The Internet serves up a wealth of information — literally right at our fingertips. Because health and wellness are especially hot online topics, your patients may ask you about information they read on Web sites or in e-mails.
Although the content of many Web sites is credible and science-based, that's not always the case. Information on the Internet is not regulated for accuracy and the author of the information isn't always clear. These factors can make online health information a source of misinformation, confusion, and needless fear for consumers.
For example, alarming and unfounded e-mail hoaxes — often called "urban legends" — circulate widely to "warn" people about a particular health peril. Subjects have included bananas carrying flesh-eating bacteria, cancer-causing antiperspirants and chewing gums infested with spider eggs. Perhaps a concerned patient has questioned you about an e-mail hoax, or you have found one in your own in-box.
Helping patients spot an Internet hoax
As a health-care professional, you are a trusted source of information for your patients. Arm them with these tips for spotting Internet hoaxes and identifying science-based sources of online information:
• Question information that's too bad to be true. A sure sign of a hoax is a Web site or e-mail message claiming that one product causes every malady under the sun.
For example, a common e-mail myth is that the low-calorie sweetener aspartame causes a range of medical conditions from brain cancer and multiple sclerosis to Alzheimer's disease. In reality, aspartame is one of the most thoroughly studied food ingredients with more than 200 studies confirming its safety. Aspartame is composed of two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine, and a small amount of methanol — components already found in the diet. To give some perspective, a glass of tomato juice provides six times as much methanol as a similar amount of a beverage sweetened with aspartame.
• Use caution before clicking "send." E-mail hoaxes often urge recipients to forward the message to everyone they know. Warn patients against unwittingly spreading false and alarming information to family and friends.
• Carefully consider the source. Advise patients to scrutinize the source of information on Web sites and in e-mail messages. Is the source a respected health authority or an unknown entity?
With the aspartame myth, an unknown person named "Nancy Markle" allegedly wrote the letter, yet she has never been identified. However, regulatory bodies and health professional organizations such as the Food and Drug Administration (www.fda.gov), American Dietetic Association (www.eatright.org) and American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org) all support the safety of aspartame. Advise patients to ignore e-mail messages from unknown senders and rely on the Web sites of credible, science-based organizations.
• Check out urban legends. When patients suspect they're the victim of an e-mail hoax, recommend they visit Web sites such as www.snopes.com and www.urbanlegends.about.com. These sites are dedicated to setting the record straight about urban legends and the rumors they spread via the Internet.
