Don't take our word for it -- listen to Dr. John Ioannidis and his team of celebrated meta-researchers. Their job is to comb through all these awesome-sounding medical studies to assess their validity. And, surprise: Up to 90 percent are critically flawed in some way or another. If you're hoping this is contained to fringe, little-used research, find a new vessel for your misplaced hope. Ioannidis and his crew examined 49 of the most highly regarded medical findings in the last decade or so -- between a third and a half of them where straight-up wrong or highly exaggerated.
That's why all the stories about "promising new research" tend to come and go with the speed of Disney pop stars ("Take Omega-3 to prevent heart disease! Or don't! Who the fuck knows?"). And it isn't just the stuff that turns up on BuzzFeed: We're talking about the body of knowledge that your doctor relies on when prescribing drugs, giving advice on dietary habits, and recommending surgery, among other things.
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This is why all operating rooms now have a live feed of trending Twitter hash tags.
How can so many studies be so badly flawed? Well ...
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