According to health statistics, around 5 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease. That’s why more and more people are doing everything they can to lower their risk of acquiring this disease. Most of these patients change their lifestyle to be healthy and physically fit.
However, there are those people who want the easy way to cure their illness. Unfortunately, some shady companies take advantage of the publics’ fear and sell misleading products claiming to cure dementia the faster way. But before you fell into this trap, the FDA warns you against companies that promote unproven and unsafe treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
The Action
According to the FDA’s commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, they recently issued 12 warning letters as well as five advisory letters to online companies who offer products (mostly dietary supplements) claiming it can prevent, or treat Alzheimer’s disease. Aside from that, these so-called magic supplements are also illegally marketed to cure cancer and diabetes.
The FDA took action to stop the public from consuming potentially harmful and unproven supplements.
Gottlieb adds these unproven claims can potentially harm and exacerbate the patient’s health. He advises the public to assess whether the product received approval from the FDA before believing in these schemes.
In a separate statement, Gottlieb says the public often encounter these marketed supplements on websites as well as social media platforms where it’s easier for these companies to sell their products.
He advises the public to conduct fact-checking and contact the FDA to determine the company’s legitimacy to recommend such supplements. Or better yet, he urges the customers to report these false claims so that they can penalize these food manufacturers.
Warm Feedback
The Alzheimer’s Association expresses their support in FDA’s efforts to crack down these misleading companies.
According to the organization, an increasing number of their members are tempted to switch into taking herbal and dietary supplements thinking it can improve their memory alertness while delaying or reversing their Alzheimer’s disease.
The Alzheimer’s Association warns the public not to fall on “biased testimonials” given on these unapproved supplements and herbal alternatives.
The association’s media relations representative, Nigel Frantz, says the AA welcomes the FDA’s action to fight against these false claims to protect the public’s health and wellbeing against these companies who take advantage of their sickness for the sake of earning a profit.
The Companies
According to the FDA, they identified at least 17 companies who allegedly sell these herbal and dietary supplements claiming to heal chronic diseases and illnesses. FDA issued the warning on the following companies:
Nutrition Coalition Inc
Sovereign Laboratories LLC
TEK Naturals
In one of the advisory letters sent to Pure Nootropics, the FDA stated some of their products like Alpha GPC, CDP Choline Capsules, Lion’s Mane, Gingko Biloba Capsules, and Piracetam which claim to treat one or more disease should be amended and corrected.
Pure Nootropics says they didn’t mean to mislead the public with their marketed products. They also promise to take the necessary steps to correct their mistakes.
According to the FDA, these products should not replace prescribed medicines since the supplements didn’t pass the FDA’s supervision and clinical approval. Meanwhile, Pure Nootropics issued a statement saying the company is currently developing a corrective action plan to make sure their website and marketing strategy complies with the FDA’s rules and regulations.
The Public Lauded FDA’s Move
Meanwhile, the CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, Steve Mister, lauded the agency for utilizing their tools to address such false claims and prevent these companies from propagating fake information on the web. According to him, the FDA’s actions send a strong message to the industry to be very careful in marketing their products.
Furthermore, those who practice illegal behavior is punishable by law. Meanwhile, Mister says the council will also enforce strict monitoring on all food manufacturers as well as ingredient suppliers to ensure they only use the best quality of products in producing dietary supplements. Aside from that, they want to make sure all products they represent in trades and the market are safe and they receive approval from the FDA.
