Four weight loss pill marketers were fined millions of dollars by The Federal Trade Commission for making false advertising claims. The claims ranged from rapid weight loss to reducing the risk of cancer.

The weight loss pills can still be sold on the market but the companies will have to stop making the false claims that they have no scientific evidence to back up. The fines were against four products, Xenadrine EFX, One A Day Weight Smart, Cortaslim and Trimspa.

FTC Commissioner Deborah Platt Majoras said on the Today Show that the FTC investigation found that the marketers of Xenadrine did have a study that said those who took a placebo actually lost more weight than those taking Xenadrine. They not only did not have a study to support their claims but had a study that went the other way!

"Testimonials from individuals are not a substitute for science," Majoras said. "And that's what Americans need to understand."

A new line of pomegranate-based supplements, called Pomology, will be revealed this weekend at the 2006 Expo Trade Show in Baltimore, Maryland. According to leading nutritionists and fitness experts, "each product contains a premium blend of proven ingredients that consumers can utilize for immediate relief and long-term health benefits." Target shoppers are those seeking a boost in heart health, prostate health, antioxidant health, joint health, and menopause.

Pomegranates, known for anti-inflammatory effects and high levels of antioxidants, have been used medically for thousands of years and have recently been making headlines for their power to knock out all kinds of health problems, including cancer. Pomology was founded in 2005 by a team of nutritionists and athletic performance experts who created formulas that meet varying lifestyle needs. This product line is promoted as one of highest quality and efficacy.

The information detailed above came directly from a press release.

A few days ago, I wrote a post about Richard Morris of www.breadandmoney.com who argued that sensational press releases about miracle products and potions often land in the hands of the media who broadcast them to the public in a this-will-fix-all-your-problems fashion. Morris states that no one product will fix what ails us without the proper balance of a handful of other practices -- like relaxation, stress reduction, and exercise. It's just not likely that Pomology supplements will result in "immediate relief and long-term health benefits." It's just not. Yet that is what we might gather from this press release. And unless we take on a full-scale lifestyle overhaul, what we gather from taking supplements such as these might just be a whole lot of nothing.

Just days before the 5th anniversary of the September 11th tragedy, Mt. Sinai Medical Center released a health report on the variety of illnesses suffered by rescue workers and city residents who were present at the scene. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against NYC by 8,000 of these workers who blame the toxic atmosphere and lack of health warnings from city officials for the onset of cancers, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases developed after exposure to the site.

The toxic metals and particles floating in the air above the pile of rubble that day are the same toxic elements found in cigarette smoke -- and these particles became deeply embedded in rescue workers and volunteers lungs. A special warning has been issued to those present at the site to now quit smoking, to avoid making their symptoms worse.

NY senator-D Hillary Clinton, along with other state representatives, are urging more federal funding for health care for these individuals. The new study has also helped establish new guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of 9/11 related illnesses. As many of the volunteers and crisis workers now live in other areas of the country, the guidelines provide much needed understanding of their ailments to unaware doctors.

When Patsy Ramsey passed away from a recurrence of ovarian cancer two months ago, many felt she died under the shadow of suspicion concerning her possible involvement in the murder of her six-year-old daughter JonBenet, whose beaten and strangled body was found by her father John Ramsey in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado.

At the time of Patsy Ramsey's death, the family attorney Lin Wood said, "I think people will remember Patsy as being someone who was falsely accused in connection with the death of her daughter when she should be remembered for being an incredibly loving mother, wonderful wife, and person who showed great courage in fighting a vicious disease over the last many years."

Today, breaking news reveals that a suspect has been arrested in the murder of JonBenet. Confessing to elements of the crime, the 42-year-old American second-grade school teacher John Karr was apprehended in Thailand.

John Ramsey confirmed in a written statement that Patsy was aware of the authorities interest in the suspect and she died knowing that the case was about to be solved and the murderer of her child was about to be brought to justice. She did not leave this world not knowing.

I have been a cheerleader for the breast cancer drug Herceptin ever since I began receiving it. I had my initial worries -- about an allergic reaction that I knew caused death within 24 hours for a handful of women and about possible toxicity to the heart -- but after faring well through my first dose and having now successfully completed my one year obligation to the drug, with no allergic reaction or heart damage, I have come to believe the Herceptin might just be the gem of a drug that the media says it is. Yet now I've read an article that makes me question what I really know about Herceptin -- and the studies that surround it and the statistics that back it and the messages sent out over the lines of mass communication to every day, non-medical people like me.

