There is a silent war being waged in the natural health world. The battle is between those who are genuinely interested in helping people to improve their health and those who are just pushing products without good science or even a historical tradition of use.
The foremost rule in healing is, “first do no harm.” Unfortunately, deceitful marketing propaganda often convinces innocent people that harmful things are harmless. As a result, people who are trying to heal themselves get hurt and sometimes even die.
For example, let’s take MMS, a solution of 28% sodium chlorite that degrades into chlorine dioxide when administered as directed by Jim Humble, MMS’s foremost proponent. People in the natural world have been concerned for years about the effects of adding chlorine to municipal water supplies. There is some research showing it interferes with iodine absorption and causes thyroid issues, even in the very dilute doses used. Yet proponents of MMS advocate ingesting much higher doses than are found in city water supplies.
The fact is the effects of chlorine dioxide are identical to ingesting bleach, which include nausea, vomiting, even death. Yet Humble has convinced a handful of passionate marketers and alternative practitioners that MMS will cure everything from malaria to cancer, all without a shred of evidence. This is just one of many examples of products that are being marketed by passionate proponents without real historical or scientific evidence to back up their safety or effectiveness. The sad thing about this is that it makes the whole natural health industry look bad in the eyes of reputable scientists and medical professionals as well as informed people in the general public.
So, what do you look for to determine if a product may be safe and effective versus one being marketed on hype? Here are some things to consider:
