The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), working with government agencies in Mexico and Canada, have launched a drive to stop deceptive Internet advertisements and sales of products misrepresented as cures or treatments for diabetes. The ongoing joint campaign has so far included approximately 180 warning letters and other advisories sent to online outlets in the three countries.

"We will continue working with our partners in the U.S. and internationally to make sure scammers have no place to hide," said Lydia Parnes, Director of FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "The Internet can be a great source of information, but it also is a billboard for ads that promise miracle cures for diabetes and other serious diseases. Our advice to consumers: 'Be smart, be skeptical' when evaluating health claims online."

Yesterday we saw that people have a quite poor understanding of some nutritional facts, in that instance about trans fats. Now another study has found that most Americans know how to manage weight gain but do not make the effort to implement changes.

A new study, published by market researcher AC Nielsen, reveals that 82 percent of American adults acknowledged an individual's responsibility in weight gain, while only 2 percent placed the biggest blame on food companies, and 6 percent on fast food restaurants.

However, despite knowing the role of personal responsibility, consumers tend not to implement their own knowledge. Some 65 percent of respondents to AC Nielsen's LifeChoices study agreed that reducing junk food consumption would help in weight control, while 61 percent thought the same held true for substituting sugary drinks with water. Disappointingly however, few consumers said they actually followed this advice.

It seems the message on trans fats is not getting through. If it is, most people seem to be ignoring it anyway. There's just no helping some people. It would seem that the initiatives against trans fats recently recommended by the World Health Organization will be needed since simple consumer education is insufficient.

Trans fat is formed when liquid oils are partially hydrogenated in order to make them into solid fats like shortening and hard margarine. The process increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods. These qualitues make their use attractive to food maufacturers so they tend to use them in preference to natural fats and oils. This might not seem so bad, except for the fact that trans fats are devastatingly bad for health. No let me say that more correctly, trans fats cause disease.

Eating a Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables and olive oil and includes little red meat, is associated with a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease, according to an article posted online that will appear in the December 2006 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. This association persisted even when researchers considered whether individuals had vascular diseases--diseases of the blood vessels, such as stroke, heart disease and diabetes--suggesting that the diet may work through different pathways to reduce Alzheimer's disease risk.

Some marketers are amazing. I've heard about selling ice to Eskimos and with increaing global warming perhaps there will be a lot more of that. But some processors are flogging bottled water with "added oxygen" and claiming that it can enhance performance! That's hysterical. I guess there really is one born every minute.

Richard Pechey, sales manager for the OGO oxygenated water brand claimed OGO's extra oxygen content was 35 times the level found in regular water. Pechey markets OGO claiming the “high infusion of oxygen means an extra boost of energy-giving O2”. I wonder where Pechey went to school. They must have had pretty special water there.