Here are some red flags that suggest someone you're watching on social media may be trying to rip you off. Sometimes it's deliberate. Sometimes it's just bad science from someone who believes every word of it. Either way, you deserve better.

1. They lean on an obscure scientific name instead of the common one, especially to make something ordinary sound scary.

Just imagine doing that in real life. “I took some acetylsalicylic acid for my headache.” You'd roll your eyes and say, "You mean aspirin.”

But not a scam: Your doctor or pharmacist says “acetaminophen” instead of Tylenol so nobody mixes up medications. Using the precise name to keep people safe is different from using a fancy name to impress you into buying something.

2. They say “Scientists don't want you to know this.”

Most scientists want their work out in the open. I've hit paywalls while researching this column, emailed the authors, and had the full paper in my inbox within hours. When someone tells you “they don't want you to know this,” ask who “they” are and what proof they have. Vague villains aren't evidence. Documented conspiracies come with documents.

But not a scam: Journalists who exposed tobacco companies hiding cancer data named specific companies, showed internal documents, cited sources, and weren't steering you to a checkout page.

3. They talk about the dangers of a chemical without mentioning how much.

Too much water can kill you. Chugging several liters very quickly can dilute your blood sodium, make your brain swell, and people have died from it. For most substances, the dose makes the poison. When someone skips that number, they've left out the only part that matters.

But not a scam: Poison control warnings sound scary too, but they tell you how much crosses into dangerous territory, for whom, and what to do about it. The amount and context are the whole point.

4. They throw around words like “toxins,” “detox” or “cleanse.”

In real toxicology, a toxin is a specific poison with a name, a source, and a known effect. In wellness marketing, “toxins” usually means “mysterious bad stuff” that only their program can remove. Your liver and kidneys already run 24 hours a day for free.

“Toxins” is the vague threat, “detox” is the promised fix, and “cleanse” is what they're charging you for. Ask them to name the exact toxin, how you're supposedly exposed to it, and how they know their product removes it. Vague answers are common. Good evidence is rare.

But not a scam: A nephrologist explaining how your kidneys filter waste, or a hepatologist explaining how your liver processes alcohol and drugs, is using real science. They'll tell you how the process works and what actually damages those organs. They won't tell you a three-day juice plan can fix it.

5. They only tell you where else a chemical is found.

That tart taste in lemonade and sour candy? Citric acid. That same compound is sold in hardware stores to clean mineral buildup out of your dishwasher. Where else something shows up tells you almost nothing. What matters is the form, the dose, and how you're actually exposed.

But not a scam: A food scientist noting that a preservative appears in both food and industrial products is making a legitimate point, as long as they also explain that the concentration, form, and exposure are completely different. Without that context, “it's also used in X” is just a scare line.

6. They say something is “chemically similar” or “just one molecule away” from something dangerous and stop there.

Carbon DIoxide makes soda fizz. Carbon MONoxide can kill you in your sleep. The difference is one oxygen atom, and that small change matters enormously.

Chemical similarity can be a reason to take a closer look, but by itself it doesn't prove two things behave the same way in your body. When someone says “it's just one molecule away from a poison” and jumps straight to “so it's deadly,” they're skipping all the steps where chemists and toxicologists actually test what it does.

But not a scam: A pharmacist warning that two medications are structurally similar so you might have a cross-reaction is using that information to protect you, not frighten you into a purchase.

7. They say you shouldn't eat ingredients you can't pronounce.

I can easily pronounce cyanide and arsenic, and I'm definitely not sprinkling those on my salad. I know plenty of people who struggle with quinoa (it's keen-wah) and have been eating it for years. How easy a word is to say tells you nothing about safety. If you can't pronounce an ingredient and don't know what it is, that's a good reason to look it up, not to panic.

But not a scam: Every ingredient label uses technical names required by law. Long scientific words are about precision and regulation, not danger.

