SPENDING A PENNY

There are many advertisements that appear in newspapers, magazines and on the internet that make all kinds of claims regarding some panacea that can cure just about anything from a bald head to a bunion. These products are usually available by mail order, the adverts often look most impressive and the wording very convincing.

It was stated earlier that nobody knows the reason for an enlarged prostate gland. Strictly speaking this may not be entirely true because there is a body of people who claim to know or at least have a good idea. These people are certain dieticians and herbalists.

Research has show that an enlarged prostate in this country was virtually unknown at the turn of the last century as it is still practically unknown in Asia. However the problem is by no means uncommon with Asians who have been living in the west for a number of years. In view of these facts it would be imprudent to dismiss the notion that diet could be partially if not principally responsible or instrumental for B.P.H.

The common denominator of many dieticians regarding preventing prostate problems and treating those present, revolves around the mineral zinc. By the way, if the concept of a mineral being able to prevent and sometimes cure certain ailments seems ridiculous, a sobering thought must be brought to the attention of people who harbour this opinion.

It is now common knowledge that radio-therapy is used in the treatment of certain diseases, and RADIUM is a radio-active metallic element obtained from the MINERAL pitchblende or Uraninite.

It could turn out that one day ZINC may be a possible treatment or even cure for B.P.H. but not yet.

If the zinc and vitamin treatment interests you for goodness sake talk it over with your doctor or urologist before you make any cataclysmic decisions.

Orange juice and all citrus fruits, tomatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabage, strawberries and green peppers.

Tuna, sardines, egg yokes, margarine, fish liver oil and salmon.

Peanuts, green leafy vegetables such as cabbage, spinach and asparagus, wheat germ, whole grain bread, vegetable oils and rice.

Foods high in zinc include nuts, sunflower seeds, wheat germ and bran, milk, eggs, onions, brewers yeast, almost all sea foods, beef, liver, meat, lentils, molasses, peas, beans and poultry.

Another alternative medicine that is gaining more recognition is the use of herbs. There is nothing new about this of course, herbs have been used since time immemorial for all kinds of ailments and many people still swear by nature's own remedies. However this is a wide and highly specialised field and there are several companies who offer a large variety of products along these lines which are available by mail order.

Unfortunately not everyone who offers products for prostate relief and who specialises in mail order and internet sales are what they seem and although watchdog committees, trading standard departments and the like are constantly on the alert for commercial malpractices, quite a number still manage to slip through the net. Nowadays one has to be ultra careful before taking seriously the claims of many advertisements one sees in the press and on the internet. Even money back guarantees may not be worth the paper they are written on, remember that there are fees charges to take someone to a small claims court.

Consequently if a thousand people send ten pounds for some obscure concoction that is guaranteed to grow hair on a billiard ball and it turns out to be useless, it will costs more in fees than a refund, they really have no means of redress. Sometimes even complaining to a newspaper is a waste of time, as the following disturbing incident shows.

In order to illustrate just how serious this was, a brief word about the advertising procedure is necessary.

If you are in business and agree to spend a certain amount of money with most newspapers or magazines they will do what is know as an advertisement feature. This usually entails a journalist and a photographer coming round to your place of business to get some background information and to take a few photographs. The newspaper will then publish an article giving details of how you started in business and what your service or product offers and so on, along with a photograph or yourself and your product in your premises. This can sometimes occupy half a page or more, depending on how much you are prepared to spend on advertising, and will read like a news item. However, it will always have the heading: ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE in fairly small print at the top of the article so that the reader will know it is an advertisement and not a news item.

A few years ago I happened to be glancing through a national tabloid newspaper that someone had left on the train on which I was travelling.

On page three, which is the most important position for response from advertisements, apart from the front page, there was a new story that sang the praises of a new slimming product that must have answered the prayers of anyone who was overweight. Towards the end of the article which occupied most of the page, it referred to a coupon in another part of the newspaper where the reader could send away for this seemingly miraculous product.

The first thing I did after reading little more than a couple of hundred words was to look at the top of the article to make sure it wasn't an advertisement feature. It was not. This meant that it must be news, because no reputable newspaper would print such glowing praises about anything they had not carefully checked out.

I personally do not have a weight problem but I felt that a couple of my friends would be very interested.

Now some investigative journalists, like many detectives, have a special instinct which tells them when something is not quite right, and for my sins I fall into this category. Intuition may not be admissible as evidence but it often helps to solve many crimes.

As soon as I returned home I telephoned a fellow journalist and one of the most well informed Mail Order specialists in the country, asking them to make a few discreet enquiries regarding this new slimming product.

To cut a long story short the person who was selling this new slimming panacea, which turned out to be useless, was the same person who owned the newspaper that was promoting it.

If you think this was bad there is worse to follow.

During the following weeks a modification of that same article with the coupon at the bottom appeared as an advert in several other newspapers.

Just how many people got cheated from this scam I dare not imagine.

By and large most traders are honest people and although the adage "Let the Buyer Beware" is very apt, when it applies to buying through the post or on the internet I sometime think it should be amended to "Let the Buyer be Psychic if he doesn't want to get ripped off"

Getting back to prostate disorders. This website is by no means an exhaustive study of this specialised subject. It is merely a brief coverage in order to give the layman a basic knowledge and understanding of a very important subject which, sooner or later, will probably be brought to his attention in some way or another.

When you hear a piece of music for the first time in its entirety, like a Beethoven Symphony for example, the first time you hear it there are probably just a few passages or tunes which appeal to you and the rest goes unnoticed.

However with each subsequent hearing, you will pick up something else that you missed in the previous performance. This is because it is not humanly possible to absorb in the forty minutes or so what could be the result of many years of creative work by the composer.

The same principle also applies to certain literary works, including what you have almost completed. Please make time to come back and visit this site again for advances in medical science are happening all the time . . .