Probiotics are beloved by many health-conscious folks. They fit that sweet spot between natural (always good, right?) and medical (must have health benefits). I get legit hate mail if I write anything less-than-glowing about probiotics.

One charming gentleman called me “fake news” and suggested I get my head out of my “pharma fog,” as if Big Pharma and other major corporations weren’t very into selling probiotics for money.

If a drug or supplement or treatment actually works, it will carry risks as well as benefits. That’s why TGA-approved drugs carry inserts listing their side effects, for example. But sketchy wellness treatments rarely have any such thing.

When you’re laid up with sniffles and a sore throat, few things offer real relief. (Rest, fluids, and behind-the-counter Sudafed are most of those things.) But there are plenty of “natural” items on health store shelves that claim to help.

Today we’re looking at one with a teensy bit of scientific evidence behind it: elderberry syrup.

Healthy skin contains plenty of springy, elastic collagen, so it’s tempting to think that any product with “collagen” in the name is going to be good for your skin. But even though you can buy collagen powder to add to drinks, there’s little to no evidence that your skin directly benefits.

A Texas man needed a liver transplant after taking green tea extract, and his case isn't the first of its kind. Green tea supplements (but not actual green tea) have been linked to liver damage in the past, too.

Apple cider vinegar doesn’t shine your hair or rev your metabolism. Yoga is good exercise but not a miracle cure. Homeopathy is useless.

On the other hand, light therapy can help seasonal depression. Alternative medicine is kind of a grab bag, and it can be tough to remember what’s what.

If you're a health enthusiast or are thinking of upping your fitness levels, Amazon Australia has a deal that's well worth checking out. For a limited time, you can get half price on vitamins and supplements from a range of big brands including
Swisse, Blackmores and SCITEC. Here are some highlights!

Pharmacies are full of things that won’t necessarily heal us — vitamin C, homeopathic drops, probiotics — but we shrug and buy them anyway because, hey, they can’t hurt. But now we have some concrete evidence that probiotics can hurt, if they aren’t exactly the right ones for the health condition you’re trying to treat.

We all need vitamins, but that doesn't mean you need to take a vitamin. This week, science gave us another brick for the giant "vitamin pills are useless for most of us" sign that's been under construction for a while. (It's a metaphor, but I imagine it as something like the Hollywood sign, except nobody looks at it because they're all busy shopping for vitamins in the valley below.)

Cancer is scary. Chemo and radiation are scary. Herbal medicines and special diets seem friendly and comforting by comparison, but we now have clear evidence that people who use alternative treatments for cancer are more likely to die.

When you're having tummy troubles, you might think reaching for the bubbly haven of ginger ale is the best option. But soft drink, as it turns out, doesn't do much for your stomach, and that ginger ale probably doesn't have any real ginger in it anyway.

You'd think that by now we'd all stop falling for supplements which promise to "blast belly fat" or "drop pounds while still eating cupcakes," but you'd be wrong. Powerful marketing continues to dupe vulnerable people into wasting their money. Here are the common selling points (ahem, lies) that you'll find on the label.

Whey and casein are both complete proteins that are beneficial for those looking to bulk up. But they differ greatly when it comes to digestion rate, muscle growth, and use.

Gwyneth Paltrow, champion of vaginal eggs, bad lube advice, and honestly too many misguided ideas to keep track of, is now selling vitamins that she says can treat an imaginary disease called "adrenal fatigue".

Have you ever wondered if the supplements you're taking actually do anything? Me too. New labels proposed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration may help separate the wheat from the chaff, with "complementary medicines" falling under tighter regulation. Here's what you need to know.

Supplements aren't regulated like drugs. Their makers don't have to prove that they're safe or effective. Let's talk about some of the pitfalls of using supplements, and how you can improve your chances of getting a pill that does what it's supposed to.

Put simply, cryotherapy is the process of using cold temperatures for medicinal purposes, usually to treat pain. In recent years, it's become a popular in spas and sports centres to soothe aching muscles, improve arthritic symptoms, "slow ageing" and even help you lose weight. Your bullshit meter might be going off by now, and rightfully so. Here's the bottom line.

We all swear by something that we know probably doesn't work. Maybe it's vitamin C when everyone at work has a cold, or #bootea while we diet, or compression socks while we run. "Even if it doesn't work, what's the harm?" we tell ourselves. The truth is, it's not harmless, and we're only fooling ourselves.

If you're having trouble sleeping, melatonin is a popular and easy remedy. It's effective for many people, doesn't have any serious safety issues and is available as pills or gummies for only a few cents a dose. It's also misunderstood, though: melatonin is not a traditional sleeping pill.