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6 lies the internet tells you when you google your symptoms

In the past year, I’ve convinced myself that I had solar retinopathy, rhabdo, an abdominal aortic aneurysm, Lyme disease, appendicitis, and an abscessed tooth. (And that’s just a sampling of my would-be ailments.) I have a sickness, all right. But it’s none of those things. I’m a total hypochondriac—or, rather, a “cyberchondriac.” I’m addicted to […]

How the $3 trillion wellness industry confuses fact with fad

The Bookworm: The medically and fishing obsessed

For the last few days, you’ve had a tickle in your throat. It’s not much, just a hrrumph that’s gone from occasional to annoying. You’ve looked it up online and, well, it’s either allergies, a cold, or you’re going to die. But, as author Nina Shapiro, MD says in her new book, “Hype” (with Kristin […]

11 Things You Shouldn’t Do When Googling Health Symptoms

If you’re going to Google your symptoms—and everyone does—you might as well do it right. We asked experts about the most common mistakes people make. Here’s what they told us…

The Truth About the Keto Diet

“The premise is simple: Eat mostly fat, only a little protein, and a minuscule amount of carbs, and you can trick your body into burning its fat reserves for energy.” The Instagram hashtag #ketotransformation tells you everything you need to know about why the ketogenic diet is the most popular way to lose weight fast […]

Dr. Nina Shapiro on The Brain Candy Podcast

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Can You Believe It? Health Hype Vs. Medical Science

I went to medical school a long time ago. In another millennium, on another coast, in a galaxy far, far away. I’ve forgotten a lot of what I learned, back in the dark ages before Twitter, and even Facebook. But the information I’ve learned since then has more than made up for what I’ve lost. […]

A professor of medicine reveals what the SPF on your sunscreen really means

* Sunscreen, along with avoiding prolonged exposure to the sun, can help prevent skin cancer. * The SPF number on sunscreen stands for “sun protection factor,” and represents time the lotion will protect you — not its strength. * The sun emits two different types of rays: ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB). It […]

The ‘Attitude Roots’ Underlying Antivaccination Beliefs

Because of large-scale vaccination campaigns, diseases such as measles, mumps, and pertussis have reached levels of elimination or near-extinction. In recent years, however, there has been an increase in the incidence of these vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States and abroad. For example, there were 667 reported cases of measles in the United States in […]

Serious medicine or snake oil? New book Hype serves up what patients need to know

Dr. Nina Shapiro regularly encounters patients who have misinformed ideas about health. And it’s easy to see why, considering everyone, doctors included, are constantly inundated with health information in the form of news media, studies and advertising. “So much of it is not necessarily … wrong or false or fake, but it’s exaggerated and twisted […]