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TwitThisQ. Anecdote or evidence?
A. Personal stories can be compelling but misleading. Imagine that you have a cold destined to last five days. Miserable, you take a "miracle vitamin" on the fifth day. Symptom-free the next morning, you conclude that the vitamin cured the cold, when it would have been gone anyway. Sounds obvious, but this sort of flawed thinking accounts for many supposed breakthroughs.
Q. How strong is the research?
A. The most reliable studies involve large numbers of subjects randomly assigned to get either the treatment or a placebo and are designed so that neither researchers nor subjects know who receives what. Animal studies and research without a control group can provide only preliminary suggestions, not final answers.
Q. Who's making the claim?
A. Find out what stake the proponent has in the idea, and be wary of people with something to sell --- whether a pill, program, or book.
Q. Does it pass the smell test?
A. Be skeptical of words like miracle and cure and of conspiracy theories explaining why experts aren't signing on. "Most conspiracy theories are just a tool to distract you from bad evidence," says Dr. Schwartz.
What health fads have you bought into? Leave a comment below and let us know!
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