celebrities and science 2012

7/28/2019 Celebrities and Science 2012

1/7

!

Celebrities and Science 2012

DesignedbySeanMcMahon:www.f

ourthpla.n

et.V

olunteers:M

irandaCopps,M

ichaelStacey,S

ophiaPe

pes,H

ephziTagoe

Once again we have been charting the rise and fall of celebrity fads,endorsements and claims about science and evidence. Weve asked

scientists to review a selection of the dubious claims sent to us throughoutthe year. This is not just an opportunity to talk science to the latest fads celebrity comments travel far and fast, so its important that theytalk sense about issues like dangerous dieting and medical treatments.

This year, specialists put people right on sports psychology, energy ow and dietary

supplements. Its an invitation for famous gures to correct their reported comments. But

really wed rather they didnt get it wrong in the rst place. We have over 5,000 specialists

and hundreds of research organisations oering help to anyone in the public eye whowants to distinguish sound science and evidence from nonsense. Its just a phone call away.

WHATS NEW FOR 2012?In 2011 Simon Cowell was responsible for theintravenous vitamin craze. This year, Cheryl Coleand Rihanna were reported to be following thetrend, while Simon seems to have moved on topocket-sized oxygen shots to inhale.

Meanwhile reports hadJanuary Jones taking driedplacenta pills and Patsy Palmer rubbing coffeegranules on her skin.

In this years review we couldnt avoid the Olympics,inspiring everyone to be faster, higher, stronger. Ifyou, like us, wondered why so many sporting heroes!"#"$%&'()*(+$,#*+-)./$01.1'#"2$)&3"4$#"&2$1($51#$the science verdict.

And celebrities have taken us back to fundamental60*"()*70$3#*(0*3."6$*($,*10-"8*6)#/4$3-/6*064$+"1.1+/$

and medicine in their comments on monkeys,aeroplanes, homeopathy and peeing in the pool.

But there is progress For years weve challengedcelebrity promotion of detox diets and immuneboosting products. This year, these long-time serialoffenders have almost disappeared. Better still, inthis review we are able to include celebrities fromactressJennifer Aniston to comedian Al Murray talking sense on food fads, vitamin supplementsand alternative medicine. Gwyneth Paltrow hasgiven up odd diets after suffering from malnutritionand others in the public eye have sought advice fromSense About Science and medical charities. Could itbe that perhaps we are turning a corner?

Celebrities, with a bit more vigilanceand checking, we can avoid 90% ofmisleading science claims. Stick thiscut-out-and-keep guide to your fridge!

"IMMUNE BOOSTING: you cant and

you dont need to.

"DETOX: your liver does this.

"SUPERFOOD: there is no such

thing, just foods that are high in

some nutrients."OXYGENATING:your lungs do this.

"CLEANSING: you shouldnt be trying

to cleanse anything other than your

skin or hair.

All it takes is a phone call to check it out.

Call Sense About Science on

020 7490 9590.

Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @Senseaboutsci


2/7

Professor Greg Whyte, sports scientist:

Reports had Simon Cowell carrying aroundsmall, inhalable bottles of oxygen claimed to reducetiredness, stress and signs of ageing4. Olympic long-jumper Greg Rutherfordused hyperbaric oxygentreatment, ordinarily used to treat decompressionillness in divers, to speed his recovery from kneeinjuryI couldnt believe that somethingso simple as oxygen and pressure could be

having this effect. It cuts down the recoverytime by about 30 per cent for me.5

Kay Mitchell, Centre for Altitude Space andExtreme Environment (CASE) Medicine andXtreme Everest project:

www.senseaboutscience.org

Body xesOne of the strangest supplements offered tothe rich and famous was dried placenta pills,

reportedly taken by actressJanuary Jones1.

Catherine Collins,Principal dietician at St. Georges Hospital:

And the messiest beauty treatment? Soap starPatsy Palmers alleged favourite, rubbing coffeegranules into your skin claimed to tacklecellulite2.

Dr Gary Moss, pharmaceutical scientist:

Footballer Mario Balotelli, tennis players NovakDjokovic and Serena Williams, and Team GBsprinter Dwain Chambers were among thesporting stars to appear in the newspapers wearingKinesio coloured sports tape that claims to mend

injuries3.

Celebrities and Science 2012 2

The manufacturers ofKinesio claim placement ofthe tape on the skin reduces

pain and swelling in injuredmuscles. Its unclear howthis can positively affect*(%&88&)*1($2""3$!*)-*($)-"$8'60."9$ :-"#"$ *6$ *(6'570*"()$evidence to support

its use over other more traditionaltreatments such as taping or strapping.

