"Once in awhile you will stumble upon the truth, but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened."
- Winston Churchill
FitQuip- Truth Be Told
Sometimes truth is hard to recognize, especially when there are so many imposters. There is no shortage of health information out there. Everywhere you look- Internet, magazines, TV and even your iPod. Both stories and ads. Sometimes it is even harder to tell the difference between the two. They are often blended seamlessly.
Many ads are obvious but others are hidden in special reports, infomercials and even celebrity paid endorsements. I believe it is never been harder to be a wise consumer, when it comes to sifting through everything health that comes at you.
Remember first, that health care is a trillion business -once you understand that, other things will become much clearer. There are many who want a piece of your health care dollar. Ads are often misleading to try to lure you into their net.
Pharmaceutical companies have had a fairly large direct to consumer (DTC) advertising budget. I think you'll be seeing lots more of this. The good news is that the pharmaceutical industry, and us the drugs and medications they are presenting, are tightly regulated in terms of what they can or can't say in consumer related messages. This usually offers pretty good protection for you the consumer, although you still need to have your eyes and ears wide open. Again, this is very helpful to, and important for consumers, and applies to all prescription type medications and even implantable surgical devices. Unfortunately, the same is not true for supplements. The supplement industry is a multibillion dollar industry that has almost no regulation of the accuracy of their advertising and even product label claims. You could be buying expensive blanks, pills, potions and lotions, without real proven scientific benefit, despite the sometimes outrageous claims that you might see or hear. Ditto for weight loss and diet products, although there has been some regulatory attempts to limit the degree of what is being claimed about shedding unwanted pounds.
The key to being a wise consumer, and not getting fleeced, is to consider the following:
- You've heard this before but it deserves repeating. If it sounds or looks too good to be true, it probably isn't. If the desired and/or promised results seem to come really easy, look closer. Get critical.
- When you read something, consider the source. Try to read between the lines. Look for disclosures of financial involvement from the individuals pushing products. This is not usually easy. -Rarely is conflict of interest disclosed in these matters. Google the individual or spokesperson. You may find an interesting, less than stellar past, or maybe even a criminal past with fraud related issues-like a recent best selling health author.
- Do your homework, especially with vitamins and supplements. Read credible non-biased evaluations from solid sources. If a supplement has shown positive effects in a scientific study, find out which exact brand was used and purchase that particular brand. Others will try to ride the coat-tails of quality brands by providing beautifully packaged, slightly discounted, but possibly inferior quality products.
It's hard enough to stay healthy, and also abreast of the latest health information, -especially when you are sometimes being steered in the wrong direction. Don't let this happen. Ask questions. Do research. Talk to your doctor. Avoid the impulse buy. You won't regret it.
FitTip:
As you may have learned on the X-Files, "the truth is out there". -You just sometimes need to dig a little to find the real truth.
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