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Old 02-28-2006, 12:04 PM   #46
BroncoBuff
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Seattle
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QUANTERUS SMITH
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If these cures worked, you wouldn't need to buy time with infomercials ... they'd be on ABC World News Tonight - free of charge.

The old saying goes double when talking about medicine: "Build a Better Mousetrap, and the World Will Beat a Path to Your Door."

That said, there are a couple of VERY SERIOUS and WELL-KNOWN and PROVEN health products that have and are languishing in the marketplace!

ONE: Olestra. This zero-fat oil substitute marketed by Proctor & Gamble in the mid-nineties was the real thing. A binder enzyme added to the olestra oil stopped the fat molecules from binding in the human digestive system ... FAT-FREE chips that taste exactly the same as regular! P&G was looking into olestra baking and other dietary products. But then, in the last stages of trials, a very rare side-effect was reported. Anal leakage. Quite rare (3 in 1000 if I recall), but high enough that the FDA mandated a warning be included. Jay Leno had a field day, and for whatever reason, the safest and best tasting dietary product since aspartame was ignored by consumers. You can still buy them ... Lays' "WOW" chips ... but few people do. P&G thought olestra would permeate the food market 100% in less than a decade. Wrong. FAT-FREE ... and EXACT same taste ... but people still won't buy 'em.

TWO: Promise and SmartBalance spreads. They're doing fairly well, but still haven't captured any marketplace ... despite the fact they are actually THERAPEUTIC! That's right, eating theses spreads by the spoonful has a POSITIVE health benefit. If you know about HDL vs. LDL, you understand ... but short story is, these spreads have a huge "good cholesterol" balance vs. "bad cholesterol." As good as some statin drugs. Of course, there are still calories in the spreads, that's another issue ... but these spreads really are THERAPEUTIC if you have cholesterol problems. I use the Smart Balance Light with Omega-3 fish oils and flaxseed. And I spread it liberally. Tastes great, no guilt. In fact, quite the opposite.

But I have to drive 3 miles to a bigger Albertsons to get it. People should know this stuff. (Maybe SmartBalance and Promise should buy infomercials.)
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