Differentiating health fraud from credible nutrition information in our days has become a challenge for all of us, especially to people with no medical/health background.
This is mainly because of the increased access to the internet, the widespread of social media, and how easy it has become to advertise a product even if it’s completely bogus.
The introduction of the internet to the public has changed the world in massive ways, and no one can deny how much it impacted our everyday life.
Nowadays we spend hours and hours checking social media, reading articles, watching videos online, and overall surfing the web.
Moreover, the internet also served as an encyclopedia that contains every information mankind has obtained from primitive first-model inventions to the technological marvels that we see today.
Another thing you can find on the web is health, medical, and nutrition information which is available on various websites and forums.
So far, the internet sounds like a magical place where you can find everything you need in a matter of seconds and to top it all off it’s all for FREE, right?
Well, that’s just the bright side of the web; what most people don’t know is that the internet is full of misinformation led by biased individuals in an attempt to spread their ideological beliefs, and/or commercial purposes which is our topic of the day.
Health fraud and Advertising
Health fraud is found all over the world from misleading information sold by magazines, TV commercials, web articles, to simply just plain Ads on the internet.
In this article, I will give you a guide that will help you differentiate fact from fiction when it comes to health information, I’ll deal with topics that are of concern to you, and I will also provide you with a mental algorithm to immediately recognize when someone is giving you nutrition information for the sole purpose of selling you a product, and whether it is reliable or not.
Let’s start with an example, thousands of people are surfing the web daily looking for recipes and products for colon cleansing because of a myth that has them convinced that there are dozens of pounds of waste products just sitting there in their colons weighing them down.
The concept of wanting to clean your colon sounds perfectly logical, as matter of fact everyone should be doing it. But, guess what? Mother Nature has already thought this through a long time ago and came up with a natural solution to improve bowel movement and overall gastrointestinal tract health. It’s fiber.
You might be asking yourself right now,”if these products don’t work and the fiber that’s found in whole foods is the solution. Why do people keep buying these products?” The short answer is because they do kind of work. What!
Well, that’s just the appearance of it, the truth is that most of these products are laxative-like substances that induce diarrhea and help you lose weight on the scale.
But just like I mentioned, diarrhea is the cause of the weight loss, which means most of it is water. And I think it’s safe to assume that most people want to lose body fat, not water.
How can you avoid health fraud?
How can you tell if a product, a service, or a device is based on reputable science or just making a baseless claim? if this information is based on fact or fiction? if this product is going to help you or is it just hype? And most importantly, if this product is harmful to you?
The sad truth is that most of the products that are advertised worldwide are not only with no actual benefits, but they can also be dangerous to our bodies.
In order to assess the reliability of a product, you need to look for some RED FLAGS by asking these questions:
1. Is it a quick fix and a cure-all kind of products?
This is commonly seen in the dietary field where some diet programs claim that you can lose weight in an incredible pace without having to exercise; that it can reduce your calories intake, and that you can even eat whatever you want.
In this case, you need to ask yourself another question, based on your experience in life; do you really think that something worthwhile could be achieved this easily, with no effort put into it? The answer is no. That is not reasonable and this product is simply a health fraud scheme.
2. Can this product or service cure a chronic, incurable illness?
To me, this is considered the ultimate health fraud; not only because it’s turning people’s lives into a business, but also because it will most likely result in patients steering away from real treatment. And that will only cause their health to deteriorate.
Some celebrities and athletes who were diagnosed with cancer chose this approach and deviated away from conventional medicine because they’ve read somewhere that they can take this miraculous product and be completely cured. This is a tragedy because cancer is a disease that only gets worse the longer you delay the treatment.
You see people frequently going to Mexico to try these sketchy products to cure cancer, and the thing is they initially do feel better. How?
Simply because chemotherapy is extremely painful, and by switching to these alternative products you end up feeling better.
Ultimately, you abandon the conventional therapy which is the best and only chance you have at getting through this challenge.
3. Are these claims of a miraculous breakthrough, a secret formula, or hidden ingredients that your doctor doesn’t want you to know about?
This is one of my favorites. Think about their goal, what they want to accomplish.
They are trying to create a gap between you and your reliable sources of information. Now you might be saying, my doctor isn’t helping me at all, and it doesn’t seem like I’m getting any better.
In this case, I would advise you to change physicians. But the lie they’re trying to sell you, that your doctors are trying to trick you and hide information from you is just absurd and should immediately trigger the antenna of your health fraud-detector.
4. Does the Ad contain useless medical terminology?
Examples include: the thermogenic set point, lipoactive…etc.
