magazine which goes in for wild and unsupported items. died of a heart attack on the Dick Cavett show, in the midst of expounding how, if you followed the dietary outlines and advice provided in his magazine, you would never have a heart attack and would live to be a hundred. Another problem is what scientists term the placebo effect, which means simply that if people believe something will help them it will. Dr. Herbert cited a study done during the Korean War where one group of wounded soldiers received methadone as a pain killer and another group received a salt water solution, but w'ere told they were getting methadone. Over fifty percent of the soldiers getting salt water had no pain. People become convinced, he said, that something cured them or will help them, and no facts will convince them otherwise. This is a very emotional issue. after you run your story, youll probably get a lot of phone calls and letters saying I dont know what Im talking about. Just ask them to send you the scientific facts. They can't. They can send a lot of hearsay evidence and glowing testimonials, but no facts. And For instance, he said, the majority of people who claim to have been cured of cancer by vitamin C or Dr. Herbert Laetrile or cancer. a fad diet never had They may have had lumps that went away. But many people have lumps that are not cancer and that go away on their own. Breast lumps of this type are very common. The only way to tell if a growth is cancerous is to take a piece of tissue from it and put it under the do a biopsy. microscope Someone with a case of cancer that is cured' doesn't make a strong case for the treatment, he said. Just how can you tell what are facts and what are false claims? Dr. Herbert has some guidelines: 1. Any valid cures that come along will appear in scientific literature and be supported by other studies. 2. Claims should be evaluated on the basis on the claim not on who says it. The greatest scientist in the world can be wrong; the most obscure unknown can come on startling facts. Linus Pauling is a great chemist, but he is wrong on the vitamin C issue. 3. Has an objective party You can evaluated the claim? make a lot of money by lying, and if someone is making a lot of money off the claim, be suspicious. Check to see if the same results have been obtained by an objective group. 4. Become informed about nutrition. Learn what frauds to watch out for. One of the best sources of information, said Dr. Herbert, is a new book called The Health Robbers," published by the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud, a organization formed to combat deception in the field of health. 5. Above all, don't believe anything just because it's in print or your hear it on TV, said Dr. Herbert. "Lying about nutrition is the fraud non-prof- it that's legal. Fads can be hazardous to your health Health fads and frauds are many and varied, said Dr. Victor Herbert. He lists some (n watch out for: MEGAVITAMIN THERAPY There is a lot of popular belief right now that super doses of vitamins can cure everything from cancer to the common failure which can be fatal. It can also cause loss of appetite, nausea, weakness, weight loss, excessive urination, kidney stones. Excess vitamin A can cause loss of appetite, retarded growth, drying and cracking of the skin, enlarged liver and spleen, loss of hair. "To understand why the megavitamin therapy theory is nutrition nonsense, you have to understand that it is impossible for more than a small quantity of vitamin to serve a vitamin function. "Any excess above what the body can use in that function must be stored, excreted or used in a way. functions have None of the been shown to be advantageous and a number have liven proven harmful, he said. no proof And there is no proof Dr. Herbert underlined, whatsoever, that megadoses of vitamin E can increase sexual potency or cure heart problems. This last theory is big right now, despite studies which show it has no use in protecting against heart attacks. Nor is there any proof that megadoses of vitamin C can cure the common cold. Linus Pauling, a major exponent of this theory, admitted to me that there was no evidence it cured colds, but he claims it reduced symptoms. Despite this, the cure-claiis still made. One of the latest fads to surface, said Dr. Herbert, is that megadoses of vitamin A story in the C can cure cancer. National Enquirer told of a study at a leading Scottish research institution. It turned out to be a nursing home in the cold. n n Excess vitamin E can cause headaches, nausea, tiredness, giddiness, chapped lips, intestinal disturbances, muscle weakness, low blood sugar, increased bleeding tendency and blurred vision. Excess vitamin D can cause renal Scottish Highlands. They said patients lived four times as long if they were given mcgador.cs of vitamin C under a ductor's supervision. "I discussed this with one of the countrys leading cancer researchers. Jay Freireich, and he told me the results obtained are due to the doctor being interested in his patient. Cancer patients on the average live four times as long if the doctor is interested and supportive instead of just giving up. LAETRILE Another popular notion right now, said Dr. Herbert, is the idea that Laetrile cures cancer. Despite the fact that more state legislatures are legalizing the drug, he said, there is no scientific support for the idea. "Laetrile, falsely advertised as vitamin BIT falsely because it is not a is amygdalin. And what vitamin amygadalin is a cyanogen, a cyanide generator. "Some 50 years ago in California a Doctor Crabbs postulated that cyanide is capable of seeking out cancer cells in the body and destroying them. The fact is that cyanide or Laetrile does not seek out cancer cells; they are highly, freely dissusable substances that go into every tissue uniformly, just like water does. If you took enough cyanide to kill your cancer cells, it would kill you also. But the real danger from Laetrile is that it keeps people from seeking real help, said Dr. Herbert. He cited a case of a man with stage III Hodgkins disease. The disease has four stages and is cureable through stage 111. But instead of taking chemotherapy, the patient was talked into Laetrile treatment. His disease spread to stage IV and killed him. VEGETARIANISM A lot of bizzare vegetarian diets are