Science or Marketing Hype?
There is a very common trick that supplement marketers LOVE!
If you don’t know about it getting sucked into the HYPE is really fucking easy.
It works like this.
Let’s say a university decides to study Herb X. They create a scientific study to find out the effectiveness and/or safety of Herb X. They use a specific amount during that study. They may even test two or three different amounts to see which dosage works best.
If they find a dosage that works this is called the ‘therapeutic dosage’. At the conclusion of the study they write up their RESULTS. The better studies are then released in peer reviewed journals.
Enter the black hat Marketing Guy.
He works for a supplement company and reads the study. He gets excited about the claims he can now make, since Herb X is in one of the supplements he markets. Many supplements have no science, or pretty weak science. Finding one with good science is a big win for him.
Marketing Guy then announces that the RESULTS are available in their supplement. Marketing Guy will often do this with half a dozen supplements. The claims start to sound pretty, damn exciting.
Here is the problem.
The amount of herb X needed to get the awesome RESULT is the ‘therapeutic dosage’. The supplement company only puts in 1/10th to 1/100th that amount into their single tiny capsule.
They often pack 5 to 10 different supplements into a single capsule. Why? We humans are still hooked on the idea of a MAGIC BULLET fixing our problem. In simple terms single capsules sell.
Most herbals require either a very strong extract or LOTS of that supplement to be effective. All of the supplements recommended in the Get Hard book are at, or slightly above, the therapeutic dosages found in the studies that prove their effectiveness.
If you see a supplement online making impressive claims look for a direct link to the science that backs up that claim. If they don’t provide a link to the science they are HYPING you.
Don’t fall for the hype.