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.
When I did this test a few years back I noticed the main ingredient in the vitamins is beta carotene (6250 ius)which provides the most color of the antioxidants. If you drink 12 ozs of carrot juice for 3 weeks or just take the equivalent amount of a basic beta carotene supplement and eat crappy otherwise, your antioxidant level with be above 70,000. You will also take on an orange tone this is noticeable to the eye.
Just Google “vegetarians vs cancer”. Do you really need a test to tell you anything? Do you
really need pills to give you what God put in veggies? No, I am not a vegetarian. I am 73 and
still going and love a good steak or burger. Sometimes it’s just genetics folks.
My wife and I took this test for shits and giggles at her OB’s office. It felt did feel like a typical scam, but it was only $20. We have a diet that’s 60-70% raw vegetables, oils, smoothies, spicy foods, etc, but do not take supplements. We wanted to see how well we scored. My wife scored 85000 and I scored 84000. The folks tested at the office average around 35000. In any case, I don’t know whether their antioxidants perform well or whether the biomarker is actually indicative of overall antioxidant status(especially since there are so many antioxidants). But,… Read more »
Homeboy James did a meta analysis for his masters in nutrition at UF. I don’t know about you guys, but back in grad school we used to make fun of the kids who did meta analyses. Guy gets a few grad degrees and suddenly won’t believe anything that isn’t “peer reviewed”. I’m not swinging either way, in favor of or against the Pharmascanner, but the fact that his response to anything he doesn’t want to believe is that it isn’t “published in a peer reviewed journal” gets a little old. Where’s the peer reviewed journal article saying the scanner doesn’t… Read more »
Hello, are you the expect? Please ask Dr Lester, he is the father of anti-oxidant and consider what his comment on the biophotonic scanner. I do not want to blow what I’m not really know of. Thanks.
People that exercise have low antioxidant levels, plus all that “fat” you lost is full of toxins being released for the body to clean up with antioxidants. Do not give up, you are on the right track, add some kale and virgin coconut oil into your diet, your antioxidant level (score) will go up gradually.
I don’t want to imply that it’s a scam, but the results make me skeptical.
I was just measured and my score was less than 10,000. I am 48 and in the last 9 months have lost 70lbs. My diet consists of 4 servings of vegetables(broccoli,green beans,spinach and cauliflower). Four servings of fruits(blueberries,blackberries,raspberries and strawberries). My proteins are fish and grilled chicken breast. I exercise 4-5 times a week for half an hour at 60%-70% of my maximum heart rate. I still need another 40lbs to go. I am currently 6’0″ and 240lbs. My daily vitamins are Omega 6 and 3 fatty acids and vitamin D. Without knowing my background the doctor that scanned told… Read more »
Just eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, proteins, fiber, etc and get some exercise and you won’t need all of this nonsense. Weather this machine is complete BS or not.. its just a ploy to get you to buy nutritional products. I know the MLM Nu skin people use this machine… and here’s a shocker.. most EVERYONE tested is deficient! Go figure!
My roommate just got tested – he’s on the same diet as I am; organic meats with some sweet potatoes and veggies. He tested on the mid-blue spectrum; as in not needing supplements. Funny because non of our supplements have much carotenoid based stuff in them…either that or you just need to eat sweet potatoes. On a serious note though; there’s a lot more antioxidants than just the carotene group like the ones in coffee – caffeic acid, melanoidins, chlorogenic acid, etc. For all I know you could binge drink on carrot juice to get your carotenoid levels up; it… Read more »