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In the last few weeks I've seen some behavior that I find worrisome. I have developed some real reservations about some of what happens on the site.

I've seen people who are showing signs of eat disorders being encouraged to fast.

I've seen people who are losing hair and having sleep problems being coached to lift weights more often and at higher-rep ranges.

I see people suggesting Keto-dieting to people who are asking questions about low-thyroid.

I know "Caveat Emptor" applies to any sort of Life Hack but some of what I've seen strikes me as possibly dangerous.

When you answer someone's question do you look at their previous questions? Do you ask questions before telling them to do your favorite Hack? Do you care if someone gets hurt screwing around with things they shouldn't or are we so interested in pushing the boundaries and experimenting that we are willing to risk our, or other peoples lives for the sake of 1% more? When does the community cross the line into behavior that's really unethical or is it the nature of the site to just not sweat it and let the buyer-beware?

EDIT - Removed snarky comment about Jack Kruse. I meant every word but he wasn't the point of the post.

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8 
 I'd just add that I've seen some smart moderation from Patrik and Melissa when they refer people with serious-sounding medical issues to an MD rather than letting them hack their irregular heartbeak Etc... – Satchmo Apr 10 2012 at 16:21
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 You should flag things that are scary. We can't read every question. – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Apr 10 2012 at 16:26
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 It's a good point, but it should not make you feel stupid. I completely forgot about that option as well, making this a timely question and a good reminder. Thanks to both the moderator for the reminder and LikesLardinMayo for asking the question and creating this opportunity for discussion. – MeepsIsWellfed Apr 10 2012 at 16:39
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 I feel similarly.. but also a little uncomfortable flagging things because I don't feel anything even close to an expert. – gydle Apr 10 2012 at 16:39
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 I will comment exactly what gydle said. And add that that's the reason I come and go here, and now will go again. a) too many young folks with moderate eating disorders who give other youngens strange advice and b) way more concerning I find children and teenagers with very obvious eating disorders given all sorts of different advice, some of it pretty horrible and dangerous. – ulcova Apr 10 2012 at 17:13
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7 Answers

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While ultimately, we are all responsible for doing our own homework, I also think that we are each also held responsible to only give advice in a public forum with limited information on any one person that is broad and fairly generalized. No one should come to ph expecting to replace expert individualized medical advice, and people asking questions here should realize that there are no qualifications to post answers...this is a site comprised largely of lay people.

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 +10............ – sage_ Apr 10 2012 at 18:45
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 +1 Yes, ask a question, get some "suggestions", and do some of your own homework on those suggestions. – Wcc Kamal Stabby fan Apr 10 2012 at 19:45
If only the lay people considered themselves lay people – surfin' on a rocket Sep 29 at 8:19
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I can see your point. I think it's ALWAYS important to emphasize that, "What works for me, may not work for you," and to take all advice obtained via the internet (especially discussion boards) with a grain of salt.

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 <Insert joke about salt being unhealthy here> – Satchmo Apr 10 2012 at 16:55
<Or salt being non-Paleo, lol> – Nemesis Apr 10 2012 at 18:44
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 <Insert insult/retort referencing something about salted orange juice here> – Tyler F Apr 10 2012 at 20:06
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I agree that some of the advice here is crazy, and I think Rogue's answer is best.

However, I think the variety of answers, even ones I think are wrong, is really important, and here's why: the state of nutritional knowledge is that it is immature, and we are learning new things all the time. Sometimes the experts are more ignorant than the laypeople. Sometimes what is true for most is paradoxically false for a minority. Moreover, what seems true today may be overturned tomorrow.

What's offensive and wrong to one person might be right for others, or even ultimately more right. So I think it's important to keep censorship to a minimum.

A case in point: you mention thyroid and ketogenic diets. I don't think that issue is by any means settled. My thyroid normalised on a ketogenic diet, and the interplay between low carb and thyroid is complex. See Is lowered T3 resulting from a low carb diet problematic?

