Tag: bad science

Top five ‘uses’ for crystals

I’ve been involved in skepticism for the last seven years. I’ve been one of the organisers for the Merseyside Skeptics Society for five years and a co-host of Skeptics with a K for three years. In this time of actively researching some of the more ridiculous pseudoscientific claims, one of the things I enjoy coming back to time and time again are the use of crystals.

Crystals epitomise many of the ‘appeals’ of pseudoscience. They’re natural, they’re ancient, they’re beautiful, they’re accessible and they’re easy. Speak to anyone who endorses the use of crystals as a way of healing and supporting your body and they’ll tell you that different crystals have different properties and can be used for different purposes. They’re a quick fix for your anxiety problems, they’ll bring you good luck for that job interview, they’ll even cleanse your chakras…

So here are my top five ‘uses’ for crystals.

  • The Jade Egg

This item hit headlines worldwide last year when Gwyneth Paltrow herself endorsed the use of jade eggs through her popular ‘wellness’ website, GOOP. The jade egg is a small piece of jade, shaped like an egg, that proponents recommend people who have a vagina should hold inside of their vagina. This ancient practice is recommended for supporting and training the pelvic floor or Kegel muscles. Jade is said to have properties which allow it to cleanse negative energy from the centre of “intuition, power, and wisdom” – the vagina. It should be said that not only is the use of jade for this is completely unsupported by the scientific evidence. It might also be actively detrimental for users. According to Dr Jen Gunter, gynaecologist and all-round gem (pun intended…) jade is particularly porous and therefore carrying a crystal inside the body can lead to bacterial infections developing in the vagina. Not to mention that over-enthusiastic Kegel training can actually cause pelvic pain for some women.

Claim: “Jade eggs can help cultivate sexual energy, clear chi pathways in the body, intensify femininity, and invigorate our life force. To name a few!”

Cost: A jade egg from GOOP will set you back $66

Why not? –  at worst it might lead to vaginal infections and pelvic pain at best, you’ve wasted your money on something that doesn’t work

  • Crystal Bed Therapy

At a New York City Wellness Centre called Modrn Sanctuary, you can immerse yourself in a crystal and energy bath using their Sensory 7 Energy Bath. For this experience you lay on an infrared biomat (whatever one of those is) with 17 layers of healing and immune system enhancing materials (apparently) and experience some ‘sound therapy’ from the sound system around the bed, ‘vibration therapy’ from the biomat, chromotherapy (which basically just means they will use coloured LED lighting to ‘adjust the vibrational frequencies in the body’) while zapping you with ‘frequencies’ and magnets to provide quantum magnetic pulses and frequency harmonising. Yes, it really is a bed combining all of the pseudoscience. In addition to all of this there are seven Vogel-cut quartz crystals which will apparently combine frequencies from the frequency generator, UV laser energy from the infrared biomat and the magnetic energy which apparently cancel each other out to leave TESLA ENERGY. Which is focused through the crystals into your chakras.

 

woman lying on a mat with a metal arm holding seven crystals above her. The crystals are lit and coloured red, orange, yellow, green, teal, blue and pink and are positioned down the centre of the body in a line from head to toe with even spacing
The Sensory 7 Energy Bath in use – image from Modrn Sanctuary.

Claim: Health! Wellness! Magic Tesla Energy…

Cost: $150 for one 60-minute session

Why not? – it shouldn’t do you any real harm, but you’ll be $150 and an hour of time down

  • Crystal Facial Roller

Facial rolling particularly with jade or rose quartz rollers is becoming increasingly popular in the beauty world. The premise is simple – you massage your face with a crystal roller. There are two suggested benefits from this. Firstly, believers claim that the massage of the face is good for reducing puffiness, preventing wrinkles and enhancing the skin. Secondly, some people believe that different crystals are imbued with different properties. So, jade is claimed to be a particularly cleansing stone and rose quartz apparently opens up the heart chakra bringing you love. There is, of course, no evidence that a) crystals have these properties, b) the body has any way, by chakras or any other means, of responding to these types of energy or c) that crystals have any ability to heal the body.

It seems slightly more plausible that massage of the skin might have some benefit in smoothing the skin however research shows that any benefit from facial massage is only subjective. A study of 142 women who received facial massage at beauty parlours showed that one third of patients had some negative effects including skin reddening, swelling or flare ups of dermatitis or acne following facial massage treatments.

Claim: facial rolling will reduce puffiness of skin and prevent wrinkles

Cost: you can get a jade roller for around £18

Why not? – it probably won’t cause any harm and it might feel soothing on the skin, but for some people it might trigger skin problem flare ups. The best way to protect your skin is to not smoke and to use a good sunscreen.

