Science Advocacy
Science Advocacy
Welcome to Bad Science on the Internet! Here, we highlight some of the crazy and sometime dangerous stuff people post online, and then give you the facts.
The bad science: A recent article circulating around Facebook claims that the new flu vaccines don’t work and are actually dangerous because of new additives in the vaccines.
What do they claim? The main claims are that the new flu vaccines are not safe and that it’s less risky to skip the vaccine this year and risk the flu.
Are they trying to sell you something? Just the usual anti-vaccine conspiracy theory madness. This article was distributed on Facebook by a site called “Earth We Are One”, but there is no tag line identifying the author or even giving a date. It’s not clear who wrote this or why.
Is any of this true? It is actually amazing how little of this is true. Let’s go point-by-point!
Welcome to Bad Science on the Internet! Here, we highlight some of the crazy and sometime dangerous stuff people post online, and then give you the facts.
The bad science: There is a viral post making the rounds on Facebook claiming that mixing tomatoes and cucumbers together is “not beneficial to your health”. Several people have asked me about this – thanks, Maureen H!
What do they claim? I’m going to quote the entirety of their argument, because it’s funnier this way:
“Tomatoes and cucumbers have different digestion time and mixing them can cause health complications. The bad food combination can trigger digestive problems such as stomach ache, gas, nausea and bloating. Cucumbers also contain a substance that destroys vitamin C in tomatoes. So it is more beneficial to our health to eat cucumbers without any additions.”
This is actually all over the internet! I found another site that claims this combination could kill you! They make no mention of how this could kill you, but they do say that you should never eat a watermelon with another kind of melon, because “these fruits were meant to be eaten alone, not in combination with any other fruit”. As if the watermelon plant’s feelings might be hurt if you mixed the flesh of it’s fruit that that of another species. That’s melon racism, and it’s not cool.
Welcome to Bad Science on the Internet! Here, we highlight some of the crazy and sometime dangerous stuff people post online, and then give you the facts.
The bad science: There is a viral post making the rounds on Facebook claiming that Heinz Katchup is dangerous
What do they claim? They make vague claims that Heinz Ketchup is poisonous and dangerous and maybe even causes cancer
Are they trying to sell you something? Only misinformation as far as I can tell. Maybe alternative ketchup brands?
Is any of this true? No. This article was clearly written by someone who doesn’t really understand basic science. Let’s look at each baseless claim one at a time!
The bad science: Shark cartilage as a cancer therapy
What do they claim? They claim shark cartilage can prevent or cure cancer.
Are they trying to sell you something? Of course, and it’s not cheap.
Is any of this true? The suggestion that shark cartilage could cure or prevent cancer seems to have originated from the belief that sharks don’t get cancer at all. There are two things wrong with this: First, just because another organism has a biological or physiologic attribute that we as humans may admire, this does not mean that EATING that organism will confer upon you or I these attributes. Here are some examples:
The bad science: Miracle Autism Cures
What do they claim? They claim to “cure” Autism
Are they trying to sell you something? Of course they are…
Is any of this true? Nope. Let’s start out by making it clear that there is no cure for autism. Anyone telling you they have a cure is lying. It’s also important to note that autism is an extremely varied condition. Symptoms can range from mild difficulties with social interaction to repetitive or obsessive behaviors, all the way to severe communication issues. Curing any one of these symptoms is generally not possible, let alone curing the entire constellation of autistic behaviors.
The Bad Science: Negative Ion Bracelets
What Do They Claim? Wearing a bracelet will cure your seasonal affective disorder (ironically termed “SAD”)
Are they trying to sell you something? All manner of bracelets – some more fashionable than others.Continue reading…
