snake oil

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Monday, 6 February 2017 - 8:23pm

Published by Matthew Davidson on Mon, 06/02/2017 - 8:40pm in
advocate, snake oil

Through trial and error Joel overcame a range of food intolerances which lead him to identify a niche in the market. Around one in four Australians suffer a food intolerance of some description and as a solution, Joel has developed a range of fresh, healthy meal choices that not only taste great, but also accommodate a wide range of common food intolerances.

One in four? According to whom? Any even mildly debilitating health problem suffered by 25% of the population is a major public health issue, not something to be solved by plucky food truck entrepreneurs. Actual medical research, as opposed to self-reported conviction, puts the figure at about one-tenth of that (eg. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2222.2008.03184.x), but let's not permit science to get in the way of a little entrepreneurship.

If you're going to make claims of medical efficacy based on "trial and error" and a sample size of one, why stop at one in four? Why not get into the diagnosis market and make that three in four? Coffs is hardly short of well-to-do cretins desperate to be cured of imaginary ailments.

Give me gluten-free flour, or give me death! I want to take my snake oil as a burger to go. Ooh, and a kale and chipboard smoothy. And a side order of those healing crystals. My spirit guide says they're delicious.

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Tuesday, 9 February 2016 - 12:06pm

Published by Matthew Davidson on Tue, 09/02/2016 - 12:06pm in
woo, mystic meg, fraud, snake oil

Sigh. I can't even be bothered to make some sarcastic quip. It's all too sad.

In years to come, the Mid North Coast will be an anthropological puzzle, like Easter Island. How did this enclave of morons within an advanced western society come to so fear flouride that they took to drinking exclusively from stagnant ponds? As once-eradicated diseases tore through the population of unvaccinated children, how could their parents be so sure that their symptoms were entirely caused by gluten intolerance? As the last handful of survivors lay dying in agony, their spines buckled by the accumulated weight of crystals and charms, why did they persist in refusing medical assistance, instead demanding magnetic pillows, wheatgrass detox shakes, tarot readings, and ear candles?

UPDATE: Now you can detox with lead!

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