Remember when PC-SPES was touted the world over as a scientifically proven cute for prostate cancer? Dr. Jesse Stoff even wrote a book called The Prostate Miracle telling everyone this was the Magic Supplement for prostate cancer. The president of Kensington Publishing, who printed the book, died soon after following Stoff's advice. Your author was the only person in the world who kept preaching that this whole thing was a scam for money. Everyone involved in this promotion was either a criminal or, at best, a damned fool. Wasn't it Mark Twain who said, "There are fools, and then there are damned fools"? Finally it was discovered that not only was PC-SPES worthless, but adulterated with rat poison (warfarin) and prescription drugs. It was pulled off the market, but the criminals escaped jail.

I told you so, I told you so, I told you so...

Now we have Zyflamend®, which is a mixture of ten different herbs. First it was promoted as a natural COX-2 inhibitor for arthritis. Now it is being promoted as well for prostate cancer. Life Extinction sells this, which should tell you right there everything you need to know about it. They have a "sale price" of $21.99- which is the regular retail price! Other net stores have it for half that if you want to buy some.

Somehow people think there is some real magic in putting together a lot of herbs in a single capsule. The "more is better" theory. There is not any magic in this. In fact, the best way to practice herbology is with single herbs, and no mixtures. In my files are the last 40 years of published research on both arthritis and prostate disease from Chemical Abstracts (the scientist's bible). If it ain't in Chem Abs, it ain't worth knowing basically. This reference is the alpha and omega of science. Every six months I go through the new volumes on over 30 subjects including arthritis and prostate disease.

Let's take a look at just what's in here. This is based on two capsules, and each bottle has 60 capsules, or a one month supply. Holy basil 100 mg with 2% ursolic acid. This gives you 2 mg of ursolic acid which is biologically insignificant. There are no clinical published studies on the benefits of holy basil or ursolic acid for either arthritis or prostate cancer. Tumeric 100 mg of 7% curcumin. This gives you 7 mg of curcumin. Yes, curcumin is a fine supplement for both arthritis and prostate conditions, but you need about 500 mg to do you any good. You'd need to take almost three bottles a day of Zyfiamend. Green Tea 100 mg of 45% polyphenols. This gives you 45 mg of polyphenols. First of all, it is not de-caffeinated. Secondly, you should be taking a lot more than 45 mg. Ginger 100 mg with 20% various ingredients and 4% zingiberene. This gives you 4 mg of zingiberine. Ginger has no benefit for either arthritis or prostate. Ginger is a relatively week herb and you have to eat several grams of it if used to prevent seasickness or calm your stomach.

Rosemary leaf 100 mg with 23% active ingredients. You get 23 mg. Rosemary is a fine herb but has no benefit for either arthritis or prostate. You would have to take a lot more than this to get any benefit. More rosemary 5:1 extract 50 mg is also added.

Polygunum cuspidatum root 80 mg of 8% resveratrol. This gives you 6.4 mg of resveratrol. This is a well known Chinese herb but has no benefit for arthritis or prostate and you would have to take a lot more than 80 mg to get any benefits. Goldthread 40 mg (strength not given). Goldthread is a fine herb, but has no benefit for arthritis or prostate, and you would have to take a lot more than 40 mg to get any benefits. Barberry root 40 mg with 6% berberine. You get 2.4 mg of berberine. Barberry is a classic herb with many benefits for some conditions, but it has no value in arthritis or prostate and you would have to take a lot more than 40 mg.

Oregano 40 mg with 0.8% TPA. You get all of 0.32 mg (that is one third of one milligram) of TPA. Oregano has been promoted recently, but there are no published studies that show benefits for arthritis or prostate. And you would need a lot more than one third of one milligram of active ingredient to get any value from this.

Scutellaria baicalensis ("scute") 20 mg of 5:1 extract. Scute is a classic Chinese herb known for centuries, but not for arthritis or prostate. Taking 20 mg is biologically useless as it only equals 100 mg of whole herb.

What about the "study" on Zyflamend® that was so prominently advertised? It isn't published, it used the brand name and not a generic mix of herbs, it was merely done in test tubes, and it was obviously funded by the manufacturer. Why even discuss it further?

If you have a serious condition like arthritis or prostate disease there are no Magic Supplements to help you. Changing your LIFESTYLE is going to cure you. Making better food choices, taking at least 20 proven natural supplements, balancing your basic hormones, fasting one day a week, not taking prescription drugs, getting regular exercise, and keeping bad habits to a minimum, This is what natural health is all about. The Magic supplements you see on TV, hear on radio and read about on the internet are all just as worthless as this one.

(2008- this crap has almost disappeared from the market place.)