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I should have been more clear. Keto-dieting Vs. Eating a ketogenic diet. Ketosis isn't itself stressful. If someone already has thyroid problems and crashes into a ketogenic diet that is hypocaloric I don't see that as a good pairing. – Satchmo Apr 11 2012 at 18:57
I don't know. I lost weight during the period that my thyroid normalised, so that must imply a deficit. I'm sure there are some things we can agree are Bad Ideas, though. :-) – Ambimorph Apr 11 2012 at 19:27
How fast did you drop and how Hypo- were you? It's possible that the accounts I read were pushing the edge of starvation-type diets either because of zeal on the part of the participants or because their appetite was depressed. Fwiw I don't see that Keto=unhealthy T3 drop in everyone. – Satchmo Apr 13 2012 at 2:35
Well, slowly and mildly, I think. I dropped 50 lbs over some amount of time, 6 months to a year. I kept recomposing for a while after the pounds stopped. I was subclinical by some definitions, though I had been on synth at some point anyway, because my psychiatrist thought even subclinical was important for depressed people. I never restricted calories. All my weight was lost eating to hunger, which was between 2000 and 3000 calories a day. I mostly think CR is a Bad Idea, especially for weight loss. – Ambimorph Apr 13 2012 at 15:01
I think caloric restriction will cause a T3 drop regardless of whether the diet is ketogenic. – Ambimorph Apr 13 2012 at 15:02
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i choose to believe that people on this site only answer if they believe the answer is helpful. and i would also hope that people intelligent enough to find this site realize that you get what you pay for and take all answers here for what they are; opinions and n=1.
are you saying Jack Kruse purposefully harms people?

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 Doctors always have a higher potential than the rest of us schlubs to be dangerous whether it is purposeful or not. – MeepsIsWellfed Apr 10 2012 at 16:41
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 The advice he gives regarding cold therapy could be dangerous, but I don't think he is trying to harm people. He may just be irresponsible. The MRSA thing seems awfully over the top in terms of irresponsibility. – Dave S. Apr 10 2012 at 16:55
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 I don't think anyone on here, doc or no, is intentionally trying to harm. Most people want to help. But this stuff is complicated. It's one thing to hear what is working for others, and another to try and resolve medical concerns over a forum, regardless of how well intentioned folks are. – Beth-WeightMaven Apr 10 2012 at 17:14
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 I don't think Dr. Kruse sets out to hurt people and he can't control all the wacky things his followers do. That said, he seems very reckless, and I think the "MRSA thing" speaks volumes about his professional ethics. Today in one thread on his forums, he seems to tacitly endorse CT for children ("Many think children can not do CT and they are actually better adapted to it than we are"). Despite posting dozens of times per day, Dr. Kruse is conspicuously absent from a thread in which people discuss adverse reactions they've had to CT. – Chauncey Gardner Apr 10 2012 at 18:04
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 @Chauncey Gardiner- i recall reading a newspaper article in the 80's about a nursery school in Japan that had the children play in the snow naked. seems it was a practice used for centuries over there. – sage_ Apr 10 2012 at 18:26
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I just found this site and it provides support for me mostly. It is more like a support group inwhich you can get this plethora of advice to pick and choose. For me, I dont have anyone to really trust as bouncing back and forth on the ED column. It is just sometimes nice to write out the worries you have on being healthy and have some reassurance to know your not alone. I have gotten some of the best, personalized advice of my life here :) (the counselors and nutritionists here at college just dont get it)

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Or how about when people complain of rising LDL and they get told to eat more saturated fat?

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 Troll in the dungeon! (Just thought you should know) – Dave S. Apr 10 2012 at 19:38
+1 for a Potter reference. Always makes me smile – Jenniflower Apr 10 2012 at 20:15
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Does this behavior include obsessions with bacon?

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What's wrong with bacon? It's got a fat content similar to olive oil, nitrates are mostly harmless - our saliva has a larger dose, as does celery. I haven't downvoted you, but I feel perhaps you aren't aware of the facts, so I thought I'd chip in with a comment to help you out. – raydawg Oct 4 at 10:29

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