I was growing tired of the same ‘ol, boring oral ingestion of my coffee. At the same time, I was made aware of the growing popularity of coffee enemas, which now had celebrity endorsement, and could done at home with the “Implant O-rama” – which sounded like something a clown doctor would use. So, I needed to first confirm the benefits of the coffee enema. The local barista was no help, so I perused the...
I was recently reminded of an "old wive's tale" that a bar of soap under the bed sheet can reduce everything from muscle cramps and restless leg syndrome to arthritis. As ridiculous as it sounded to me, I scoured the internet, and was astonished at how many people were claiming this trick works. What Do People Claim? Some say they use a small bar of soap, while others chose a large bar. Some put the soap...
‘Tis the shopping season. Stores are making their big end of the year pushes to get “into the black” (make a profit), alongside the psychological tactics (mostly subconscious) to get us to spend our money. For example, this review on the effects of retail atmosphere on shopping behavior reminds managers that, “...consumers may not always be aware of particular facets of the retail atmosphere, even when it is influencing their behavior. These findings suggest that particular...
"Lose tongue fat with this one, weird old tip." "Burn tongue fat with this workout." "7 secrets to losing stubborn tongue fat." Unfortunately, I could see headlines such as these in the future, due to recent interest in and research on tongue fat. In this case, the concern for excessive tongue fat comes from its potential role in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) – sleep disorder characterized by brief and repeated pauses in breathing during sleep. OSA...
Update! With what little research we had back at this this same time in 2015, we concluded that it was “unlikely” that elevation trainings masks actually simulated altitude training. (see original post below) It did not make sense that it would work conceptually or physiologically for aerobic variables, but perhaps more advantageous for respiratory muscles, because it is just harder to breath in these things. But, at that time there was little research. I predicted that...
Waist training is the process of wearing a modern take on a Victorian era corset in order to (1) provide an instant slimming, hourglass figure effect, (2) motivate one to improve posture and eat healthier, and (3) eventually, over continued use, physically change the shape of the rib cage (smaller). Several celebrities have made waist training the recent craze, with a number of them taking selfies while wearing the corset, or being caught by the paparazzi...
Watch out Wonder Woman, "ionized" or energy bracelets have gained recent attention, claiming everything from the ability to "energize the whole body" to "relieve the body of pain". Ions are electrically charged molecules, and are thought to optimize the body's natural positive energy or chi. The majority of these bracelets contain a high percentage of copper, which is a metal that holds a positive electrical charge, while being a good conductor of electricity. Claims In typical fallacy fashion,...
Sweating off fat is 'hot' again. As typical, such fallacies receive ample help from media outlets featuring 'hot' products, such the Zaggora Hot Pants, which claim to target trouble areas, enhance metabolism, and drench your bum in sweat. Other products, such as the traditional sauna suits and body wraps are also taking advantage of the 'what goes around comes around' swing of this fallacy. But, can we really sweat away fat? History Products have long claimed...
What goes around, comes around…body wraps are now popular again! Body wraps have been common in spas or salons for years, utilizing linen sheets, blankets, bandages, plastic, cellophane or rubber wraps. Originally, the wraps were full body, with the goal of trying to induce as much water loss as possible through perspiration, much like a sweat or sauna suit, which comes from the same idea. The desire for spot-reduction of inches encouraged use of smaller wraps...
In response to allegations that they deceptively advertised the effects of their "toning" shoes to customers, Skechers reportedly agreed to pay $50 million to settle with the Federal Trade Commission, alongside 44 states and the District of Columbia. This is following Reebok settling in 2011 for $25 million for similar false claims for their own version of the toning shoe. Another fad product bites the dust. I knew this was coming, because research has shown that...