I wasn't peddling dietary supplements. I was recommending a particular brand of sea salt. Salt is not a supplement. It's a normal part of the diet.
There is research showing people with my condition who surf have a better prognosis. This research is respected enough it led to the creation of a prescription treatment where people inhale nebulized salt water. I think that's a silly conclusion and a more logical one is that sea salt is beneficial. I also recommend people like me simply go to the beach whenever possible and/or live near the coast because this is known to help.
I'm sorry for your suffering, but the problem here is that people are suffering horribly and dying from my condition and there is no path forward for helping them. Meanwhile, drugs are being developed that cost $300k annually and help only 5 percent of the population but I am evil incarnate and viciously attacked on a regular basis for a. Saying "I did X and it helped me" and b. Trying to find some means -- any means -- to monetize my writing on any subject, whether health related or not, so I can take better care of myself and stop being desperately poor.
I blog. The information is free. It isn't framed as medical advice. And when I criticize conventional medicine and how it gets monetized, I also get attacked for that, a thing that happened just today in a different discussion in HN. There is zero logical consistency here. The thing that is consistent boils down to prejudice.
I have thought a great deal about this problem space and how to monetize it. And I cannot think of a good path forward. Trying to make money off of helping people with their health is just inherently problematic. Period. Whether you decide to become a medical professional or not.
After watching a friend suffer, I feel a visceral negative reaction to peddling dietary supplements alongside medicalish advice.