Modern Snake Oil : Medical Scams and Why We Fall for Them

Step right up, folks. This miracle in a bottle will cure everything from dandruff to cancer."" In the nineteenth century you might have heard this pitch on a street corner from characters we called snake oil salesmen.

Today quack remedies are sold by celebrities on electronic media.

Suzanne Somers, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kim Kardashian, and a host of other "bold face names" promote questionable products and health advice via TV appearances, apps, and web sites.

The modern market for useless health products-snake oil-thrives in a swamp of advertising hype and pseudoscience.

We swallow what marketers sell even when the claims are preposterous.

Who actually knows what works? What's the difference between science-based medicine and everything else?

Which health news is "fake" and who should you trust?

The answers are in these pages.