Con of the Century

zuutroy

The greatest con of recent times has to be those 'pro-biotic' drinks. All of a sudden, every supermarket has a fridge the size of my apartment with 50 different brands of them.
No one ever seems to bring up the point that they've never been proven to be the least bit good for you; or that people would be much better to buy these cultures in capsule form as they are generally rendered useless by the time they get to your stomach when you drink them.
Then the marketing geniuses get people to believe that they have to drink them EVERY single day for it to work; and convince people to buy these tiny individual bottles that you end up paying far more for (not to mention the waste they generate). The latest thing is ads on the radio telling you that you're not safe from viruses in Summer either and you have to drink them ALL YEAR ROUND!
A multi-million Euro industry based on overpriced, superbly marketed Yops!

connundrum

I 1/2 agree with you.. it still takes millions of muppets to be sucked in by the marketing and buy the yokes.

Dragan

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=are%20probiotic%20drinks%20effective&hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-42,GGLG:en&oi=scholart

no doubt a lot of clever marketing, but there is a degree of science behind them.

Just like anything else it will need to be developed, and just like anything else, anyone who mindlessly gives up there money without some self research deserves to lose it.

Archeron

Ha! Great post. I always laugh at those ads. One of the new ones that you mention that says to use all year instead of just summer is really funny.

"We wont tell you why its important, we'll let a selection of Mums tell you"

Everyone who speaks in the ad puts in a qualifier such as "I reckon" or "in my opinion" or "i've found"

Aaaah, so scientific evidence pails in comparison to those people who drink it and think that it "probably" does some good.

zuutroy

I love they're scientific metrics aswell....'may help to boost your immune system by up to 30%' How the $£$% do you measure a 30% boost in immune system!
The hair product ads are great ones for that too: "75% of women noticed a 4X improvememt in fabaliciousness"

qwytre

I've been taking the Knor Vie shots, the veg\fruit ones. Maybe I'm just deluding myself but I do actually feel better from taking them.

I have one every morning first thing, I dont always eat enough fruit\veg like most people so I think they are making a difference. Certainly cant be bad for me as they are just fruit\veg juice.

Yeah, not convinced by all the pro-biotic crap.

Gone West

Greatest con?
nah.

frobisher

qwytre wrote:

I've been taking the Knor Vie shots, the veg\fruit ones. Maybe I'm just deluding myself but I do actually feel better from taking them.

I have one every morning first thing, I dont always eat enough fruit\veg like most people so I think they are making a difference. Certainly cant be bad for me as they are just fruit\veg juice.

Yeah, not convinced by all the pro-biotic crap.

If you're going to take a health drink you should probably avoid vie as it's made from concentrates whereas Innocent fruit smoothies aren't.

qwytre

frobisher wrote:

If you're going to take a health drink you should probably avoid vie as it's made from concentrates whereas Innocent fruit smoothies aren't.

thanks for the tip, I'll check them out.

mikemac

9.6 grammes of sugar in the tesco ones.
Thats almost 5 teaspoons

The fact that I know that immediately without checking online shows what a boring life I have

daveirl

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daveirl

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wyndham

They are good for a hangover. I used to drink a 4-pack of Actimel every morning when on holiday in spain. Roughly 1/3 of the price that they are here.
Yop does the same job though. It's the junkies tipple of choice.

bustershark

frobisher wrote:

If you're going to take a health drink you should probably avoid vie as it's made from concentrates whereas Innocent fruit smoothies aren't.

The problem with any smoothies/vie shots/juices is that by law, they have to be pasteurised, which means you are losing out on the enzymes which are where the real goodness in fruit and veg lie.
Get yourself a juicer. I never knew vegetable and fruit juices could be so nice and you DO feel better as a result.

qwytre

daveirl wrote:

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Well yes in an ideal world thats what I would do. I just dont eat as much as I should so I drink these to try to counter act it a bit.

I was also recommended these Vie shots by a dietician but I guess she could have been paid to promote them

zuutroy

micmclo wrote:

9.6 grammes of sugar in the tesco ones.
Thats almost 5 teaspoons

The fact that I know that immediately without checking online shows what a boring life I have

They're some pretty small teaspoons?! I always went by the 5g = 1tsp rule?

frobisher

daveirl wrote:

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Because modern life is rubbish!

Dragan

frobisher wrote:

Because modern life is rubbish!

Intelligent reply.

Besides, Innocent Fruit Smoothies, are not "health drinks" so much as a way for people who are not bothered to get the fruit they need on a daily basis to think they are.

Although they are better than nothing at all i suppose.

Gordon

I read somewhere (can't find the link now) that you need to drink somewhere near a litre of that pro-biotic stuff for any of the enzymes to make it past the stomach acids and actually do what they are there for.

