Let’s face it – when it comes to our health and so called “home made remedies” – we really will try just about anything. There was a great article that I read several months from the UK regarding some crazy health related fads and it got me thinking about what the top ten might be. So, in my humble opinion, here are the top ten:

BEE VENOM
Venom is actually applied to certain points on your body and the sting of the bee was believed to cure a myriad of diseases from arthritis to breast cancer. Of course, there are many testimonials from those who claim to have been cured from this therapy including one woman who received 80 bee stings every other day for her rheumatoid arthritis.

This is a huge movement in China where it has been practiced for 3,000 years. There are thousands of private clinics that provide treatment to some 230 million people.

TAPE WORM DIET

In the early 20th century, tapeworm diet pills were actually marketed to the public. It involved swallowing beef tapeworm eggs and then taking medication to kill the tapeworm after you reached your ideal weight. Although I that most people who actually tried this diet gained every bit of weight back again, I suppose this is one diet that you could do over and over again. I was actually very interested to actually find a website dedicated to this diet including the availability of obtaining the “pill” in Mexico at a cost of $1200-$1400 USD.

BLOOD TYPE DIET

Apparently celebrities such as Liz Hurley made this diet very popular, but I must admit, I had never heard of it. The diet theorizes that your blood type is determined by your ancestors and therefore defines the types of food you should eat. Type A are descended from farmers so you should avoid meat and dairy and become vegetarian. Those who are type B are descended from nomads so you should be eating red meat and fish. Type O is hunter-gatherers and should eat very few carbohydrates and a high amount of animal protein.

OXYGENATED WATER

The claim to fame on this heath fad was that it detoxified your blood, enhanced sport performance and improved your heart and muscle functions. Most hope for this hyped up fad was lost in 2004 when a study showed that a single breath of air contained much more oxygen than a bottle of the oxygenated water.

MESOTHERAPY

In the 50′s women used to receive injections of substances such as homeopathic products, vitamins, and plant extracts just under this skin to treat cellulite and even for pain relief. This is something that is still practiced today but there really is no conclusive proof that the chemical compounds work to target fat.

BREATHERIANISM
I wasn’t going to include this in my article today, but when I read about it I thought it was just much too funny to leave out. The followers of lifestyle claim that food and water are not necessary for humans. They believe that we can live on sunlight and what they call prana (the vital life force).

COLONICS

This was actually popularized by the founder of the Kellogg cereal company and was meant to flush out toxins from the body. It can be a rather uncomfortable process and there have been reports of infections, heart failure, and bowel perforation. Frequent use of colonics can actually even cause dependence. Doctors suggest that colonic cleansing should only be performed when medically necessary such as before radiological endoscopy.

IRIDOLOGY

This is an alternative technique that examines the pattern, colour, and other characteristics of the iris to determine the status of someone’s health. Each area of the iris is supposed to represent a different area of your body and iridologists can use charts to distinguish between healthy organs and systems and those that are distressed, overactive or inflamed.

SPANISH FLY

Spanish fly is actually a beetle from South Europe whose dried remains were at one time thought to be one of the most potent aphrodisiacs. When the powder is ingested, the body excretes cantharidin in the urine. This causes irritation in the urogentital tract which leads to itching and swelling of the genitals. These sensations were assumed to be sexual arousal. The FDA states that “Spanish fly is a poison that burns the mouth and throat and can lead to genitourinary infections, scarring of the urethra and even death”.

PLACENTA DRINKS

Believe it or not, there are actually a number of heath and beauty products in the Japanese market that claim to contain pig placenta as the active ingredient. The products came as beverages, capsules, skin cream facial masks and jellies. They claimed to give tired skin a face lift. It’s also thought to be great for those trying to lose weight, a cure to post partum depression and symptoms of menopause.