Sometimes I have been asked why people see a benefit from the various snake oil products I am trying debunk and otherwise shine light on. People are much more accepting of the fact that it’s not just a placebo effect.
In my researching of the all of the scam products from Lifewave, Cieaura, bHIP, 8ight, Harmonics FM, QNet, etc and the similar products of decades past (crystals, magnet bracelets, etc) — there is a common theme.
The products from these schemes vary greatly on how they are supposed to work.
Almost universally however, they share one common requirement to be effective:
Drink Water
In some cases, such as in the stickers and bracelets, its just part of the instructions:
“A critical requirement for CieAura Chips to be effective is proper hydration – drink water.”
In the case of the drinks (bHIP) — it either is water or you add water.
In the case of things like the Bio Disc — obviously you won’t see the benefit of energizing the water unless you use it and then drink the water…
Regardless, not drinking enough water can be the source of a whole range of health issues — easily corrected. If there is any grain of medical benefit to these products, it is that they act as a reminder to drink enough water
Mayo Clinic: Water: How much should you drink every day?
Take a look at 10 Health Benefits of Drinking Water, come up with a slick name for each point, print a magic sticker or get a bracelet made for each benefit, and you have yourself the next great snake oil company.
Regardless, if you know someone who is already a victim of these scams — they may be more easily convinced that the product claim are fraudulent if they think deeper about their water consumption habits. If they have been drinking a few extra glasses a day to get that head-ache busting, allergy relieving, energy producing,etc. widget they have glued, strapped, or carried on their person to ‘work’ — they might be happily surprised to find out they can remind themselves to drink water in less expensive ways.