Health food store recommendations could be bad for y...( Patients with breast cancer may be put ...),Health

Edward Mills from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine carried out the research with colleagues from University of Toronto and University of Exeter. The aim was to find out what advice health food store employees give people who seek alternative treatment options for breast cancer. The researchers found that, "health food stores are recommending a variety of products, [] none of which are supported by sufficient evidence of efficacy ".

The average cost of these products was $58 per month, with the more expensive remedies of up to $600 relying on "insufficient or questionable research". In addition, many recommendations were unaccompanied by discussions on the possible adverse effects of the product, or its potential interaction with conventional cancer treatments.

To collect the data, eight people, who had been trained to act as customers whose mothers' were suffering from breast cancer, visited 34 Canadian stores. They browsed the store until approached by an employee and then asked for product recommendations, giving information about their mothers' treatment regime only when asked. They then followed a memorised questionnaire to get information about the costs involved, the usage, effectiveness and safety of the product offered and the relevant education of the employee.

33 different products were recommended, none of which was supported by evidence of effectiveness. 23 employees (68%) did not ask whether the patient was taking prescribed medication. Only three employees (8.8%) discussed the adverse effects of the products and only eight employees (23.5%) pointed out that the products might interact with prescribed drugs.
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BioMed Central
6-Aug-2003