The Scam of Skin Antioxidant Testing
A while back, a friend of mine asked me about this product:
It's a biophotonic scanner made by a company called Pharmanex. This product measures carotenoid levels in the skin. Carotenoids are antioxidants found in many fruits and vegetables. Beta-carotene is one carotenoid that you may be familiar with. Other carotenoids include lutein and lycopene, to name just a few. Many scientists believe that carotenoids may be partly responsible for the observed associations between increased fruit and vegetable intake and lower risk of many diseases.
The company claims that this scanner can give you an "accurate and reliable biomarker of your overall antioxidant health status". They further state that, "Getting your Skin Carotenoid Score makes you aware of the antioxidant levels in your body-and gives you the push you need to improve your overall antioxidant health." To appear scientific, their website is complete with a scientific advisory board, a list of scientists, and even a list of studies that they claim supports their product.
Well, it's B.S.
OK, it's not complete B.S. The product does do what it claims to do....it measures carotenoid levels in the skin using a technique called Raman Spectroscopy.
While that's fine and dandy, what is B.S. is their claim that it is a reliable biomarker of your overall antioxidant status. There is simply no evidence that carotenoid skin levels reflect the overall antioxidant status of your body.
Carotenoid skin levels do correlate with fruit and vegetable intake, so the test can tell you if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. But do you need an expensive scanner to tell you if you're eating a lot of fruits and vegetables?
And what do you think the company recommends you do if you have a low skin carotenoid score? Buy their antioxidant supplements, of course.
This isn't the first time Pharmanex has spread outlandish claims. In 1997, they were fined by the Federal Trade Commission over claims they made about two supplements they sold.
The fact is that this scanner is nothing more than a fancy way to take your money and to get you to buy things that you don't need. There is no evidence that skin carotenoid status is a reflection of overall antioxidant status. You do not need an expensive test to know if you're consuming a lot fruits and vegetables. Also, there is little scientific evidence that supplemental antioxidants have any health benefits. In fact, too many antioxidants can have a pro-oxidant effect, and may also reduce your own body's antioxidant defense systems. We are a bit too antioxidant crazy in our society....a topic that I will get to in another blog post.
Interesting link, just went to a health fair with 5 female co workers and got tested. I was 59000. I eat quite a bit of fruits/veggies, lower stress, higher intensity exercise, grass fed meats/eggs, ocean fish every day, VERY little but only sprouted bread, no crappy carbs like rice, pasta, pie, cake, cookies, candy, very low processed sugars etc. No smoke, very little alcohol, homemade noni juice/fresh lime juice every day, fresh aloe vera in my smoothies every day. Green smoothie every night with kale, arugula, parsley, cilontro, avocado, celery, spinach, chard, any other available greens, one apple, small banana,… Read more »
Firstly, I must state that I am a proud scanner operator. There will always be people Pharmanex will never convince, nor are they trying to convince those that are set out to challenge any clinical evidence. Bottom line, the scanner science is validated using Raman Spectroscopy. It does what it set out to do – giving a person’s skin carotenoid score noninvasively in 90 seconds. No one can deny chronic illness is on the rise. When will patients realise they fail to prevent illness in the first place? Oxidative stress is real. Advance medicine will keep us alive. But it… Read more »
I just got scanned by my chiropractor and shockingly scored a low 21,000! I have been a vegetarian since 2000, take a super-food high quality prenatal vitamin, weigh 120lbs, and am even taking Floradix, which is full of fruits and veggies. I am one of the healthiest people I know! Yes, I do have stress in my life, but who doesn’t? I’ve even been seeing accupunturist twice a week for the past several months to help with stress and fertility. I don’t work around pollutants and am vigilant about using non-toxic materials in my art and home. I do question… Read more »
I just noticed something on this website…the health sleuth…it said on top…The Health & Wellness Industry: Full of Bull. Are you kidding me.
I can only guess at the motives of the ‘health sleuth’. Is he just trying to make a name for himself? I am done of this site.
There will always be naysayers whether they are from a rival supplement company or just refuse to accept science. Same thing happened to Columbus…so he went out to prove the world is round. Galileo proved the world was NOT the center of the universe. Even got excommunicated from the church, nobody believed him either…but he proved them wrong. The scanner is backed by science. 100’s and 100’s of Health Care Professionals, doctors, Chiropractors, dentists, etc use it and no one has been able to prove it wrong. People want 3rd party validation yet where is their 3rd party validation? Believe… Read more »
I have used the machine before eating and living healthy and after. It’s seems to be very accurate from my point of view. I even used it to test how different supplement work in my body. Best for me so far, Astaxanthin. Also I’ve noticed long term happiness levels effect results.
I’ve been wondering if there are things in our “environment” that alter the quantity of anti-oxidants in the blood. For instance: Chlorinated water. Chlorine is highly reactive, that’s why it disinfects so well. I live in an area where water is not chlorinated, one of the few areas of the country.
I’ve been scanning regularly for several years and feel the scores have been a decent representation of my lifestyle 30-60 previous to the test. As my lifestyle and health has improved, so has my score (93,000 last month). I have also taken about 20 family and friends for a scan and ALL have scored roughly where I thought they would, with the some of the smokers scoring really low (under 20k). I’ve also seen others that test regularly move in the direction I would have expected, knowing the factors in their lives that affect the score (in particular an excess… Read more »
The crux of your assertion that skin antioxidant testing is a scam relies on the following statement: ‘There is simply no evidence that carotenoid skin levels reflect the overall antioxidant status of your body.’ The following study, performed in 2004 (6 years before you make your claim) would provide evidence of a correlation between other antioxidants and plasma carotenoids. Svilaas A, et al. Intakes of antioxidants in coffee, wine, and vegetables are correlated with plasma carotenoids in humans. J Nutr. 2004 Mar;134(3):562-7 Additionally, there is evidence demonstrating correlation between plasma caretenoid concentration and skin concentration (what is measured -accurately- by… Read more »
A single study linking subdermal adipose levels to serum levels is hardly conclusive. You would need a lot more than that as solid proof of dermal to serum levels.
Sorry, solid proof of a correlation between dermal and serum levels.
i agree with james and s.curling’s comments >>> needs 3rd party researcher, and makes sense, since these are the ones behind selling product, and supplements. now why do i say what i say? 1st i am 55 yrs. old. i eat 1,700 calories a day ~ mostly fruits and vegetables (even the kinds few know of). i post what i eat for my peeps on FB, as i lost 125 lbs. in 18 months, and help others to do the same. i eat mostly Raw and Organic semi-Vegan diet. more fruits than veggies – yes between 30-60 combined varieties a… Read more »