September 26th, 2011 by Steve Novella, M.D. in Health Policy, Opinion
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It is an unfortunate truth that there is money in pseudoscience, particularly medical pseudoscience. Money both attracts charlatans and also funds their activities, which includes marketing pseudoscience and defending their claims from scientific scrutiny. In this way the game is rigged in favor of pseudoscience.
With0ut effective regulation, sites like ours are forced to play whack-a-mole with the medical pseudoscience du jour. The latest case in point is Titanium Ion Bands – which are just another version of the Power Balance bands that have been previously exposed as nonsense. The idea is that by wearing a small bracelet on one wrist you will experience improved athletic performance. This sounds impossible – because it is. But companies have successfully bamboozled enough of the public to rake in millions.
The marketing strategy is three-fold. First, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
June 20th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Humor, News, Opinion, Research
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Few medical products tickle our imagination as much as this one. We present for your consideration “Goodnighties” made from patented Ionx fabric.
THE CLAIM (from goodnighties.com):
All About Ionx®
Some have called it a ‘miracle,’ but the benefits of Goodnighties® is really the result of nature meeting science in a process called ionization. Ionization under the patented brand name ‘Ionx’ is the process that saturates the fabric with negative ions –- more than 20 times found in nature.
Wearing Goodnighties with Ionx close to the body has been proven to increase blood flow thus reducing inflammation, improving muscle function, speeding recovery and reducing muscle aches and pains.
For years ionized fabric has been used by the medical community, professional athletes, Olympic teams, the military and astronauts because of these amazing benefits. Even race horses have enjoyed the restorative properties of negative ions in fabric used for blankets and leg wraps.
Goodnighties is the first and only sleepwear with Ionx. While wearing Goodnighties you will experience the benefits of balanced ions while you sleep so you’ll wake up rested, restored and rejuvenated. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
