Recent analysis made by the University of California indicates that many medications approved by FDA may in fact not have been scientifically proven to be effective.

When testing medications, researchers gather a big group of similar people. They’re then split into two groups. One (testing group) is given the new medication that is believed to be effective. The other (comparison group) a pill (Placebos) that doesn’t contain the new medication.

If the testing group becomes healthier than the comparison group, the drug is approved. There doesn’t have to be a big difference, 5-10% is enough.

But that’s not the whole story.

This new analysis from the University of California however showed that most of the time, researchers don’t reveal what ingredients are in the comparison pill (Placebos) when applying for recognition from FDA.

This can drastically skew the results. What if they test drugs for diabetes, for example, and the comparison pill is made of sugar? Or cholesterol drug and the comparison pill include trans-fat?

Its’ scary to think that to prove the effectiveness of a new drug, researchers may knowingly include harmful ingredient in the comparison pill. And nobody asks about it.