look at this short article by the FDA.  It gives helpful tips on how to critically evaluate claims prior to deciding whether or not to use supplements. It's a quick list and very helpful. Tips for Dietary Supplement Users: Making Informed Decisions and Evaluating Information  (new link as of 8/30/22)  

Lastly, go to http://www.quackwatch.org.  Scroll down to "General Observations". Select "Quackery: 29 Ways to Spot It". (It's actually 30, now, not 29, but they didn't update their article title as of 8/30/22.)  

Read this information about how to identify fraudulent claims and tell me which TWO interested you and why. It can be one that you have had personal experience with already or a new one you have never heard of before. There is no right or wrong here, just tell me what you think. By the way, if you're wondering how they can get away with all these claims, read the article called "Pro-Quackery Legislation", which is lower down on the list than the "Quakery: 30 Ways to Spot It"article. There is a new law that has recently gone into effect in the last few years that do regulate supplements somewhat, but there are still a lot of crazy claims out there.  

The Quackwatch author makes a lot of good points, I think, but I disagree with a couple of them.  What about you?  Or do you think the author is the quack? Anyway, the point of this assignment is to encourage you to think more critically about claims you hear and read about.  Tell me what you think about 2 of the claims.  I would like a paragraph for each one, so your paper should be about 1/2 a page to a full page in length total for the 2 paragraphs.

JUST TO SUMMARIZE WHAT YOU NEED to DO:  OK, so do the assigned readings. Then from the Quackwatch article, choose 2 claims to write about that you're interested in or have experience with and let me know if you agree or disagree with the claim and why. You'll just do 1 paragraph per claim so you'll turn in 2 paragraphs.