TheLiverDoc
TheLiverDoc

@theliverdr

2 تغريدة 9 قراءة Feb 14, 2024
This is long, but worth your time. Please read and share widely.
I just came to know about this.
A well meaning Endocrinologist and Diabetes specialist @PremNarayanan9 has been sued and dragged to Court by an Ayurvedic company (IndusViva) that makes a quack product called iCoffee for control of diabetes and weight reduction.
The defamation suit is for $60,000 (50,00,000 INR).
The good doctor had made a one-minute reel on the product, discussing the factual lack of efficacy and safety studies of iCoffee, in good quality human trials.
He was sent a legal notice to take down the video, which he did. The video (with English subs) is linked in the next post (tweet).
But thereafter, a defamation suit was filed at the Bangalore Civil Court against him, by the company, demanding payment for "monetary loss."
In the defamation suit (which I have read through), the manufacturer (IndusViva) mentions that they are a multi-level marketing company and their product is "well tested."
The first part of the statement is true, but the second part, not so.
iCoffee contains:
Salcital (extract from Salacia reticulata herb)
Premium Coorg Coffee (in decaffeinated form)
Velvet Bean (Mucuna pruriens) extract
and an iCoffee Creamer which has 22% Salcitol
The price for 50 sachets is 3000INR ($36)
This is very expensive for an untested product advertised through extraordinary claims and sold through a pyramid scheme.
Extract of Salacia is not standardized in the product. The extract dose is not mentioned. Salacia extract is supposedly beneficial at minimum 1000mg where it acts on glucose absorption in intestines, which still remains to be proven in large quality Phase II and Phase III trials. How much of Salacia does this product contain? No idea.
The effectiveness of Salacia in diabetes is questionable since the quality of evidence is very poor and only based on small human studies.
#examine-database" target="_blank" rel="noopener" onclick="event.stopPropagation()">examine.com
There is literally ZERO studies peer-reviewed and published on iCoffee in medical literature. ZERO.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The only study that the manufacturer IndusViva cites showcasing "effectivness" of its quack coffee product, in the defamation suit, is actually a substandard study published in a garbage, third-rate, predatory journal called Indian Journal of Medical and Allied Research, the website of which clearly says they will accept papers "within 24 hours." Clownery from IndusViva company at its peak. And I could not even find that study.
ijmar.in
iCoffee also contains Mucuna puriens or Velvet Bean extract which is a high source of L-Dopamine which carries the risk of the side-effects of L-DOPA, which include several gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms. Like other herbs, it always carries a risk of negative interactions with various medications - meaning it can interact with your real diabetes medications.
examine.com
iCoffee is a quack product and its marketing is based on flimsy evidence. There is no data of iCoffee improving diabetes or reducing weight. There is no data on its safety and side-effects in the short and long term. Please be aware of such products.
I love coffee. Standard black coffee.
But this iCoffee, I would not touch with a 10 ft pole.
And please support doctors like @PremNarayanan9 who bring evidence-based medicine to the people at great personal cost. I hope he wins in Court.
PS: Here is the video that was taken down, but the pyramid scheme company still decided to fish in murky waters. It is time doctors be given the right to discuss science and evidence in good faith for the public. These"legal muscle" tactics must stop and it is time that we drew a line between science and law.

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