Medicines & health claims
Reading health claims
How can you tell if a health claim is true?
Miracle cures, success stories and 'all-natural' promises are classic signs of health fraud. Here is how to spot them, how real evidence is built, how to tell news from advertising, and what a supplement label can legally say.
In 30 seconds
The short answer
A health product is fraudulent if it is promoted to treat a disease without proof that it is safe and effective.1 Be suspicious of one product for many diseases, success stories, quick fixes and 'all-natural' cures,2345 some of which hide prescription drugs.24 One study rarely proves anything;13 randomized controlled trials give the clearest answer.16 Discuss what you find with your provider before you rely on it.17
More warning signs
How a claim becomes evidence
How a claim becomes evidence
A simplified illustration based on MedlinePlus and NCCIH.
From the Dr. Majid Ali archive
A historical perspective
“Strong Scientific Claims Require Strong Scientific Evidence”— Dr. Majid Ali, 2019-03-26In 2019 Dr. Ali titled part of his health course 'Strong Scientific Claims Require Strong Scientific Evidence'.
That principle is consistent with current sources: success stories are not evidence,3 and controlled trials in people give the clearest answers.16
Where ProperHealth stops. On the same page, Dr. Ali claimed that three mechanisms, oxygen, insulin and gut ecology, underlie all chronic diseases, and that no treatment plan is complete without restoring all three. One explanation for every disease is the kind of wide claim the FDA tells readers to question,2 and the sources used here do not support it.
Medicines, supplements and safety
A pharmacist can look at a product and its claims with you and check it against your medicines. A pharmacist does not endorse products or replace your prescriber's treatment plan.
Compared
Conventional and integrative care, compared
How a medicine's claim is regulated against how a supplement's is, the limits of even honest research, how health fraud works, and the reading habits that protect you.
How a claim is allowed to be made
- Only a drug may claim to treat or cure disease; a supplement's body-function claim must carry a disclaimer that the FDA has not evaluated it.20 Structure/function claims, such as "supports immune health", are not reviewed by the FDA before use.21 Randomized controlled trials give the clearest answer on whether a treatment is effective and safe in people.16
Limits of the evidence itself
- Even legitimate research has limits: one study rarely proves anything;13 small studies are more likely to show results by chance;22 animal or laboratory findings may mean little for your health until tested in careful human research;11 and funding by a group that could profit from the results is a reason to be wary.14 In a double-blind study, neither participants nor researchers know who gets the treatment.23
How health fraud works
- A health product is fraudulent if it is promoted to treat a disease without being proven safe and effective for that use.1 Personal success stories are easy to make up and are not scientific evidence; online reviews can be fake.3 "Miracle cure", "new discovery", "guaranteed results" and "secret ingredient" are alarm bells,6 as are claims that the government or drug companies are hiding a cure.7 Fake news sites look real but are advertisements.15
Reading habits, by evidence
Evidence levels: EstablishedEmergingHypothesisNot supported
- Established
Discuss health information with your provider before you rely on it;17 government agencies and medical schools are good sources, and be careful if you cannot tell who runs a site.18 Good health information gives balanced, research-based facts; beware of dramatic writing and promised cures.19
- Not supported
"Natural" does not always mean safer or better;9 some supplements have failed to show a benefit when studied.10 The FDA has found many "all-natural" cures with hidden, dangerously high doses of prescription drug ingredients,5 and hundreds of weight-loss "supplements" containing a hidden prescription drug.24 Fraudulent products waste money, delay life-saving diagnosis and treatment, and can contain hidden harmful drugs.8
- Hypothesis
A product that claims to cure a wide range of diseases is suspect by that fact alone;2 few diseases can be treated quickly, even with legitimate products.4
This page is the lens the rest of the site is read through — including the clinic's own documents and the Perspectives section.
When to get help now
Each warning sign cites the official guidance behind it. The wording still needs pharmacist sign-off.
- Chest pain, trouble breathing, or swelling of the face or throat after a new product — call 911.252627
- A racing heart or severe anxiety after a weight-loss or 'energy' product — stop it and contact your provider right away; call 911 if you also have chest pain, shortness of breath or dizziness.282930
- You stopped a prescribed medicine because of an online claim — contact your prescriber.3132
- A product promises to cure cancer, diabetes or an infection — do not use it in place of treatment; ask a pharmacist.3334
- A seller says you must “act now,” or tells you to avoid talking to others about a treatment — be wary, and ask your doctor first.353637