  • Crystal Butt Plugs

Yes, there are places on the internet where you can buy chunks of crystal to stick up your behind. Which would be completely fine if it weren’t for all the weird claims about chakras. According to Nymph NYC “black obsidian is definitely one of the strongest soul-cleansing stones” which “resonates with the root chakra”. According to Hindu tantrism the root chakra or Muladhara chakra resides below the coccyx which is why this company recommends the use of a butt plug in order to cleanse it. It shouldn’t need to be said that there is no evidence of the existence of chakra, no evidence that they need any sort of cleansing and no evidence that crystals can cleanse them.

Screen_Shot_2017-05-25_at_7.36.20_PM_1024x1024@2x
A black crystal butt plug on a pink background with iridescent glitter. Image from Nymph NYC.

Claim: “ORIGIN works energetically by bringing positive and nourishing energy to the root chakra at the buttocks while soaking up years of stagnant and settled negativity”

Cost: $135

Why not? – some crystals, such as jade, can be porous. It’s probably not a good idea to stick crystals in your anus. The rectum does not produce any natural lubrication and has very thin skin prone to tearing. Any insertion into this area should be gradual, with the use of a good quality lubricant to prevent damage.

  • Crystal Yoga

A common theme here is that many of these ideas combine pseudosciences. Now, I’m not saying that yoga doesn’t have its benefits. I practice yoga for my strength, flexibility and mental health. But the practice of yoga has its origins in the spiritual and some western yogis make some interesting health claims including that it can help with infertility despite no evidence to support these claims.

But some people claim that you can use crystals to ‘power up’ your yoga practice by lining them along or around your yoga mat. Do You Yoga claim that amethyst will help create serenity and stabilise emotions while moonstone will increase your wisdom. What’s more “If there is a specific stone that you’re attracted to or needing right now, carry it around somehow (pocket, locket, etc.), wear it as a pendant or even as a mala.” And don’t forget to ‘cleanse’ your crystal else it might hold onto negative energy.

Claim: ‘boost’ your yoga using crystals to “bring a new world of intentions, energies and powers into your life”

Cost: the cost of a crystal – this can range hugely from a few pounds to several thousand pounds.

Why not? – it probably won’t do you any harm, unless you fall or stand on a crystal during your practice!

 

What’s the most bizarre claim you’ve seen for crystals? Do you know anyone who carries crystals with them for luck? Let me know in the comments.

 

Kitchen cupboard “cures” – number one: turmeric

Wouldn’t it be great if we could cure all our ills with ingredients we can find in our kitchen cupboard? Plenty of people claim that it can be done and with the popularity of ‘natural’ medicines it’s not just your Nana who recommends it because that’s what her Nana taught her.

Kitchen cupboard remedies have become so mainstream that they become potentially dangerous when recommended for life-threatening diseases such as cancer. In fact, just a few months ago the Express asked “Can turmeric really cure cancer? Woman says benefits of golden spice ‘cured’ her disease”.

the express
Headline from the Express: “Can turmeric really cure cancer? Woman say benefits of golden spice ‘cured’ her disease”

But sometimes we wonder, if so many people believe it, maybe there’s really something in it?

In this series I will cover kitchen cupboard “cures” to investigate the claims made, and what the science really says. The series begins with the tasty Indian spice turmeric.

Turmeric

Turmeric is often reported as some sort of wonder spice. People who promote its use claim turmeric is anti-inflammatory, reduces cholesterol, treats diabetes, prevents Alzheimer’s disease and both prevents and cures cancer.

glass jar of orange coloured ground turmeric on a tea towel with a wooden spoon on the worktop next to it and turmeric on the spoon and counter

But actually, while this seems like a bizarre old wives’ tale, there is evidence supporting some of the claims for turmeric. The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin or diferuloyl methane. Experiments in the lab show that curcumin alters the expression of genes in cells and some of these genes are related to specific pathways. For example, curcumin alters the expression of proteins related to inflammation in rat liver cells in a petri-dish and also alters the production of cholesterol in cells. Curcumin supplementation might also help manage some of the side effects of diabetes but only in conjunction with standard therapy. There is even some early evidence from mice with Alzheimer’s disease that curcumin can slow cognitive decline.

However, the science is also quite complicated. When it comes to cancer there is some evidence that curcumin can slow the growth of cancer cells in the lab but plenty of things slow cancer growth in the lab and never go on to prove useful therapies. Having said that, some clinical trials have shown that curcumin might one day prove useful as an adjunct to some cancer treatments in some cancer patients with some types of cancer.

The Express article above did discuss a case of a woman with myeloma, a type of blood cancer. This article was based on a single case published in British Medical Journal Reports in which a patient who had been on conventional treatment for many years suffered a relapse and was advised that there was nothing else doctors could do to help treat her cancer. The patient decided to take 8g chemical curcumin in tablet form per day in the hope it would treat her cancer. Her cancer has subsequently stabilised. This is a potentially interesting case – however it is only one single case that has been observed. Subsequent studies have not been done to investigate why this patient stabilised and there is insufficient evidence that it was the turmeric that was responsible. In fact, there are rare cases in which cancers such as myeloma can go into spontaneous remission without treatment and doctors believe this might be due to the patient’s own immune system targeting the cancer cells.

