Ginger tea

About this video

Your aunt has a cold. On the fourth day, when she feels awful, she drinks a strong ginger and honey tea. Two days later she feels much better. "It worked for me," she says. She is telling the truth about what happened to her. But her story is an anecdote, a personal story about one person, and an anecdote can't show that the tea worked.

A cold usually starts to get better in about 1 to 2 weeks, with or without any remedy: the body fights it off by itself. Getting better without any treatment is called natural recovery. So "I took it and then I got better" fits two stories: the remedy helped, or she would have got better anyway. People also reach for a remedy when they feel worst, and the worst day of a cold, a sore back or a headache is often just before it starts to ease. Whatever someone takes at that moment seems to work. Other things change at the same time too: while she drank the tea, she also stayed home, slept more and drank more water.

We also remember the hits. Imagine a remedy is tried ten times: three times the person feels better soon after, seven times nothing much happens. The three good stories are passed on; the seven are forgotten, because "I tried it and nothing happened" is not much of a story. Researchers who teach people to judge health claims list trust in personal experiences as one of the most common traps.

What would show it is a fair comparison: many people with colds, chance deciding who drinks the tea and who doesn't, and a count of how fast each group gets better. If the tea group gets better no faster, the tea wasn't doing it. Stories are still useful: they give scientists ideas worth testing. This video explains health anecdotes on Knaph, from the Health Level 1 lesson It Worked for Me.

Transcript

1. 0:00Your aunt drank ginger tea on the worst day of her cold. Two days later, she felt better. Does her story show the tea works?
2. 0:10A cold usually gets better in one to two weeks, with or without any remedy. Without the tea, the curve looks the same. Getting better by itself is called natural recovery.
3. 0:27We try things at our worst, just before it eases. And other things changed too. She stayed home, slept more and drank more water.
4. 0:38And we remember the hits. Tried ten times, three feel better. Those three stories are told, and the seven others are forgotten.
5. 0:50What would show it? Many people with colds. Chance decides who drinks the tea. Then count how fast each group gets better.
6. 1:04A true story isn't a fair comparison.