Pseudoscience and bad advice

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  • lulabox
    lulabox Posts: 96 Member
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    “As someone who is trained in science and has a reasonable grasp of reading research papers I (hopefully) am reasonably well equipped at spotting the rubbish. But it’s more difficult for people not involved in science. For those I would offer 5 pieces of advice.
    Ignore any article which:
    *Eludes to some conspiracy that “they” are trying to cover up.
    *Tries to sell you something.
    *Does not give clear references to where they got the data from.
    *Uses statements like “As everyone knows”, “it is common sense that...”, or “As generations before us have known...” (it’s not that these phrases are bad in themselves it’s just that anyone who wrote a serious, peer reviewed article or paper, and included, say “It is commonly known that eating more calories than you expend will lead to weight gain.” The reviewer would immediately reply with “If it is commonly known please provide a citation to the key experiments and papers which prove this point”. Therefore phrases like those above indicate that the article or paper has not been reviewed or has been reviewed by people who do not have a clue.)
    *If it’s on the front page of the Daily Mail or Telegraph laugh it off. <non UK members may not get this little tongue-in -cheek dig at the UK press>

    Thanks and this is great advice!! Especially the Daily Mail comment hehehe :P
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    *Eludes to some conspiracy that “they” are trying to cover up.

    Alludes surely? Unless they're trying to hide the cover up of the cover up of the conspiracy.

    I do hope your reading of scientific journals is more careful than you choice of words. :-)

    (Stand back, man. I *am* a scientist....)
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    5382848686_c3a2ce6678.jpg
  • BioQueen
    BioQueen Posts: 694 Member
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    I 110% agree with this. Scientific literature can easily be misinterpreted or spun to meet the needs of a specific school of thought regarding exercise and nutrition. Even after reading studies from the primary sources they can be difficult to apply to practical purposes. However, they are the only sources with scientific backing.
  • Aperture_Science
    Aperture_Science Posts: 840 Member
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    *Eludes to some conspiracy that “they” are trying to cover up.

    Alludes surely? Unless they're trying to hide the cover up of the cover up of the conspiracy.

    I do hope your reading of scientific journals is more careful than you choice of words. :-)

    (Stand back, man. I *am* a scientist....)

    Hehehe... you got me!
  • LiveEnjoyEndure
    LiveEnjoyEndure Posts: 98 Member
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    Seriously doctors! Peer Reviewed Seriously!

    I am a scientist trust me ... LOL.

    This web site is about people supporting each other to make changes to their lives. IMAO ... you don't need a PhD to use this site, just a bit of common sense, which in my experience people with PhDs tend to lack.

    BTW: It is anal sphincter curling the amount of times you have mentioned your PhD in this thread!
  • Collinsky
    Collinsky Posts: 593 Member
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    Seriously doctors! Peer Reviewed Seriously!

    I am a scientist trust me ... LOL.

    This web site is about people supporting each other to make changes to their lives. IMAO ... you don't need a PhD to use this site, just a bit of common sense, which in my experience people with PhDs tend to lack.

    BTW: It is anal sphincter curling the amount of times you have mentioned your PhD in this thread!

    I wish there was an emoticon that stood up and cheered. I'd use it now.
  • cessnaholly
    cessnaholly Posts: 780 Member
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    bump
  • pixlamarque
    pixlamarque Posts: 312 Member
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    Seriously doctors! Peer Reviewed Seriously!

    I am a scientist trust me ... LOL.

    This web site is about people supporting each other to make changes to their lives. IMAO ... you don't need a PhD to use this site, just a bit of common sense, which in my experience people with PhDs tend to lack.

    BTW: It is anal sphincter curling the amount of times you have mentioned your PhD in this thread!