You'd probably be better off having a pro-biotic enema tbh.

daveirl

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Cianos

Dont mind those crappy little drinks. You should be taking this stuff


"Spirulina contains rich vegetable protein (60~ 63 %, 3~4 times higher than fish or beef ), multi Vitamins (Vitamin B 12 is 3~4 times higher than animal liver), which is particularly lacking in a vegetarian diet. It contains a wide range of minerals (including Iron, Potassium, Magnesium Sodium, Phosphorus, Calcium etc.), a high volume of Beta- carotene which protects cells (5 time more than carrots, 40 time more than spinach), high volumes of gamma-Linolein acid (which can reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease). Further, Spirulina contains Phycocyanin which can only be found in Spirulina."

"In USA, NASA have chosen to use it for astronauts food in space, and even plan to grow and harvest it in space stations in the near future. "

MrB

Live yogurts have been around for a long time in bigger pots at a lower price, All this Pro-Biotics crap is just marketing designed to dassle people with "Science(tm)"

Invent a problem:
"You will die unless you boost the happy nice friendly good bacteria in your body!!"
Then invent a cure:
"New mega-mini-pro-biotica-happy-drink with megabiotrone(tm) makes you feel better and stops you from dying, and don't forget to get it for your children as well or you’re a bad parent!! :eek: "

mikedragon32

zuutroy wrote:

I love they're scientific metrics aswell....'may help to boost your immune system by up to 30%' How the $£$% do you measure a 30% boost in immune system!
The hair product ads are great ones for that too: "75% of women noticed a 4X improvememt in fabaliciousness"

If you check those ads they usually have very small print on the bottom of the screen saying something like "108 women tested".

I don't entirely agree with the OP. There is some merit to the claims made by some or most of the products, but I would rather see hard scientific facts than hear the testimony of mums on how good the probiotic shot is for their kids, or 40 year old women telling me that eating one or two pots of Product A assists my digestion (ie helps me poo).

I think people need these products now as a result of the pace of modern life. We don't have time to be cooking proper meals everyday, so no must use convenience or pre-packaged foods and lose out on the nutrients which are lost in the production of the foods.

I blame it on Women's Lib. I always had proper meals until my mother got a job!

Belle_Morte

It's on a par with those yoghurts marketed as a cure for 'digestive discomfort' whatever the hell that is.

KTRIC

Gordon wrote:

You'd probably be better off having a pro-biotic enema tbh.

Enema's all round then


I really can't see pro-biotic enema's catching on, although it would be hilarious to see people shoving an enema up their arse whilst running for the bus in the morning.

whiskeyman

These drinks are just the tip of the huge surge in "healthy marketing" the food industry has adopted over the past couple of years. Many of them are probably just rebranded Yops tbh.
Even Coco Pops and Frosties have recently been adverted promoting to Mums their health benefits to their kids.
Nearly everything on the shelves these days, no matter if we thought it healthy or "junk food" before, is now being sold on how it's good for us, in some way or another.
Of course, what we eat is only part of a healthy lifestyle, something that so many people fail to realise.

Gordon

whiskeyman wrote:

Even Coco Pops and Frosties have recently been adverted promoting to Mums their health benefits to their kids.

Those cereals have always been advertising that they have special healthy stuff inside like 'Riboflavin" and "Niacin" for example. Ever since I was small I knew that sugary crappy cereals contained RIboflavin and Niacin but I have never encountered these two things in any other products' marketing/advertising blurb.

zuutroy

mikedragon32 wrote:

I think people need these products now as a result of the pace of modern life. We don't have time to be cooking proper meals everyday, so no must use convenience or pre-packaged foods and lose out on the nutrients which are lost in the production of the foods.

:eek: :eek: Are you kiddin? See the thread about the horrible stuff people ingested when they were younger, and shock horror they're still alive. All this 'little Jack's gonna get TB if he goes out to play football' nonsense......

As for not having time to cook proper meals: Read....laziness!

TomCo

zuutroy wrote:

As for not having time to cook proper meals: Read....laziness!

Well I can see if being a difficulty if you live on your own and have to hold down a job, I for one am wrecked when I get home from work.

Thankfully dinners ready by then

The Sweeper

zuutroy wrote:

They're some pretty small teaspoons?! I always went by the 5g = 1tsp rule?

You can't do a gram to teaspoon measurement because teaspoon is volume and gram is weight. A teaspoon of lead and a teaspoon of sand...

Even different textures of sugar are going to weigh differnetly in a teaspoon.

monkeyfudge

I don't trust these so-called 'friendly bacteria'

What's in it for them? I reckon it's a plot to take over our precious bodily fluids.

Caco

Gordon wrote:

I read somewhere (can't find the link now) that you need to drink somewhere near a litre of that pro-biotic stuff for any of the enzymes to make it past the stomach acids and actually do what they are there for.

You'd probably be better off having a pro-biotic enema tbh.

I would have thought the same- these probiotics all have the "friendly bacteria" but wouldnt your anti bodies just kill the bacteria?

