CLINICALLY PROVEN!!!

Between Bill Gates' microchips in our vaccines and climate change being "just a theory", the credibility of science has taken a real hit over the last decade. And few  have contributed more to the public skepticism toward science than nutritional supplement producers. It seems as though the Marketing Department is slapping Clinically Proven claims on just about everything they sell. The problem? Most of the claims are, while carefully worded to be legal, scientific BS.

A clinical trial sets a high bar, one many of the clinical trials cited by supplement sellers fail to clear. They often involve too few study subjects to provide any significant results, lack a control group or are observational studies (not clinical trials at all). And if by some chance the results do not turn out they way the sponsor wants the data is manipulated until they do (or the whole thing is just buried).

This sort of scientific dishonesty is good for no one but the seller. For someone like me, who sells supplement products, this creates a pervasive atmosphere of distrust that negatively impacts the many companies that deal honestly with the public, makes my job harder and discourages people from using products that might actually do them some good.

Do yourself a favor and regard claims of scientific proof with a skeptical eyes, especially of you encounter them on social media. Here are 9 questions that you can ask to help separate the facts from the fiction.

 

More Bad News About Vaping

 

 

Vaping is often touted as a "safer" way to smoke and the available evidence certainly suggests that it is less bad than cigarettes. But less bad is a very far cry from good. 

According to Dr. Michael Blaha, MD, at Johns Hopkins University, vaping is damaging to your heart and lungs, is just as addictive as cigarettes, is more or less useless for "trying to quit" and is addicting a whole new generation of young people. Less bad indeed.

A recent study done at Tuft's University that followed 13,000 people turned up yet more bad news about vaping.

Vaping liquids are sticky and contain sugary sweeteners that, when inhaled as an aerosol, stick the to teeth and create a hospitable environment for oral bacteria. In other words, it increases the odds of developing dental cavities. It was also observed that vaping seems to encourage decay in areas where it usually doesn’t occur—such as the bottom edges of front teeth. 

So better, maybe. But not much.