Junk emails offering wonder cure-alls we used to get are now everywhere: on TV, radio, our devices, podcasts, streaming channels, and across social media. The old spam was easily deleted, but internet advertising especially, is not as easy. We inadvertently click the websites and get sucked in. Try unsubscribing, and you’ll eventually find the tiny link at the bottom of the page – purposely so tiny you hardly see it …

Social media influencers and businesses wanting more ‘traffic’ are mostly to blame. They enlist digital media agencies offering SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) to ensure their ads rank highly on Google. The more they pay, the more often their ads appear on search engines. They capitalise on our most common health problems, such as urinary frequency, heartburn, indigestion, bloating, constipation, and thinning hair – touting mega-dose vitamins. exotic herbs and plants to boost cognitive function. It’s so easy to be tempted.

Dr Jen Gunter, gynaecologist and author, comments on the internet’s power to normalise masses of information fed into it that’s often widely incorrect. She believes we need to be internet “literate”:

“We all take the first three hits off Google and if we don’t get what we like, we put a new search in. … There are times I recommend people take supplements. For iron deficiency, for example. But for wellness, I found that you can make a fortune with zero effort. I looked at a very popular menopause doctor’s product and used the exact same formula. With a little money we set up a Shopify site, went to one of these who label companies to sell it to, and that was it. We did it so quickly but didn’t go through with it. Honestly it’s like punching a hole in the floor and seeing gold.”

(Farmakis, B. 2024, August 24. ‘Selling this is like punching a hole in the floor and striking gold’. The Weekend Australian Magazine).

Poet Sir Walter Scott wrote in an 1808 poem: “Oh, what a terrible tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”. The “tangled web” metaphor aptly describes how misinformation and dishonesty can spread – and he must have had a premonition of the Tower of Babel advertising we see in this century.

Pseudo-medical ads & videos

• A person in a white coat pops up on screen with a solution for prostate problems/cataracts/thinning hair/parasites/ugly toenails/tired eyes. You click and scroll for 5–10 minutes without mention of the wonder-product. And then there it is – a capsule, cream, a drink. This unique formula is only available through that website. Have a free trial, but first provide your credit card number (cancelling the payment is never straightforward!).
  
  
• Dry mouth: There’s a “moisturiser” just for this. Enter the mouth sprays, lozenges, and “dentist formulated” chewing gum. Most of these add artificial sweeteners like xylitol. Fact: Saliva production increases when we chew and reduces when we’re asleep, in dry weather, heated rooms, and with medication. If you’re dehydrated, drink water and/or chew (an apple is perfect). I keep a glass of water with some lemon juice and spearmint beside my bed, and drink this if I’m up in the early hours of the morning.
  
  
• Feminine washes: Basically a baby wash with a different label. Try Aveeno baby shower and shampoo – it doubles as a face wash.
  
  
• “Whole body odour protection” roll-on/spray: If your body smells foul even after a daily shower or two and you’ve used super-deodorants, have a health check and full blood test. My guess is that your liver and kidneys may be causing the problem.
  
  
• Fibre pills/psyllium/bran: If you’ve been relying on them for too long they will be difficult to give up. You could reduce the dosage by adding more raw vegetables like fennel, cos (Romaine) lettuce, an apple a day (eaten with the skin), and an orange or grapefruit with the pith. Make a habit of drinking more water: 1.5L a day will do a mighty job to gather up the fibre in your colon and help to form stools.
  
  
• Creams for “puffy eyes”: Drink water, get enough sleep, reduce alcohol and salt. My ophthalmologist told me they’re fat deposits. Also consider seeing an eye specialist who also does plastic surgery – you’ll be free from puffiness for up to 10 years (keep your eye creams – they’ll do what they’re meant to do, i.e. hydrate and protect). 
  
  
• Creams for “wrinkles and fine lines”: These by and large hydrate and protect – but collagen inevitably breaks down with sun exposure, and wrinkles appear with age. Try exercising for better circulation, and eating collagen-rich foods like salmon skin and chicken cartilage.

Longevity expert Dr Luigi Fontana stresses the importance of the right diet for “vitality and health of our skin” and to delay ageing:

“Cherries, blueberries, blackcurrants, strawberries, apples and pears are low-glycaemic fruits rich in vitamins and phytochemicals that possess skin-protecting properties.”

Fontana, L. (2020). ‘The path to longevity: How to reach 100 with the health and stamina of a 40-year-old’, p.125. Hardie Grant Books: Richmond, Victoria.

Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs)

UPFs have dire effects, according to Dr Dariush Mozaffarian of Tufts University, Massachusetts, who links their consumption to heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Science journalist Michaeleen Doucleff trialled a month without UPFs with her family – and noticed a marked improvement to health. Their diet now included “oatmeal, plain yoghurt, fresh cheeses, beans, nuts, canned fish, popcorn, fruits and veggies, fresh and frozen”. The desire for “snacking duly plummeted” (Doucleff, M. 2025, August 30. ‘My Family Went Off Ultra-Processed Foods for a Month. The Results Surprised Us‘. The Wall Street Journal).

Supplements 

These target our most common health complaints and we all take them – but they are not an insurance policy against bad eating habits. Mega doses? The body uses what it needs and then flushes the rest out. Don’t give your kidneys more work! Vitamin deficiencies are determined with a blood test. Listen to your body and get health checks and full blood tests yearly or sooner if required.

So if your GP has given your tests the all-clear, please consider going for a month eating mainly non-processed foods per Doucleff’s experiment – I’d love to hear your results!