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Recently I read a kick-ass article over at Wired on how the effects of Placebo is getting stronger and stronger in humans… resulting in drug companies having to ditch the testing and production of new drugs because they usually do not fair better (sometimes worse) than a lame ol’ sugar pill. How incredibly insane is that?

Now when it comes to the pharmaceutical industry… I for one, am fucking glad. Why? Because it means there will be fewer drugs on the market. You see, for FDA to approve of a pharmaceutical drug, there needs to be proof that it works better than it’s placebo counterpart. This just goes to show the substantial capacity for the human body to evolve and actually heal itself without the use of external chemical substances. Here’s a quote from the article…

“The fact that an increasing number of medications are unable to beat sugar pills has thrown the industry into crisis. The stakes could hardly be higher. In today’s economy, the fate of a long-established company can hang on the outcome of a handful of tests.”

Love it!

Then I got thinking… is this all sunshine and lollipops? Nope, because where we have progress, we have an exploit for opportunity. For one, drug companies are clearly upset by what this shit-show is doing to their profit margins and are therefore looking to find drugs that will negate the effects of placebo in patients… which I think is absolutely fucked. But what can you expect from these money hungry morons that have to constantly bend over to please their share holders? The good news here is that doctors are now combining the power of placebo with normal drugs in the best interest of the patient… a good thing.

“Nearly half of the doctors polled in a 2007 survey in Chicago admitted to prescribing medications they knew were ineffective for a patient’s condition—or prescribing effective drugs in doses too low to produce actual benefit—in order to provoke a placebo response.”

But then we have the supplement companies. I mean seriously, if I was Supplement Company-X and I read this article… my entrepreneurial business sense would tingle my dingle and I’d pump out even more useless powders backed by out-of-this-world marketing claims. Why? Because on some level it might actually work. Customers might actually start to “feel” the benefits… even thought it’s just the evolution of the all mighty placebo effect. But in reality I wouldn’t, because my rep is worth more than a tub of over-priced powder.

There is a reason 99.9% of supplements DON’T go through a double-blind placebo controlled test before being released on the market… it’s just not required. This is how you and I get graced with completely worthless products that end up being scams such as: acai berry, resveratrol, L-Arginine for “nitric oxide pumps” etc. Have you ever bothered to look beyond the label claims? If not, you should be reading my supplement reviews (now that’s what I call a smooth plug).

Back to the point – I think it’s time for supplements to be tested… it should be a god damn requirement. In fact, the only supplement which went through a legit study that was pretty credible was Vitargo (as far as I can recall). It completely dominated it’s placebo counterpart, which is why I still use it to this very day… even IF I have to pay a premium for it.

And to all the little companies that actually produce the goods – don’t be scared. I mean, if you are pumping out shit that works, then this change should only BENEFIT your small line up of products by giving them exposure, not hinder it’s success.

The Consequences

So what will happen if sports supplements ARE required to go through such testing? Well for one, I presume they will get a lot more expensive. This process definitely takes up time… and more importantly, money.

They won’t be able to throw together some random mix of powder, apply a shiny label to it and ship it out the door.

They won’t be able to set up scam sites and make completely absurd claims.

They won’t be able to sell it with such widespread ease that we enjoy today.

All of this will, without a doubt, hurt their bottom line… and we’ll be the ones who will have to pay for it. So the question is, are you willing to pay extra for something that’s tested and works? Or is the state of the supplement industry just fine, and you’d rather do your own research and testing? Time to sound off your horns…

- FitJerk