CellQuest

CellQuest is produced in Florida, bottled and packaged in Dallas and stored in a Tampa warehouse. It has been used in the past two years by about 200 people nationwide, said Ed Ameen, president of CellQuest. About 60 people in the Tampa area use it. It is available at the company's Web site, www.cellquest.com One of thousands of products of its kin... d on the market, CellQuest doesn't claim to cure cancer. Its makers say it promotes "normal, healthy cell division." When cancer strikes, cells don't divide normally. "All body cells, tissues and organs need proper nutrients for normal cell division, tissue and organ function," CellQuest's Web site states. "Properly dividing cells and properly functioning tissues and organs, in turn, help support and maintain a healthy immune system. "Based on laboratory findings and observations in humans, there is reason to believe consuming the extract of the Musaceas plant may help maintain normal cell division and assist in the proper functioning of tissues and organs. Therefore, consumption of the Musaceas extract may contribute to the maintenance of the body's immune system." Musaceas are bananas, plantains and similar plants. Though CellQuest's backers say they're doing more testing and want more data to get the supplement approved by the federal government, there is no hard evidence the product is effective. Anecdotal evidence such as Smith's supports CellQuest, but consumer watchdogs don't back the product, saying it has no scientific merit. Yet more and more people across the Tampa Bay area are using it based on word-of-mouth recommendations, Ameen said. That's not a good idea, said Robert S. Baratz, a physician and president of the National Council Against Health Fraud, a consumer protection organization based in Peabody, Mass. "If they want to claim that it does something, they have to show data that supports that," he said. "I could put together a bottle of water that says it's completely safe and all natural, but is that going to treat any human disease? "Water ...Read More