Expensive brands do not guarantee quality, but they do fatten pocketbooks. Manufacturers can make numerous claims for what these products can do, even if research has never been done to substantiate the claim. Because various claims are legal to make, many manufacturers do make outrageous claims. The salespeople who promote these products generally have little to no medical or nutritional background, and cannot and do not offer sound advice about how the product works or its potential side effects. Due to strong public interest in natural remedies and herbs, we see more and more research done on these products, which is a very good thing.
Many products show quite promising effects.
On the other hand, many appear to be simply expensive, useless, and overly hyped. Of course, without the proper research done, you can't know the difference. Ephedra has been linked to hundreds of incidents, including high blood pressure, abnormalities in heart rhythms, seizures, heart attacks, and even death. Some states have laws that ban the sale of ephedra because of its demonstrated serious side effects. Here's an example of an herbal preparation that actually has been researched extensively overseas in independent studies and shows promise.