Be-Well Information

Have you seen testimonials by Oprah Winfrey and other big names for diet plans, pills, you name it?

Oprah is Billionaire because she relates well to people. She readily gives out advice on weight loss and other health matters, including pills and green tea. She is an expert on diet plans because she has tried so many.

Think about it.

She is constantly seeking quick cures because she is unwilling to adjust her caloric intake to her needs. She is the last person in the world to be believed for health advice of any kind.

How about winner of 14 Olympic Gold Medals, Michael Phelps? For a few bucks, he endorsed Kellogs Frosted Flakes (until he was photographed smoking pot). This upset numerous dentists because that cereal contains three times as much sugar as Wheaties and only a fraction of the fiber. Anyone not a calorie burning athlete should be concerned about the dangers of refined sugar in diet.

Health Tip #1: If a friend, neighbor, or relative suggests things that might help your health, weight control, et cetera, say “thanks” and see if you can find confirmation from reliable sources on the internet or in library.

Health Tip #2: If a celebrity endorses some pill, plan, or process to enhance your health or lose weight, see if you can find confirmation from reliable sources on the internet or in library.

Health Tip #3: If a politician, pop star, priest, or TV host speaks out for some pill, plan, or process to enhance your health or lose weight, see if you can find confirmation from reliable sources on the internet or in library.

Even if your mother tells you chicken soup will cure your back pains or bald spot, “it ain’t necessarily so.”

So much damage has been done by unqualified endorsements that there are now amateur and professional scientists monitoring what comes out of the mouths of famous people about health, and more.

Of course, some screwball advice has even come from scientists.

Linus Pauling won two Nobel Prizes (chemistry and peace), but he was wrong to recommend massive doses of vitamin C to cure everything from cancer to old age. He was talking outside his expertise and without corroboration. But pill companies were glad to have his endorsements to help peddle macro doses of vitamins.

Almost anyone can declare her/him self an expert and get up on a soap box. That’s why we get so many spam emails offering miraculous cures for everything from toenail fungus to excess weight. Quite often, these broadcast mails cite some celebrity as proof that the offered product is worth every penny. Right now, my spam emails seem to favor Oprah as the world’s health expert.

Yuch!

But other television personalities are also guilty. Sarah Beeney (English TV) gushed about ‘lovely make-up and moisturizers which don’t have any chemicals in them’ [Celebrities and Science 2007 – Review, Sense About Science]. The fact is that only a total vacuum greater than that of space would be chemical-free. Any substance contains chemicals.

Even when you think the promotional message is citing good references, exercise caution. For example, I used to see an awful lot of mentions about the “Mayo Clinic Diet.” This was posted on their site, mayoclinic-dot-com, August 22, 2003: “Mayo Clinic diet: It doesn’t exist. A number of so-called ‘Mayo Clinic diets’ have surfaced over the years. None of these originated at or are endorsed by Mayo Clinic.”

Here’s a sample of articles found with Google Search.
“The Trouble With Celebrity Science”, by Anne Underwood, Readers Digest June 2009.

“The dangers of ‘celebrity science’”, by Tim Black, Tuesday 8 January 2008

Science for Celebrities has a list of articles and audio downloads.

Don’t just take my word for it. Follow up with your own web searches.
For the most part, Celebrity Science Sucks!