Anyone want to buy some snake oil?

Today I got an email from a neighbor who is promoting a new product that is supposed to relieve pain. The "amazing product" shown in the picture is touted as an energy wand that uses "breakthrough amized fusion technology." The claim is that the wand will "turn on your body's own source energy within" so you can "experience your aches and pains leaving your body."

In the email, the wand is said to be responsible for immediately relieving the pain of a man whose ribs were sore for three years since his second open heart surgery. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, additionally, the wand was able to make lemons taste sweeter and make bitter olive oil lose its bitterness and become “quite pleasant.”

Now, these claims were only the beginning. Migraines went away; knee pain vanished, back pain immediately gone, broken noses healed, nasal steroids were no longer needed! I know that some people will actually find relief when using it. Why?

For the same reason that placebos work 10-15% of the time. The mind is a miracle worker when belief is strong enough. But how can individuals sleep at night when they promote such products without any real scientific support that they work?

To be thorough, I did some research on the company’s website and on Google and was unable to find any scientific research on this product. In fact, I didn’t find any research, scientific or otherwise! With a product that claims this much, then we should see support in studies using a double blind comparison between a real wand and a look-alike wand that has no technology. However, products such as these come around all the time and—surprise—no valid research exists to supports the claims.

Now, the tragic part of this all-too-common story in my view is that people will buy this product. The reason this is sad is because these people are desperate souls who have chronic health issues that neither modern medicine nor their prayers of faith have been able to heal. We all know such people who have suffered for years or even decades and found no relief. They have had multiple surgeries and taken all sorts of medications and yet they still suffer.

Because of their desperation, when a friend offers a testimonial and shares this product with them, their quality of life is so poor that they will try anything. They have been praying for years for relief and maybe this is the answer to their prayers! Surely a trusted friend would only bear testimony on a true and valid product! Especially when the friend is a fellow church member. Why not try this miracle technology?! What is there to lose except a few thousand dollars that I don’t really have?

I find it immoral that businesses and individuals will promote such an untested product that has such wild claims. This is pure greed at work.

Unfortunately, some industries seem to prey off these products. The multi-level-marketing industry seems full of health products with amazing claims. Drink this juice and your cancer will go away! Often the promises are passed along by word of mouth (or email) so the company won’t be held accountable.

In the case of the “amazing amized energy wand” it appears that the product is also promoted through a MLM. I went to the company website in the email and found the phrase “Building Wealth Through Wellness” immediately under their name. Now the motive appears clear: building wealth. To be more accurate it should say “Building wealth by taking it from others under the pretense of healing them.”

Now here is my advice to any readers out there who are promoting such products or services: Get a real job that contributes a meaningful good or service to society! Also, if you want to keep me on your email list, I won’t mind too much since I need something to write about on occasion. I always find it interesting to see what insane things people get caught up in.

Like a neighbor friend and M.D. said when I showed him the email: "I don't even think some of these people are from our planet." He also quoted P.T. Barnum: "There's a sucker born every minute."

Unfortunately, I think Barnum might be right!