Facebook ads promote untested hypertension products
- Published on September 5, 2024 at 20:21
- 7 min read
- By Daniel GALGANO, AFP USA
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"Dr. Barba (sic) O'neill confirms: 'You can make Hуpertеns!on STOP!'" says an August 24, 2024 Facebook post.
"This unique formula works in the first week! Barbara O'Neill guarantees: 'I will give 50 000 $ to anyone who does not see results!'"
The post includes a video featuring O'Neill, an anti-vaccine activist, and a voiceover that claims the drug will stabilize one's blood pressure and that other medications are "dangerous for your health."
The Facebook ads link to websites that also feature O'Neill and claim their products can "cleanse" the heart and blood vessels, "get rid of" high blood pressure within two weeks and "cure" up to nine medical conditions -- including high cholesterol and atherosclerosis.
All of the sites have a similar format and link to a store that signs people up for a subscription to products such as "Glyco Renew Blood Support," "MicroBio Blood Booster" and "Healthy Habits." Online retailers such as Amazon and eBay also carry the items.
However, Timothy Fitzgibbons, a cardiologist and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (archived here), said he does not suggest supplements to patients with hypertension.
He said most physicians will try to treat the root causes of high blood pressure with diet and exercise, as well as reduced stress and alcohol consumption, before moving to prescription medications.
"We all want something -- a magic pill that's going to take care of everything. But in reality, there's not a magic bullet," he said.
Not a doctor
Although some of the promotions refer to her as a doctor, O'Neill does not have a medical degree and did not sit for her final exams to become a psychiatric nurse in the 1970s.
After a 2019 investigation, the New South Wales Healthcare Complaints Commission said O'Neill "poses a risk to the health or safety of members of the public" and barred her from offering medical treatments in the Australian state.
Since then, O'Neill has appeared in a flood of AI-generated advertisements and misinformation on social media -- including many seeking to sell supplements and treatments for various conditions.
A reverse image search using keyframes from the video shared online reveals the footage comes from a July 2024 lecture O'Neill gave at a wellness retreat in the US state of Kentucky. In it, she criticizes pharmaceutical drugs, vaccines and antibiotics but does not promote a specific hypertension medication (archived here).
Responding to a comment request for O'Neill's company, spouse Michael O'Neill told AFP she does not claim to be a medical doctor and does not promote "wonder" cures.
"Unfortunately, there are a lot of unethical people using Barbara's good name to sell products that she does not recommend, and in some cases, they are just outright scams," Michael O'Neill said in a September 4, 2024 email.
'False advertisements'
The promotional sites also use an image of Juan Rivera, a cardiologist and chief medical correspondent for the US Spanish-language broadcaster Univision (archived here), in a supposed testimonial about the medicines being effective within two weeks.
However, a reverse image search reveals the photo was taken from a post on Rivera's personal Facebook page in which he talks about his experience with acid reflux (archived here).
A representative for Rivera's supplement retailer, Santo Remedio, said he is not affiliated with any of the hypertension products advertised on social media -- and that the company does not claim its products treat or cure any pre-existing conditions.
"Unfortunately, false advertisements have been circulating using Dr Juan's image without his permission and offering products for different needs. For this reason, Dr Juan has taken the corresponding legal measures," Santo Remedio said in an email sent to AFP in Spanish on September 3, 2024.
AFP contacted the producers of Glyco Renew Blood Support, MicroBio Blood Booster and Healthy Habits for comment, but no responses were forthcoming.
Supplement claims unfounded
The promotional sites include a link to a 2015 article in the journal Pharmacognosy Research about the medical effects of cinnamon, which is listed as one of the main ingredients in the supplements along with thiamine, chromium and juniper berries (archived here).
However, Fitzgibbons from the University of Massachusetts said the article is a "descriptive paper" that does not conclusively demonstrate any effect in humans.
"By eschewing some of the proven therapies and giving supplements a first-line role, you're delaying effective treatment and giving more time for adverse outcomes to occur," Fitzgibbons said.
John Flack, chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at Southern Illinois University (archived here), said cinnamon and chromium alone cannot treat or cure serious medical conditions.
"At best, a product like this would be adjunctive to traditional medical drug therapy/diet and lifestyle change," Flack said in a September 5, 2024 email. "Simply treating diabetes or hypertension with this compound alone is ill-advised."
The US National Institutes of Health, which maintains a research database on dietary supplements, says studies "don’t clearly support using cinnamon for any health condition" and that it is "uncertain" if it can aid in weight loss or cholesterol levels (archived here).
A spokesperson for the National Heart Foundation of Australia said patients should consult with their physician before taking any supplements, especially if they are already taking prescription medication.
"While there are many alternative health products on the market that promote beneficial effects to heart health, the strength of the evidence to support these products varies and more research is required to confirm their effects," the charity told AFP in an August 28 statement.
The US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and Mayo Clinic do not mention the promoted ingredients in their recommended treatments for hypertension.
AFP has previously debunked other unproven health cures advertised on social media.
Nahiara S. Alonso contributed reporting for this fact check.
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