Quackbase!
A database that tracks dubious medical claims.
Claim number: 50
Claimant: BioBalance
Claim date: July 6, 2011
Brand name: Good Food Wellness Drink
Forum in which the claim was made: Direct marketing
Claim methodology: Supplements
Frequency with which the claim is made by this claimant: Unknown
Actual claim: Treats AIDS
Plausibility of this claim: Untested and implausible
Summary
BioBalance together with ATKA Pharma are marketing their fulvic acid product(s) to dietitians, claiming that it reduces HIV viral load.
Documents relevant to this claim
Description
The company (or companies) is selling 25 x 500ml supplements containing fulvic acid, selenium and other ingredients for R2821.50.
Their marketing materials include a very badly written 12 page report on the benefits of fulvic acid claiming that Fulvic acid is nature's miracle molecule and that it helps rebuild the immune system and many other problematic claims.
Their materials also include an incompetently written report by JJ Gandy, JR Snyman, CE Medlen of the Pharmacology Department of the University of Pretoria. The report describes some kind of experiment on people with HIV with fulvic acid. It is so badly written that it is hard to understand what they did or what they were trying to do. For example, the control group contains people who are all on antiretrovirals (ARVs). And yet the mean viral load of the control group sky-rocket during the study, in contradiction of all available data on ARVs. Miraculously the mean viral load of the subjects taking fulvic acid declines. No randomisation appears to have taken place. The writing is appalling. There is no description of what ethics approval if any the study received.