NEW YORK: Fish oil and vitamin supplements do not protect against dementia and companies selling them are “preying on people’s fears”, it has been claimed. A panel of experts asked by the watchdog Which? to investigate the science behind supplements found “no robust evidence” linking ingredients such as ginkgo biloba, vitamins and fish oil to a reduced dementia risk.
The panel, including a GP, a dietitian and a professor of public health medicine, studied a range of supplements including Efamol Brain Active Memory capsules, Boots Sharp mind tablets and BrainSmart Memory capsules. Which? said claims such as protection against brain cell damage were not substantiated and were potentially misleading.
Alex Neill, Which? director of policy and campaigns, said: “It’s unacceptable that these companies are preying on people’s fears [of dementia], making claims they simply can’t stack up.”
Efamol told Which? it did not intend to mislead consumers and was undertaking a rigorous review of its marketing and claims made.
BrainSmart said its product did not claim to prevent, cure or treat disease. A Boots spokesman said: “The supplement is not designed to treat or to prevent a diagnosed health condition.”
NHS England figures show that more than 750,000 people in the UK suffer from some form of dementia…