The Year in Health Fads (NYT)
This wasn't the weirdest year in health fads, but as Emily Bazelon, Amanda Schaffer and the New York Times' Topos Graphics point out, it was not a slow year either. By month, here's their list of the fads:
January: Don't take cough medicine if you have a cold.[thanks Art Caplan]February: Get circumcised.
March: Sleeping pills make you fat. So can sleep loss.
April: Don't pray for the sick.
May: Try Botox for the blues... and the bladder.
June: Drink lots of coffee.
July: Smoke marijuana. O.K., not quite.
August: Don't eat a lot of soy. Unless you have cancer.
September: Beware of leafy vegetables.
October: Go fish.
November: Cut back on marathon running.
December: Don't take antidepressants if you're so depressed you're suicidal.
Labels: health fads
