Enzyte. Coral calcium. Alpha lipoic acid. We've seen a lot of medical fads rise up the search logs at Lycos, many of them of questionable effectiveness. Now comes the first medical fad of 2003: Seasilver.

Seasilver is a vitamin supplement that claims to be a lot more than just a vitamin supplement. The product began a new radio advertising campaign in early February, and since then searches have doubled. So is this a revolutionary new medicinal breakthrough, or just another sketchy supplement that performs wonders uncorroborated by any major medical association? Evidence points towards the latter.

Seasilver's boosters claim that people can't get enough vitamins and minerals, even from the healthiest diet, because food we eat is affected by chemical fertilizers and depleted soil. If you want to make up the difference with vitamin pills, they warn, it won't work, because the pills are difficult for the body to break down.

And that's where Seasilver comes in, or at least, where it is supposed to come in. The pill's peddlers claim it is a revolutionary "all foods" nutritional supplement, literally containing every vitamin, mineral, amino acid and enzyme known to benefit the human body despite being 0% man-made. And, they say, it is absorbed into the body at a far better rate than vitamin pills because it is "half the thickness of water and thinner than blood."

Seasilver is made of Matrix Aloe Vera. Apparently this isn't the stuff you put on sunburns, but rather a nutritional whole food that contains substantial amounts of over 39 essential vitamins and minerals and all 23 amino acids. Plus, it's mixed with cranberry extract so that Seasilver tastes like an Ocean Spray cocktail.

According to a number of doctors (none of whom, alas, are writing in unbiased journals), Seasilver balances the body chemistry, cleanses vital organs, purifies the blood and lymphatic systems, nourishes the body at a cellular level, oxygenates cells, protects tissues, and strengthens the immune system. Seasilver can do practically anything, it seems, except make scrambled eggs or figure out who's playing first base for the Red Sox.

Dorothy Petrini, a 70-year-old advocate of Seasilver, says, "After taking Seasilver for less than a week, my memory is better, my eyesight is better. Before, I could hardly walk. Now I never sit down." Let me tell you, this is really annoying the orderlies at the nursing home, who are stuck chasing her around the building all day.

Clearly I'm a bit incredulous about the wonders of Seasilver. I have no clue if it works or not, but there doesn't seem to be any website out there that attempts to either prove or debunk the claims. But you do wonder whether a drug is on the up and up when it is primarily advertised on the Web as a private business opportunity rather than something to get from a doctor.

It also seems like the many Seasilver sellers can't quite get their stories straight. This site says that "thousands who have tried it swear near miraculous results in treating everything from cancer to acne." Of course, this competing site says that "Seasilver Associates makes NO claims that the Seasilver product cures any disease, disorder, or ailment, or should be used in the treatment of the same."

A medical product that shouldn't be used to treat medical problems. Hmmm, maybe this isn't such a wonderful business opportunity after all.

TOMORROW: The new Lycos 50.