Editing 2475: Health Drink

{{comic
| number    = 2475
| date      = June 11, 2021
| title     = Health Drink
| image     = health_drink.png
| titletext = You'd need to keep track of so many people! Would you use, like, Excel or something? Far too fancy for a simple country nanoenzyme developer like me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NANOENZYME. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic pokes fun at health fads, alternative medicine and the like. It points out that many such products will go out of their way to market themselves as legitimate and cutting-edge by using impressive-sounding scientific terms, yet fail to perform even the most basic part of actual science: running a randomized controlled trial to find out if the drink actually helps fight infections. When [[Cueball]] points this out, [[White Hat]] reacts as though this process is highly advanced and unreasonable, which clearly demonstrates that his product is either nonsensical or an active scam (or both).

{{w|Enzymes}} are proteins that aid digestion by breaking down large molecules. Usually, the human body produces a plentiful amount of enzymes; the suggestion that people may be lacking them is frequently used as a basis to peddle pseudoscientific products. Nanoenzymes are synthetic materials that perform similar functions to ordinary enzymes; although they may be useful for treating specific diseases and conditions, the average person will probably not find them beneficial. {{w|Amino acids}} are the chemicals that make up proteins, and all organic enzymes are made from proteins anyway (thus humans already have large quantities of amino acids in their bodies). White Hat's claim use of the term is not particularly impressive and is likely used to impress and bewilder his audience, so that they are more likely to buy the product. Enzymes have nothing to do with the immune system, so the suggestion that they will help to fight infections of any kind is spurious at best.
	
The title text further showcases White Hat's incompetence. First, he suggests keeping track of large numbers of people in a clinical trial by storing their data in {{w|Microsoft Excel}}, a popular spreadsheet application. Despite the insistence of many companies and government agencies throughout the years, Excel [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/excel-database-sonal-kanabar|Excel is not a database], and it should not be used to store other people's personal and medical information. He then complains that Excel is too "fancy", and then calls himself a "country nanoenzyme developer". {{w|Nanomaterials}} are developed using specialised equipment in laboratories by people who are extremely well-versed in science; the notion of comparing one of these scientists to a 'simple country farmer' is ludicrous, and the idea that they would find Excel daunting and overcomplicated is equally so. It's ironic that the person with the seemingly very complicated work and production would be unable to perform the simple procedures which Cueball has suggested in order to make his claims rigorous and supported with evidence. In this, White Hat is demonstrating his complete incompetence and lack of knowledge into what his product actually does.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[White Hat holding a bottle and standing next to Cueball]
:White Hat: My new health drink is packed with amino acid nanoenzymes that I designed to train your immune system to fight infections!
:Cueball: Can you give it to some people and see if they get sick less often?
:White Hat: Whoa, that sounds '''''way''''' too complicated.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]