Daily Dose of Common Sense

Many people consider bottled water, with its fancy packaging and names that recall clean and natural sources, to be purer than tap water. Only, don’t let the marketing fool you. While tap water doesn’t have a PR firm, it’s usually the better product of the two.

What, exactly, are tap water’s bragging rights? Cheaper and cleaner. Tap water comes out of your faucet and costs a fraction of the price of bottled. Sales for bottled water in 2008 were approximately $11.2 billion. At a recent hearing of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations:

“Americans are willing to pay top dollar for bottled water, which costs up to 1,900 times more than tap water and uses up to 2,000 times more energy to produce and deliver,” Michigan Representative Bart Stupak told the hearing.

Plus, with tap water, you know what you’re getting. The contents of bottled water aren’t regulated as heavily as tap water. The EPA oversees the quality of municipality water, and has stringent testing and safety regulations. The FDA oversees bottled water, and they don’t have the same standards of testing.

“Over the past several years, however, bottled water has been recalled due to contamination by arsenic, bromate, cleaning compounds, mold, and bacteria. In April, a dozen students at a California junior high school reportedly were sickened after drinking bottled water from a vending machine.”

If you believe the marketing hype that all bottled water comes from pure springs and crystal clear lakes, you’ll be interested to know where it really comes from. Between 25 and 40 percent of bottled water comes from U.S. municipality water supplies.

Lastly, we’d be remiss if we didn’t touch on the fact that plastic bottles are clogging up the landfills. And, most bottled water doesn’t contain fluoride, which helps to fight cavities.

So, do your wallet and your body a favor: turn to the tap next time you’re thirsty.

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My three-year old loves ghosts. She loves any book with a ghost in it, and Boo Berry cereal is always a huge hit. But, she’s never afraid of them, and doesn’t consider them any more real than Spongebob Squarepants. To her, as well as rational people everywhere, ghosts are fictional, amusing things. We can say this because the existence of ghosts, or any kind of paranormal activity for that matter, has never been credibly documented or recorded using true scientific methods.

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Look out, ladies and gents. Science and scientists are getting banged around all over the place.

A recent poll asked 1,000 Americans to name a single scientist. 23% could not name one. That equates to one out of four people who don’t remember Einstein, Curie, Edison, or the like. The same survey discovered that 65% of Americans couldn’t name a famous female scientist. Wonder how high the percentage would be if they asked for the name of a famous female reality star?

And, it’s not just historical scientists who are having a hard time. Simon Singh is not a name many in the U.S. know, but this British physicist is in the battle of a lifetime across the pond. Highly respected as a scientist and author, Singh’s legal troubles began when he spoke out against chiropractors. Some chiropractors in England claim the ability to help cure colic, asthma, or ear infections in children through spinal manipulation.

In his book, Dr Singh questioned whether chiropractors could really achieve the results they claim. Later, in a column in the Guardian newspaper, he went further, saying the therapies for children were ‘bogus’.

Unsurprisingly, he came under an avalanche of criticism and the BCA [British Chiropractic Association] demanded an apology and a retraction. When it received neither from Dr Singh, it decided to sue him personally for libel.

There is no solid science to back up what the chiropractors claim. But, amazingly, the arcane libel laws in England make it so that Singh is guilty before proven innocent. The BCA doesn’t have to prove he’s wrong; instead, Singh has to prove the accuracy of his comments. Why is this all important? This suit could have ripple effects on other scientific journalists and their ability to exercise free speech. We should all be rooting for Dr Singh’s appeal to go through.

Lastly, science is really fighting an uphill battle concerning vaccines. There is no proven scientific evidence linking vaccines to autism, yet celebrities like Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey continue to spread a lot of incorrect anti-vaccination information. Sadly, a lot of people listen and kids will die. [Check out the Jenny McCarthy Body Count.]

Because the anti-vax movement picked up steam, 2008 saw the largest outbreak of measles in almost ten years. Whooping cough and mumps are also making a reappearance. Why are people so distrustful of science?

