Do supplements contain what they claim?

[jda]

After some more though, it seems to me that there is a Venn diagram of folks who don't want to work hard and also folks who just want to believe in something. The intersection of these two things is what makes supplements super viable in the market, but the whole set is also interested in bottles of stuff. There are also probably a circle of folks who do not know better, but I would not think that these are everlasting.

I am reminded of when Hub McCann (Robert Duvall) is giving part of his "What Ever Boy Needs to Be a Man Speech" and he says: Just because something is not true, doesn't mean that you cannot believe in it.

 

[FrugalReefer]

Personally, I learned this last year when the news came out that Vibrant isn’t what everyone thought it was and after it killed some of my livestock. It baffles my mind that to this day the company still advertises it on their website as containing cultured bacteria. Out of sight, out of mind I guess.

 

[FrugalReefer]

I think that most know my opinion about this, but the companies know that they can get some cred for being along for the ride when people decide to focus-up. It is the focus that mattered and not what you used when you focused. If you focused on something else, you would still have a great tank, still be in shape and build muscle if you worked out enough, etc.

In our case, if folks focused on tuning a CaRx or the 3 part and doing routine water changes it would make no difference over testing and dosing every single element. However, if this is what some need in order to focus, then cool. Balling, DSR, Triton, Berlin, Moonshine, etc. all interchangeable, IMO.

I think that this proves out with today's hot method or additive always being a punchline tomorrow. When I was made to work out all the time by the athletic department, the hot thing was diets based on blood type... then creatine was the magic thing a bit later. I don't even know anymore, but like Aminos have come and gone. The folks who just put in the work and ate a balanced diet with plenty of protein and good extra carbs (we were like 4-5000 calorie a day people back then during the season) did the best and still do.

Jay said this best:

IMO and IME, Creatine does work though.

 

[PeterErc]

What if everyone stopped buying all the BS, and called people out on all the misinformation.
They used to say only dose what you can test for.
How do you test for stuff that you don’t even know what it is?
It’s weird to me that the homepage on this site always has help posts for something dying or. dead.
If I went to a doctor and everyone was dying I would stop going there

 

[HomebroodExotics]

After some more though, it seems to me that there is a Venn diagram of folks who don't want to work hard and also folks who just want to believe in something. The intersection of these two things is what makes supplements super viable in the market, but the whole set is also interested in bottles of stuff. There are also probably a circle of folks who do not know better, but I would not think that these are everlasting.

I am reminded of when Hub McCann (Robert Duvall) is giving part of his "What Ever Boy Needs to Be a Man Speech" and he says: Just because something is not true, doesn't mean that you cannot believe in it.

You don't dose calcium magnesium alk or trace elements to your reef?

 

[Doctorgori]

Snake oils and gimmick products are party of almost every hobby/interest especially those where there is enough surface are to introduce any liquid or powdered chemical

 

[topjimmy]

Do people really want all of this? What would happen if manufacturers had to prove that their stuff worked, or at least helped?

I want it, but is this better for the hobby? Do many people even care?

What happens if nobody buys bottled supplements anymore? Does r2r have to charge money since sponsorships go down? Does BRS and other places have to raise prices to pay their overhead without selling this segment of the market? Can MACNA even happen without all of the hype - make no mistake about it, about 1/3 of MACNA is hype, another third is vendors selling frags and the last third is speakers (some of them are hype too).

My guess is that only a tiny few even care, but these tiny few are probably pretty good at things. The majority of folks just believe what is printed and move on.

Like a UL rating.

 

[zheka757]

replenish by Brightwell Aquatics. is this one of the "bottles" to be trash talked also? there is no claims on bottle, simple posting it replenish most of the miner trace elements that are found in ocean waters.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

There are too many of the even overseas with the name of product being deceiving:
Examples:

Stress coat- adds slime- does not relieve stress

Rid ich

Melafix - Teak tree oil

Stress zyme

Anything with Shield - shield with what?

Paracleanse

paraguard

Medic

Prime - great to remove chlorine

Hydroplex - Great if fish have acne

Are you sure on stress coat? It contains Aloe,l. We administer Aloe to our freshwater tanks and it has a very noticeable impact on chilling them out. We use it for introductions and illness.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Are you sure on stress coat? It contains Aloe,l. We administer Aloe to our freshwater tanks and it has a very noticeable impact on chilling them out. We use it for introductions and illness.

Yes - the aloe is the slime mention I mention for protective body mucus

 

[jda]

What if everyone stopped buying all the BS, and called people out on all the misinformation.

Go over and post on the NBR thread that I started. Maybe if we get enough folks to commit to stop buying bottled products until they list ingredients and purity, then somebody will take notice and start to do so.

 

[Garf]

Is this a good place to bring up my confusion regarding a tub of a “microbial product” that my wife spent £30 on that looks and smells like yeast. Even more confusion arose when the vendor sent the wrong type of “microbe” so she bought another one of the “proper microbe”. I think we’ve got £60 worth of yeast in the fridge, lol. To be fair, they don’t claim it’s not yeast.

I particularly find this quote from the sales blurb amusing;

“creates real MICROPLANKTON for your reef aquarium. When used in conjunction with popular coral foods XXXXX improves the utilization for even better results.”

 

[PeterErc]

Go over and post on the NBR thread that I started. Maybe if we get enough folks to commit to stop buying bottled products until they list ingredients and purity, then somebody will take notice and start to do so.

Link please

 

[jda]

Link is in post #14.

 

[jda]

IMO and IME, Creatine does work though.

I played baseball. When creatine first got hot it was touted/expected to do the same things as anabolic steroids... no joke. Of course, it did not get even close. I remember guys drinking creatine supplements and skipping a protein shake after a strength day. We had a locker room with about half of the dude with zits all over their shoulders and back hoping to make it.

 

[Reefahholic]

I've mostly ranted about false or misleading functional claims from reef supplement makers (e.g., "enhances red colors in corals") but this study of human sports supplements should caution us to not accept even simple claims about ingredients:

Ensuring the Safety and Value of Supplements

Elsewhere in JAMA Network Open, Cohen et al1 report on the contents of 57 purportedly performance-enhancing sports supplements. Remarkably, 23 (40%) contained no detectable amount of the declared ingredient. Given that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not preapprove these products...

jamanetwork.com

"Cohen et al report on the contents of 57 purportedly performance-enhancing sports supplements. Remarkably, 23 (40%) contained no detectable amount of the declared ingredient."

"6 products included 1 FDA-prohibited pharmacologically active ingredient, 1 product contained 4, and many contained levels of active ingredients well above labeled quantities."

from the actual study:

"Of the products that contained detectable amounts of the listed ingredient, the actual quantity ranged from 0.02% to 334% of the labeled quantity"

Why does this not surprise me at all.