springing up across college campuses, said the doctor. One study showed that over 40 percent of the students at San Diego State University in California, for instance, were vegetarians. There are some vegetarian diets which are sensible and cun be nutritious, he said, but there are also some dangerously a diet of nothing but rice, bizarre ones for instance. The main problem with vegetarianism is that people do not get all the necessary nutrients. "The person on a diet will have a hard time getting adequate iron. Those who avoid all animal protein are likely to get vitamin B12 deficiency. Those who eat no meat, no milk and milk products have almost no way of getting adequate calcium." Ife said supplemental sources are available to help these deficiencies. no-me- OTHERS Among other claims which have no but a great many faithful basis in fact followers, according to Dr. Herbert are: the idea that bone meal is good for your teeth. It has nothing to do witli building strong teeth and bones. the notion that fat causes cancer. "No food or nutrient in and of itself causes or cures cancer." no the theory that a salicylate diet cures hyperactive children. If one has a diet, one has to eliminate obvious worthwhile, important foods like oranges and tomatoes. And there's no proof it helps hyperactivity." Memo to athletes: Forget the steak, eat a candy bar There are two reasons why more and more athletic records are being broken, says Dr. David L. Costill, director of the Human lerformance Laboratory at Ball State University, Muncie, lnd. First, he told food and consumer writers gathered at the National Dairy Council conference in Ixiuisville, training at competition levels has developed more endurance and stamina. Second, better nutrition has played a part in developing bigger, stronger, healthier people. And more has lieen learned about the role nutrition plays in the athletes life whether he competes at the high school, college or professional level. Dr. Costill cited the case of Ron Hill, a long distance runner from England who had been running mile in the an average of a marathon. Because of changed nutrition practices, he was able to average 4.23 a mile per the run Athletes utilize energy at a high rate, and it has been learned that most of that energy comes from glucose burned in the muscle tissues. If glucose is not present, the muscle stops functioning and fatigue sets five-minu- in. Carbohydrates provide most of the needed glucose for athletes. Fats are burned second and proteins are poor sources of energy. What this all means for the athlete, said Dr. Costill, is that he needs more calories than the and the additional calories should come from carbohydrates. Another thing that's important for the athlete to know is that once the muscle glucose is exhausted, it takes a while to build it up again. "He can't go through hard training every day, then go right into competition." The best schedule for a weekend con petition, said the doctor, himself once a competitive swimmer, is lii work out hard on Tuesday ami Wednesday, then reduce the exercise and begin a high carbohydrate diet. The importance of nutrition to the athlete has led to a number of misconceptions, said Dr. Costill. Some can just reduce performance; others can be false dangerous. He listed nine commonly-held- , licliefs. MISCONCEPTION 1. Athletes need a protein-ricdiet. Not so, said Dr. Costill who has conducted numerous investigations in the sports medicine area. The steak dinners don't provide as much energy as a carbohydrate diet. Frotein is a very inefficient food for the athlete. MISCONCEPTION 2. Protein and amino acid supplements are needed for muscular development. Athletes in power events such as weight lifting often load up on the supplements, thinking they will provide hulk for the muscles. Actually, they simply produce excess solid wastes. 3. Honey, glucose or quick MISCONCEPTION energy snacks 30 minutes before competition provide quick energy. "It's much better to go into competition w ithout tood than with something that will remain in the system," said Dr. Costill. Studies have shown, he added, that if the athlete has a meal no closer than three hours Indore competition, he gets better performance. h non-athle- MISCONCEPTION 4. Water and drink should be restricted during exercise and competition. This can bo a very dangerous practice, he said. Without water, body temperatures reach dangerous levels. The IkhI.v can only tolerate high temperatures tor a short time without suffering heat stroke. Despite these warnings, a few years ago there were as many as 25 311 deaths a year from heat exhaustion in sports - many on the high school level. The only way to reduce the teivqierature is to fluids." said Dr. Costill. MISCONCEPTION 5. Candy and sweets should be restricted during training. Candy and cakes provide carbohydrates and the athlete can eat more than other people since he burns off the earliohyd-rate- s so quickly. MISCONCEPTION 6. Salt supplementation is essential for training in hot weather. It was once thought, said Dr. Costili, that sweat losses caused a salt deficiency which could only be made up with supplements. Now science believes a normal diet will adequately replace salt loss. Sweat tastes salty, but actually has very little salinity." take in 7. Dieting and hard training MISCONCEPTION offer the best means of weight reduction for the athlete. Because they use such a high number of calories, most athletes do not need to diet, though they do need to he careful about what kinds of foods they eat. And they certainly shouldn't diet during heavy periods of exercise, said Dr. Costill. "The worst thing an athlete can do is starve a common practice himself to make weight' among wrestlers. This drives the blood glucose level way down. Then after weighing in the athlete eats as much as he can, but the blood doesn't have time to build up glucose levels again. S. Milk causes "cotton MISCONCEPTION mouth" and should not be consumed before competition. Actually the dry, chalky feeling in the mouth is due to decreased salivary activity and precompetition tenseness and has no relationship to milk MISCONCEPTION !t. Vitamin supplementation increases performance. There's no scientific proof at all that megadoses ot vitamins help the athlete, though it is a common notion right now. said Dr. Costili |