Commercial anti-ageing products outpace real scientific evidence, expert warns

The wellness and health market continues to thrive on commercial promises that outpace scientific evidence, POLITIS reported. According to Dr Myrtani Pieri, an associate professor of human physiology at the University of Nicosia, businesses frequently turn preliminary scientific discoveries into marketable health products before sufficient research exists. [1]

POLITIS reported that Dr Myrtani Pieri discussed the issue on the podcast Without a Toga. She explained that the pseudoscience industry often avoids inventing concepts from scratch. Instead, companies take a single genuine scientific finding, exaggerate its implications, and market it as an established cure for weight loss, anti-ageing, or toxin elimination. [1]

Dr Myrtani Pieri noted that a single scientific study can lead to the emergence of ten different commercial entities selling related products. Ingestible anti-ageing supplements include items such as teas, powders, and vitamin capsules marketed with claims of slowing or reversing the ageing process. However, clinical evidence demonstrating that these products affect human health or the ageing process does not exist. [1][5]

Cosmetic anti-ageing creams are typically moisturizer-based products marketed to reduce, mask, or prevent visible skin ageing signs like wrinkles or loss of skin elasticity. Conclusive scientific evidence does not support these cosmetic claims. Health itself is broadly defined as physical and emotional well-being associated with the normal functioning of the human body in daily life without disease, pain, or injury. [4][5]