Another Super Food

I’m trying for a while to stay away from the topic of dietary supplements that claim to be the answer to all our health prayers, but it’s tough to do.  As I was zipping through ads on TV one night, I had to stop and back up asking, “What in the world is this?”

It was Super Beets, a powder you dissolve in water.  They call it a circulation super-food, with the “Nitric Oxide Equivalent of 3 Whole Beets in 1 Easy Scoop” and explains that, because we lose half of our nitric oxide as we get older, it helps:

• ·      Support Increased Energy & Stamina Without Added Sugar, Caffeine, or Stimulants
• ·      Promote Heart Health & Healthy Circulation
• ·      Support Healthy Blood Pressure Levels

After some graphs and scientific sounding explanations, they add that the American Heart Association (AHA) tested beet juice against water and 24 hours later subjects “drinking beetroot juice reduced their systolic pressure by 10 mm Hg! The beetroot juice in the study contained only 0.2 grams of dietary nitrate – the equivalent of a large bowl of lettuce or two beetroots.”  (Notice the AHA does not specifically cite the product in the ad.)  Then they list many personal endorsements.

We grow beets in the backyard garden every summer.  They are easy to grow as long as you use row cover to keep the rabbits out.  They are not easy to prepare and cook but taste much better than the ones from the store.  Are they really that good for me and my nitric oxide level?

I decided to do some research and quickly found several review websites for this product and most of them were negative.  The first stated, “there’s no research backing this product’s formula,” adding, “Many customers online are bummed out because they didn’t see any results.” Beets are good for you, but there is no scientific research specifically backing this product.

The next website lists reviews of the product, many of which are not complimentary, e.g., one customer saying how, “it tastes awful and there has been no substantial change in her energy levels.”  Other reviews fail to verify the claims of improved stamina, heart health or blood pressure.  The powder doesn’t mix well, clumps up in the container and is expensive.

Yet another site has the following: “Superbeets supplement does not work towards its claims. It does not improve energy levels nor enhance muscle building process. There are many side effects observed by customers who have used it.”  This is a summary from a site that seems otherwise favorable to dietary supplements.

Another conclusion from a review website:  “beets contain high levels of nitrates, as do other foods like arugula and iceberg lettuce, spinach, celery, and more.”  But “there simply isn’t enough clinical evidence to say with any certainty that food-based nitrates can improve exercise performance, boost energy, or maintain stamina—including SuperBeets.”  And each serving “contains about one-third of your daily recommended intake of added sugar.”

The conclusion was pretty much unanimous.  If you want a supplement with no scientific backing (many people do this all the time), that other customers gave overwhelmingly negative reviews to (tastes bad and doesn’t work), that doesn’t seem to deliver on the three main benefits it promotes, that contains a lot of sugar, that is expensive and has numerous possible side effects (upset stomach, gas, bloating, nausea, and cramping), this is the one for you.  Otherwise, maybe not.

As in so many other cases, enough people must take them at their word and buy the product to allow them to produce and distribute it, to produce and run the TV ads, to pay their employees and to make a nice profit.  What does this add to our society except a good example of another failure in critical thinking?