Multilevel marketing distributors of dietary supplements and essential oils point to studies that they think constitute evidence that their products work. They don’t understand why those studies are inadequate. I have written critiques of several dietary supplements sold through multilevel marketing (MLM) schemes, and they keep coming back to haunt… read more "Update on ASEA, Protandim, and dōTERRA"
On Guard, DōTERRA, Essential Oils, and a Lesson in Reading Research Studies
A study of On Guard, a mixture of essential oils, showed that it reduced the infectivity of influenza virus in dog kidney cells in the lab; but that’s irrelevant to the question of whether the product has any clinical effect in humans. Essential oils smell good, but the claims of… read more "On Guard, DōTERRA, Essential Oils, and a Lesson in Reading Research Studies"
Colloidal Silver, Smurfs, and Ebola
Colloidal silver is back! It competed in the ring of science and was thoroughly clobbered. If it had any dignity, it would have stayed down for the count and admitted defeat; but like some bizarre whack-a-mole or zombie it keeps stumbling back to its feet, wanting to fight again. This… read more "Colloidal Silver, Smurfs, and Ebola"
dōTERRA: Multilevel Marketing of Essential Oils
A stay-at-home mom recently e-mailed me. She is a former CAM user who once treated her infant’s colic with homeopathy but has since seen the light and is now thinking skeptically. She asked that I look into the dōTERRA company, seller of essential oils: concentrated extracts distilled from plants, containing the… read more "dōTERRA: Multilevel Marketing of Essential Oils"