Now, more than ten years after unfounded doubts about vaccine safety first emerged, scientists and public health officials are still struggling to get the story out. Their task is made far more difficult by the explosion of misinformation on the Internet, talk shows, and high-profile media outlets, by journalists’ tendency to cover the issue as a “debate,” and [...] by an erosion of trust in experts.

Science is what saves us. It’s what heals, allows for better quality of life as we get older, and keeps our loved ones around longer. It searches for answers and constantly questions itself. It isn’t perfect, but it strives to find the truth.

Despite its use of actors instead of the real deal, I love the idea of the current Intel ad campaign that portrays their computer programmers and engineers as rock stars. Perhaps someone should create a similar campaign for the likes of Norman Borlaug, Jonas Salk, Rosalind Franklin, or Niels Bohr.

An AP story came out this week discussing how alternative medicine is more often sneaking into the mainstream. But, at what cost? The benefits of alternative medicine have yet to be proven, and some practices and supplements are flat-out harmful.

A few herbal supplements can directly threaten health. A surprising number do not supply what their labels claim, contain potentially harmful substances like lead, or are laced with hidden versions of prescription drugs.

“In testing, one out of four supplements has a problem,” said Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com, an independent company that rates such products.

Some doctors interviewed said they include alternative methods in their treatment because it causes patients to relax and, at the same time, feel as though they are receiving better care. The doctors know it’s hoodoo, but are concerned more about what the patient perceives than the science. It’s almost a prescription of the placebo effect.

And it’s not just supplements, which may be just a waste of money. More dangerous are people with life-threatening diseases who miss a critical treatment window while off seeking unproven cures. Last week, a couple in Australia were found guilty of manslaughter after homeopathic treatments of their daughter’s eczema failed. The little girl died after the parents continued to reject conventional treatments for the condition.

Mainstream medicine and big pharmaceutical companies have had problems over the years, for sure. But, regulatory agencies, consumer watch-dog groups, and standard guidelines are in place to act as a system of checks and balances. So, the level of risk involved isn’t as high as that of alternative medicine.

The latest government survey shows the magnitude of risk: More than a third of Americans use unconventional therapies, including acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, and native or traditional healing methods. These practitioners are largely self-policing, with their own schools and accreditation groups. Some states license certain types, like acupuncturists; others do not.

The “natural” claim doesn’t mean it’s without risk. If a treatment promises something that is too good to be true, chances are it is a waste of time and money.

Regular watchers of Oprah turn to the host for advice on what to buy, eat, read, and watch. And, while it’s harmless fun to see clips from the latest Will Smith movie, it’s a different story when some of her advice might cause serious injury.

Newsweek just published an excellent article called Why Health Advice on ‘Oprah’ Could Make You Sick. The writer questions some of the advice given out on Oprah’s show, such as Suzanne Somers’ homegrown hormone regimen and Jenny McCarthy’s “vaccines cause autism” campaign, because no science has been able to back these theories up. Then, there’s the “lunch time” facelift and Thermage, a procedure claiming tighter skin through radio waves. Both fell out of favor after it was revealed they had major downsides and questionable results. These are just a few examples of misinformation covered in the article.

Some of the many experts who cross her stage offer interesting and useful information (props to you, Dr. Oz). Others gush nonsense. Oprah, who holds up her guests as prophets, can’t seem to tell the difference. She has the power to summon the most learned authorities on any subject; who would refuse her? Instead, all too often Oprah winds up putting herself and her trusting audience in the hands of celebrity authors and pop-science artists pitching wonder cures and miracle treatments that are questionable or flat-out wrong, and sometimes dangerous.

Television can blur the lines between entertainment and science. Viewers should remember that Oprah is more concerned with the first than the second. So, don’t take health advice from talk shows. Do the research yourself and talk to your own doctors.

[Note: this post originally appeared on April 18, 2009 on Rational Moms.]

I love a quick, informative slideshow and this one doesn’t disappoint. Scientific American investigates the science behind some of the common pregnancy myths and wives’ tales.

For example, is heartburn a sign that your baby will have hair? Do overweight mothers give birth to overweight babies? Do pregnant women eat more when having a boy?

(Answers: Most likely, yes, and yes. But there’s more so follow the link!)