Watch Out for Snake Oil Science
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
With so many products out there claiming to do things like grow back your hair, give you more energy and help you lose weight, it’s hard to know what really works and what’s based on hype rather than results. Very often, we choose these solutions because nothing else we have tried has worked. Yet it’s important to remember that there is very often a good reason why other things haven’t worked– there simply isn’t a simple solution to these health problems. So how can you separate true health claims from those that are based on phony, snake-oil science? Here are a few things to watch out for:
First and foremost, you’ll want to make sure that the products have been evaluated by the FDA to really have the effects they claim to have. You will find that in many cases, these products will openly admit to not having been found to reliably perform what they say they can do. While there might be exceptional cases where they work, the average person will not find them to be useful and could even be susceptible to some pretty nasty side effects depending on the kind of product in question. Always stick to products that have been fully evaluated or those that have been recommended to you by a medical professional.
Next, if something sounds too good to be true, in almost every single case it will be. There are no magic pills that can help you shed pounds while eating cheeseburgers or creams that will erase 20 years of wrinkles from your face. If there were, everyone would be using them and there wouldn’t be a hard sell on an infomercial for the product.
Finally, even medical studies cited by products are something worth a little more investigation. While the vast majority of medical studies are done professionally and provide fairly reliable results, not all are or the results of them aren’t reported accurately. If you’re investigating whether or not a product or treatment can really help you, look up the study cited and see who’s doing it and what it actually had to say. In some cases, you’ll find that things aren’t quite as they appear to be.
Very often we choose to overlook snake-oil science because we want to believe in the power of medications and treatments to make us well, help our appearances and treat what ails us, but the reality is that there are a lot of products out there that simply aren’t what they claim to be. By educating yourself and making smart choices, you can help avoid getting taken in by these products and keep yourself safe and healthy while you seek out other solutions.
