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Nicole Kidman and other celebrities have been criticised by scientists for spruiking the benefits of various remedies, without having solid evidence to support them.
The Aussie actress, fellow Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow and fashion designer Stella McCartney, are among those targeted for making claims about the benefits of everything from brain-based workouts to face creams and diets.
Sense About Science, a charitable trust set up to tackle the misrepresentation of scientific facts, reviewed a list of "pseudoscience" claims made by celebrities last year and contacted various experts to put them to the test.
Kidman was singled out for promoting Nintendo's new mini-computer based mental workout program, Dr Kawashima's Brain Training.
The 40-year-old has starred in TV ads in Britain promoting the device and saying: "I've quickly found that training my brain is a great way to keep my mind feeling young."
But Sense About Science says there is little, if any, evidence to back Kidman's claim.
"While practice at any task should lead to some form of improvement for that specific task, it is not clear that this improvement reflects anything other than a basic learned process for that specific task," Dr Jason Braithwaite said.
Paltrow, famous for her devotion to macrobiotic foods, was taken to task over her claim that people can avoid getting cancer by eating healthy foods.
Scientists dispute any link between a person's diet and an increased risk of cancer.
"Diet cannot prevent cancer," British Diabetic Association dietitian Ursula Arens said.
"It is reasonable that the risks of some of them can be reduced with certain diets, but some cancers, alas, show no link to dietary factors."
Stella McCartney's publicised worries about the dangers of using skin care products containing the same petrochemical as antifreeze. came under fire.
"It is a very versatile chemical which is used primarily as a base in moisturisers, a medical and sexual lubricant, a solvent for food colouring, a carrier solvent for fragrances and also in many antibacterial lotions.
"So it might sound scary, but it isn't," Dr Dominic Williams said.
One of the few celebrities to get a tick of approval from scientists was chef Jamie Oliver, who correctly told the public about how a chemical found in chillies can speed up metabolisms.
- AAP
