# Yet another bimbo "wellness" blogger found to be a fraud **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 18, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331 "2015-03-18T22:30:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/201 "2015-04-10T17:05:05Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > [rant]I don’t agree with this “we need to treat them with respect” bullshit. > > For fuck’s sake, _we need to be shaming these people into the fucking ground_. > > It’s the “everyone is entitled to their opinion” and “we can disagree, but let’s be civil about it” crap that opens the window for these people to think that what they are doing is acceptable. People just politely nod and accept whatever bullshit comes out of their mouths because they don’t want to be rude. These people are cowards and bullies and they need to be intellectually curbstomped until they learn to use their fucking brains rather than mindlessly following clueless, vapid cunts just because they showed up on Dr. Oz.[/rant] Well, we have to draw lines here. Anti-vaccers need to be shamed. But if you go to a Chiro to get your back fixed? \*Not so much. \* The Food Babe needs to go, yes, no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/202 "2015-04-10T17:37:52Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > [rant]I don’t agree with this “we need to treat them with respect” bullshit. > > For fuck’s sake, _we need to be shaming these people into the fucking ground_. > > It’s the “everyone is entitled to their opinion” and “we can disagree, but let’s be civil about it” crap that opens the window for these people to think that what they are doing is acceptable. People just politely nod and accept whatever bullshit comes out of their mouths because they don’t want to be rude. These people are cowards and bullies and they need to be intellectually curbstomped until they learn to use their fucking brains rather than mindlessly following clueless, vapid cunts just because they showed up on Dr. Oz.[/rant] I understand the desire to shame them and treat them with contempt, but I’m not so sure this works. The people who hang on after everyone else has moved on tend to be the type for which sucj tactics don’t work. I know I’ve not ever been convinced that someone was right by them shaming me. If anything, it makes me more likely to assume they are wrong. If I didn’t also have the critical thinking ability to evaluate claims, I would never be able to agree with them. And, yes, I know I don’t always act like I believe this. That’s because I get angry, which tends to reduce my critical thinking skills (something I’ve read is pretty much how anger works). It makes me care more about winning. I don’t know if you’ve heard this before, but I had a seizure from a really high fever not long after I got my MMR shot. I almost died (and was “dead” for 45 minutes) and my parents were told I’d be a vegetable for life. We’re pretty sure this is the reason for my mental illness. You think all the shaming in the world would have ever convinced me that vaccines were okay? Yet, here I am telling you that, if I ever have kids, I will vaccinate them. I’ll be extra vigilant with them afterwards, but I’ll do it. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/203 "2015-04-10T18:54:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I understand the desire to shame them and treat them with contempt, but I’m not so sure this works. The people who hang on after everyone else has moved on tend to be the type for which sucj tactics don’t work. > > I know I’ve not ever been convinced that someone was right by them shaming me. If anything, it makes me more likely to assume they are wrong. If I didn’t also have the critical thinking ability to evaluate claims, I would never be able to agree with them. > > And, yes, I know I don’t always act like I believe this. That’s because I get angry, which tends to reduce my critical thinking skills (something I’ve read is pretty much how anger works). It makes me care more about winning. > > I don’t know if you’ve heard this before, but I had a seizure from a really high fever not long after I got my MMR shot. I almost died (and was “dead” for 45 minutes) and my parents were told I’d be a vegetable for life. We’re pretty sure this is the reason for my mental illness. You think all the shaming in the world would have ever convinced me that vaccines were okay? > > Yet, here I am telling you that, if I ever have kids, I will vaccinate them. I’ll be extra vigilant with them afterwards, but I’ll do it. A possible risk of a serious reaction is a medical reason. It is different than someone being anti-vax because of dumbass reasons not rooted in science. I’ll try and go dig them up but I’ve been told by a reliable source that people who are likely to react to a vaccine are also highly likely to react to an actual outbreak of a disease. So if you are sensitive to the measles shot, you’re also likely going to be in serious trouble from an actual bout of the measles. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/204 "2015-04-10T22:18:58Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I wonder if your ex-friend vaccinates her children. Vaccinates with pineapple juice–that way it’s all natural and doesn’t fund Big Pharma. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/205 "2015-04-10T23:16:22Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Vaccinates with pineapple juice–that way it’s all natural and doesn’t fund Big Pharma. What about Big Hawaii? Mahalo!