We've all got that friend or family member that swears by a supplement promising to stave off colds, cure headaches, or fix some other malady, but often they're little more than snake oil. This Snake Oil chart matches supplements to scientific support.
The chart is a pretty simple idea: Items toward the top of the chart have strong scientific evidence supporting their health benefits (when taken orally by an adult with a healthy diet), while those toward the bottom have the least evidence supporting their worth. Each item also lists the supposed health benefit of said supplement. The larger a supplement's circle, the more popular it is as a solution for a problem. Using green tea as a cholesterol helper is popular and strongly supported, for example, while the chart illustrates that although Vitamin E is popularly believed to help your heart and fight prostate cancer, there's little evidence to support it. (Here's a look at the data used to support the chart.)
The chart comes in both static and interactive versions. Got a supplement you swear by? See any surprises on the list? Share in the comments.
Snake Oil? [Information is Beautiful via Consumerist]