Nutrition

April 21, 2009

Is spackled waste making you fat?

“Oh, no! Not again…” This is what I find myself saying every time I hear a commercial for a weight loss product called Ever Cleanse — which unfortunately seems air every time I turn on the radio. In case you’ve somehow missed it, the ad copy goes something like this (I’ll insert my own comments in parentheses):

“Guys, we eat too much red meat, fast foods and processed foods. This keeps the belly flabby and keeps our bodies overweight”

(Probably the only statement in the commercial that has any credence. They should have quit while they were ahead.)

“Ladies, have you ever said ‘I feel fat today!’?”

(A clear attempt at tapping into a woman’s emotions. After all, is there any woman on the planet who hasn’t uttered these words at one time or another. But the hype is just beginning…)

“And how many of you have been trying to shed the same 10 to 20 pounds for years?”

(Another blatant emotional ploy. By now they’ve no doubt got the attention of virtually every listener. Mission accomplished.)

“There’s a healthy and faster way to lose weight!”

(Really? Faster than what? And for the record, ‘healthy’ weight loss doesn’t come fast. To lose a pound of fat you need to create a caloric deficit of about 3500 calories–count them up and see that you’re lucky to lose two pounds a week of body fat under the best of conditions.)

“It’s called Ever Cleanse; a clinically proven weight loss and detox formula that helps you lose weight and get rid of the 10 to 25 pounds of waste that some experts say is trapped to the colon walls like spackle or paste.”

(Whoa! Clinically proven? Where’s the clinical proof? Not a shred of evidence is cited in the commercial as to the product’s efficacy. For the record, I did a search on Medline and couldn’t locate a single peer-reviewed study that investigated Ever Cleanse in any capacity. Moreover, who are these experts that say we have spackled waste clinging to our colon? The only “experts” that I can imagine making such claims would be marketing experts who hawk products purported to reduce colon waste.)

“Two weeks of Evercleanse may be equal to months of dieting. It’s simple too. Natural, tasteless crystals dissolve in any food.”

(Gee, and here I’ve spent the better part of my life studying the science of exercise and nutrition and the answer to weight loss is actually as simple as sprinkling some tasteless crystals into my Big Mac and Fries. Whoopee, I can stop sweating and go back to being a couch potato!)

“Evercleanse will flatten out your midsection, reduce love handles; bellies and bloating have been disappearing in just days.”

(Say what? No more love handles? Bellies disappearing in days? Are they kidding? In case the ad copy writers played hooky during high school physiology, ‘love handles’ are, by defintion, the result of a buildup of excess body fat–not colonic waste. And while it’s possible that some people may have impacted colonic fecal matter, this certainly isn’t what is making them fat. Go back to the first line of the ad: the problem in today’s society is that people tend to eat too much and don’t exercise enough. Plain and simple.).

The ad spirals further downhill from here, making increasingly outrageous statements about the benefits of Ever Cleanse, but I’m sure you get the point. While I wish I could just dismiss it as a bad joke, the sad fact is that every day thousands of people buy into the hype and plunk down their hard earned money for worthless weight loss products. Consumers have been led to believe that if a product is advertised in the media then the claims made must be true. Wrong! Fact: The supplement industry is pretty much completely unregulated. That means any company claim virtually whatever they want without fear of retribution. And that means buyer beware.

Bottom line: Forget the weight loss shortcuts. Save your money and realize there are no secret formulas out there that magically melt away the pounds. If you want to maintain a healthy, fit body, you need to eat properly and exercise. No two ways about it. Fortunately, if you adhere to a fitness lifestyle, you’ll look great into your golden years and enjoy a better quality of life. And that’s no hype.

Stay Fit!

Brad