“As seen on the Dr. Oz Show” is a claim that is guaranteed to boost sales for any product. Like the “phytoceramides” glorified by a couple of plastic surgeons on the show. Incorporated into dietary supplements, these plant derived chemicals are supposed to rejuvenate the skin. There’s no magic pill, Dr. Leif Rogers commented, but “this is pretty close.” And after Dr. Oz wondered “why we haven’t used this earlier,” marketers went to work and quickly filled websites with advertisements about how you can “fake a facelift” with phytoceramides. As is often the case, some websites bleated about Dr. Oz’s “phytoceramide scam,” a common ploy to attract an audience to their site which claims that the product shown on the Oz Show is not as good as the “authentic one” that they are selling.
Perhaps the most impactive statement on the show was Dr. Rogers’ claim that phytoceramides had recently been approved by the FDA. This is totally misleading. In the U.S. dietary supplements do not need premarket approval by the FDA, all that is required is a “Dietary Ingredient Notification” describing what is in the product and why it is believed to be safe. That was not a problem in this case because not only do ceramides occur naturally in our skin, they also can be found in a variety of foods that include dairy products, eggs, soybeans, rice, millet, spinach and wheat. The term “phyto” means plant, so “phytoceramides” are ceramides found in plants.
Ceramides are a class of compounds, along with fatty acids, proteins and cholesterol found in the skin’s outer layer, that help retain moisture. By plumping up the skin, moisture can reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Topical ceramides have long been incorporated into moisturizing creams with positive effects but there are all sorts of substances that can be smeared on the skin to prevent moisture loss, ranging from Vaseline and Crisco to snail extracts. They all work in terms of retaining moisture, but the feel on the skin can be very different. The phytoceramide pills seek to circumvent the problem of finding the right topical moisturizer by delivering the ceramides into the skin directly from blood vessels.
Some studies have indeed shown that such delivery is possible but of course the critical question is whether taking phytoceramide supplements has a noticeable effect. There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence and pictures on the web that show spectacular changes but of course it isn’t hard to fake photos. Then there are claims of celebrities using the product, ranging from Ellen DeGeneres to Jennifer Aniston. We are told that they are not allowed to speak about their use pf phytoceramides because they have contracts with other cosmetic companies. Well, if that is the case, how would anyone know they use phytoceramides?
It is possible that these pills may have an effect, however it is doubtful it would be “near magical.” No surprise that Dr. Rogers uses that expression, given that he sells his own brand of phytoceramides, along with a host of other cosmetics., something that was not mentioned on the Oz Show. Dr. Rogers’ did manage to milk his appearance by prominently featuring “as seen on the Dr. Oz Show” on his website where he also promotes the product she sells. Highly unethical to say the least.
