ConsumerLab.com Reports on Products for Weight Loss, BreastEnhancement

ConsumerLab.com Reports on Products for Weight Loss, BreastEnhancement

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--InApril, ConsumerLab.com reported on products for weight loss and breastenhancement. Earlier in the month, ConsumerLab.com (www.consumerlab.com)found that in a review of products promoted for weight loss, increasing leanbody mass ("slimming") and diabetes control, approximately 80 percent"passed" its review. Four of 18 products did not pass, either becausethey contained less than the labeled amount of an ingredient, used misleadinglanguage in labels or was contaminated. The company said it grouped theseproduct segments because those who watch sugar levels are usually trying to loseweight and vice versa.

The company tested seven conjugatedlinoleic acid (CLA) products, seven chromium products, two pyruvate products andtwo combination products (one with pyruvate and chromium, the other withchromium, Garcinia cambogia, CLA, L-carnitine and otheringredients).

Neither pyruvate-only productpassed. One failed because it contained 85 percent less than its labeled amountof the ingredient. The other, a product called Pyruvate 1000, failedConsumerLab.com's assessment because it did not clearly indicate the amount ofpyruvate in the product. The label read "1,000 mg of pyruvatecomplex," but testing showed that each tablet contained only 240 mg ofpyruvate. "Some manufacturers may use the word `complex' if they don't wishto reveal the exact blend of ingredients in the product," said TodCooperman, M.D., president of ConsumerLab.com. "It allows the manufacturerto put a lot less in than the consumer would expect."

The other two products that failedwere chromium products. One failed because it contained less than five percentof its labeled amount of chromium. "Such a reduction in chromium should beof concern to anyone relying on the product for its potential effect on insulinand blood sugar levels," ConsumerLab.com's release stated. The otherchromium product failed because it contained a toxic form of chromium.ConsumerLab.com's tests found trace amounts of hexavalent chromium, the toxiccompound investigated in the movie Erin Brockovich. According toConsumerLab.com, the manufacturer of the product seemed aware of the differencesbetween chromium, since the product was labeled as containing the"trivalent" (safe) form of chromium.

One of the most popular weight-lossingredients--ephedra--was not included in this review. Cooperman told INSIDERthe company is holding off on conducting product reviews on ephedra because of alack of testing methods and the large number of safety issues involved.

Later in April, ConsumerLab.comreleased a review article reporting that dietary supplements for enhancingbreast size have no scientific evidence backing these claims. After receivingnumerous inquiries from consumers regarding the efficacy of these supplements,ConsumerLab.com reviewed the scientific literature and product information forthese products. However, it found that either there were no published, doubleblind studies for natural breast-enhancement products, or else companies did notwish to share study results. Because of the lack of science for thesesupplements, ConsumerLab.com did not submit any products for laboratory testingand instead released a review article on the efficacy and safety behind thesesupplements.

"Whenever we do a productreview, we do a literature review for general efficacy and safety," saidCooperman, adding that the company did not tell product manufacturers anddistributors about this product review. "In this one, we stopped in ourtracks. There was just no strong evidence for these products. There wasn't evena good theoretical basis for these products to work. Once we concluded there wasno basis for testing, we decided to do a review article."

ConsumerLab.com reported that therewere four main categories of "breast-enhancing" ingredients used inthese products: 1) phytoestrogens (e.g., soy); 2) aphrodisiacs (e.g., oatstraw); 3) "women's" herbs (e.g., black cohosh); and 4) generic herbs(e.g., saw palmetto). Of these categories, ConsumerLab.com stated thatphytoestrogens were the only plausible ingredient that could be linked to bustsize due to its similarities to estrogen.

However, the company reported thatalthough the hormone estrogen can increase breast size, it is dangerousto use this drug for this purpose; estrogen causes the glands and ducts inbreasts to grow, which may also increase the risk for breast cancer.Nonetheless, certain breast-enhancement supplement manufacturers claim thatphytoestrogens, with their weakened effects, can enlarge breasts safely.ConsumerLab.com found this claim to be dubious, and cited two recent studies onbreast-enlargement products that proved otherwise.

The first study, led by researchersfrom the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, indicated that abreast-enhancement supplement containing hops, buckwheat, fennel, rye and L-ornitinedid not have significant estrogenic activity (J Nutr, 131:1362S-75S,2001) (www.nutrition.org). This led theauthors to conclude these findings raise concerns about the marketing ofisoflavone supplements and "speak to the need of more rigorous policing ofthese products along the guidelines for pharmaceutical agents."

The second study, conducted byresearchers at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Surrey, England,corroborated these results with their finding that a breast-enhancement productwith hop phytoestrogens also lacked estrogenic activity (Food Chem Toxicol,39, 12:1211-24, 2001) (www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchemtox).

ConsumerLab.com stated that many ofthe Web sites promoting these breast-enhancement products reported anecdotalevidence as the science behind these products. "Human nature being what itis, people observe what they want to observe," ConsumerLab.com stated."In order to meaningfully evaluate the effectiveness of a proposedtreatment for any condition, studies must be designed in such a way as toeliminate the power of suggestion."

Martha Christy, chief executiveofficer of Tempe, Ariz.-based Trimedica International Inc., the manufacturer ofthe breast-enhancer GroBust, said this was the wrong attitude to take whenevaluating breast-enhancing supplements. "The majority of herbal andvitamin supplements available to consumers today were first marketed on thebasis of anecdotal evidence supplied by decades--and in the case of herbs,centuries--of usage," she said. "Many pharmaceutical drugs, such asRitalin(R), are prescribed on the basis of anecdotal evidence. Researchers arenot always certain of the precise mechanism behind the effect of particulardrugs, but they are marketed for use based on observation of effectiveness.Therefore, to simply discount the anecdotal evidence in the case of herbalsupplements to augment bust fullness is absurd."

The company (www.trimedica.com)reported it has begun a double blind, placebo-controlled study that is being ledby a University of Miami affiliate researcher. The study will cover thesupplement's effects on breast size, body weight, mood states, PMS-relatedsymptoms and adverse events.

Christy said that ConsumerLab.com should not disseminatebiased and inaccurate reports on herbal products when thealternative--augmentative surgery--can be dangerous.