The internet can be a fantastic source of high quality information, but it is also a place where anyone can say anything they choose about any subject. There is no fact-checking for blog posts, and the ignorant and uninformed have the same right to speak their mind as the world’s experts, on any topic. So use a little common sense. If you want the most reliable medical information, it is all at your disposal at the PubMed database website, provided by the National Library of Medicine. Just go to PubMed.gov and type in your search parameters. Type “Protandim” and hit Search and you will see all the peer-reviewed studies that have been published so far. Click on any publication that turns up, and you will see a summary (abstract) of the study, and you may have access to the full paper as a PDF file.
Now let’s get into the “MEAT’ of this blog. About a week ago, my wife was telling me that she ran across a blog about Protandim by Quackbuster, debunking the claims of Protandim by its company, Lifevantage. So I took a look at the blog. Here is what I found. The blog was written back in July 2005. This was around the same time Lifevantage had announced the discovery of Protandim and what it does for the human body.
Quackbuster’s blog was actually a message from a Dr. Harriet Hall. She is supposed to be some doctor that is known for debunking scientific medical claims by various companies. I found her on the internet at http://www.skepdoc.info/. What I am about to share with you about Protandim are real facts, and have been scientifically proven in clinical human studies!
Keep one thing in mind here. This message from Dr. Hall was written in 2005, the same year Protandim was invented by Paul R. Myhill and William J. Driscoll. The science, research, and formulation behind Protandim are headed by World-Renowned Scientist, Dr. Joe McCord.
Dr. Joe Milton McCord (March 3, 1945- ) is an American biochemist and current Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver. He is most famous for his discovery, along with Irwin Fridovich, of the enzyme superoxide dismutase. For this work, Dr. McCord has earned numerous awards and recognitions. He has been a member of the board of directors of the LifeVantage Corporation (makers of the dietary supplement Protandim) since 2006. In June 2011, Dr. Joe McCord accepted a position as Chief Scientific Officer for LifeVantage Corporation.
Dr. Joe McCord has received several awards and honors for his research and discoveries in the field of free radical biochemistry. Dr. Joe McCord is a past recipient of the Elliot Cresson Medal, in 1997, for the discovery of the antioxidant enzyme, SuperOxide Distmutase or SOD, within the human body. This award was established by Elliot Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institue, in 1848. This medal was awarded for discoveries in the Arts and Sciences, or for the invention or improvement of some useful machine, or for some new process or combination of materials in manufactures, or for ingenuity skill or perfection in workmanship. Dr. Joe McCord joins a list of distinguished individuals such as Orville Wright, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, etc. Only 269 individuals have received this award in its 164 years history. Dr. Joe McCord being the last to receive the Prestigious Award.
Now ask yourself this question. Why would a world-renowned scientist with such prestige, with over 40 years of research and expertise in the field of free radicals and biology associate himself with a product or company that didn’t deliver on the claims it makes? Dr. Hall is not Dr. Joe McCord. Dr. Hall is a medical doctor, not a world-renowned scientist that has devoted his entire life to free radical, biology, and the aging process. She is not a discoverer of one of the most critical anti-oxidant enzymes that our bodies produce to combat damaging causing free radicals that has been proven to be linked to over 200 well known diseases and the aging process. In fact, Dr. Hall hasn’t discovered anything. Let’s get into her blog shall we?
In her first paragraph, she states that she is in awe of phony medical claims being made by Lifevantage. She go on to state that Lifevantage is just trying to cash in by creating fear in the population which, amazingly enough, can be effectively treated by an overpriced, unproven stroke of genius which has somehow been overlooked by the Medical community. She states that she has a knee-jerk response to these types of things because she BELIEVES that they are phony.
Am I missing something here? Pubmed.gov is the database for the US NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE and NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH! There are 8 published reviews on the pubmed website. All reviews published on this site are proven peer-reviewed studies. So how is it possible that the claims are phony and Protandim has been overlooked by the Medical community? Are you still with me? Protandim is priced at $40 per bottle for a 30 day supply on a monthly autoship. How can that possibly be overpriced? And she believes the claims are phony. So does that mean she really doesn’t know for sure if the claims are indeed phony?
