Mighty Mystifying

The West Australian (the state's only local daily newspaper) has a Froth and Fancy section (sorry, Mind and Body section) on Tuesdays.

In the most recent example of this wide-eyed wondering approach to all things woo, Iridology was the uncritical lead story. There was also a large (uncritical) write-up on the healing powers of crystals, as well as some handy crystal cleaning tips:

Cleansing crystals is very easy. Just place your crystals out in the sunlight for four hours or soak them in a bowl of salt water, for twenty minutes. Alternatively you can leave your crystals out overnight during a full or new moon, which are especially good for cleansing and charging your crystals.

An article on "Watch out for cancer 'cures'" will probably be ignored by the True Believers for its rigid Western based approach to healing (though it does support acupuncture, yoga, massage and music therapy).

EoR was most interested in "Mighty Magnesium" though:

Magnesium is eliminated from the body through perspiration and urine. This loss is increased by consuming coffee or alcohol, by taking the oral contraceptive pill and by hormone replacement therapy, diuretics and ACE inhibitors or beta blockers.

EoR wonders how the human race survives. There we all are, dangerous toxins building up steadily in our bodies, threatening our health and amenable only to magic hand waving, magic water, magic needles or something magic in order to rebalance, realign, restore or eliminate them, and at the very same time our bodies are eliminating, with no difficulties, the very substances we need for health! Oh, if only toxins could be removed so easily...

A less forgiving soul than EoR might argue that it's just a bunch of SCAMsters persuading people that they've got lots of Bad Stuff (insert pseudoscientific gobbledegook of choice) which they need to pay lots of money to remove, oh, and they're also missing lots of Good Stuff (insert pseudoscientific gobbledegook of choice) which they need to pay lots of money to receive. But EoR would never say that.