That said, this tape could have addedplacebo effect. In sport, anything thatenhances performance, whether real orimagined, has its place. Any additional

,"("7)6$)-&)$"(-&(0"$3"#51#8&(0"$8&/$ ,"$psychological and these could be profound.

Breathing 100% oxygenunder pressure allowsoxygen to dissolve into theblood plasma. When thisoccurs, increased amountsof oxygen can be delivered

to injured tissues. Whilethis is thought to improve

recovery rates from sportsinjury, as you seem to have found Greg,more research into this area is needed.

Doctors are also concerned about thedamage caused by oxygen levels that aretoo high. This oxygen toxicity can cause celldamage leading to cell death, particularly inthe lungs where oxygen levels are highest,and so breathing pure oxygen can causecollapse of lung air sacs. This could makeyou more susceptible to lung infections.

Nutritionally theres little tobe gained from eating yourplacenta raw, cooked or dried.Apart from iron (which can beeasily found in other dietarychoices or supplements)your placenta will provide

toxins and other unsavourysubstances it had successfully

prevented from reaching your baby in utero.

Caffeine may have an effect,but the coffee granules wont.It depends how you applycaffeine to the skin: theresa perception that coffeemight tackle cellulite becausecaffeine, in an aqueoussolution, can penetrate theskin. However, as coffee

granules wont allow the caffeine to penetratethe skin barrier, the only unintended effect isperhaps exfoliation. It also depends on howlong the caffeine is in contact with the skin:for any chance of seeing an effect from sucha small amount of caffeine you would needto be rubbing coffee into your skin all day!


3/7

Causes andcoincidences...Actress Alana Stewart told Vanity Fairmagazine:I had started noticing a few grey hairscoming in, but I noticed that when I wastaking [human-growth-hormone therapy]- no grey hairs.6

Professor Marco Narici, clinical physiologist:

In an interview after recovering from a brain tumour,singer Sheryl Crow talked about the suggestionof a link between mobiles and cancer: There are!"#$"%&"'(#&)*+,--#%"!.'/#&)*&000# (there is alink). But I do have a theory that its possiblethat its related to that. I used to spend hourson the archaic old cell phones.7

Dr Mireille Toledano, epidemiologist andUK lead of COSMOS international long-termcohort study of adult mobile phone users:

Oscar-winning actress Goldie Hawn lentsupport to a neuro-education programmeaiming to increase childrens emotional well-being by teaching them about the brain, saying:Discovering the mechanics of the brainhelps children understand where their

emotions come from. It effectively putsthem in control of the way they respond tothe outside world...8

Professor Sergio Della Sala, neuroscientist:



Alana, hair pigmentation is dueto the presence of melanins,produced by specialized cellsin the bulb of the hair follicle.Greying of human hair with

ageing is due to a loss ofmelanins in the hair shaft. Thishappens because the number

of melanin producing cellsprogressively decreases, limiting the numberof times the body can renew hair follicles.

Some of the many hormones (sex hormones,growth factors, thyroid hormones, stresshormones being the most important) in thebody can affect hair growth and pigmentation,but there is little evidence that humangrowth hormone has any major role in thisprocess. Going grey is a natural and gradual

process, Alana, and Im afraid you cant thankhuman growth hormone for preventing thisproblem: it will happen to all of us eventually!

Goldie, I agree that it can beinteresting and fun to know abit more about the functionsof the brain. But discoveringthe mechanics of the brainwould not help children to

understand their emotionsany better than understandingthe chemical components

of a ball would help them to kick it better!There are too many unsubstantiatedrecipes allegedly improving childrenslearning and well-being, including Brain Gym,NLP or MindUp. But school is a seriousmatter and so meaning well, gut feelings,common sense, intuition or gurus opinionsare not the way: Show us the evidence.

Mind power and magicTV personality Simon Cowell told his twitterfollowers: Today I had someone heal myhouse. Strange but great. The healer bringsin good energy. Someone told me about it.It takes a couple of days.9

Professor Richard Wiseman, psychologist:

There really isnt any evidencethat anyone can heal yourhouse, Simon. Normally househealers say a few prayers andoccasionally explain how re-arranging things will help the"("#+/$ %1!$ )-#1'+-$ /1'#$property. This might make

you feel less anxious and sofeel better, but its a lot of money to pay

for a placebo and a bit of furniture shifting.

Continued !

Well, Sheryl, overall, theevidence to date is clear thatshort term use of mobilephones is not linked to braincancers. We tend to see thatpeople who have had cancerare more likely to over-estimate their phone use

than those who have not had cancer. Thisrecall bias is often the reason why we see

reported links between mobiles and cancer.