One of the first things I switched in my diet after being diagnosed with cancer was to buy as much organic food product over regular food product. Obviously the health standards of less chemicals and toxins in the body made sense to me and the food was richer in vitamins and nutrients. I also started growing some vegetables and herbs the organic way.

Today it seems to be a growing trend for many more households wanting a healthy alternative because organic food production is increasing in big demand and even stores like Wal-Mart, Safeway, Albertson's, and other main supermarket chains are stocking more organic foods than ever before. Organic food only makes up 2.5 percent of U.S. food sales, but it's the fastest growing segment of the market. Sales reached nearly $14 billion last year, up from $6 billion five years earlier, according to the Organic Trade Association in Greenfield, Mass.

Earthbound Farm is meeting the huge demand and expanding its growing acreage. Despite its size, Earthbound Farm follows the same practices as smaller organic farms which has been a main concern by many organic consumers.  Others welcome the increase in production in a lowering of costs of these products. Earthbound Farm rotates crops to enrich the soil and avoid disease, doesn't use chemical fertilizers or herbicides, and brings in syrphid flies and other beneficial insects to control pests. Earthbound Farm's bagged salads and other organic products are now sold in more than 80 percent of U.S. supermarkets.

For fifty years, Americans have enjoyed the bounty of the chemical revolution, trusting the government and industry to keep us safe. The public has a right to know the truth about the thousands of chemicals in use and the lives compromised. -- Bill Moyers
 
Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report is a highly-acclaimed PBS documentary presented by Bill Moyers, a widely-respected investigative journalist, exposing the secret documents of chemical companies, the dangers these chemicals pose to our present day health, and the options we have in creating a safer home environment by reducing the known and unknown cancer risks some of these chemicals pose for our family.

Bill Moyers is extensive in his research and reporting, and PBS has graciously provided much of the documentary's focus and findings on the website dedicated to the show. The report is broken down into three areas: The Problem which discusses the body burden, the toxic journey and children at risk; The Evidence reveals the secrecy, the regulatory war, and the money and politics involved in the deceptive practices of the chemical industry; and most importantly, The Options offers concrete and doable ways of protecting your family and yourself from the damages of potentially cancer-causing toxic chemicals.

According to Trade Secrets, most of us believe the chemicals in consumer products have been tested and approved by some government agency. In fact, until they are proven harmful, most chemicals are presumed safe. Of the more than 75,000 chemicals registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, only a fraction have gone through complete testing to find out whether they might cause problems for human health. Many that are produced in enormous quantities have never been tested at all. In order to make informed cancer prevention choices, you owe it to yourself and your family to read through the facts and information provided in this documentary.

During the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks, Yehuda Kaploun spent two days at Ground Zero saving lives. He watched as his friend, fireman Mychal Judge, died in a building collapse. Yehuda acted as a liaison officer between the police, fire departments and the Orthodox Jewish community in the aftermath of the disaster that killed thousands of people that day. After two days, when Yehuda finally went home, he took off his shirt, and without washing it, put it into a sealed bag. Recently, he had the shirt tested by the RJ Lee Group laboratories. The results? The shirt contained 93,000 times higher than normal limits of asbestos -- in addition to being saturated with the toxic chemicals zinc, mercury, antimony, barium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead and molybdenum. Yehuda's clothing is called the deadliest shirt in the world. Experts are now calling Ground Zero the most toxic place ever, and speculate it will not be known for years the amount of cancer that will result from the exposure for so many of the people who were there that day, and worked there in the days that followed.

But one thing is clear, the devastation, suffering and loss of life of that day continues. Yehuda shared in the interview, "I saw thousands of people covered in the dust. We were told there was no danger. Obviously, this isn't the case. It goes to show how wrong these people were who we trusted. I hope the government will do the right thing for all those who were at Ground Zero for any length of time." The heart broke then, the heart breaks now. Related posts we have done are: 9/11 first responders suffering with cancer sue city and WTC Ground Zero FDNY paramedic dies of lung cancer.