Do You Believe in Magic? (2013) uncovers the hidden truth behind the alternative medicine. With insightful research findings and revealing case studies, these blinks will make us rethink our beliefs about supposedly all-natural treatments, and their less than healing side effects.
Paul A. Offit, MD, is chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He’s the author of Autism’s False Prophets, Vaccinated and Deadly Choices.
Upgrade to Premium now and get unlimited access to the Blinkist library. Read or listen to key insights from the world’s best nonfiction.
Upgrade to PremiumThe Blinkist app gives you the key ideas from a bestselling nonfiction book in just 15 minutes. Available in bitesize text and audio, the app makes it easier than ever to find time to read.
Start free trialGet unlimited access to the most important ideas in business, investing, marketing, psychology, politics, and more. Stay ahead of the curve with recommended reading lists curated by experts.
Start free trialDo You Believe in Magic? (2013) uncovers the hidden truth behind the alternative medicine. With insightful research findings and revealing case studies, these blinks will make us rethink our beliefs about supposedly all-natural treatments, and their less than healing side effects.
Do you feel extremely tired sometimes? Don’t look as youthful as you did ten years ago? Then you’re definitely lacking vitamins! But here’s the good news: You just need to pop some pills and everything will be OK. Right?
If only it were that simple. The reality is that vitamin supplements and their alleged health benefits are vastly overrated. If we listen to the claims of supplement providers and get sucked in by those promising words in their campaigns – natural, bio, organic – then we’re easily convinced that vitamins are a modern miracle.
Even exceptional chemist and two-time Nobel laureate Linus Pauling claimed that a daily dosage of 3,000 milligrams of vitamin C could cure not only a common cold, but also cancer. Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case. Studies have shown that vitamin pills don’t improve our health. In fact, they can do just the opposite.
In 2004, researchers from the University of Copenhagen reviewed several studies of a total of 170,000 people to determine whether taking vitamins A, C, E and beta-carotene prevented intestinal cancer. The results were surprising, and disturbing: death rates are six percent higher in people taking vitamins.