10 Weird Health Theories That Just Won't Go Away

Do vitamins prevent or increase the risk of developing prostate cancer? Is there really an obesity epidemic or is it just scaremongering? Are drug companies ignoring a cheap cure for multiple sclerosis? And is there anything that low doses of naltrexone cannot do?

The web allows weird theories about health to spread at lightning speed. The general public is not well-versed in the difference between science and speculation. And, of course, research sometimes does overturn long-held beliefs in favor of new facts.

Here are 10 of the strangest current theories about health and disease. All of them have, at some point, been taken seriously by educated people.

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For many people, trumpeting the "problem of obesity" is an opportunity for them to express both their own moral superiority and their latent class snobbery and racism.

Next: Not tonight darling, I've got female sexual dysfunction»

"Women who don't like sex have female sexual dysfunction"

For years drug companies have tried to develop drugs to boost women's libido. The FDA has rejected most attempts to launch new prescription drugs specifically aimed at FSD, although hormone treatments and topical lubricants are available.

Critics say there's no evidence that low libido needs medical intervention, and that there is no such thing as "normal" sexual function anyway.

Next: Can a pill for alcoholism cure cancer?»

"Low-dose naltrexone cures everything"

Naltrexone is typically prescribed to combat heroine addiction or alcoholism. But some enthusiasts believe that low doses of the drug have an affect on HIV/AIDS, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and central nervous system disorders. Naltrexone acts on our endorphin receptors, and thus may have powerful effects on our nervous systems, the theory says. There is, however, no robust evidence supporting its use as a revolutionary cure-all.

Next: M.S. is just a plumbing problem»

"Multiple sclerosis is caused by blocked jugular veins"

This is one of those theories that could win a Nobel prize if it turns out to be true (and end the fortunes of several drug companies that make huge sums from selling expensive M.S. drugs). It states that in many M.S. patients there appears to be poor blood drainage from the brain, leading to an accumulation of iron that kills brain cells and causes the plaque legions associated with M.S. Testing is under way.

Next: vitamins and cancer»

"Taking multivitamins can prevent prostate cancer"

Bayer is most responsible for this pernicious myth due to a TV and radio campaign that falsely suggested that its One A Day multivitamin brand might prevent prostate cancer. Americans, of course, need little encouragement to take vitamin pills even though there is little evidence that anyone except the very old, the very sick or the very pregnant actually needs them. The sad part: Some studies show that vitamin consumption can actually increase your risk for prostate cancer.

Next: High cholesterol? No problem!»

"High cholesterol is not a health risk"

The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics is a league of scientists who believe that all this worrying about blood lipid levels is, basically, bunk. "Millions of healthy people have been frightened and badgered into eating a tedious and flavorless diet or into taking potentially dangerous drugs for the rest of their lives. As the scientific evidence in support of the cholesterol campaign is non-existent, we consider it important to stop it as soon as possible," they proclaim. Good luck with that: cholesterol treatments such as Pfizer's Lipitor are some of the most successful drugs ever launched.

Next: The feds want to microchip you like a pet cat»

"The federal government will require that all Americans have an implanted microchip"
The conspiracy theory that all Americans will be chipped (and enslaved) by the federal government was caused by three unrelated developments that were conflated into one: The marketing of a health records microchip for humans by PositiveID, the spread of RFID trackers in which chips are used to track retail packages and goods, and a passage in the Obama healthcare reform bill that empowers the FDA to conduct post-market surveillance on medical devices with RFID capabilities. PositiveID no longer markets medical records chip implants, retail RFID chips have nothing to do with human implants, and the FDA regulation was a routine requirement that the FDA keep its records up to date on any medical device sold that utilizes RFID technology. Case solved!

Next: AIDS? Walk it off»

"HIV is not the cause of AIDS"

AIDS denialism is in its sunset years but at its height the notion that AIDS is more of a condition brought on by immune system stress from drug use or promiscuity was the official policy of South Africa under president Tabo Mbeki. The country has since accepted the truth, but not before 330,000 people died needless deaths.

In part, AIDS denialism went quiet because the activists behind it -- who refused to take anti-retroviral drugs to treat their HIV infections -- are no more: The denialist magazine Continuum closed after all its editors died of untreated AIDS.

Next: Exposing your children to preventable diseases is good for them»

"Vaccines cause autism"
Like AIDS denialism, the theory that the rise in autism was due to faulty vaccines appears to be entering its endgame. The founder of the movement, Andrew Wakefield, has been exposed as a fraud. The data robustly supports the idea that autism rates are unrelated to vaccination rates. And new research is emerging that suggests autism may be linked to prenatal antidepressant use. Vaccine denialism has led directly to the deaths of many children.