Dieting?  Not so fast!

I'm sure you've seen these ads too. Trendy spas charging you $2,000 a week so you can "enjoy" a 200-calorie-a-day diet, be pampered (you'll need it because you are starving), get "detoxified," and - as an added bonus they don't advertise - put yourself at serious risk for hormonal and electrolyte disturbances. Starvation is not healthy and it promotes a bulimic pattern that can get you into serious trouble.

Up until a few years ago, I was always amazed when ridiculous fads like these managed to gain popularity. But then I discussed it with two female consultants. They suggested I go to just about any grocery store and study the women's magazines lining the checkout aisles. "Every one of them has something on weight reduction in every issue," they assured me.

I was sure they were exaggerating, but it turns out they weren't stretching the truth at all! Every single issue I picked up boasted tips for achieving a sexy, slimmer body (I even found several publications promoting the same horrible dieting advice to men).

Save yourself a bundle - skip the spa AND the trendy magazines with their bad weight loss advice. Eat a diet of animal food and low-cal fruits and vegetables to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Not all that glitters is silver

The silver scam has been going on for over a century, despite the fact that there is no evidence supporting claims it is an effective antibiotic. In the 1800s, it was recommended for tetanus and rheumatism.

These days, colloidal silver has been touted as a miracle for everything from aches and pains to diabetes to cancer to bubonic plague. However, the oral form of silver has no place in good medicine. It is a fairly good topical antibiotic, but hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is far superior for skin infections and costs practically nothing.

Colloidal silver does not work because the molecule is too large to pass through the mucous membrane of the gut. A few people, for some reason, have the ability to absorb the colloidal silver. Advocates of the colloidal silver con claim that it has no side effects and is safe even for pregnant women and children. This is simply not true. Prolonged use of oral silver will lead to argyria, a condition in which the silver collects in your tissues.

Argyria is characterized by a darkening of the gums, giving them a blue-gray appearance, as well as a bluish discoloration of the skin. If this is what happens to the visible parts of your body, which are barely being touched by the silver, imagine what it's doing to your insides, which are actually attempting to absorb the stuff!

There are no known health benefits in taking silver internally. If there were, it would have appeared in some responsible journal - or even an obscure one - as we desperately need new and more powerful antibiotics, especially in light of current circumstances.

Telling the truth about colloidal silver has cost me some popularity among believers, but I will not change my position until I see some sensible research that proves me wrong.