Archive for May 13th, 2009

Cheerios Not As Heart-Healthy As Cereal Box Claims, says FDA

It’s enough to make you just bust out the bacon and eggs.

Cheerios, the best-selling cereal in the world, isn’t as healthy as its packaging leads shoppers to believe, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

In a letter to General Mills Inc., regulators scolded the company for “serious violations” and gave it 15 days to fix claims that the iconic ‘Os’ lower cholesterol and treat heart disease.
Read the rest of this entry »

Does Pharmaceutical Advertising Affect Journal Publication About Dietary Supplements?

Abstract/Background

Advertising affects consumer and prescriber behaviors. The relationship between pharmaceutical advertising and journals’ publication of articles regarding dietary supplements (DS) is unknown.
Methods

We reviewed one year of the issues of 11 major medical journals for advertising and content about DS. Advertising was categorized as pharmaceutical versus other. Articles about DS were included if they discussed vitamins, minerals, herbs or similar products. Articles were classified as major (e.g., clinical trials, cohort studies, editorials and reviews) or other (e.g., case reports, letters, news, and others). Articles’ conclusions regarding safety and effectiveness were coded as negative (unsafe or ineffective) or other (safe, effective, unstated, unclear or mixed).
Results
Read the rest of this entry »