Mark's Daily Apple

Uno, Dos, Tres: 3 Health Products Debunked

There’s always some new product anxious to help you part with your hard-earned cash. Some products are healthy or helpful, but some are downright dishonest scams. These three have become popular of late. Don’t fall for the hype!

Oil pulling

Nonsensical and useless, the popularity of oil pulling persists. Through very particular “sieving” of an oil mixture in the mouth (think mouth rinse in slow motion), the oil supposedly draws toxins from the blood. If it were possible for oil to “pull” toxins out of the veins in the tongue, it would also be possible for oil to enter the bloodstream through your tongue. A molecule is a molecule. Toxins can’t “leak” out of your veins – if they could, you wouldn’t need to “pull” them out. Besides, even if toxins could “leak” from your veins, it would take far more than 15 or 20 minutes of “pulling” to cleanse your entire blood supply. Furthermore, fat-soluble toxins (the kind that would bind to oil) are not in the bloodstream. They are in your…fat cells! And on and on it goes. Read this terrific expose if you still think oil pulling is effective – it’s guaranteed to change your mind.

Posted By: Worker Bee

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It’s Shiny, But It’s Still a Scam

I got a question last week from reader Barbara about colloidal silver supplements. For the record, this alternative health remedy is both ineffective and unsafe. It’s the latter that concerns me most, of course. A lot of the things we do for health are ineffective (homeopathy for starters; glandulars are another). Others are actually dangerous (the fat-free diet trend of the 90s that’s contributed to our metabolic syndrome epidemic). Colloidal silver supplements fall into the dangerous category.

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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It’s All About the Synergy, Baby

Here’s a compelling op-ed from a chemistry PhD about the problem with randomized clinical trials. RCTs are the gold standard for testing effectiveness and safety. The problem, however, is that a randomized clinical trial puts the substance in question in a bubble. Remove the substance from its context, this writer argues, and you aren’t going to get an accurate picture.

Hang on, all ye fans of the FDA. I’ll explain. Randomized clinical trials are essential …

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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You Best Be Clickin’!

Worker Bees’ Daily Bites

Mark’s Daily Apple is 100% sugar-free. Are you?

Big Breakthroughs

Beats biopsies!

Down Syndrome discovery!

Smooth Criminal

You may recall last week’s little exploration of refreshing beverages overflowing with so many calories, even Bactrian camels would be concerned. Hey, a small, fiber-rich protein shake is one thing. But these sherbet-and-sugar-water pajama parties masquerading as …

Posted By: Worker Bee

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Top 10 Health Scams

The Tuesday 10:

There are hundreds of scams for weight loss, health, disease cures, and fitness, but here are the current rotten stinkers:

10. Hoodia

The only kind that works must be eaten fresh. And it’s banned from export because it’s a protected flora. This weight-loss gimmick even comes with the #1 dead giveaway of scams everywhere: a heretofore undiscovered culture/tribe has finally, miraculously, revealed their secret, conveniently, to a white man who can’t wait to share this …

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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