8. They treat rat studies like they're the final word on humans.

Saccharin, the sweetener in the pink packets, caused bladder cancer in rats at very high doses and carried a warning label for years because of it. Later research found that saccharin changes rat urine chemistry in a way that damages rat bladder cells, a mechanism that doesn't apply to human urine. The rats really did get cancer, but the experiments turned out to say more about rat biology than about your morning coffee. Rat studies are a starting point, not a verdict.

But not a scam: A careful science writer who says “this compound showed effects in animal models, but human trials haven't been done yet” is telling you exactly what the science established and where it stops.

9. They sell supplements, and everything above is the warm-up act.

Vitamin D, creatine, iron, folic acid — evidence-based supplements exist, especially when used to treat a documented deficiency or specific condition. The problem is when someone starts with vague toxins, scary rat studies and unpronounceable ingredients, then lands on “luckily, my supplement fixes it.” The supplement is just where the con cashes out.

But not a scam: A clinician who recommends a specific supplement, explains why, gives you a dose, checks what else you're taking, and tells you when to retest is doing medicine. That's a targeted recommendation based on your health, not a panic button tied to a Buy Now link.

10. They rely on personal testimonials as proof.

“I lost 30 pounds in two weeks.” “My arthritis disappeared.” “My doctor was shocked.” Personal stories are powerful, which is exactly why they're used. A testimonial tells you what one person says happened to them, with no way to account for everything else that changed at the same time. The products with the most testimonials aren't the ones that work best. They're the ones that sold the most. That's a very different thing.

But not a scam: A clinical trial that collects patient-reported outcomes alongside objective measurements takes personal experience seriously while controlling for everything that can distort it. The difference is the method, not the story.

Whoever you’re listening to, slow down and look at how they argue. Are they showing you their sources and talking about how much and for whom a risk matters? Do they admit what we don’t know yet? Do they avoid making your fear the main reason to buy what they’re selling? Those are the people you can trust more, whether they’re a doctor, an influencer, a scientist, or a stranger with a ring light.

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This article was inspired by a series of questions from @AlexFalcone on YouTube. The link to the original video is below.

https://youtube.com/shorts/QDBb3DtIDWc?si=iMXkr7u8tIMn4953

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Reference Links:

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of hyponatraemia associated with oral water intake in adults: a systematic review

Gopala K Rangan, Nilofar Dorani, Miranda M Zhang, Lara Abu-Zarour, Ho Ching Lau, Alexandra Munt, Ashley N Chandra, Sayanthooran Saravanabavan, Anna Rangan, Jennifer Q J Zhang, Martin Howell, Annette TY Wong
BMJ Open, Published 2021 Dec 9

Click Here for the Study: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046539

 

Unexplained Coma and Sudden Death in Psychiatric Patients Due to Self-Induced Water Intoxication: Clinical Insights and Autopsy Findings From Two Fatal Cases

Stefano Pini, Accursio Raia, Barbara Carpita, Bendetta Nardi, Matteo Benvenuti, Andrea Scatena, Marco Di Paolo
Cureus, Published 2025 Feb 28

Click Here for the Study: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.79813

Artificial Sweeteners and Cancer

National Cancer Institute, Reviewed: August 29, 2023

Click Here for the Review: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/artificial-sweeteners-fact-sheet

 

15th Report on Carcinogens

Appendix B Substances Delisted from the Report on Carcinogens
National Library of Medicine - National Center for Biotechnology Information, Published 2021 Dec 21

Click Here for the Study: https://doi.org/10.22427/NTP-OTHER-1003

 

SACCHARIN (SACCHARIN, SODIUM SACCHARIN, CALCIUM SACCHARIN & ortho-TOLUENESULPHONAMIDE)

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Summaries & Evaluations, Published VOL.: 22 (1980) (p. 111)

Click Here for the Study: https://inchem.org/documents/iarc/vol22/saccharin.html

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5/4/2026