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.
Do you really believe Americans are eating 8-10 fruits and vegetables daily?? If we were would 3/4 of our kids under 12 be obese?! Would 70% of American adults be overweight and 40% obese? Do you think Dr Oz is “for sale?” He doesn’t do commercials for anyone. He was totally blown away when he scanned his audience! Company Science is SOLID and scanner came from a THIRD party (Grant funded by th NIH) Do you know what Epigenetics are? The parent company just purchased Life Gen Technologies,,,google it! They only have 30 years of genetic research (Again another 3rd… Read more »
Do you think Dr Oz is “for sale?” He doesn’t do commercials for anyone.He was totally blown away when he scanned his audience! Wasn’t that long back Oprah and her medical sidekick Dr. Mehmet Oz did a segment on her show where she praised the health benefits of the Acai berry. Of course, it didn’t take long for marketers of Acai berry juice products, such as MonaVie, to claim that the pair endorsed their brand of Acai juice. And it didn’t take Harpo, Inc long either to file a lawsuit to let consumers know that scam outfits such as MonaVie… Read more »
Another interesting site:
Bio-Photonic Scanner Scientific Report”
http://diederikvannederveen.com/bio-photonic-scanner
Nu Skin co-founder Sandie Tillotson reveals just how this Rube Goldberg gizmo works in Adam Baker’s banned book: “FORMERLY FILTHY RICH – My Scandalous Life with a Billionaire Cougar”. (Adam Baker, in case you’re not aware of it, was Sandie’s 3rd husband. She used her money and a high priced legal team to try and remove all traces of the above mentioned book from the Internet.) In Chapter 9 Adam asks her about the “Biophotonic Scanner”: “Another questionable business practice was the introduction of the “Biophotonic Scanner” which measured the skin carotenoid levels simply by aiming a light at the… Read more »
Great comments, Doc Bunkum. Love your name as well! Thanks for dropping in and offering some sanity to some of the insaneness being put forth here in the comments section.
James
I had my levels tested back in April and received a score of 64,000. I was with a group of people who also had levels tested and they all ranged from almost 0 to 50,000. I am a plant-based diabetes coach and 100% believe in the value of an antioxidant rich diet. I also believe that the company, Pharmanex is delivering exactly what they promise. The fact that you may or may not believe if caratenoids levels prove any particular health benefits does not make this system a scam. I also do not promote supplements as a way of turning… Read more »
“This is false. Given that the scanner only scans for carotenoids in the skin, this is the only thing that will impact your score. But there is no evidence that a carotenoid skin score is reflective of the overall antioxidant status of the body. On top of that, there are a variety of antioxidants in the body and no single score can give you the status of all of them.” You are wrong to assume. just like I did a year ago. like I said in my earlier posts, I scan hundreds of people in Gyms, and the results are… Read more »
The1936 report is far more than “A Vague” study from the government, here is the original pdf file. Endless reports from hundreds of agencies are available. your “ostrich Approach” is very funny. http://www.ecoorganics.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/united-states-senate-document-264.pdf Download: United States Senate Document #264 (.pdf file) Printed in US Congress in 1936 Scientific studies show that there has been a dramatic reduction or elimination of critical and essential minerals from fields due to over harvesting, chemical pollution, pesticides and other harmful farming practices; stripping soils of minerals. Mineral deficiencies in the diet have been identified as the cause of many modern diseases including cancer, heart… Read more »
“Look folks, most of the foodstuffs we eat even fresh ones lacks nutrients” Edmond “There is no scientific evidence that this is true.” James is this considered evidence,, James In 1936, the US Senate was presented with the results of a scientific study it had commissioned on the mineral content of our food. The results demonstrated that many human ills could be attributed to the fact that American soil no longer provided the plants with the mineral elements which are so essential to human nourishment and nutritional health. The following excerpts concerning Senate Document 264 of the 74th Congress, 2nd… Read more »
is this considered evidence,, James Actually, no it’s not, because the quality of your “evidence” is extremely poor. Let’s take a look at your “evidence.” In 1936, the US Senate was presented with the results of a scientific study it had commissioned on the mineral content of our food. The results demonstrated that many human ills could be attributed to the fact that American soil no longer provided the plants with the mineral elements which are so essential to human nourishment and nutritional health. Yet strangely you don’t have a reference to this study. There is also no mention of… Read more »
Thanks Ara for addressing one of the Key positives of this Biophotonic debate and that is that most supplements on the market are poorly absorbed and not bioavailable. Knowing that carotenoid supplements one is taking be Pharmanex or some other manufacture are getting aborbed and increasing ones SCR surely beat guessing. A definate plus for this instrument. Look folks, most of the foodstuffs we eat even fresh ones lacks nutrients, then there is all these chemicals to preserve it and finally how we prepare it all adds up to diminishing returns. which is not intended. Couple this with poor lifestyles… Read more »
Most supplements on the market are poorly absorbed and not bioavailable. There is no scientific evidence that this is true. Knowing that carotenoid supplements one is taking be Pharmanex or some other manufacture are getting aborbed and increasing ones SCR surely beat guessing. Any USP-certified supplement will be absorbed just fine. No need to pay a bunch of money to Pharmanex for something anyone can get much cheaper and is just as effective. Look folks, most of the foodstuffs we eat even fresh ones lacks nutrients There is no scientific evidence that this is true. then there is all these… Read more »
Companies use poorly absorbed nutrients because they are less expensive. They also know that they can get away with it because most consumers shop just on price. They don’t understand that most of what they’re buying is likely not even being absorbed. If it’s a once-daily tablet then the product likely contains nutrients that can’t be absorbed. Simply look at the Supplements Facts label on the bottle. This is where each ingredient is listed in detail. Find magnesium, calcium, zinc and copper. If calcium is calcium carbonate, or if any of the other minerals are “oxides” (e.g., magnesium oxide, copper… Read more »
And your praise of supplement companies and their standards from USP or FDA, you can save your breath, they are nothing but puppets for the pharmaceutical industry and political scum,, try to get a study from them on their vitamins about absorption , good luck,,