20 Comments
User's avatar
Lindaloo's avatar

Will def pick up that book! Let’s add “hormone balancing” to the list of terms to watch out for.

But these false statements become sooo normalized…..🙄

Dr. Jen Gunter's avatar

Agree and the book is great!

Jamie's avatar

So important to know the credentials of the organization. For example the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) is the source of scientific knowledge for pediatrics. The ACPEDS(American College of Pediatricians) sounds trustworthy but is an organization that is promoting hpv vaccine misinformation, anti trans, anti anything but cis nuclear family living.

Dr. Jen Gunter's avatar

Yes, I think we will see more and more of these copy-cat hate groups

Ellie still in the mix in 26's avatar

Yes! A link would be helpful!

The current regime hates women. The women who are involved in it, in my completely unprofessional opinion, think if they are corrupt enough, the boyz won't hurt them.

I love the Internet and find it constantly amazing that all this information is at my fingertips. But sometimes, I think I was in some ways, better off, when I had to get on a bus to go downtown to the Central Library, to find answers to medical questions. Example: I had to have a Vitamin K injection the last time I was pregnant. It was awful - felt like liquid fire. I thought, "And they give this to newborn babies? My boys went through this?!" So, I took my ride downtown, and went through a number of books on medicine, pediatrics, vitamins...and found out why they gave it. My youngest child received the injection, as was the usual care, without objections from me.

Would the same hold true today, if all I had (as silly as that may sound) was the Internet? Thank you as always, Dr. Gunter. I wish someone like you was around, back in the Dark Ages, when I was young.

Alexa Kaskowitz's avatar

Excellent article and would absolutely love a list of reliable medical sources!

Mechele's avatar

Thank you and yes, please to #4.

JJ's avatar

Great post - thank you! And a huge “yes please” to any resources that are more reliable. I am constantly asking myself what are the credentials of the person and sources of the information. I have been seeking out other physicians who are the voices of reason rather than conveniently saying things I think I wish to hear. Even bringing healthy skepticism along with me as I read, it is easy to be snookered. I was even chatting with my GP about the whole “we can’t trust any Federal resources & certain states are also clearly suspect” problem. Would be interested in your thoughts about the regional affiliations some states have created in an effort to offer counterpoints to the corruption of so many previously valuable resources. I saw one such group being formed on each coast but have not heard much about them after formation.

Beverly Joyce, MD's avatar

Thank you for this. Soooo many online “voices” are selling their own supplements which detracts from their credibility in recommending them. I’ve subscribed to ConsumerLab.com for seemingly-unbiased information on supplements.

There are also many influencers in the “longevity” space recommending lots of unproven therapies which people are eager to use without data. Would love you to do a piece on this!

ABossy's avatar

Ha! Did you watch Don't Die with Bryan Johnson? I tracked down a paper from the Prospéra follistan program. It wouldn't have passed even a shoddy medical journal's standards 👎

Britt Stromberg's avatar

This is such an important post , Dr. Gunter. I was on IG last night and bombarded with ads from MIDI. Their influencer strategy and ad spend has skyrocketed since their most recent funding round, most certainly to fuel purchasing their supplements and creams, etc. which is the only way they will hit growth targets. Sadly, basic clinical care doesn’t get a VC funded company to profitability. So your campaign to educate about misinformation is very important. Props for Kate Starbird shoutout. She is doing the work. Love her.

Dr. Jen Gunter's avatar

The MIDI push is out of control. And when I speak about it on social media, I often get attacked by people defending them! They say "They have to make money somehow." I usually reply, you mean they need to get money from you to give to the millionaire and billionaire investors! Doctors can make money seeing patients, just no VC level money.

Karen Rile's avatar

Terrific post. I had not heard of his book--I'm going to get a copy. I also take genuine comfort in the few typos in your post. It means that you wrote it without the help of all the ubiquitous AI robots that intrude on our writing.

ABossy's avatar

Tip #1: The Road to Misinformation is Paved with Supplements

I want to make a poster of that and wave it at family dinners. We have several wannabe doctors in the house who just LUV to prescribe. Some of it is harmless, but when a cousin began pushing his self-concocted all-natural sunscreen with zero SPF or other blockers, I got furious. Now I've got a bit of a bad rep ☹️

Hope Perlman's avatar

Great post. Thank you. You’re like a solid mooring in the sea of confusion!

Mary Hunter's avatar

Great book! Another book on the topic of marketing masquerading as science is described on this (companion to book) website: womenshealthandcorporatemarketing.org

Desiree's avatar

Excellent talk with Tim Caulfield. I appreciate both of you. I'm so glad you posted about the talk because I didn't know about this series, even though I'm a huge BC Libraries user here in Whistler!

Paul Joannides, Psy.D.'s avatar

Before taking any supplements or vitamins, you should definitely read this. It is 100% true.

Robin S's avatar

This is a fantastic article.. Thank you Dr. Jen!