Coconut

micmclo wrote:

9.6 grammes of sugar in the tesco ones.
Thats almost 5 teaspoons

The fact that I know that immediately without checking online shows what a boring life I have

Pity you didn't check online

A level teaspoon contains about 4g

Remember the old Siúcra ads about a teaspoon of sugar having "just" 16 calories? Not that thats what I'm basing it on, but it was true!

TomCo

Caco wrote:

I would have thought the same- these probiotics all have the "friendly bacteria" but wouldnt your anti bodies just kill the bacteria?

No.

Gordon

Not the body's antibodies but the stomach acids will kill the biota in the yoghurt I think.

Collie D

zuutroy wrote:

I love they're scientific metrics aswell....'may help to boost your immune system by up to 30%' How the $£$% do you measure a 30% boost in immune system!
The hair product ads are great ones for that too: "75% of women noticed a 4X improvememt in fabaliciousness"

Reminded me of those Lucozade Sport ads. "Helps top athletes go 33% longer" or something along those lines. Surely if this were true, most sporting bodies would ban the stuff as a performance enhancing agent. Caffeine is a banned substance under Olympic rules, as is cough medicine (or the stuff in it anyway) so why not Lucozade Sport if it increases strength/stamina/whatever by a third?

Dooom

Actimel's evil. Evil I tells ya!

daveirl

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biko

zuutroy wrote:

The greatest con of recent times...

WMD tbh

Lothaar

I think Danone have nailed this type of con. They made up a plausible-sounding science thing, which makes people believe it's true. 'L. Caseii Immunitas' is a stroke of genius. Casein is in milk, so it sounds about right to the layperson who knows a thing or two (and no more than that) about science. 'Immunitas' OBVIOUSLY means that this science thing is good for the IMMUNE system. And the 'L.' makes it look *more sciencey*!
As if when scientists first discovered this particular strain of bacteria they just so happened to include the word 'Immunitas' in the name.

Bifidus Digestivum is another classic.

"Oh, it has bifidus digestivum in it? Well then, it must be good for digestion for some reason." It's like, the scientific name for the 'active' ingredient just happens to spell out exactly what the selling point of the product is.

People swallow this sh1t - that's the funniest part. I've just patented a new brain-enhancing sport drink that contains 'L. Branius Intensivor'. It's really just water, but it's low-cal and increases hydration levels!

TomCo

Dehydrated water, tbh.


4 paper crane's for getting the reference.

Gordon

Lothaar wrote:

I've just patented a new brain-enhancing sport drink that contains 'L. Branius Intensivor'. It's really just water, but it's low-cal and increases hydration levels!

Lol!

But seriously, where can I buy that, and is it prescription?

humanji

I always had a problem with the "95% fat free" jargon they spout out about foods these days. Can't this mean that 5% is just fat? Why advertise what it doesn't have:

Ad: "This new drink is 100% testicle free!"
Shopper: Hmmm, well I don't want to drink testicles, so I'll buy it!

pbsuxok1znja4r

Haha, too true. Although you could also not drink testicles by buying nothing at all

In fairness the con of the century was crop circles. Or so I'm told. Pro-biotic drinks are probably a close second, though.

Pal

anybody ever had Sunny Delight ?

now that was some load of chemical junk in a bottle passing off as orange juice.

unbelievable how it sold so well.

very sinister.

daveirl

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kaizersoze

scouser.tommy wrote:

In fairness the con of the century was crop circles. Or so I'm told.

That was last century, wasn't it? This century is only 6 years old so it's a bit soon to be talking about "The con of the century".
I like the taste of them. Nothing more, nothing less.
If I wanted to improve my health and well being I'd probably start by giving up my 40 a day Winfield habit.

zuutroy

kaizersoze wrote:

40 a day Winfield habit.

Never mind your health....think of your image!....Winfield?!

Wertz

Newsflash; unless you're on a course of strong antibiotics, then the healthy gut produces way more of these friendly bacteria than you can ever hope to ingest from the 100ml servings you're being charged an arm and a leg for...

Oh and on the subject of smoothies, be they pre-prepared or blended right in front of you at the smoothie counter; when you blitz fruit and veg, you break down the cell walls of the product in question and release all the sugar or carbohydrate. When you then imbibe this concoction the body ingests that sugar at a much higher rate than what it would if the fruit or veg was eaten whole. Excess of fructose in the blood can actually be unhealthy, not to mention the benefits you also loose by doing away with pulp, pith and fibre where many of the antioxidants and vitamin rich parts of the fruit and veg are stored.


There's an old adage about a fool and his money....how does that one go again?

jor el

Wertz wrote:

There's an old adage about a fool and his money....how does that one go again?

...are Danone's best friend?

It's amazing the number of seemingly sane people who buy into the marketing crap about all these friendly bacteria drinks. Oh well, I simply don't, and never will, buy any of them. Substituting a healthy lifestyle for a bottle of quick fix seems to be the way to go these days.

iFight

Never really thought about this. I used to drink Yakults most mornings, though that was 100% because of the taste.