Patrick Holford

So it turns out that one of the Patrick Holford supplement range products – called Smart Kids Brain Boost – does not actually enhance mental performance. This was revealed in a ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority. The company will now have to change the name of the product, as well as remove the term “intelligent fats” from the packaging.

The directorate is satisfied that the name ‘SMART KIDS Brain Boost’ creates an expectation that this product will boost mental performance and/or abilities in children. Clearly such an implied claim is capable of objective verification. However, as the respondent’s substantiation is not found adequate at this time, there is nothing before the directorate to show that the name is justified and reasonable.

Here is nutritionist Patrick Holford’s explanation as to why this labeling was done in the first place:

It is an undeniable scientific fact that supplementing vitamins increases the non-verbal IQ of children. Encouraging all children to be optimally nourished gives them the opportunity to reach their full academic potential.

So an honest mistake, really.

More to Life Health, which produces the product, has also apologised and said they did not mean to mislead anyone:

It was never our intention to mislead our customers but rather a means of communicating the importance of correct nutrition for growing brains.

This incident forms part of a fast-growing global debate regarding medical treatments for disease and related supplements.

UK author of Bad Science and researcher Dr Ben Goldacre recently publicly slammed unscrupulous medical practices as damaging to patient health and the credibility of medicine.

I think quacks are a dangerous distraction from the real work of improving medicine: cheesy entrepreneurs who promise the earth, and receive a phenomenal amount of love and money from people who want quick fixes.

[Source: News24]