The aim of the creators is to visualise tangible health benefits when taken orally by an adult with a healthy diet. Only human, randomised placebo-controlled trials were used to create this graphic.

Information is Beautiful: Snake Oil?

(click on the image for a much bigger view)

I recommend having a long slow look at the graphic. Here are some hints to unlock its dense beauty.

How To Read This

Here are some hints on how to read this graphic:

• This image is a “balloon race”. The higher a bubble, the greater the evidence for its effectiveness. The supplements are only effective for the conditions listed inside the bubble.
• The size of the bubble represents how many Google search hits there are for this supplement. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the size of the bubble relates the effectiveness of the supplement; it merely shows how often people are looking for more information using the internet.
• The creators have marked the some supplements in yellow, designating them as ones with low evidence, but promising results – cocoa, NAC, beta glucan, arginine, l-lysine, noni, astaxanthin and tumeric for eg.
• You might also see multiple bubbles for certain supplements. These is because some supplements affect a range of conditions, but the evidence quality varies from condition to condition. For example, there’s strong evidence that Green Tea is good for cholesterol levels. But evidence for its anti-cancer effects is conflicting. In these cases, we give a supplements another bubble.

If you visit the source web page Information is Beautiful: Snake Oil?, you can also see the data used to create the graphic.

My Thoughts

I was surprised by how few bubbles contained a health condition. Could it really be true that so few supplements have been matched to diseases? Maybe that is exactly why the graphic is sub-titled Snake Oil.

Also interesting  to see how many bubbles are located below the line marked “worth it”.

So one summary from this graphic is that the majority of supplements probably really are snake oil.

What Did You See?

A picture really is worth a 1000 words. So much information can be presented by one image.

What did you “see” that surprised you?

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What does this have to do with Rosacea?

A fair question. As the internet has become a more and more popular source for health related information, the trustworthiness of web sites has become more and more important.

Anyone can pick and choose a handful of supplements, print pretty labels and create a web site to flog them off.

Without a body to police sham marketing claims, web site owners are free to say what they like.

Claims about a supplement’s efficacy and safety can go unchallenged and unproven. In the worst of cases, internet seekers are left at the mercy of supplement makers that are solely interested in making money out of sufferers’ misery.

It is the task of the Federal Trade Commission to ensure that businesses operate ethically, including on the internet. It is encouraging to see that the FTC is willing to act against unscrupulous web sites.

Be on the lookout for supplement sites that make grandiose claims and have suspicious testimonials.

FTC Seeks to Halt 10 Operators of Fake News Sites from Making Deceptive Claims About Acai Berry Weight Loss Products

Internet Marketers Falsely Claim Endorsement from ABC, Fox News, CBS, CNN, USA Today, and Consumer Reports, FTC Alleges.

The Federal Trade Commission is requesting federal courts to temporarily halt the allegedly deceptive tactics of 10 operations using fake news websites to market acai berry weight-loss products.  The FTC seeks to permanently stop this misleading practice and has asked courts to freeze the operations’ assets pending trial.

According to the FTC, the defendants operate websites that are meant to appear as if they belong to legitimate news-gathering organizations, but in reality the sites are simply advertisements aimed at deceptively enticing consumers to buy the featured acai berry weight-loss products from other merchants

“Almost everything about these sites is fake,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.  “The weight loss results, the so-called investigations, the reporters, the consumer testimonials, and the attempt to portray an objective, journalistic endeavor.”

If you are like me, that is like most rosacea sufferers, you wonder where is the middle ground with our relationship to the sun. It seems that each month a new tiny bit of research shows that Vitamin D is important for something else.

The best way to get Vitamin D is through sun exposure. Unfortunately the biggest trigger for many rosacea sufferers is the sun.

Further, living in a country like Australia we are bombarded with messages about the prevalence of skin cancer, continually being told how important it is is cover up when outside. Indeed an Australian only needs to travel to Europe to discover for themselves just how ferocious the Australian sun really is.

So how can we possibly know how much sun exposure is best for our health? This is an open question that I don’t believe anyone can answer with any degree of certainty.

Part of the problem is that these sorts of debates are conducted in a forum, short press releases, where the required amount of detail to have a proper discussion are simply missing.

Take the following conclusion from an ABC Health article;

Low vitamin D linked to schizophrenia

Babies born with low vitamin D levels are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia later in life, researchers from the Queensland Brain Institute have found.

…

"Rates of melanoma and skin cancer are obviously very high in our country and directly related to sun exposure, particularly in childhood," he says.

"So on the one hand we need to be careful about over exposure to sunlight, on the other hand it may well be that in some places, or in some individuals, low levels of vitamin D may constitute a risk factor, particularly in pregnancy and therefore affecting the rates of vitamin D in newborn children."

