Garlic offered for hypertension

A man who visited 26 health stores complaining of high blood pressure was referred to a doctor by only one.

Staff in 25 of the stores recommended and sold a wide variety of compounds of "unproven efficacy", according to a report in the New Zealand Medical Journal today.

The report warns that health store staff need formal training to ensure people with serious medical complaints are not given substandard advice.

"Unlike pharmacists, staff in health food stores are not required to undergo any formal training in regard to the physiological or pharmacological effects of the products that they sell. This may place customers at risk of being given ineffective, harmful or indirect advice."

In the experiment, a 53-year-old man visited randomly selected health food shops. He told staff he had joined a fitness club and had been told he had high blood pressure. If asked, he told the employee his blood pressure was 160/120.

He then asked staff for recommendations to lower his blood pressure.In 25 of the shops he bought awide range of products, with themost popular of them being garlic.

"One health food store assistant recommended consultation with an iridologist as she could see 'a white ring of salt around his iris'.

"She went on to inform the individual that she was qualified in iridology and suggested a consultancy appointment with her," the article said.

Only one assistant advised the man on diet and lifestyle and recommended his blood pressure be checked by a general practitioner.

The article said most of the products the man was sold were unlikely to be effective in managing severe hypertension.

"To provide quality advice to customers, staff working in health food stores need to give accurate and safe information on a variety of ailments.

"We recommend the implementation of a formal training programme for health food store staff, and to improve the quality of health care advice including referral to a medical practitioner where appropriate."

- NZPA