I was watching the news, which at times is nothing more than a free infomercial for a local business, when they started to talk about the latest weight loss wonder: magnetic therapy. I decided to watch it and find out what the claim to fame was all about - after all, you never know if there's any truth to such claims!
A married couple went to a practitioner who placed magnetized ball bearings planted in the center of surgical tape, and strategically placed them in and around the ears and throat. The treatment for a month ran the couple $90 each. After one month, the man lost eight pounds while his wife lost ten. At the end of the story, it was revealed as an “after the fact” thought, the couple were placed on a strict diet.
If anything, their wallets were thinner than they were - $180 thinner! They have said they will continue seeing this provider because it is a quick an easy weight loss program, but how they cannot see the fact the weight was lost due to the diet is beyond me. Now don't get me wrong - I have tried nearly every gimmick that s been put out on the market, so I know the feeling of being desperate and searching for the magic bullet. There comes a time when you have to just go back to foundational basics: a good diet + exercise - excessive caloric intake = health and weight loss. You can't get around the formula!
I started to think back to a holistic physician I had visited about eight years ago who tried to sell me a $100 pair of magnetic orthotics to help balance me, my health, or my charkas. I still don't believe in charkas or the fact they need to be balanced like a set of tires. If the price had been cheaper, I might have bitten for her pitch, but as it stood, I never went back for a follow up. Since then, I have seen magnetic therapy claims on just about everything, as I think most people have.
Over time, I decided that magnetic therapy was nothing more than a hoax to convince people to part with their cash. It seems the Fair Trade Commission and several state governments agree, and have sued numerous manufacturers for making false or deceptive claims regarding the curative or restorative powers of magnets.
One such gimmicky product was called the MagnaSlim, which by its name, implied if you used their product, its magnets would help you to lose weight. Of course it was an abysmal failure for dieters, but a perfect bank robbery for the manufacturers.
I remember back in the spring of 2006 there was a story about having your ears stapled to help people lose weight. Some people are paying $75 to have both ear acupuncture points “treated”, which is unbelievable. What's even worse is this so-called procedure has given birth to “back alley” staplers, causing torn ear cartilage as well as high infection rates. Beyond how pleasant this sounds, I can't help but recall the advice my mother used to yell at me with: “If God wanted you to have MORE holes in your head, He would've placed them there!”
If this practice actually worked, you wouldn't see it's illegal to perform in Florida and Mississippi. Of course you don't have to believe the state governments who only want to keep the little fat man down…you can read what the Mayo Clinic has to say about the practice.
One of the local newscasters who airs a consumer segment called, “Deal or Dud”, had the staples done, and as they were being put in, he howled in pain. After a few weeks he returned, and guess what? He didn't lose a single pound - in fact, he gained two pounds at the end of the test period! If the insertion of the staples wasn't bad enough, he said the removal was worse! Anyone who's had surgery with staples knows this to be a painful process.
This also came out around the time other unlicensed practioners claimed if they stuck a special red laser pen light on these same pressure points, it would help you lose weight and stop smoking. They were charging high dollar amounts for doing absolutely nothing, but again, desperate people often willingly part with their cash.
According to healthyweight.net reviews, the ear stapling won their 2006 quack weight loss fad award, and in a previous listing, the magnetic weight loss claim was awarded their Slim Chance label as well.
I know life is busy and there's not always time, but there is no magic bullet in a pill, magnetic, laser light, or staple form that exists. Fundamentals are a lot cheaper and give you results. It all goes back to what effort you put forward, you will reap back, so if you don't exercise, don't expect six pack abs. Break away from the slick, sexy advertising - keep your cash, and go back to the basics.
If you don't like trying to find all the segments of this series, you can locate the links to them here and they will return you the exact spot on the appropriate site.
quazen.com articles by this writer can be found here
socyberty.com articles can be located here
relijournal.com articles are here
picable.com photographic images are here
