> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://thechocolatelife.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Debunking Junk Internet Health Claims | #PSC 228 - URL: https://thechocolatelife.com/debunking-junk-internet-health-claims-psc-228/ - Published: 2026-08-27T18:12:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-01T19:44:55.000Z - Description: OVERVIEW: The inspiration for Ep 228 of #PodSaveChocolate is in Ep 226 with regular contributor Dr Keith Ayoob during which we discuss how challenging it can be to understand medical research. In this episode are ten signs to look for that claims made ABOUT that research might be suspect. - Author: Clay Gordon - Tags: PodSaveChocolate, Live Stream 🗓️ This stream begins at 10:00 ****MST** (10:00 P****D**T, 11:00 M****D**T, 12:00 C****D**T, 1:00 pm E****D**T) on Friday, August 28th, 2026. Links below to watch LIVE and to view the archived episode. This ****YOUTUBE** link is shareable. [![CTA Image](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2025/11/ytlogo256x256.png)](https://youtube.com/live/KD7JdHmMujg?ref=thechocolatelife.com) Watch and comment LIVE or view the archived episode! Subscribe (free!) to the [@PodSaveChocolate YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@podsavechocolate/featured?ref=thechocolatelife.com), like this video, comment, and ****share** this episode to help grow the #PSC community. [Participate/Watch on YouTube ](https://youtube.com/live/KD7JdHmMujg?ref=thechocolatelife.com) This ****LINKEDIN** link is shareable. [![CTA Image](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2025/05/LinkedInLogo.png)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/claygordon%5Fpodsavechocolate-scam-lavidacocoa-activity-7498851989003333633-EaB2?utm%5Fsource=share&utm%5Fmedium=member%5Fdesktop&rcm=ACoAAAABaLUB44l0lzyoZ9nf9Lg8nfstgzLqxbg) Watch and comment LIVE or view the archived episode on LinkedIn. Join my network on LinkedIn to receive notifications and to refer business to each other. [Participate/Watch on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/claygordon%5Fpodsavechocolate-scam-lavidacocoa-activity-7498851989003333633-EaB2?utm%5Fsource=share&utm%5Fmedium=member%5Fdesktop&rcm=ACoAAAABaLUB44l0lzyoZ9nf9Lg8nfstgzLqxbg) This ****FACEBOOK** link is shareable [![CTA Image](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2025/05/FacebookLogo.png)](https://www.facebook.com/share/19HbnhkVcd/) Watch and comment LIVE or view the archived episode on ****TheChocolateLife page** on Facebook (for 30 days, then watch the archive on YouTube). Follow [TheChocolateLife on Facebook ](https://fb.me/thechocolatelife?ref=thechocolatelife.com)to receive notifications and catch up on other content. [Participate/Watch on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/share/19HbnhkVcd/) --- 🗒️ This post has been updated to include the two presentation resource PDF files mentioned in the episode as well as one additional online resource criticizing Dr Gundry’s **Plant Paradox* book. ## **Episode 228** I asked regular ChocolateLife contributor Keith Ayoob to join me for Episode 226 of PodSaveChocolate because it involved taking a look at recent research on the effects of processing cacao with respect to health outcomes. While I have experience reading research reports and decoding them, understanding *medical* research reports requires special skills and experience to answer questions like, “Was the methodology (study design) sound?” [Processed Cacao & Health: Maybe Less ISN’T More | #PSC 226OVERVIEW: Episode 226 of #PodSaveChocolate, with guest contributor Keith Ayoob, takes a look at some new research that questions assertions that processing cacao is always a bad thing.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/JR_Pods60x60FavIconCutoutButtons-603a8ce4-61e1-4dc0-9e45-6e9e04d9a176.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/thumbnail/Ep-226-Processing-Bad-or-Good---Featured1920x1080-7e0eb14d-8884-415a-8528-ae3af4852719.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/processed-cacao-health-maybe-less-isnt-more-psc-226/) As the episode was closing down, Keith mentioned that the medical community has a “Ten Red Flags of Junk Science” communications program – which is the inspiration for this episode. ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2026/08/IFIC_10RedFlags1920x1280.jpg) I created my own set of ten “signs” that a health claim you run across on the Internet might be “junk science,” a scam, or both, and that’s what I am going to cover in this episode. > I created a presentation slide deck that I will use for the presentation. After the episode is over I will generate a link on this page so you can download it as a PDF. I created a slide for each of the ten signs. On each slide is a “How It Shows Up” list of points to consider, followed by how a well-known cardiothoracic surgeon cosplaying on the Internet as a nutritionist – Dr Steven Gundry – fits the pattern as a purveyor of junk health claims. I then connect the patterns to recent episodes covering the claims of Layne Kilpatrick and Maïa Ceremonial Cacao. [Who the Heck is Layne Kilpatrick? Part 2 of 2 | #PSC 205OVERVIEW: Episode 205 of #PodSaveChocolate deconstructs and debunks the final instalment of Kilpatrick’s fearmongering series demonizing lab-crown cocoa and gene-edited cacao trees. Brandolini and Cervantes would be proud?![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/JR_Pods60x60FavIconCutoutButtons-d4b26694-9ab3-4fef-8bed-96f7905e7d9f.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/thumbnail/Ep-205-Layne-Kilpatrick-Pt-2---Featured1920x1080-1-24149706-6b6c-41fc-9792-b1fb3819d5dc.