Consumer Health Digest, Issue #24-22

June 2, 2024
  • Investigative team spotlights shady stem-cell offer.
  • Cardiologist blasts cholesterol denialism.
  • Consumer-friendly health-policy resource published online.
  • Physiologist scrutinizes Equinox’s longevity initiative.
  • Registration open for CSICon 2024.

Investigative team spotlights shady stem cell offer. A local Miami television news investigative report tells the story of 81-year-old Kitty Kessler, who received a postcard inviting her to attend a free luncheon to learn about an arthritis treatment provided by Reclaim Health Group. Kessler was desperate for relief after suffering for 27 years from painful arthritic hands, feet, and shoulders. A Reclaim salesman claimed that only one patient in eight years didn’t get better from the treatment and that it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A woman who said she was a doctor for Reclaim Health told Kessler she was a great candidate for their treatment. Kessler signed a contract for what she was told were umbilical cord stem-cell injections, frozen, preserved, and obtained through the National Organ Donor Program. Kessler wrote a check for $14,445.75. A few days later a woman arrived to give her four injections. Kessler was told the pain would lessen in two days. In fact, it got worse. She filed a complaint with the Fort Lauderdale Police and the Florida Health Department. [Fraser P, Reed D. Fort Lauderdale woman says she paid over $14K to cure her arthritis. Did it? 7 News Miami, May 22, 2024] The TV reporters noted:

  • Reclaim Health Group’s own website states the treatment is not currently approved by the FDA—nor does it cure, mitigate or treat any disease.
  • The FDA would not talk to the reporters on camera but suggested in an online discussion with the New York Stem Cell Foundation that consumers rely on the state and not the federal government to investigate complaints.
  • Reclaim Health Group did not return reporters’ calls.
  • There is no Reclaim Health Group in the Orlando building for the organization’s listed address.
  • Kessler eventually learned the National Organ Donor Program doesn’t deal with stem cells or with private companies.

Cardiologist blasts cholesterol denialism. Christopher Labos, M.D., C.M., M.Sc., has briefly reviewed the history of debate about the safety and effectiveness of lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) to prevent coronary heart disease mortality. He argues that the arrival of statin drugs should have settled the matter and the drugs work by lowering cholesterol. He notes:

  • The Scandinavian Simvastatin Study (4S) showed lowering cholesterol not only prevented heart attacks but also reduced cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Twenty-six randomized studies later, it’s hard to come up with a credible reason for why you think cholesterol has nothing to do with heart disease.
  • The new cholesterol medications such as PCSK9 inhibitors have also proven another point. We can lower cholesterol to unheard-of depths with no safety risk.
  • Don’t like statins? Many myalgia symptoms with statins might be due to the nocebo response. But even if you have side effects, just try something else. There was a time when you could have doubts about the role of cholesterol in heart disease. But you should have changed your mind by now. I have. Denying the lipid hypothesis is no longer valid scientific skepticism; it’s pseudoscience.

[Labos C. Cholesterol denialism is pseudoscience. Medscape, May 2, 2024]

Consumer-friendly health-policy resource published online. KFF, a health policy research, polling, and journalism organization, has published a free online resource that serves as a consumer-friendly mini-textbook on public and private financing of health care in the United States. [Altman D. (ed.) KFF’s Health Policy 101. KFF, May 28, 2024] It has chapters on Medicare; Medicaid; the Affordable Care Act; employer-sponsored health insurance; the uninsured population and health coverage; health care costs and affordability; the regulation of private health insurance; health policy issues in women’s health; race, inequality, and health; international comparison of health systems; the U.S. government and global health; Congress, the executive branch, and health policy; and the politics of health care and the 2024 election.

Physiologist scrutinizes Equinox’s longevity initiative. Exercise physiologist Nick Tiller, MRes, PhD, has looked closely at Equinox’s recently launched Optimize longevity initiative, which the luxury fitness chain has described as “the definitive approach to health optimization” that will “unlock the peaks of human potential.” Priced at $42,000 a year, Optimize uses clients’ blood tests, fitness and strength assessments, and wearable sensors to create personalized fitness and nutrition programs. [Tiller N. Health club Equinox puts a price on longevity: Just $42,000 a year. Skeptical Inquirer, May 29, 2024] Tiller’s key points include:

  • The blood tests are outsourced to Function Health, a testing agency co-founded Mark Hyman, which then outsources the tests to independent third parties.
  • Based on the questionable premise that more data is better, blood samples are analyzed for up to 100 different metabolites, including measures of heart, liver, and kidney function. However, collecting unnecessary health data could cause more harm than good (including extra expense and false diagnoses).
  • Coverage of Optimize by major news outlets such as The New York Times and Forbes has been promotional rather than objective.
  • “Equinox doesn’t emphasize the simplest and most powerful aspect of the program—regular physical activity.”

Registration open for CSICon 2024. Registration is open for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry’s annual conference CSICon to be held October 24–27, 2024 at the Horseshoe Las Vegas hotel. Several scheduled presentations are relevant to consumer health concerns:

  • Massimo Pigliucci: “Why Bother? The Nature of Pseudoscience, How to Fight It, and Why It Matters”
  • Melanie Trecek-King: “Why Do We Fall for Misinformation”
  • Steve Novella: “When Skeptics Disagree”
  • Timothy Caulfield: “The New Wellness BS? Manly, Optimizing, Science-y-ish, Longevity Woo”
  • Rina Raphael: “The Media’s Role in Health Misinformation”
  • Nick Tiller: “Friendly Fire: The Role of Bad Science in Spreading Health and Wellness Misinformation”
  • Kevin Folta: “Genetic Engineering Disinformation Campaigns: Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”
  • Jessica Steier: “Where Art Meets Science: Effective Methods for Communicating Science to Skeptics”
  • Timothy Caulfield, Rina Raphael, and Nick Tiller: “Panel: Longevity Lies and the Fountain of Youth”
  • Natalia Pasternak: “Quantum Misogyny”
  • David McRaney: “How Minds Change”
  • Chris French: “Putting Paranormal Claims to the Test”
  • Andrea Love: “Echo Chambers vs. Evidence: Ideological Conflicts in Science Acceptance”
  • Daniel Simons: “Out of Focus”

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D. It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here.


2001 || 2002 || 2003 || 2004 || 2005 || 2006 || 2007
2008 || 2009 || 2010 || 2011 || 2012 || 2013 || 2014
2015 || 2016 || 2017 || 2018 || 2019 || 2020 || 2021
2022 || 2023 || 2024 || 2025

To subscribe, click here.

< Previous Issue || Next Issue >