Quack, Quack, Quackery Everywhere…

Am I the only person on the planet who actually researches the information other people send to me rather than just take it at bona fide face value?

I suppose one of the downsides of having been active on the Internet for over 25 years is the fact that lots of people know who you are from various groups and forums along the way, and so they always want to share their opinions with you.

One of the things that quite often gets shared with me is "perfectly helpful" information — I'm sure — concerning health issues. I appreciate it (up to a degree) because after all it means somebody's taking the time to look out for me, but I sometimes have to wonder about whether these people ever look at what they're sending and what their motivations for believing what they believe actually are.

Why on God's green earth would you actually believe that staring directly at the sun for 10 minutes a day and drinking a glass of water with three drops of bleach in it will cure cancer?

And why do you believe that most long established medical wisdom is complete nonsense but some random group of people — who actually have no medical training whatsoever — are smarter than the entire medical profession, and suggest that all your problems will be solved if you eat 2 lbs of papayas every day?

Anyway, the point is that I tend to exercise due diligence; that is to simply go about researching the individuals and their background that that this information is being espoused by.

99% of the time just a little bit of research reveals that these people dispensing medical advice are on an almost endless list of "quack watch" websites, and quite a few are even wanted in their home countries for impersonating doctors when in fact they're not.

Don't get me wrong, I have little doubt that there are approaches to health out there that the medical profession has not yet discovered, but how about exercising a little common sense before blindly jumping into a regime that's more likely to make you ill than well??

And the first piece of common sense you might want to look at is simply human nature.

Now, let me make it clear that I am not talking about tried and true approaches from Eastern medicine that have not been embraced by western doctors because "Big Pharma" isn't involved... I'm taking about the truly fringe stuff people get attached to.

If something is super easy, readily accessible, and highly effective then why isn't everybody doing it? After all, we humans are absolutely brilliant at the whole "monkey see, monkey do" gig, particularly if something we find challenging in life turns out to have an "easy button."

Isn't it remotely possible that the reason why no information about this "revolutionary" treatment — from 10 years ago — is available that it's simply a lie, being pushed out there by someone with a personal axe to grind, of some kind?

So what's my actual point here?

Seems like the entire idea of "staying healthy" and medical advice has become a giant shitshow. I think back to some of my older relatives — many of whom lived into their 90s without really seeing the doctor very often or for more than an occasional checkout — and they generally just lived good lives based on a philosophy of "everything in moderation."

For example, my auntie lived to be 94 years old: she had a beer with lunch every day and bacon and eggs occasionally, and otherwise grew her own vegetables and cooked all of her food from scratch.

What she did not do was sit down and eat more pizza than she really could fit in her stomach day after day and washed it down was some kind of highly sugared carbonated soda. And she didn't consider candy and chocolate a "food group." She also got up and moved all the time, taking care of the 24 acres of land around her and riding her bicycle to the shops to get groceries.

Most of the time, it strikes me that people turn to dubious practices and outright quackery because they don't want to look at the fact that it's their lifestyle that's unhealthy, not their actual bodies. And in order to get healthy, they might have to substitute home cooked meals made from fresh ingredients for a couple of Big Macs and a Super Big Gulp!

Wishful thinking abounds, I suppose. But is it ever really more than just a wish, designed as a balm over a less comfortable reality?

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week ahead!

How about you? Do you have friends who suggest very "dubious" ideas for better health? Have you ever seen them actually work? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2025.03.24 00:17 PDT
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