I am naive to think that a magazine would turn down advertiser dollars out of principal. Still, I wish that Runner's World Magazine would 1) have less ads for automobiles and 2) not have run the ad for a supplement that I have spent the last 30 minutes trying to research.
It is called Lurosil and unfortunately, all my usual trusted sources have no mention of it. That leaves me with the general Internet and even there, the only references to the product are on the products own website. The last place one should go to vet a product is the products website. I already know that the claims are bunk and the product is at the least ineffective and at the most harmful. But I have no proof.
What should keep you from buying this product is how it is advertised, the claims that are made and the lack of research to support its use. The ad is made to look like a health or fitness column where someone has written in to this person named Julie. There is no information provided to attest to what if any education or credentials this Julie has. The writer talks about having a bad knee or ankle or some joint, where the cartilage is damaged or tendons and ligaments strained and such. The writer heard about this product and tried it and it was awesome and they were writing to see where to find more. So Julie says that yes this Lusorsil is available and is awesome! It can lubricate, strengthen and cushion the joints. Lurisol, she says, contains ingredients that can do certain things to improve joint health and longevity. ,Now as I have warned you guys before, just because something contains an ingredient that was found to be helpful in some amount in some formula does not mean that the PRODUCT they are selling will do the same. The most outlandish statement in the ad is that the supplement is completely safe and all natural. Bullshit. That is my scientific, educated response to that statement.
Of course, the ad also has a little asterisk which might have you seek the fine print at the bottom. That is the print that tells you that the statements and the product have NOT been evaluated by the FDA and the product isn't meant to treat or cure anything. Well, if it isn't going to cure or treat your problem why in the heck would you take it. And if it were effective, then it WOULD be a medicine and would have FDA approval. (remember that FDA approval requires research studies of large numbers of persons who take a substance compared to a similar large number of persons who do not and a statistically significant difference between the two must be seen and must not be explained by chance. Supplements do not have to prove ANYTHING because they are not FDA approved or regulated. They can legally say it worked if one person benefited and that one person might have benefited from the placebo effect)
ah... sigh... I wear myself out.
2 comments:
Tell me about frustration over advertising! I was given a subscription to "Health" magazine, which has some good articles, menus, etc. But the publication has ENDLESS ads for various drugs. I just don't think a publication that touts healthy living should be taking ads for any Rx meds. LA
You wrote this more than 3 years ago. Lurosil is still at it and this time (Bicycling, May 2013), they put a picture of a blond woman, gave her the name Alexa (no last name), claimed she is a nutrition expert "who enjoys writing about sports nutrition, endurance sports and adventure". Apparently Alexa, of no last name, had a cycling trainer who swore by Lurisol, he recommended it to her and she has been taking it ever since. The word, Advertisement, at the top right corner of the page is completely overshadowed by the title of the "article", Indestructible Knees.
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