Wednesday, June 13, 2012

How to spot health scams

Health scams are also called health fraud. Many people are fooled into buying health products that sound so good they are immediately drawn into the product. Many don't do research into the product to verify if the claims have any truth behind them. As a result, money is spent on a poor quality product that may potentially cause illness.

Some products that are "miracle cures" claim to treat or cure different illness such as diabetes, cancer, arthritis. There are no "miracle cures" on the market. There is no one pill that can cure such chronic illness. There are no FDA regulated drugs that hold a claim "miracle cure". Taking such medication may cause a potentially harmful interaction with other medication you are taking. 

We hear quite a bit about all natural products. Just because it is all natural does not mean it is safe. The flower Belladonna is natural. But if ingested in it's natural state is deadly. The flower has pharmacologic benefits such as atropine which is used in modern day medicine. Mushrooms are natural. But some species are poisonous if ingested in their natural state. If your taking in any all natural products for the first time, do you due diligence and make sure it is safe for YOU to take.
Your neighbor, friend, cousin or uncle may not have had any ill-toward side-effects toward a  product does not mean it is safe for you.  Always check with your doctor about your individual situation.

There are weight loss products that claim to be all natural and you will lose weight while you sleep and guaranteed to be effective. These are false claims. Again, there is no one pill that will drop the weight and keep it off. Always check with your doctor if you are deciding on a weight loss program. Know your health numbers and get a baseline physical.

Don't take the risk with your health or money because of guaranteed claims or personal success stories. Health fraud is very real. If it sounds too good to be true, know that it is false!

Good health,
Trisha M. Pacenti RN,BSN
www.nurseinsagent.com

The FDA defines health fraud as the deceptive promotion, advertising or sale of a product represented as being effective to prevent, diagnose, treat, cure or lessen an illness or condition, or provide another beneficial effect on health, but has not been scientifically proven safe and effective for such purposes. www.fda.com

 

Monday, June 4, 2012

Colon Cancer: 3rd leading cause of death

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for the number of colorectal cancer cases in the United States are for 2012:
  • 103,170 new cases of colon cancer
  • 40,290 new cases of rectal cancer
Overall, the lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is about 1 in 20 (5.1%). This risk is slightly lower in women than in men.

What's more of an inconvenience? A colonoscopy? or Colon cancer?

Good health,
Trisha M. Pacenti RN,BSN
www.nurseinsagent.com

www.cancer.org
drugstore.com, inc.