😛 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/206 "2015-04-11T00:43:03Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > [rant]I don’t agree with this “we need to treat them with respect” bullshit. > > For fuck’s sake, _we need to be shaming these people into the fucking ground_. > > It’s the “everyone is entitled to their opinion” and “we can disagree, but let’s be civil about it” crap that opens the window for these people to think that what they are doing is acceptable. People just politely nod and accept whatever bullshit comes out of their mouths because they don’t want to be rude etc You can either adopt a scientific and objectively tested approach towards persuasion or you can take your attitude. However it would seem ironic and somewhat hypocritical to adopt a gut feel approach for which there is no evidence of efficacy when attempting to persuade people they shouldn’t use gut feel approaches for which there is no evidence in relation to health. Not wanting to be rude has nothing to do with it. It’s about effectiveness. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/207 "2015-04-11T02:40:03Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > You can either adopt a scientific and objectively tested approach towards persuasion or you can take your attitude. However it would seem ironic and somewhat hypocritical to adopt a gut feel approach for which there is no evidence of efficacy when attempting to persuade people they shouldn’t use gut feel approaches for which there is no evidence in relation to health. Not wanting to be rude has nothing to do with it. It’s about effectiveness. Great. I’m all for it. By the way, how’s that going for you? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/208 "2015-04-11T03:47:07Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Great. I’m all for it. By the way, how’s that going for you? Exactly. There’s about as much evidence that politely pretending there are two sides to the issue is effective in changing people’s mind on this subject as there is that bromelain cures cancer. Fuck that shit. Consider this - would you rather get treated by the doctor who was told during her training “No, that’s wrong. Get your shit together and learn the facts” or the one who was told, “Well, I see your point, but perhaps that’s not quite right.” ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/209 "2015-04-11T11:24:06Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I understand the desire to shame them and treat them with contempt, but I’m not so sure this works. The people who hang on after everyone else has moved on tend to be the type for which sucj tactics don’t work. It may not help convince _them_, but people who aren’t sure are less likely to side with the people who are being shamed over it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/210 "2015-04-11T14:58:45Z")
About this “shaming” stuff: Dialogue and the gentle arts of persuasion should be the initial strategy for dealing with dangerously stupid and antisocial ideologies of various sorts (including not only health quackery, but also bigotry). After awhile, when facts and reason have been continuously and contemptuously batted down by such folk who doggedly persist in their activities, then I find it reasonable that they should pay a social and perhaps economic price for their behavior. Call it “shaming” or whatever. As long as they keep their heads down and are inhibited from actively promoting their poison, it’s a winning outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/211 "2015-04-12T04:42:46Z")
I had a friend’s mom going for a good 10 minutes with dihydrogen monoxide. She had a good laugh at herself when I revealed that it was just water. It does sound ghastly, though! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/212 "2015-04-12T13:18:19Z")
The Food Babe says “Lemon water is very alkaline and can stimulate the liver.” Apart from the fact that lemon water is acidic, doesn’t “stimulate the liver” (and the liver doesn’t need stimulating, thanks very much), FB is right on target. Australia seems particularly infested with bimbo wellness bloggers, including [Ashy Bines](http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/ashy-bines-clean-eating-diet-plan-one-of-the-three-worst-diets-in-the-country-dieticians-association-of-australia/story-fnj94idh-1226796792359). ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/213 "2015-04-12T13:22:22Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The Food Babe says “Lemon water is very alkaline …” :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/214 "2015-04-12T13:48:07Z")
Not to mention that you can’t change your body’s pH with your diet - and that’s a really good thing or else your enzyme functions would stop every time you had tomato soup. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/215 "2015-04-12T14:08:32Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > Not to mention that you can’t change your body’s pH with your diet - and that’s a really good thing or else your enzyme functions would stop every time you had tomato soup. Nonsense, everyone knows that alkaline foods good, acid foods bad. You must be inhaling nitrogen-contaminated air or something. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/216 "2015-04-12T15:46:49Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > Not to mention that you can’t change your body’s pH with your diet - and that’s a really good thing or else your enzyme functions would stop every time you had tomato soup. Well, quite, I mean, I’ve just had a cup of tomato soup and if my enzyme functions sudde ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/217 "2015-04-12T19:07:05Z")
I’ve gotta stop reading The Dope before bedtime. I actually had a dream with this broad in it last night. I think I need to cleanse my blood now with cilantro. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/218 "2015-04-14T16:12:36Z")
