Protect Yourself Against Health Fraud
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Americans spend billions of dollars each year on products or services that claim everything from "losing weight while you sleep" to "no more arthritic pain." Easy remedies are hard to resist, but many don't always deliver on their promises. Some can be harmful. Health fraud means promoting, for financial gain, a health remedy that doesn't work -- or hasn't yet been proven to work. Health fraud has grown significantly in the past several decades. Why such growth? People today take more personal responsibility for staying healthy. That interest has launched a huge demand for products and services that promote health. |
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What are the consequences? Health fraud takes advantage of consumers and carries significant economic and health risks including:
False Hopes
A Substitute for Reliable Health Care |
Unneeded Expense
Even under the best of circumstances, some
products and services simply don't work. Why waste your
hard-earned money on something that has no effect?
Potential Harm
Unsound nutrition advice, products or services
can put your health at risk. Large doses of some vitamins and
minerals, in the form of dietary supplements, can have harmful
side effects. For example, excessive vitamin K is risky if you
take blood-thinning drugs. And excessive amounts of vitamin A
during pregnancy increase the chances of birth defects.
What can you do? Below are some tips that can help you in identifying health fraud and where you can go for sound nutrition information.
Do Your Homework
Find out more before you purchase a nutrition product, treatment or service.
Seek Advice from Reliable Sources
It's not easy to distinguish
nutrition facts from misinformation. Contact a credible
nutrition source such as a dietetics professional.
Report Nutrition Fraud
If you suspect that a statement,
product or service is false, discuss it with the appropriate
government agency or file a complaint.
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