4/7


5/7


='#>*?"@#A),&.3-$8#*3'"!*6&,%*-#3!:,!33'B

US politician Rick Santorum, falling into the trapof confusing evidence with belief, said: If hewants to believe he is the descendent ofa monkey then he has the right to believethat, but I disagree with him on this liberalbelief.14

Professor Stuart West,evolutionary biologist:

Sounder stuon healthand lifestyle...

Will next years celebrities be asking the rightquestions about the science? Well, promising6*+(6$5#18$)-*6$/"$"$)-&)$5&81'6$7+'#"6$"$getting their science straight...

The Saturdays Una Healey, talking about thediet she credits with helping her lose weightpost-pregnancy, emphasised the importance ofeating carbohydrates: I did it for six weeks.It did help but I was adding rice to it as itdidnt have any carbs. I cant do withoutcarbs.16

Gaynor Bussell, registered dietitian andBritish Dietetic Association spokesperson:

England Cricketer Stuart Broad, when asked Doyou take any supplements?, told The Mail: I thinkyou can get enough out of your diet withoutthem. But when we travel to places like Indiaand Bangladesh, we do take them.18

Sian Porter, consultant dietitian andBritish Dietetic Association spokesperson:

Unfortunately, Mitt, openinga window at height wouldntdo much good. At a jet

&"#13.&("=6$ (1#8&.$ %*+-)$altitude, the outside airdoes not contain enoughoxygen to allow normalbreathing (its about 40%

of the levels on the ground); this is whyan airliners cabin is pressurised. In fact, if/1'$ 01'.2$13"($ &$!*(21!$!-*.6)$ *($%*+-)4$the air would rush out of the aircraft cabinbecause air moves from the high pressurecabin to the lower pressure outside,probably causing further injury and damage.

Rick, you seem to be confusing)-"$ !&/$ *($ !-*0-$ 60*"()*70$knowledge is acquired witha particular political belief.Darwin hypothesised that abranching diagram or treecould be drawn showinghow all of life had arisen over

"@1.')*1(/$ )*8"9$


6/7


Actress Jennifer Aniston said in an interview:1C#(&"993$#$,3&,!:#+)3!#C#.:6'3$#"6&)*you just have to eat regularly and properly+,&),!# /"$3'*&,"!;# 2)3# 5*$(# *'3# &""#much, Aniston said. The fasts when you

hear people saying, Im going on a cleanse,its just so bad for your body.17

Ursula Arens, member of theBritish Dietetic Association:

In response to fellow US Olympic swimmer RyanLochtes quip that all professional swimmers peein the pool, (18-times) gold medallist MichaelPhelps said: Everybody pees in the pool.Its kind of a normal thing to do forswimmers. When were in the water for

two hours, we dont really get out to pee.Chlorine kills it so its not bad.15

Stuart Jones, biochemist:

The body has many systemsto support cleansing, and a-"&.)-/$ 2*")$ 01()&*(*(+$ 7,#"$from foods such as fruits andvegetables, is the best way tosupport gut health. Extremediets and fasts will make youfeel unwell and do not supportgood health. A fantasticallysensible comment Jennifer!

Comedian Al Murray was asked Do you pop anypills? and replied:Theyre b******s, you get them in your diet,you dont need to spend money on vitaminsand supplements. Its all voodoo. Except may-be cod liver oil.19

Lucy Jones, spokesperson forthe British Dietetic Association:

Gary Kemp, former singer with Spandau Ballet,explained his view on alternative medicine:Ive tried acupuncture, performed by mychiropractor, but Im a pragmatic cynicand believe hardcore medicine and science()"6-$#@3#7"6'#.'("'"5#%*--#@35"'3#7"6#deviate to other things, otherwise your lifecould be at risk.20

Simon Singh, science writer and co-author ofTrick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine onTrial:

Al you are right when yousay that most of us get allthe nutrition we need from abalanced diet. Supplements doplay an important role when usedcorrectly for the right people this includes iron for anaemia,B12 for vegans and folic acid in

pregnancy. And even cod liver oil isnt foreveryone, as its high levels of vitamin A can bedangerous in pregnancy. Supplements are likeglasses: Not everyone needs them and you needto get the right pair with the right prescription,its no good picking up someone elses!

Gary, youre absolutely right tohighlight the value of hardcore

medicine, which simply meansthat the treatment has beentested and shown to beeffective. And also right to raisethe issue of risk. Patients whoventure towards alternativemedicine may suffer, eitherdirectly from the alternativetherapy, or indirectly if it meansrejecting a mainstream therapy.


In fact Michael, urine isessentially sterile so thereisnt actually anything)1$ B*..$ *($ )-"$ 7#6)$ 3.&0"9$Urine is largely just saltsand water with moderateamounts of protein andDNA breakdown products.

