Snake Oil

Years ago there was a promise being advertised on radio stations across the country. People who wanted to lose weight effortlessly were told they simply needed to take chitin and that, along with a couple very simple habit changes, would cause their weight to simply melt away.

Two things always bothered me about those commercials.

The first was that chitin is found—in among other places—bug exoskeletons. Where was the proof that bug skins would cause weight loss? (Back then there were no tests to look to, but all studies done since seem to show that chitin does not do what was being promised.)

The second problem I had was that this program claimed to work when the consumer cut out sodas and quit eating three hours before bedtime. You could eat anything you wanted and as much as you wanted but as long as you took chitin and followed those other two rules you would lose weight. My contention was that the chitin had nothing to do with the weight loss. And, even though I wasn’t overweight at the time, I tried a little experiment.

When I cut all sodas and quit eating three hours before bed time I lost as much weight or more than the ads claimed I would, all without buying and taking their bug pills. The key to success was healthier habits and not some easy fix.

Since those days the chitin claims have gone away, but there are more and more claims every day of products to which we should look to replace healthy choices and hard work.

When I was a kid I used to see movies and TV shows about the “Old West” days where charlatans sold some sort of snake oil to gullible crowds promising to heal all sorts of ails. I used to pity those poor crowds. They couldn’t see a list of ingredients or results of careful studies to help them evaluate the claims of the salesmen. They didn’t have the mobility to chase the men down once they left town or to warn others about their lies. I used to think how glad I was that those days were over. How naïve I was!

We are told that in our current postmodern world people decide what they want to believe and then ignore all evidence on the subject. Truth is no longer about reality, but simply about what makes us feel good. The current state of medicine and nutrition science demonstrates this so clearly. From demonized vaccinations to magic supplements that fix all our problems, it seems we live in a modern day wild, wild west.

(More thoughts along this line here.)