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/who-the-heck-is-layne-kilpatrick-part-2-of-2-psc-205/) [Updated: Who the Heck is Layne Kilpatrick? Part 1 of 2 | #PSC 203OVERVIEW: Episode 203 of #PodSaveChocolate casts a critical eye on the musings of this struck-off pharmacist and current self-styled hormone doctor and what he has to say about “lab-grown” cocoa and chocolate, and much, much more.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/JR_Pods60x60FavIconCutoutButtons-94420b4a-e9b7-4029-be7c-99de5cc27df7.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/thumbnail/Ep-203-Layne-Kilpatrick---Featured1920x1080-b3bfd433-ff54-44da-81f2-42b86c7d207b.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/who-the-heck-is-layne-kilpatrick-psc-203/) [Is Maïa Ceremonial Cacao a Scam? | #PSC 179Episode 179 of PodSaveChocolate examines the health claims made about and for Maïa’s “#Ceremonial Cacao.” Are they believable? Should you trust them? Why – or why not?![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/JR_Pods60x60FavIconCutoutButtons-0a1472a6-d27a-48e8-bbaf-0943711b49e7.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/thumbnail/Ep-179-BuyMaia---Featured1920x1080-66a2e504-f353-4b5d-bce8-4df16eae3d00.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/buymaia-ceremonial-cacao-panacea-or-scam-psc-179/) --- ### **Presentation Resources** [Debunking Junk Internet Health ClaimsThis is the PDF of the slide deck I used during the presentation.PSC Ep228 -DebunkingJunkInternetHealthClaims.pdf4 MBdownload-circle](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/files/2026/08/PSC-Ep228--DebunkingJunkInternetHealthClaims.pdf "Download") [eBook - Debunking Junk Internet Health ClaimsThis is the companion eBook to the slide deckeBook - DebunkingJunk Internet Health Claims.pdf129 KBdownload-circle](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/files/2026/08/eBook---DebunkingJunk-Internet-Health-Claims.pdf "Download") ### **Other Sources** [Steven Gundry - Wikipedia![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/wikipedia-446f4c81-e9ce-4958-947b-21eaf15b9f83.ico)Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.Contributors to Wikimedia projects![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/thumbnail/960px-Steven_Gundry_Feb_2025_-3x4_cropped--6adc1a4f-1ddd-45a6-bde8-73d95af50a0d.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven%5FGundry?ref=thechocolatelife.com) [dr steven gundry at DuckDuckGoDuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/favicon-3fc9d9e2-cb31-44a6-b15b-5a8656d8e506.ico)dr steven gundry](https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=dr+steven+gundry&ia=images&iax=images&ref=thechocolatelife.com) [Dr. Gundry’s The Plant Paradox Is Wrong | NutritionFacts.orgA book purported to expose “hidden dangers” in healthy foods doesn’t even pass the whiff test.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-21690ac1-6dbd-4832-b089-b1434bec0bb5.png)NutritionFacts.orgMichael Greger M.D. FACLM![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/thumbnail/38-1-Dr-Gundrys-The-Plant-Paradox-is-Wrong-1200x675-f9888101-5a7d-49a3-bf6e-313a90dacbda.jpeg)](https://nutritionfacts.org/video/dr-gundrys-the-plant-paradox-is-wrong/?ref=thechocolatelife.com) [‘The Plant Paradox’ by Steven Gundry MD-- A CommentaryT. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas Campbell, MD address Steven Gundry, MD’s claim that lectins are the culprit of our ills.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/favicon-96x96-c088cebd-d4fe-4393-beba-75a8cb93a048.png)Center for Nutrition StudiesT. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas Campbell, MD![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/thumbnail/the-plant-paradox-by-steven-grundy-md-commentary-fa7080a8-2933-4cf0-b990-0d0a8460495d.jpg)](https://nutritionstudies.org/the-plant-paradox-by-steven-grundy-md-commentary/?ref=thechocolatelife.com) ### Future Episodes 🗓️ **Friday, September 18th* ****Celebrating(?) the 25th anniversary of the signing (on Sept 19, 2001) of the Harkin-Engel Protocol** with confirmed special guests Terry Collingsworth and Miki Mistrati. --- ### **Episode Hashtags** #cocoa #cacao #cacau #chocolate #chocolat #PodSaveChoc #PSC #LaVidaCocoa #TheChocolateLife --- ### **#PodSaveChocolate and #TheChocolateLifeLIVE Archives** **To read an archived post** and find the links to watch archived episodes, click on one of the bookmark cards below. [Pod Save Chocolate Calendar and ArchiveNews, views, and conversations on topics in cocoa and chocolate streamed live to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. #PodSaveChocolate!![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/12/JR_Pods60x60FavIconCutoutButtons.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2023/11/TagImageBanner-PodSaveChocTagFinal_1920x1080-5.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/pod-save-chocolate-calendar-and-archive/) Episodes 201-300 (links to older PSC archives are in the top nav). [#TheChocolateLifeLIVE ArchiveNews, views, and conversations on topics in cocoa and chocolate streamed live to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/12/JR_Pods60x60FavIconCutoutButtons.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2023/03/solen-feyissa-WG7v_wYZW4Q-unsplash-CalendarFeatured1920x1080.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/thechocolatelife-live-calendar/) ⁉️ After a year-long+ experiment, the audio-only versions of PodSaveChocolate episodes have been taken down after an end-of-year review. There were not enough listens to continue uploading episodes and paying for hosting. ## Not a Member? Live The Chocolate Life – Live La Vida Cocoa! Sign up for ****Free** to comment and receive members-only content. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Premium subscriptions available. ---