The researchers can only conclude that for some people, in some places, low levels of Vitamin D may constitute an extra risk factor for schizophrenia. So far there is only a statistical link, it will take many years before a positive link could be found.

I have to admit that I cringe a bit every time one of these sorts of health items makes the news. They seem to add so little to useful every day living, and just leave us more confused.

As for me, I’m going to continue to wear a SPF 20 sunscreen everyday on my face, something stronger if I’m in direct sun for an extended period, and actually enjoy a few rays on the rest of my body – seems it might just stop me going mad !

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Nestle, who along with L’Oreal are the parent company of Galderma, is promoting a beauty drink called glowelle. Their buzz word rich marketing includes references to antioxidants, phyto-nutrients, botanical fruit extracts and more. The ingredients are said to fight harmful environmental factors, staving off fine lines and wrinkles.

Certainly the natural raspberry, jasmine, pomegranate and lychee makes it sound delicious. At the same time the `clinically tested’, dietary supplement, once-a-day beauty drink is said to fight the signs of aging from the inside out.

The supplement facts list the ingredients as including: pomegranate, quercetin, green tea, coenzyme q10, lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene. A proprietary beauty blend is also detailed as: extracts from cocoa, apple, grape seed, maritime pine bark, goji berry and white tea.

The publicity provided by Nestle suggests that glowelle was championed by a small entrepreneurial group of women within Nestle who wanted to create a product that would help women feel and look good.

The pricing appears to be around $7 for a bottle or $4 – $6 for a `powder stick pack’.

User Reviews

Blogger Beauty Snob said “I can’t even describe the taste but just imagine eating the most bitter yet strangely sweet drink made of perfume”. Apparently they originally tasted the pomegranate version, the raspberry jasmine version is more palatable. Their conclusion after a month was that it was a great supplement “I feel fantastic and my skin looks, well glow-y and weirdly smooth.”

Blogger The Jet Set Girls said that after mixing it was still a bit clumpy – “So, save your $40! The only supplement we’ve ever taken that gave our skin a noticeable difference is Omega-3 pills.”

Blogger The Beauty Bunny gave it a 6 out of 10 – “After drinking Glowelle in the morning, I did notice a slight improvement in my skin’s evenness and radiance throughout the day, although the effect might be replicated through staying hydrated and taking vitamins (both of which I’m notoriously bad about).”

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Love to hear from You

glowelle has an impressively long list of hopeful ingredients. Healthy skin from the inside out, if indeed this product can deliver, is something that all rosacea sufferers with compromised skin could benefit from.

With the backing of an industry heavy weight like Nestle, this product is sure to become more visible over the next year. Please do let us know how you get on if you try it.

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Organic food ‘better’ for heart

Flavonoids have been shown to reduce high blood pressure, lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Writing in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the team said nitrogen in the soil may be the key.

Dr Alyson Mitchell, a food chemist at the University of California, and colleagues measured the amount of two flavonoids – quercetin and kaempferol – in dried tomato samples that had been collected as part of a long-term study on agricultural methods.

…

Flavonoids have also been linked with reduced rates of some types of cancer and dementia.

The Food Standards Agency says there is some evidence that flavonoids can help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and they are currently carrying out a study to look at the health benefits in more detail.

However, a spokesperson said there was no evidence that organic food was healthier.

“Our long-standing advice on organic food is there can be some nutrient differences but it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily better for you.”

The RSRP Page on Quercetin tell us that, “Quercetin is an herbal COX and 5-LOX inhibitor that when taken as a supplement may be helpful in controlling inflammation”. The role of Quercetin and other flavonoids in vascular function is an interesting area of study. Whilst there is no direct link yet to rosacea, general vascular health is definitely a good thing for rosacea sufferers.

More Articles:

• grape seed extract + vitamin C increases blood pressure
• flavay anthogenol hydrates and reduces skin stress
• boswellia and endothelial inflammation
• treating rosacea with herbs

“In addition to being a potent antioxidant, ANTHOGENOL is best known for the nutritional support it gives to the vascular system, especially to the thin and delicate capillaries where all the system’s essential functions culminate.”

[Proven Health Benefits for Circulatory System]

also sound interesting.

Only time and user feedback will tell how well this supplement works. If you do try Anthogenol please post over at rosacea-supportand let us know how you get on.

Anthogenol is made from pine bark and grape seed extract ;

Dr. Masquelier received several patents for the commercial extraction and isolation of OPCs from pine bark and grape seeds. It is these highly defined complexes that have been subject to intensive biological, toxicological, pharmacological and analytical research; and approved in Europe as over-the-counter medicines.

