October
2007
Uno, Dos, Tres: 3 Health Products Debunked
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Times change, but snake oil remains.
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.
Homeopathic Compact Discs
Oh, brother. There are some discs out there that apparently “transmit” homeopathic waves to your body via your computer. What will they come up with next? See Mark’s scathing breakdown of homeopathy - or, more accurately, of bad science.
Toxin-Removing Skin Patches
Patches that claim to draw toxins out of the skin are bogus. It’s simply not possible.
Further reading to protect your pocketbook and your health:
Worst Health Scams (from hoodia to cellulite treatments to oxygenated water)
The Mesunique Scam (and more)
- via New Scientist
Technorati Tags: scams, snake oil, bad science, health products, oil pulling, homeopathy, toxins, skin patch
The “expose” on oil pulling seems to link to a pro-oil pulling site? I am confused and curious.
Yeah, I’m thinking the “oilpulling.com” link was pasted twice by accident because both links are the same, there’s no expose link. Still, thanks for the info, I hadn’t even heard of it before.
Oops, thanks for catching that, Lemur. It has been switched.
Thanks for changing it, Sara.
And just FYI, the link is still slightly wrong, it’s got an extra “/” at the end that will take you to a “can’t locate that file” page. If you delete that “/” the page will load correctly.
Sorry, not trying to be a nitpicker!
Ummm…I thought oil pulling was not to remove toxins from your blood, but to remove bacteria from between your teeth, kind of like flossing. The whole toxins thing sound bogus, but just cleaning your gums seems possible.
You are not nit picking!
I am clearly html challenged this weekend 
Thanks!
I decided to try oil pulling instead of taking antibiotics to get rid of a sinus infection. I figured it was worth a try, and if it didn’t work, then I’d go to the doctor and take whatever was perscribed to me. The first day that I tried, my headaches went away. My sinus infection is gone, and I haven’t done anything differently other than the oil pulling. My skin looks a lot better and my teeth are stronger. I don’t know about it being a “cure-all” for disease, but I do know that it has helped me out. It’s worth a try considering it’s only $5 for a bottle of sesame oil (that you can cook with if the pulling doesn’t work). With all of the money spent on drugs and supplements, $5 doesn’t seem so bad.