Saw this on LinkedIn today:**[The Collapse of Food Babe: Or, How Not to Manage a Crisis](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/collapse-food-babe-how-manage-crisis-morgan-fisher)**. You might have to be a member to read it, but some highlights: > [@](#): > > But, not to be outdone, some examined her old Facebook and Twitter feeds and found a few gems: > > She asserted that flu shots were used as genocidal tools. When this Twitter gem was unearthed she immediately started deleting all her old posts. > > Regarding recirculated air in aircraft, she wrote, “The air that is pumped in isn’t pure oxygen either, it’s mixed with nitrogen, sometimes almost at 50%.” This betrays a profound misunderstanding of reality. As you probably recall from grade 6 science class, air is comprised of about 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, the rest being other gases. Higher concentrations of oxygen can be toxic and explosive. She also attempted to delete that post but the internet never forgets. > > She insisted that microwaving food destroys nutrients. She also asserted that microwaving water will cause changes in the molecular structure of water, similar to the changes that happen with water when you say the word “Hitler” in its presence. (I promise you, I’m not making this up.) > > She says that sunscreen is bad for you, despite the fact, in the US, that in 2015 approximately 140,000 people are expected to be diagnosed with melanoma, a skin cancer often caused by sun overexposure. > > She encourages restaurant patrons to lie about their food allergies > > So what did Hari do in response? > > She has accused critics of being shills for Big Pharma (whatever that is) and that they’re being paid by Monsanto, the company that manufacturers pesticides and herbicides. She provided no evidence of these claims. > > She refuses to debate, or even discuss, her conclusions with critics. Among others, Dr Joe Schwarcz of McGill University has repeatedly called upon her to discuss her ideas in a respectful, public forum. Hari refuses to respond. > > She attempted to delete her previous statements, further undermining her credibility. > > Rather than responding factually and with data and reason, she resorted to ad hominem attacks on her critics. At one point she called critic Yvette d’Entremont “twisted." ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/219 "2015-04-14T17:23:59Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > After awhile, when facts and reason have been continuously and contemptuously batted down by such folk who doggedly persist in their activities, then I find it reasonable that they should pay a social and perhaps economic price for their behavior. This is the critical thing; people have to **pay a price**. Being nagged and insulted on the Internet simply isn’t much of a price. It’s pennies, relatively speaking, and will convince no one. If anything it might have value, as it allows the antivaxxers a cheap, easily dealt with bit of evidence they’re a tribe of truth-speakers under siege from the Monsanto Big Pharma Freemason MSM or whatever the hell it is this week. If you want to change people’s behaviour, you need to change the incentives, and it begins with making them pay. I maintain that the first thing government should do is pass the Pandemic Risk Tax Act, which states that any parent refusing that have their children immunized to the basic schedule without a legitimate and provable medical exemption (no religious exemptions, either) should pay 10% of their gross income in additional income tax for the first child and 5% for every child thereafter. Refusal to pay the tax is tax evasion, you go to prison. Sound unaffordable? Watch them get the kids vaccinated. That law alone would wipe out the antivax movement, in all likelihood. But that being probably politically impossible - well, until we have a goddamn pandemic - what people need to do is insist on REAL consequences. Screaming about it on Facebook does nothing. We need to impose actual real life consequences. If your kid is not vaccinated, they cannot come over to play with my kid, full stop. In fact, they’re not to be in my house at all. Parents should impose those rules. They should badger their schools to keep the germie parents’ kids out, or marginalize them as much as possible. Hurt them in real life. The key thing to remember about the germies is that for mot of them this is a fad, an abstract fashion. They do not understand the danger of polio, measles and rubella. They’ve never seen it. They perceive this as being essentially a cost-free way of proving their organic/fashionable bona fides. If you make them feel real pain for keeping up with this, most of them will abandon it and forget about it in no time. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331/220 "2015-04-14T17:44:44Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Saw this on LinkedIn today:**[The Collapse of Food Babe: Or, How Not to Manage a Crisis](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/collapse-food-babe-how-manage-crisis-morgan-fisher)**. You might have to be a member to read it, but some highlights: This was a decent summary of the way things have been turing on the Food Babe. Not the best article but it does cover how she is falling (but not fallen). She’ll still have her hardcore followers, but I think her days of being able to bully food companies are over. I suspect her actual Waterloo was her attempt to bully Starbucks into using organic milk and make changes to other popular items. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-bimbo-wellness-blogger-found-to-be-a-fraud/715331.md?page=12)