Is this safe? Why I don't trust Doctor Google

One of the most common questions I get is: “Is this safe?”

As a Kinesiologist, part of my work involves nutritional testing, where your body guides me, via muscle testing, to recommend supplements that support your healing.

When it comes to herbal medicines, it’s natural to want clear, trustworthy information—and that’s a good thing.

However, I don’t recommend using Google to research natural remedies. Here’s why:

1. Google Promotes a Narrow, Pharmaceutical Perspective

Google partners with organisations like the World Health Organisation (WHO), this sounds reassuring, but the WHO is largely funded by pharmaceutical companies and "philanthropic organisations" who are invested in the pharmaceutical industry. This means pharmaceutical-based medicine is often promoted as the default approach. As a result, natural treatments—regardless of their safety or effectiveness—are frequently buried in search results or portrayed negatively. Many top-ranking websites are funded directly and indirectly by pharmaceutical interests, so search results often reflect commercial priorities rather than unbiased information.

2. The Media Thrives on Sensationalism, Not Balanced Reporting

News outlets tend to highlight extreme, rare, or misused cases when covering natural health topics because sensational stories attract attention and favour the use of pharmaceutical medication. This results in alarmist headlines even if incidents involved misuse or pre-existing conditions. Often, one-in-a-million cases are treated as everyday occurrences. Such stories spread quickly, old incidences are rehashed over and over again as if they were new, since reactions are extremely rare. Online forums fill with hearsay and secondhand warnings like, “My friend’s cousin’s brother had a bad reaction.” This is fear recycled, not genuine experience. We are taught from a young age to trust the doctors who are put on pedestals, whereas the person who favours natural health practices are outcast, therefore it makes perfect sense for the average person to trust man made synthetic products over natural remedies, that can often be found in your garden.

3. Pharmaceutical Drugs Carry Serious Risks—Yet They’re Normalised

While natural remedies face heavy scrutiny, many pharmaceutical drugs with significant "side" effects are widely used without question. When side effects do arise, they are often treated with more drugs—also with their own risks.

Here are some examples:

• Antibiotics (e.g., amoxicillin): Can disrupt gut health, weaken immunity which makes more susceptible to frequent infections, and cause allergic reactions, liver damage, or colitis and create antibiotic resistance bacteria known as "superbugs."

• Antidepressants: Linked to emotional blunting, dependency, weight gain, and suicidal thoughts.

• Topical steroids: May cause skin thinning, withdrawal symptoms, and long-term damage.

• Methotrexate: Toxic to the liver and immune system; risks include nausea, hair loss, and organ damage.

• Chemotherapy drugs: Damage healthy cells, lower immunity, cause hair loss, fatigue, and nausea.

• Hormonal contraceptives: Increase risks of blood clots, mood changes, nutrient depletion, and hormonal imbalance.

• Statins: Associated with muscle pain, liver stress, memory loss, and fatigue.

• Sleep aids (benzodiazepines, Z-drugs): Risk dependency, memory problems, and daytime drowsiness.

• NSAIDs (e.g., ibuprofen): Can cause stomach ulcers, kidney damage, and increase cardiovascular risks.

• Opioids: Highly addictive, with overdose risk and severe withdrawal symptoms.

• Beta blockers: May cause fatigue, cold extremities, and depression.

• Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs): Linked to nutrient deficiencies, bone fractures, and infections.

• Oral corticosteroids: Long-term use can lead to weight gain, diabetes, osteoporosis, and adrenal suppression.

• Antipsychotics: Associated with weight gain, diabetes, sedation, movement disorders, and metabolic syndrome.

• Blood thinners (e.g., warfarin): Risk serious bleeding complications.

  
  

Side effects vary from "common" (1 in 100) to "very rare" (1 in 10,000), but given the millions of prescriptions issued annually, these adverse effects impact a significant number of people each year.

For example, amoxicillin’s very rare side effects—such as severe allergic reactions, liver damage, or colitis—occur in about 1 in 10,000 users, which still means roughly 1,000 serious cases annually in the UK alone, based on approximately 10 million prescriptions per year. Despite their significance, these risks are often glossed over on popular websites and forums, while natural remedies are frequently dismissed with little evidence—mainly due to the lack of profit and political influence.

4. Unequal Research, Legislation, and Media Influence

Websites selling herbal medicines in the UK face strict legal restrictions on what health claims they can make, governed by regulations set by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). These restrictions, largely influenced by pharmaceutical lobbying, prevent herbal sellers from fully explaining their products’ benefits—even when supported by centuries of traditional use.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies invest millions in research, despite this many drugs that make it to market still have a long list of side effects and the corporations that sell them have vast legal resources to counter any lawsuit brought about by the known risks. They are able to influence media, politics and search engines to minimise or hide their products’ risks and damages.

5. I Trust Lived Experience Over Online Hysteria

In my experience and that of my colleagues, natural remedies have been used safely and effectively for generations. These treatments work with the body, not against it, and rarely cause harm when used correctly under guidance. That’s a level of safety I trust far more than a Google search result shaped by pharmaceutical sponsorships or media sensationalism. I always tell clients to check with their doctor or pharmacist before taking supplements if they are on medication as it may interact with the supplements. This is often because they do the same thing, personally, if the two products do the same thing I would prefer something natural. But that is always up to you..

In Summary

When someone asks, “Is this safe?”—I don’t turn to Google. I look to results, history, and clinical experience. Safety isn’t defined by search rankings; it’s defined by what consistently works in real life.

To find the right natural nutritional supplements for your issue:

Simply head to the booking page for found here. If you would like to know more about courses then head here. Stop asking Google, and ask your body with Kinesiology.