Send your queries

OVER the next few weeks, I will be answering some of the readers’ questions. Please keep them coming in by emailing visserhg@ufs.ac.za

Dear Sammy, Hope your baby is feeling better and that you would get some rest today and tomorrow. I did some investigation into Biostrath. According to their website it is a Swedish-based, “natural” formulation more than 50 years old which provides the consumer with many different minerals, vitamins and other natural ingredients (herbs). I find several problems with their website and information.

1. If this product is so good, and if it is older than 50 years, why is there no research in scientific journals indicating this “greatness”?

2. I couldn’t find a list of ingredients on any of their web pages - maybe you can help? It is concerning that a manufacturer does not have that on a website. More concerning is that a consumer will want to drink something that they don’t know - or that is advertised as being safe. Just remember that heroin was considered safe in the 1800s and used in several medicines. We should not believe all we read.

3. If there are herbs in the product, consider this. Herbs, in some cases, are powerful natural medicines - that means that they have biological actions in the body, which in some cases can have counter-effects (contra-indications) with normal medicines. Now think of the ADHD child that uses Ritalin, a schedule 6 medicine, and these herbs together, without any guarantees of safety.

4. All in all, I think Biostrath is harmless - simply because I cannot see how it could be very potent. And more so, how it will improve concentration - except if there is caffeine in the product. Enjoy the weekend. Deon Visser