False Facebook Health Messages

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Oncology.

I feel like there's a disturbing trend that's getting more and more common. People put words on pictures and share them online as fact. They get shared around social media as fact and get so much attention. If real, evidence based health information got shared half as often we'd be in good shape. The examples are getting more and more egregious, too. This nonsense is believed, but truth is dismissed as a conspiracy by the government or "Big Pharma."

Examples of this I've seen just this week:

2 handfuls of Cashews is equivalent to a dose of Prozac (this one specified as "prescription dose. Don't want to get confused with any of that over the counter Prozac).

Graviola Fruit is apparently 100,000x more powerful chemotherapy, but we don't know about it because "Big Pharma" can't make money off of it. I wonder which chemotherapies? Oh...ALL the chemotherapies, no doubt.

Finally, apparently Johns Hopkins admitted this week that diet and exercise and other lifestyle changes can cure cancer.

Hopefully most people are smart enough not to discontinue their cancer treatment or SSRI's in lieu of fruit and nuts.

Le sigh.

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Specializes in ER.

Nothing new under the sun. I remember Steve McQueen taking coffee enemas to cure his cancer way back when. People were sleeping under pyramids to live longer. And I the remember the crystal fad. Parents would dangle a crystal in front of their child's ear to cure ear aches.

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Specializes in Oncology.
Nothing new under the sun. I remember Steve McQueen taking coffee enemas to cure his cancer way back when. People were sleeping under pyramids to live longer. And I the remember the crystal fad. Parents would dangle a crystal in front of their child's ear to cure ear aches.

How do people come up with this stuff?

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Johns Hopkins has a statement on their website that they never stated, published or conducted research to say that diet & lifestyle can cure cancer. Nothing more than an urban legend.

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Johns Hopkins has a statement on their website that they never stated, published or conducted research to say that diet & lifestyle can cure cancer. Nothing more than an urban legend.

That ridiculous Hopkins "admission" has been making the rounds since 2007. On a Wordpress blog.

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All the crazy "Dr Oz approves of this" crap drives me up a tree

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And this proves there really IS someone for everyone:

Florida Couple Addicted to Coffee Enemas - ABC News

Regardless of the dearth of valid evidence to support any benefits whatsoever of coffee enemas....there you go.

I particularly liked the part where she stopped the enemas for a bit, only to end up in the ED with kidney stones. Yeah......stuffing Arabica up your orifice is definitely going to stop kidney stones from forming.

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Specializes in Cardicac Neuro Telemetry.

I saw something circulating facebook a few months ago called "oil pulling". The claim is that if you swish coconut oil around your mouth for 20 minutes every day, ailments such as migraines, diabetes mellitus, asthma can be improved or cured. Unless there has been some sort of study to back this up, I find myself very suspicious of these claims.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

Don't even get me started on Dr. Oz. I'm on a weight loss forum, and OMG the things people bring up, particularly ones endorsed by he who will endorse anything offering a paycheck.

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Specializes in Oncology.
I saw something circulating facebook a few months ago called "oil pulling". The claim is that if you swish coconut oil around your mouth for 20 minutes every day, ailments such as migraines, diabetes mellitus, asthma can be improved or cured. Unless there has been some sort of study to back this up, I find myself very suspicious of these claims.

Yes! I've seen this too! Apparently you spot out toxins with the oil? Sounds disgusting.

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Don't even get me started on Dr. Oz. I'm on a weight loss forum, and OMG the things people bring up, particularly ones endorsed by he who will endorse anything offering a paycheck.

That's why I can't stand the quack! Love the Abe Lincoln quote too LOL

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
That's why I can't stand the quack! Love the Abe Lincoln quote too LOL

Every time someone brings up something about Dr. Oz, I swear I tense up! I had to start watching it because for a time, my MIL kept coming to me with all these things that he was claiming, and I wanted to know what she was talking about.

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