I\u2019m a Patriots fan. I was born outside Boston and lived in New England as a child. If the dreamy Tom Brady needs a kidney, I\u2019m there for him. Seriously. But he regularly tests my faith with his whacky opinions, especially his views about health<\/a> and fitness<\/a>. (I can\u2019t even process the Trump stuff<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Brady\u2019s intense, hyperstrict diet has received the most media<\/a> attention. He won\u2019t consume, for example, white flour, white sugar, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, MSG, or caffeine. He has never had coffee<\/a>, which, to me, is like saying you\u2019ve never breathed air and don\u2019t like the sunrise. He also doesn\u2019t eat fruit<\/a>.<\/p>\n Of course, there is almost no evidence to support this monk-like approach to eating. (Hey Tom, coffee<\/a> is good for you!) And some of his practices \u2014 he will only use Himalayan pink salt, for instance \u2014 register as full out kook. Brady\u2019s approach seems to be loosely based on the alkaline diet, which is the idea that you can control the pH of your blood through the food you eat. (Spoiler: you can\u2019t.) As noted in a 2016 systematic review<\/a> of the relevant evidence, \u201cthere is almost no actual research\u201d to support the ideas behind the alkaline diet. Despite this reality, the media portrayals of Brady\u2019s approach are, in general, pretty positive, often suggesting that the diet is one reason he is still playing so well. The result? Tom\u2019s US$200 diet book sold out<\/a> as soon as it was made available.<\/p>\n But even when the media ridicules celeb health advice, the pseudoscience seems to win.<\/p>\n Recently, Gwyneth Paltrow\u2019s lifestyle website, \u201cgoop,\u201d told the women of the world that it was wise to place a jade egg in their vaginas. The egg will \u201cincreases chi, orgasms, vaginal muscle tone, hormonal balance, and feminine energy in general,\u201d or so the goop website<\/a> claims. Apparently, this practice was \u2013 until the goop-y disclosure by Gwyneth, I presume \u00ad\u2013 \u201ca strictly guarded secret of Chinese royalty in antiquity.\u201d<\/p>\n No surprise, the science-informed health community was not impressed. There were numerous articles mocking the advice and several terrific takedowns, such as a great piece<\/a> by Jen Gunter that noted the significant potential harms. I\u2019ve been following Gwyneth\u2019s health-advice shenanigans for years<\/a>, and this was the most vigorous and instantaneous media push back<\/a> I\u2019ve seen. The result? The US$66 jade eggs still<\/em> sold out<\/a> almost as soon as they were available.<\/p>\n Given this kind of outcome \u00ad\u2013 and there are countless other examples of celebrity endorsed misinformation surviving credible critiques \u2013 one can\u2019t help but feel a bit discouraged. As Margaret McCartney, a UK author and family physician, recently wrote<\/a> in the British Medical Journal<\/em> in relation to the health and science media, \u201cwhat we\u2019re doing is clearly not working.\u201d<\/p>\n While both the Brady and Paltrow examples are frustrating, the takeaway for the health media shouldn\u2019t be that evidence doesn\u2019t matter. It does. In fact, during this time of alternative facts<\/a> and pseudoscience noise we need to double down on the science. We need to keep countering the misinformation. As I\u2019ve noted elsewhere<\/a>, over the long term, this approach works and matters.<\/p>\n But we also need to recognize how tough and complex the battle against \u201calternative facts\u201d and pseudoscience can be. Research has found<\/a>, for example, that most individuals find \u201cpeople like them\u201d to be as credible as \u201cacademic experts.\u201d While Gwyneth and Tom may not be \u201clike\u201d most people, they speak to things that many value and have brands that people relate to and\/or aspire \u2013 consciously or not \u2013 to emulate.<\/p>\n Also, for a whole bunch of reasons, eloquently describing what the science actually says about a topic, even if done well, may have little impact. In fact, using simplified descriptions of the relevant science, something that is often an explicit goal of the health media and pseudoscience debunkers (myself included), can backfire. A 2016 study<\/a> found that if the science appears too straightforward, people might be more inclined to follow their own gut impressions and ignore experts. In other words, making it look easy and comprehensible causes readers to underestimate<\/a> both the complexity of the science and the value of expert opinion. It may also, I suspect, make people more susceptible to the simplistic and science-y sounding explanations flowing from popular culture about the value of things like jade eggs or hyper-strict diets. Some may think: \u201cHey, I get this stuff, and Gwyneth\u2019s advice seems plausible \u2013 experts be damned.\u201d<\/p>\n And, alas, we can\u2019t forget the sway of a good anecdote<\/a> \u2013 and Tom Brady is one heck of an anecdote. He is a superstar quarterback that, at age 39, continues to play at his best. When he says that his diet and exercise program have contributed to his success, that claim is hard to counter with science alone. Indeed, studies have demonstrated<\/a> the power of an engaging narrative to overwhelm scientific data. When it is Tom Brady versus a systematic review, Tom Brady will likely win.<\/p>\n So, let\u2019s fight fire with fire. Let\u2019s explain science in a way that speaks to the values of the audience. We need to think about why people are drawn to jade eggs and insanely absurd diets. Let\u2019s communicate the relevant science in a way that is comprehensible and engaging, while still reminding the audience about the complexity of the relevant evidence (Dear Gwyneth, gynaecology is hard!) \u2013 a communication strategy that has been shown<\/a> to work. And finally, let\u2019s use narratives and interesting stories to communicate what the best available science actually says.<\/p>\n Jade eggs and Himalayan pink salt may win a few battles, but I\u2019m certain science will eventually prevail.<\/p>\n Photo:\u00a0AP Photo\/Elise Amendola\/Canadian Press<\/span><\/p>\n Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the\u00a0<\/em>Policy Options\u00a0discussion, and send in your own submission.\u00a0Here is a\u00a0<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on how to do it. <\/em>|\u00a0Souhaitez-vous r\u00e9agir \u00e0 cet article ? <\/em>Joignez-vous aux d\u00e9bats d\u2019<\/em>Options politiques\u00a0et soumettez-nous votre texte en suivant ces\u00a0<\/em>directives<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m a Patriots fan. I was born outside Boston and lived in New England as a child. If the dreamy Tom Brady needs a kidney, I\u2019m there for him. Seriously. But he regularly tests my faith with his whacky opinions, especially his views about health and fitness. (I can\u2019t even process the Trump stuff.) Brady\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":252539,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-08-30T05:49:18Z","apple_news_api_id":"17d575ea-d8b4-487e-ad02-34baaa32482f","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-08-30T05:49:18Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AF9V16ti0SH6tAjS6qjJILw","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[9372,9377,9383],"tags":[9187,8681],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[4286,4337,4382],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[],"class_list":["post-264747","issues","type-issues","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recent-stories-fr","category-sante","category-sciences-et-technologies","tag-desinformation","tag-alternative-medicine-fr","irpp-category-sante","irpp-category-science-et-technologie","irpp-category-soins-medicaux"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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