"Cure Your Diabetes Today!" They say

Treat Diabetes

Now, take a look at the results. What do you see? Imagine, if you will, that you are a newly diagnosed Diabetic (maybe you are, in which case I'm glad you've stumbled upon this article) and you see, in front of you, ten thousand webpages that you now have to sift through for information. How do you know who to trust? Where do you find reliable information? Is the internet really the information highway, or is it yet another vehicle for fraudulent practices?

Near the top of my page of results is a link for a website that claims that their product "produces 99% Type 2 and 64% Type 1 success". What success, they don't say until you access their page. There, a company called MicroNutra Health™ claims Diamaxol (formerly Diabeticine) to be all sorts of a miracle cure.

They state that they've proved the efficacy of this natural treatment; they even have fancy little graphs on the page. Seemingly written and endorsed by one Oscar Deerfield - a Health Advisor with MicroNutra Health™ - the page states that an independent lab even tested the product...only they don't name the lab or provide an external link to the clinical study. Huh. So how good is this amazing product sounding now?

The article goes further to say that the clinical study concluded that:

"...treatment with Diamaxol™ partially brought about a regenerative capability for the damaged endocrine tissues as evidenced by increased islet cell numbers and resulted in restoration of near normal architecture of pancreatic islet.

This indicates, that Diamaxol™, produces a possible regeneration or repair of the cells of the islets of Langerhans...Thus it can be concluded that Diamaxol™ is a useful remedy in patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and low levels of serum of insulin."

Wow. If I weren't a veteran Diabetic (and a dyed-in-the-wool skeptic), I'd be really impressed with this and I'd probably be ready to hand over my money. All those big, fancy words sound so impressive...but again, where's the published results of the clinical study? And how come the ADA and the CDA and every other reputable organization out there isn't touting this stuff as the optimal treatment for Diabetes?

But you know, what really pricked my finger was the way that this write-up repeatedly bolded phrases about Personal Responsibility and Good Health being a Choice. Over and over and over...as though the reader who does not choose to use their product is personally irresponsible and chooses to have bad health. If you landed on the same link, maybe you got the same vibe?

So I did some research. And I landed on a page from the FDA, a news article that advises of the FTC and FDA Act Against Internet Vendors. It's a collaborative initiative in the US, Canada and Mexico to "stop deceptive Internet advertisements and sales of products misrepresented as cures or treatments for diabetes." The campaign has, to date, resulted in some 180 warning letters being sent to websites containing deceptive ads for dietary supplements with illegal drug claims. The backbone of the FDA & FTC's initiative against these firms is the lack of official FDA approval of the drugs - if the companies claim that their product is intended as a cure, treatment, or preventative against a disease, then it is classified as a drug. Without FDA approval to then market that drug, the company is in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

And wouldn't you know it, one of the letters was sent to the company that markets Diamaxol, along with a list of 23 other organizations. You can see the FDA's official "List of Firms Receiving Warning Letters for Marketing Unproven Dietary Supplements for Diabetes with Illegal Drug Claims" and I've included a listing of the products themselves here:

- Food Matrix™ Diabetes Pack™
- Sportron's Diabetes FoodMatrix™ Pack; CarboTone
- Allbaid
- Beta Fast GXR Glucose Balance; Beta Fast GXR Glucose Tolerance
- Enhansulin®
- Diamel®
- Charantea
- "Glucose Balance;" "Glucose Support"
- PureGels GlucoTrim 24; Diamaxol Blood Sugar Support; Jiang Tang Pian (Diabetes Care)
- Wai Ola
- Pancreas Tonic 180; Grifon Maitake SX; Diabetan
- Glucobetic; Neuro-Betic
- RiSoTriene
- HPB-84
- Trilovin DNS; Trilovin DSAO
- Diamaxol™
- Triple Complex Diabetonic; Insulate Plus; Vizu-All Plus
- FoodMatrix diabetic pack (UltraGard Forte; Omegatone; Calcitone; Carbotone)
- Vitamin Research Products Biotin 10mg; Vitamin Research Products Optimum D; and Vitamin Research Products GluControl
- Glucose M1; Glucose M2
- Carbotone; Diabetes FoodMatrix™ Pack (the "Blood Sugar Pack")
- "Carbotone"
- NyGymnema Herbal Blood Sugar Balance
- WSN® Diabetic Pack

As with any good tale, the moral of this story is a simple one: always be skeptical. And don't believe everything you read, especially on the internet. A few easy ways to separate fact from fiction within the www is to examine the website closely. Check for credentials, and verify those credentials if necessary through professional directories and peer-reviewed publications. Check the site for spelling, grammar and objectivity.

And in all cases, check with your healthcare team. They are your first, and last, line of defense.