War - Diet Supplements
 

This may or may not have any grains of truth or relevance in it, excerpts taken from NEW YORKER magazine, 2.2.04 issue, pages starting page 64:

"Miracle in a Bottle: Dietary Supplements are Unregulated, Some are unsafe - And America can't get enough of them", by: Michael Specter


"Last year, Americans spent nineteen billion dollars on dietary supplements - nearly five times as much as they did just a decade ago."

"But they (studies) are at least as likely to disprove benefits as to confirm them. Ginseng has long been promoted as an energy booster, for example, yet the military, in studies of possible energy enhancements for troops, has found it worthless."

"Basic makes two major claims for Zantrex-3: that it will provide an immediate and sustained bburst of energy, and that it will help people lose weight rapidly. For the first claim, Mowrey relied on a study by the U.S. military that examined the effects of caffeine on Navy SEALs who had been deprived of sleep and are exposed to the extreme stresses of a training week. The study concluded that it is more effective in combatting fatigue than a placedbo."

:q:

You tryin to tell me bourbon ain't a supplement?

Oh, wait, you DID say "miracle in a bottle". :p

Oops!

I meant GI mood enchancers, courage in a bottle is a known dietary supplement :-)