    Amen. :flowerforyou:



    Personally, I consider it positive population control. Dummy takes bad advice from random internet poster>>dummy has bad result>>less dummies in the world. Score.
  • pixlamarque
    pixlamarque Posts: 312 Member
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    Besides, I see lots of people on here who have medical doctors recommending HCG diet and the like. That really takes a Ph.D. There are many good doctors out there but there are many bad ones as well and most of the ones I know (and I've worked in medicine for nearly 20 years) do not know squat about diet, nutrition, and healthy weight loss.
  • hpynh2o
    hpynh2o Posts: 194 Member
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    there is a lot of pseudoscience floating around on some threads on metabolism/medical topics, ranging from the plain ridiculous to the slightly dubious.


    Thanks for the insightful observation and perhaps, some of the best advice I've read here.
  • MikeG0307
    MikeG0307 Posts: 4 Member
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    In conclusion.... Research, find what works with you and GO FOR IT!



    And don't be nasty to others who may have found another way that works for them :) Share don't scare!

    I agree with ^^that^^, 110%.
  • MikeG0307
    MikeG0307 Posts: 4 Member
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    In conclusion.... Research, find what works with you and GO FOR IT!



    And don't be nasty to others who may have found another way that works for them :) Share don't scare!

    I agree with ^^that^^.
  • philOHIO
    philOHIO Posts: 520 Member
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    Dr. Oz and Men's Health Magazine are excellent sources on diet info. So I don't agree that all magazines and TV info is bad. If you get your health advice from an infomercial, then YES - your point is well taken.
  • onedayillbamilf
    onedayillbamilf Posts: 662 Member
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    Hmmm...ppl should think for themselves. I'm a nurse and still don't follow most NIH, CDC, Mayo Clinic rules. Give me some butter and bacon and take your grains.

    I like butter and bacon
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
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    - Trusting national (non-commercial) health bodies and not-for-profit medical charities (and I do mean medical - no holistic or alternative medicine sources): NHS, British Heat Foundation, Cancer Research etc.
    - Trusting health advice posted on reputable university websites or medical websites: Harvard Public Health, Columbia Medical school etc.
    - Your doctor.

    Sorry you can't trust national health bodies or medical websites or certainly your own doctor in a lot of cases. A lot of it is based on flawed scientific studies. A perfect example is dietary fat. The general consensus over the last 50 years was that too much dietary fat is bad. Too bad scientist Ancel Keys was wrong about dietary fat and cholesterol.

    I don't know who you can trust honestly. You must use your intuition. You must cross-reference any advice you get with a number of different sources.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Wait. What?!? You mean I shouldn't take nutrition advice from someone on MFP even if they show me a pic their abs?? Why that's just, just, oh what's the word I'm looking for?? Oh yeah. Sensible.
  • stroutman81
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    bumpity bump
  • Aperture_Science
    Aperture_Science Posts: 840 Member
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    You must cross-reference any advice you get with a number of different sources.

    But if you had done that 10-15 years ago you would have STILL come to the conclusion that dietary fat was bad since that was the prevailing message of the day?

    Science may not have the answers to every thing, scientists often dispute each others theories, and science has not always been right since the dawn of time; ideas are challenged and often crumble under scrutiny. But, at the centre of scientific study is the goal of finding the truth.

    Intuition??!

    I think it was Dara O'Briain who said:

    "science *knows* it doesn't know everything, otherwise it would stop. . . . Just because science doesn't know everything doesn't mean that you can fill in the gaps with whatever fairy tale most appeals to you"
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
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    You must cross-reference any advice you get with a number of different sources.

    But if you had done that 10-15 years ago you would have STILL come to the conclusion that dietary fat was bad since that was the prevailing message of the day?

    Science may not have the answers to every thing, scientists often dispute each others theories, and science has not always been right since the dawn of time; ideas are challenged and often crumble under scrutiny. But, at the centre of scientific study is the goal of finding the truth.

    Intuition??!

    I think it was Dara O'Briain who said:

    "science *knows* it doesn't know everything, otherwise it would stop. . . . Just because science doesn't know everything doesn't mean that you can fill in the gaps with whatever fairy tale most appeals to you"

    So how do you decide what to believe when faced with conflicting evidence?

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