I have been slow dancing with serious sicknesses most of my adult life. MS is my constant companion. Colon cancer came next. Twice, actually, devastating my GI tract. Then there were assorted conditions. A pulmonary embolism, a life threatening blood clot in my pulmonary artery, filled out my dance card.
Still I have no use for medical supplements. I don’t believe in them. Many of my contemporaries swallow those pills for real or imagined problems. Unlike ethical drugs, which require a prescription, supplements are sold over the counter and are unregulated.
The growing rate of chronic illnesses and the COVID-19 pandemic have increased the market size of these elixirs. According to the Council for Responsible Nutrrition, 79 percent of adult females and 74 percent of males use supplements regularly. The dietary supplement market in 2016 was worth $122 billion, and it continues to grow.
What does the rest of America know that I don’t seem to grasp? Or is it vica versa? We are a nation n of consumers. I sup pose I am a smalltime outlier. I have issues that would send many to the supplement counter.
Frankly I worry about what is going on north of my neck. For too long Ihave resisted admitting to myself that something in my head is off. I don’t think I am about to take any of the popular supplements, though I might have made a good test case.
I make my living writing. Books are my Holy Grail. But something inside me is changing. I’m not hitting on all cylinders. I know writers are supposed to suffer, but that is mythology and probably invented by frustrated writers.
The computer used to be my best friend. I have been my own boss at that machine. Now I cannot count on hand and fingers to follow my instructions. I must do everything with my left hand because of the MS. Now appendages seem to have minds of their own.
I used to tell myself It’s only on off days. Too many bad days make for a long struggle. But when I know what my next move should be, I cannot always make my hand do as instructed. I wrote my last three books using only my left hand.
I can be stopped cold at the computer. I sit motionless, trying to figure out how to complete simple tasks. Often I break a sweat, trying to Insert words or move them around. This should be simple stuff. I silently stare at the keyboard, waiting for divine intervention and straining to remember what to do next.
That confusion is matched by increasing memory loss. I forget names of public figures or the guy next door, what to pick up at the market and the names of movie actors I like. There are names I’ve heard a hundred times, lost in the emptiness of my head. Maybe it’s the MS. Maybe it’s not.
I have checked out the supplement counter. What the hell. So-called brain boosters exist to clear our heads and enhance memory. I was curious about these brain enhancements.
According to Harvard Health Publishing, “A recent survey found that about 25% of adults over age 50 take a supplement to improve their brain health with the promise of enhanced memory and sharper attention and focus.” The brain health supplement market in 2019 was estimated to be worth $443 billion.
Madison Avenue moguls are onto a cash cow. The product I see advertised most on the internet is Prevagen. Seniors swear by the supplement. At least the ones in the commercials do. Norm & Szasz live in Columbia, Missouri. “We do consulting. We also write and walk three times a week. We take care of ourselves. We’ve been taking Prevagen for a little more than eleven years now. After about thirty days of taking it, we noticed a clarity we didn’t notice before.” Sixty-eight year old Gregg is another true believer. “I’ve been taking Prevagen for three years and it’s really, really helped me.”
The Federal Trade Commission wasn’t convinced. The company was accused of selectively reporting data and misleading the public by claiming that Prevagen is clinically proven to improve cognitive function.”
It’s not just Prevagen. According to Harvard Health Publishing, “A recent survey found that about 25% of adults over age 50 take a supplement to improve their brain health with the promise of enhanced memory and sharper attention and focus. The problem? There's no solid proof any of them work.”
I rest my case.
On the other hand, consider the brain supplement, Focus Factor. The pitch contains no direct claims. And simply says, “Get your Einstein on.” The television screen shows an average guy morphing into a caricature o f Albert Einstein. Very substantive.
Wander into any pharmacy or health food establishment and see for yourself. You will find brain boosters sharing shelf space with supplements for improving prostate health and sexual performance. “There’s a sucker born every minute,
P.T. Barnum famously claimed. Who am I to argue?
I have had MS for 15 years. My symptoms started almost 2 years before that; I contracted the disease late in life - I am now 75. My neurologist has me taking Vitamin D and Omega 3 (DHA) supplement. He is not one for “quack medicines”; he also has me on prescription Aubagio. Cognitively, I seem and feel fine - it's hard for me to envision taking OTC brain enhancing drugs.