3 ways to catch bogus health claims

Health claims can quickly get spun out of control in the media. Here's how you can cut to the truth.

• Understanding why the message changes so often will help you maintain a cool head when you hear scary medical news.
• Use caution when you hear news that sounds too good to be true.
• Remember that adding one thing to your diet can't completely solve all your health issues.

• Keeping up with medical news is like watching the trailer for a new movie. You get bits and pieces of the story, but you don't see the whole picture.
• Bad or incomplete reporting is one part of the problem.
• One Canadian study found that three-quarters of the health advice columns published in newspapers omitted critical information.
• The same study also revealed that more than half of the columns offered potentially dangerous advice.
• Presentation styles on television don't help much. One study found that the typical segment covering health or medicine on local newscasts lasted less than one minute.

• The media frequently misinterpret and overstate the findings of scientific studies.
• This often happens with observational studies. These studies involve scientists looking at a large number of people and tracking how various aspects of their health change.
• The results of observational studies often produce a big media buzz, but the claims are often less dramatic than what we see in the headlines.
• The problem is that observational studies show only that two things occurred at the same time. Remember, correlation is not the same as causation.

Observational studies can raise interesting theories, but they don't prove cause and effect. Be skeptical the next time a newscaster reports that a food or habit fights or causes some dreaded disease. Stay vigilant and skeptical.