[Masquelier on OPCs and grape seed extracts and pine bark extracts]

The web sites are professional looking so the company is investing in the promotion of this product.

One relevant looking study is below ;

Anti-Inflammatory and Skin-Hydrating Properties of a Dietary Supplement and Topical Formulations Containing Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins, B. Hughes-Formella, O. Wunderlich, R. Williams, Bioskin GmbH, Hamburg, Germany. Skin Pharmacology and Physiology2007;20:43-49

Background: Anti-inflammatory and skin hydration properties of a dietary supplement and 2 topical formulations (Anthogenol) with oligomeric proanthocyanidins were investigated.

Methods: Forty-two subjects were randomized into 2 groups: one taking the dietary supplement (100 mg/day) and the other without supplement. After 4 weeks, erythema was induced using UV radiation followed by treatment with topical cream or lotion. Erythema was measured for up to 72 h after irradiation. Skin hydration after 1 and 2 weeks of application of the cream and lotion was also measured in separate test fields.

Results: Both topical formulations led to a significant suppression of erythema formation and the dietary supplement led to an additional slightly stronger suppression. Thus 72 h after UV exposure and compared to the control fields of patients that had not taken a dietary supplement, erythema was slightly (13.2%) lower in the subjects that had taken a dietary supplement. The cream resulted in a maximal reduction of erythema of 45.9% (p = 0.0015), while the lotion resulted in a maximal reduction of 53.1% (p = 0.0002). Both topical formulations also increased skin hydration (by nearly 20%; p < 0.002 for all combinations of dietary supplementation and topical treatment) and the hydration was higher in the group taking the dietary supplement.

Conclusion: The regular use of Anthogenol products may help to protect from free-radical-mediated skin inflammation and to increase skin hydration.

Further Reading ;

• In the US: http://www.masquelier.us/
• Australia: http://www.anthogenol.com.au/
• UK: http://www.anthogenol.co.uk/
• grape seed extract + quercetin and vascular function
• treating rosacea with herbs
• grape seed extract + vitamin C increases blood pressure
• focus on calendula (califlora)
• boswellia and endothelial inflammation

This relatively recently published paper is a summary of the key therapeutic uses of sea buckthorn oil. It presents an overview of the research to hand detailing what benefit has been shown from this versatile bush and fruit. I have extracted a section relating to skin therapy.

On the internet many claims can be found relating to the benefits of Sea Buckthorn Oil. Many of these claims are fanciful (for eg. that it can kill demodex mites) vand should not be trusted without good published proof. Here is probably one of the best references I can find. So my advice would be to not trust any claims that aren’t supported by research.

Important Therapeutic Uses of Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae): A Review, Journal of Biological Sciences, Alam Zeb, 4(5): 687-693, 2004.

Abstract: Sea buckthorn is a deciduous species, widely distributed all over the world, including Pakistan. It contains different kinds of nutrients and bioactive substances such as vitamins, carotenoids, flavonoids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, free amino acids and elemental components etc. These components vary substantially among populations, origins or subspecies, however their presence is more important for the health of individual. The clinical trials and scientific studies during the 20th century confirm medicinal and nutritional value of sea buckthorn. The present study describe some areas of research that have been important points, for example in cancer therapy, cardiovascular diseases, treatment of gastrointestinal ulcers, skin disorder and as a liver protective agent. A lot of research work is still need to clarify the mechanism of curing these conditions in molecular and cellular levels.

Key words: Hippophae, medicinal importance, flavonoids, fatty acid, antioxidants

Skin diseases: An ingredient of the oil, palmitoleic acid, is a component of skin. It is considered a valuable topical agent in treating burns and healing wounds. This fatty acid can also nourish the skin when taken orally if adequate quantities of sea buckthorn or its oil are consumed; this is a useful method for treating systemic skin diseases, such as atopic dermatitis. Sea buckthorn oil is already widely used alone or in various preparations topically applied for burns, scalds, ulcerations and infections. It is an ingredient in sun block. Hippophae oil has UV-blocking activity as well as emollient properties and it is an aid in promoting regeneration of tissues .
…

Conclusion and future studies: The amount of experimental data evidencing important properties of many ingredients and bioactive substances from Hippophae is vast and continues to increase rapidly. It is possible to conclude that sea buckthorn is a promising plant containing many dietary as well as medicinal compounds with a potential beneficial role in human health.

See also: Introduction to Sea Buckthorn. (A page from OMAFRA detailing the growing and harvesting of Sea Buckthorn trees).

• Abstract Online
• Full Text Online

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