RE: diet pills...do they
Many years ago, I was in a pharmacy with money to burn. At the time, I admittedly had very little knowledge about such things as alternative herbal detoxifiers and cleansers, yet I was eager to improve my health in any way possible...
So I figured I would ask the pharmacist, being the 'pro' he is, if I should buy this product. Of course, the pharmacist works at this place, and probably benefits by promoting this product, which of course he suggests I would do well to buy. So I burn the thirty-something bucks it costs (which at the time was some good money for a lad like me).
I bring it home and I use it for a few weeks until the pills run out... nothing big. They tasted yucky, and forced me to adjust my schedule so as to take the pills at regular intervals several times a day.
In any case, I was always interested in learning about new things, and this was no exception, and so I busted out the books and other materials that might contain some info on these products. So what do I learn? The exact same thing that Dexter just pointed out!
Anyhow, the most valuable lesson from this incident was not so much that I wasted my money on an expensive product, but that I have little reason to trust someone on an a matter without some sort of proof. That I would do well to look rationally at things before applying my time and effort (and quite often money). To be taken in by his "ohhh we all love that product here at the pharmacy, and use it on a regular basis for our health", was foolish. It applies not just to some silly product, but also to life in general.