3

4

p

p

scams.

found

are

Unproven

hey may

times,

people

atment

mise?

 false

 that

o people

fter all,

worthless.

. One

rk is that

 fright

a chronic

asy to

r a false

ess cure.

medies

ls or

al youth

ulture

 aging

p

g 

y 

, g

g

regular exercise, and not smokingare your best bets to help preventsome of the diseases that occur moreoften with age. In other words, makinghealthy lifestyle choices can increaseyour chances of aging well.

Arthritis Remedies. Unproven

arthritis remedies can be easy to fallfor because symptoms of arthritistend to come and go. You may believethe remedy you are using is makingyou feel better when, in fact, it is justthe normal ebb and flow of yoursymptoms. You may see claims thatso-called treatments with herbs, oils,chemicals, special diets, radiation,and other products cured arthritis.This is highly unlikely. Individualtestimonials alone do not guaranteethat a product is effective. Instead,scientific studies proving that a treatment works are needed. While theseproducts may not hurt you, they arecostly and aren’t likely to help mucheither. There is no cure for most formsof arthritis, but rest, exercise, heat,and drugs can help many peoplecontrol their symptoms. If you arethinking about a new treatment,talk with your doctor first.

p

, 

g

u

y 

in protein or drugs such as Laetrile.By using unproven methods, peoplewith cancer may lose valuable timeand the chance to receive a proven,effective treatment. This delay maylessen the chance for controllingor curing the disease.

Memory Aids. Many people

worry about losing their memory asthey age. They may wrongly believefalse promises that unproven treatments can help them keep or improvetheir memory. So-called smart pills,removal of amalgam dental fillings,and brain retraining exercises areall examples of untested approachesthat claim to help memory.

How Can You Protect YourselfFrom Health Scams?Be wary. Question what you seeor hear in ads oron the internet.Newspapers,magazines,radio, and TVstations do notalways check tomake sure the
3

4

r people

scams.

found

are

Unproven

hey may

times,

people

atment

mise?

 false

 that

o people

fter all,

worthless.

. One

rk is that

 fright

a chronic

asy to

r a false

ess cure.

medies

ls or

al youth

ulture

 aging

process. Eating a healthy diet, gettingregular exercise, and not smokingare your best bets to help preventsome of the diseases that occur moreoften with age. In other words, makinghealthy lifestyle choices can increaseyour chances of aging well.

Arthritis Remedies. Unproven

arthritis remedies can be easy to fallfor because symptoms of arthritistend to come and go. You may believethe remedy you are using is makingyou feel better when, in fact, it is justthe normal ebb and flow of yoursymptoms. You may see claims thatso-called treatments with herbs, oils,chemicals, special diets, radiation,and other products cured arthritis.This is highly unlikely. Individualtestimonials alone do not guaranteethat a product is effective. Instead,scientific studies proving that a treatment works are needed. While theseproducts may not hurt you, they arecostly and aren’t likely to help mucheither. There is no cure for most formsof arthritis, but rest, exercise, heat,and drugs can help many peoplecontrol their symptoms. If you arethinking about a new treatment,talk with your doctor first.

for example, a diet dangerously lowin protein or drugs such as Laetrile.By using unproven methods, peoplewith cancer may lose valuable timeand the chance to receive a proven,effective treatment. This delay maylessen the chance for controllingor curing the disease.

Memory Aids. Many people

worry about losing their memory asthey age. They may wrongly believefalse promises that unproven treatments can help them keep or improvetheir memory. So-called smart pills,removal of amalgam dental fillings,and brain retraining exercises areall examples of untested approachesthat claim to help memory.

How Can You Protect YourselfFrom Health Scams?Be wary. Question what you seeor hear in ads oron the internet.Newspapers,magazines,radio, and TVstations do notalways check tomake sure the
7

8

roducts

alth

NCI)

e (CIS)

skeletal

ion

or

apter.

Phone: 1-877-FTC-HELP(1-877-382-4357—toll-free)TTY: 1-800-326-2996www.ftc.govU.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA)5600 Fishers LaneRockville, MD 20857-0001Phone: 1-888-INFO-FDA(1-888-463-6332—toll-free)www.fda.govU.S. Postal InspectionService (USPS)Office of InvestigationWashington, DC 20206-2166Check the telephone book forthe number of your localpostal inspector.www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/Quackwatch, Inc.Quackwatch, Inc, is a nonprofitcorporation making informationavailable to combat health-relatedfrauds, myths, fads, and fallacies.www.quackwatch.org

P.O. Box 8057Gaithersburg, MD 20898-80571-800-222-2225 (toll-free)1-800-222-4225 (TTY toll-free)To order publications (in English orSpanish) or sign up for regular emailalerts, visit: www.niapublications.org.The National Institute on Agingwebsite is www.nia.nih.gov.Visit NIHSeniorHealth.gov(www.nihseniorhealth.gov), asenior-friendly website from theNational Institute on Aging andthe National Library of Medicine.This simple-to-use website featurespopular health topics for older adults.It has large type and a ‘talking’ function that reads the text out loud.U.S. Department of Health andHuman ServicesNational Institutes of HealthSeptember 2002Reprinted August 2005
7

8

ontact

ow.

roducts

alth

NCI)

e (CIS)

skeletal

ion

or

apter.

Washington, DC 20580Phone: 1-877-FTC-HELP(1-877-382-4357—toll-free)TTY: 1-800-326-2996www.ftc.govU.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA)5600 Fishers LaneRockville, MD 20857-0001Phone: 1-888-INFO-FDA(1-888-463-6332—toll-free)www.fda.govU.S. Postal InspectionService (USPS)Office of InvestigationWashington, DC 20206-2166Check the telephone book forthe number of your localpostal inspector.www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/Quackwatch, Inc.Quackwatch, Inc, is a nonprofitcorporation making informationavailable to combat health-relatedfrauds, myths, fads, and fallacies.www.quackwatch.org

National Institute on AgingInformation CenterP.O. Box 8057Gaithersburg, MD 20898-80571-800-222-2225 (toll-free)1-800-222-4225 (TTY toll-free)To order publications (in English orSpanish) or sign up for regular emailalerts, visit: www.niapublications.org.The National Institute on Agingwebsite is www.nia.nih.gov.Visit NIHSeniorHealth.gov(www.nihseniorhealth.gov), asenior-friendly website from theNational Institute on Aging andthe National Library of Medicine.This simple-to-use website featurespopular health topics for older adults.It has large type and a ‘talking’ function that reads the text out loud.U.S. Department of Health andHuman ServicesNational Institutes of HealthSeptember 2002Reprinted August 2005