Well, Gwyneth has done it. She’s developed a pill that will put an end to the “not tonight, I’ve got a headache” excuse, for only $55. What’s it called you ask… DTF. No lie. As in Down To F**k. I’m think this and that vagina scented candle she’s selling will make great stocking stuffers for Mrs Droogie this holiday season.
Seems legit.
Exactly.
In 1975, after intense lobbying from quacks who stood to make millions on false claims about the benefits of vitamins, Congress passed the Proxmire Amendment, which prohibited the FDA from regulating megavitamins.
Then in 1994, after intense lobbying from corporations which stood to make billions, Congress passed the (ironically titled) Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act.
So now let’s say you think that consuming bat penis might be beneficial. If you put bat penis in a food or a drug, you actually have to spend millions, study it, and prove it is safe. If you call it a supplement, there are no such restrictions, and you can claim it does anything.
The disclaimer on every supplement – “this statement has not been evaluated by the FDA” – is equivalent to “this claim is utter bullshit, probably.” That’s how I read it in my head.
As placebo can easily result in improvement in 20-40% of clinical situations (depending what you’re dealing with), sometimes it’s best to let people believe nonsense.
But when I’m told that someone is taking a supplement because “the bottle says it helps my immunity”, I have to say “yeah…. no. That’s not a thing. And the company that makes that bottle can say ANYTHING THEY WANT because it’s a supplement, and they want you to buy it.”
A lot of lactation specialists swear by fenugreek as a galactogogue – something that helps production of breast milk. But the studies are not that impressive. It doesn’t surprise me at all that Gwynnie’s “research team” (stifles laughter) seized on that as the DTF special sauce.
She’s laughing all the way to the bank, but she can suck a vagina candle, along with the entire supplement industry.
She was so good in The Royal Tenenbaums.
Echinacea or Vitamin C to ward off colds. Saw palmetto for BPH. Glucosamine with chondroitin for joint pain. None of them work.
DTF might work with a big glass of wine.