Chlorine just prevents bacteria fromgrowing in the pool. So youre basicallyright peeing in a swimming pool, even ifall swimmers do it simultaneously, has verylittle impact on the composition of the poolwater itself . An Olympic size pool containsover 2 million litres of water and a singleurination is somewhere in the region ofC9D$.*)#"69$:1$-&@"$&(/$6*+(*70&()$"55"0)$1($the overall composition of the pool water

youd need a serious amount of peeing!


7/7

1. The Independent, Celebrities: Mommie weirdest, 29th Mar2012

2. Daily Express, Why coat hangers are the secret to smoothhair, 24th May 2012

3. The Guardian, Kinesio tape: the latest must-havetreatment for sports injuries, 29th July 2012;Daily Mail,

The bizarre tape that has adorned Olympic athletes:Researchers say there is no evidence it works, 2nd Aug2012

4. Daily Mail, Oxygen-Factor: Cowells anti-ageing trick isinhaling cans of fresh air, 17th Feb 2012

5. Daily Mail, Super Saturday hero Greg Rutherford wongold thanks to a diving chamber cure... so why cant youget it on the NHS?, 8th Dec 2012

6. The Daily Telegraph, Rod Stewarts former wife AlanaE)"!)$7(26$6"0#")$15$")"#(&.$/1')-4$D(2$F",$DCGD

7. Daily Mail, Sheryl Crow blames cell phone use for

tumour... revealing she thought she had Alzheimers whenher brain went mushy, 11th Sep 2012

8. The Daily Telegraph, Happiness: can you learn to be happy?,18th Feb 2012;Daily Express, Goldie Hawns happy hour,7th Mar 2012

9. Daily Mail, Cowell calls in healer to de-stress his15m Beverly Hills mansion weeks after collapse withexhaustion, 26th Sep 2012

10. The Daily Mirror, Homeopathic healing: The stars whoswear by alternative medicine, 14th Aug 2012

11. The Guardian, George Osbornes 110% do the maths3."&6"4$0-&(0"..1#4$H)-$I'+$DCGDJ$:-"$K'57(+)1($?16)4$

George Osborne: I Will Focus 110% On Economy InWake Of Gloomy Outlook, 8th Aug 2012

12. The Independent, Republican Congressman says evolutionis lie from hell, 9th Oct 2012

13. Los Angeles Times, Mitt Romney pulls in $6 million atBeverly Hills fundraiser, 23rd Sep 2012

14. The Daily Telegraph, Republicans turn their back on theEnlightenment, 10th Jan 2012

15. The Daily Telegraph, Michael Phelps admits: we do pee inthe pool, 6th August

16. Daily Mirror, Rice and easy does it for Una, 15th May 2012

17. Now, Jennifer Aniston: Ive stopped dieting and followingcrazy food fads, 23rd Oct 2012

18. Daily Mail, I sleep very well. No wonder I look so youngfor my age: Under the microscope with Stuart Broad,12th Nov 2012

19. The Sun, Celebrity health check, 29th Nov 2012

20. Daily Mail, Ive always hated smoking and never smokedmyself, nor have I dated someone who smokes: Underthe microscope with Gary Kemp, 20th Nov 2012

Thisworkislicensed

undertheCreativeCommonsAttribution

-NonCommercial-NoDerivs3.0

UnportedLicense.

Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @Senseaboutsci.14A Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R 0DP.

Sense About Science is a Registered Charity No.1146170 - Company No. 6771027

020 7490 9590


Reviews from previous years2006, in which Heather McCartney blamed milkfor obesity in children and Madonna discussedhow to neutralise radiation.

2007, which saw TV presenter Sarah Beeny extolthe virtues of chemical-free make up and actressNicole Kidman discuss brain-training.

2008, in which US presidential hopefuls, BarackObama and John McCain theorised the linkbetween MMR and autism, while Sarah Palinquestioned the value of funding research.

2009, in which Roger Moore blamed foie gras forterminal illnesses and The Black Eyed Peas lead

singer Fergie looked to shots of vinegar to helpher stay slim.

2010,$!-"#"$ 0&+"$7+-)"#$Alex Reid shared his)*36$ 51#$ 3#"3*(+$ 51#$ &$ 7+-)$ L-"$;#"&,61#,6=$ -*6$

sperm).

And 2011, in which Juliette Lewis rehydratedherself with coconut water while Simon Cowellupped his vitamin intake via a drip.

Sense About Scienceis a charity thatequips people to make sense of scienceand evidence.

You can send us examples of celebritiesspeaking about science and medicine:[email protected].

We are able to do this because ofdonations from members of thepublic. You can help us continue:go to www.senseaboutscience.org/donate.

celebrities and science 2012

Documents