Important caveats

It would seem that the early research is fairly promising, however there are some very important caveats to remember here. So far, these studies are largely done in cells in a petri-dish or animals like mice or rats. We are not yet able to translate the findings to humans and we’re a long way from finding useful therapies using this compound.

Importantly, the studies use chemical curcumin rather than dietary turmeric and usually have specific measured doses. If curcumin becomes a useful therapy, the dose will change between different diseases and different patients. There is no evidence supporting the use of turmeric in isolation to treat disease. In all studies it is used as a supplement to standard therapy.

Clear capsules with orange powder inside

Medical treatments should always be managed by a medical professional. Any ‘herbal’ remedy has the risk of interacting with conventional drugs. In the case of curcumin research has shown that the chemical can inhibit some cancer treatments so it is important we understand the role curcumin plays in reacting with other medications before using this to treat patients.

It is because of this risk of interaction with other medications that it is really important patients taking any herbal remedy supplements speak to their doctors about whether these supplements might harm themselves or the efficacy of their treatments. It is important to note that many supplements are not fully regulated and therefore may contain ingredients that cause harm. For example, some curcumin supplements have been shown to contain anti-inflammatory drugs which can cause liver damage if taken in excess.

Summary: while there is some early evidence the active ingredient of turmeric might one day prove a useful supplement to conventional therapy we’re a long way from this being clinically useful. We need much more research to confirm the efficacy of curcumin and to establish which compounds work best and at which doses.

Next week I’ll be writing about Rosemary. If you have any specific requests for a Kitchen Cupboard “Cure” for me to cover, please leave a comment or send me a tweet @AliceEmmaLouise.

For more information on turmeric and cancer you can see CRUK’s review.

Sources:

 

 

 

Trends in Pseudoscience: Raw Water

Trend:

Water consciousness movement/raw water

What is it?

The water consciousness movement is a trend towards eschewing tap or bottled water for drinking and instead turning to unfiltered, unpasteurised, unsterilised spring water.

But why?

Proponents and, indeed, suppliers of this trend say that tap water in the US has been filtered – removing bacteria and minerals that they believe benefit the body. One supplier of ‘raw’ or ‘live’ water, Live Water, claims that “you can attempt to remineralize filtered water, but those minerals will never be bio-available like in fresh living spring water”. The bacteria content in ‘live’ water is lauded with Live Water announcing “there could be countless other beneficial microbes present, scientists just haven’t discovered yet”. They claim that beneficial bacteria, which they refer to as probiotics, are crucial for the proper digestion of food and the promotion of good health. Not only that but some raw water proponents are fearful of fluoride present in tap water. The founder of Live Water, Mukhande Singh, told The New York Times “Call me a conspiracy theorist, but it’s a mind-control drug that has no benefit to our dental health.”

And why not?

The filtering process applied to US tap water is and important step in making water that is safe to drink. It removes bacteria which can include organisms like E.coli but also parasites and viruses. A telling indication of the microorganisms present in ‘raw’ water comes from Mukhande Singh who told The New York Times of his company’s ‘live’ water: “If it sits around too long, it’ll turn green. People don’t even realize that because all their water’s dead, so they never see it turn green”. Water going green over time is a sure sign that something is growing in it. The water is alive, just not in the way that Mr Singh claims. Water borne diseases are not a problem for many Americans, these days, because we solved the problem with the availability of clean drinking water. The blight of the 1800s, cholera, a disease caused by water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae taught us a lot about the dangers of drinking unsanitary water. Sufferers of the ‘blue death’ often succumbed to a rapid death caused by severe dehydration, a consequence of incessant diarrhoea and vomiting.

Cholera_bacteria_SEM
Scanning electron micrograph of the rod shaped cholera bacteria (Vibrio cholerae). Source: http://remf.dartmouth.edu/imagesindex.html

US tap water is carefully regulated to ensure safe levels of microorganisms. US tap water is fluoridated which is scientifically proven to improve dental health. But there’s another benefit to drinking water that is regulated to prioritise health and safety. These regulations are subject to changes based on the evidence as our scientific understanding of certain contaminants develops. For instance, arsenic naturally occurs in water. Since the 1960s the regulations sustained arsenic below 50ug/L but by 2006 all drinking water in the US was required to have a level of 10ug/L or less. Studies show that this reduction in the regulated level in US drinking water has resulted in a reduction in the diagnosis of lung, bladder and skin cancer each year.

‘Raw’ water, is not regulated in the same way. The contamination of each ‘batch’ of water might not even be monitored. Not only might customers be drinking dangerous contaminants – they have no idea of which contaminants and at what level might be present in the ‘raw’ water they consume.