It sure sounds impressive, but often times this terminology doesn’t even exist, and the terms used don’t even have definitions.
It’s mainly used for marketing purposes. So, if it sounds too impressive. If it sounds too good to be true, chances are it is.
5. “all natural”=”all safe”?
When you think of the expression “all natural”, a peaceful picture of nature with green trees and a blue sky comes to your mind; our brains tend to translate this image into something “safe”, which is simply an illusion.
Just think of the dangerous products that are completely natural, a couple comes to mind: heroin, cocaine, Tabaco, etc…
Ask yourself again, if Tabaco companies put pictures of nature and trees on their products, would you consider them to be safe?
6. Are there personal testimonies and anecdotes, even from physicians, claiming amazing results?
There is this famous athlete who did an Ad on a product claiming that it has amazing results, and that it helped him win the Super bowl championship; later that year in an interview he was asked if he actually tried that product, his response was, “No way, it was just an endorsement deal that my agent got me and I was paid 50,000 dollars for it”.
Certainly, in this category of personal testimonies, you’ve all seen pictures of before and after; where someone claims he got these amazing results using a particular product.
Well, we are all smart enough to know that in this day and age, graphic design technology can do magic. Softwares like Photoshop can edit pictures to any shape and form you want; creating an illusion that would fool your eyes.
7. Do you feel a sense of urgency in the Ad? Are there statements such as “Limited availability” and “Act now”?
We’re all individuals who don’t want to miss out on a good deal, and who want to get the maximum value in exchange for our money.
So, if a product is on short supply, why wouldn’t I want that? The truth is, if you follow this product long enough, you’ll notice that the statement of limited availability is always there, and the product is always there too.
Bottom line is that they’re constantly making more products, and if selling them is still profitable, they’ll never stop.
8. No risk, Money back guarantee?
Does this sound right to you? Is this really a thing you could find in the real world? If you go get a medical procedure, does it have no risk? Will they return your money if it fails?
I’m going to suggest you track those PO Box numbers that the Ad says you have to use to get your money back. Often times, you’ll be surprised that the PO Box you’re trying to track is no longer active.
9. Does it promise an easy fix for conditions like weight loss and impotence?
Natural products that promise a quick fix for sexual dysfunction compose a wide market for the sole purpose of taking advantage of people.
For example, a lot of these products use niacin in the mix which is a type of vitamin B that has VASODILATION properties (expanding blood vessels).
See, after you take this product you’ll feel your fingers tingling, your face flushing, and your erectile dysfunction will no longer be there; this is how they feed on people’s pockets.
If your sexual dysfunction is caused by a nerve damage, then it’s a very complex condition that requires medical follow up from experienced physicians. Dilating the vessels won’t fix this problem.
The same goes for weight loss, there is no magical product or diet that will make you lose weight effortlessly while still eating whatever you want.
If you want to lose 100 pounds, you are going to have to work hard, you are going to be hungry, and you are going to make behavioral changes every single day in the effort of fighting the urges and keeping yourself on track.
Credible sources for nutrition education and health fraud myth-busting:
Passionate Nutrition is a book about the best scientific approaches to eating a healthy diet, it uses a simple language that is easy to understand for non-medical people, and it has a little bit of a personal touch of the author/certified nutritionist Jennifer Adler.
You can get this book using this link.
American Dietetic Association: www.eatright.org
This website is full of beneficial information, it gives amazing reviews on diet books, where you can confirm whether a book you found is legit or fraudulent, it also has hands out and information on functional foods, dieting tips. One thing I like about it the most is the nutritional tip of the day.
American College of Sports Medicine: www.acsm.org
This is the website to go to when it comes to exercise. It is simply the premium fitness website, you can find all the information you need related to the connection between your disease, the drugs you take; and whether it is healthy for you to exercise or not.
Centers for Disease Control: www.cdc.gov
If you have diabetes, arthritis, blood hypertension…etc. You’ll find solid information on your condition and a lot more information related to medical illnesses.
Food and Drug Administration: www.fda.gov
What I like about this website is that it gives information about recall information. Let’s say something gets recalled for instance, a type of peanut butter which has Salmonella species; you can go to this website and find all the products that were made by this peanut butter that has Salmonella. You’ll also find consumer warnings, and if a product is safe or not. All the food contamination information will be found on this website.
Food and Nutrition Information Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture: www.fnic.bal.usda.gov
It provides dietary guidelines for Americans, so this is a general information on the current state of the science related to food and nutrition.
Finally, your family’s physician is also a great source of nutrition, fitness, and overall health information.