Let’s continue shall we? In her 2nd paragraph, she states that Protandim is bullshit, and is only one of hundreds of similar products offered on the web and supported only with the most flimsy excuses for evidence. I challenge anyone to find another dietary supplement product, or drug for this matter, on the market that even comes close to what Protandim is and does for the body. Obviously, she couldn’t, because she didn’t name another product either.
In her 3rd paragraph, she references that the statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration or FDA. She also goes on to state; This Product is Not Intended To Diagnose, Treat, Cure or Prevent Any Disease. First off, Protandim is a supplement, not a drug. Therefore, it is not governed by the FDA. Protandim is governed by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994. I guess Dr. Hall didn’t know that. She also stated in this same paragraph, that since statements haven’t been evaluated by the FDA, Protandim Is Not Intended To Treat Or Prevent Aging Or Any Disease Resulting From Oxidative Stress. This is my question to Dr. Hall. How can you expect a company to make claims at that time about curing diseases when research had just gotten underway? I am pleased to announce that Protandim has made a tremendous track record in its short time span of existence. I will elaborate later.
Let’s skip down to her 6th paragraph. He states and I quote, “They claim that “Protandim’s unique botanical formulation turns on your body’s system to naturally produce more of the key antioxidants that it already makes. The evidence to support that statement is pretty flimsy. They quote a total of two (2) scientific studies on their websites:” How many studies was she expecting just months after developing the products. She failed to mention that these studies were televised on ABC Primetime and PBS. Click on them and take a look for yourself. She also noted that 13 people was apart of this clinical study. I guess 13 weren’t enough at the time. There are 10’s of 1000’s distributors and customers that are now benefiting from Protandim. Check out the testimonials on youtube.
Let’s talk about about her 9th, 10th & 11th paragraph. At the end of her 9th paragraph, she mentions the 5 herbal ingredients (Milk Thistle, Bacopa extract, Ashwagandha, Green Tea extract, and Tumeric extract) of Protandim. She states that she looked these up in the “Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database” and none of these ingredients have any significant clinical benefit from antioxidant effects. She even claims that one has estrogenic properties and more than one has potential interactions with other drugs. As if Protandim was a drug in the first place. But what she failed to produce was which one did what. If only one has estrogenic properties, why not tell the viewers and concerned audience which one it is. Or is it that, neither of the ingredients really have estrogenic properties? I looked into the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database.” It turned out to be a private-owned company that you have to pay a fee for information. How credible is that?
So, of course, I did my own real research and here’s what I found. Pubmed.gov has 184 studies on Milk Thistle. Milk Thistle contains flavonoids. Flavonoids are polyphenols and have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties. They also help to maintain the health of small blood vessels and connective tissue, and some are under study as possible treatments of cancer.
I will not go into details on the other four ingredients, but if you click on each of them, it will redirect you to the pubmed website where you can further your research on these plants’ effectiveness. You don’t have to take my word for it! You will see that Bacopa extract has 177 studies, Ashwagandha has 423 studies, Green Tea extract has 895 studies, and Tumeric extract has 421 studies.
I will not entertain the rest of Dr. Harriet Hall’s message. You’ll just have to read the rest of that crap for yourself! Lol
I will end this blog by leaving you with a bit of information about the company, Lifevantage. Lifevantage was founded in 2003. Lifevantage is a Rated A member of the Better Business Bureau or BBB since July 30, 2007. Lifevantage is also a member of the Direct Selling Association or DSA. Lifevantage is also a publicly traded company. Lifevantage is highly credible. Since changing to a Network Marketing business model in 2009, the company has seen steady growth going from $3mil in revenue in 2009 to $12mil in 2010 to $38mil in fiscal year 2011.
If you are looking for an Anti-Aging product that delivers or a solid company to start your own Network Marketing business, then your search is over. Don’t be bamboozled by people on the internet claiming to debunk or discredit a world-renowned scientist life-long work and a solid company’s credibility. You owe it to yourself to do your own research. The information is out there.
I hope my blog has been helpful for those of you who are skeptics of Protandim or those of you who were just searching for honest, reliable, and credible information on a company and its product. It’s been my pleasure! Feel free to leave comments about my blog. Let me know how you feel about it.
Protandim Facts: Protandim Breaks the Link in Skin Cancer, Protandim Is Featured In Several Circulars from the American Heart Association for its role in Heart Failure Prevention.
rodneymeeks 