One approach may be to see if you can find the scientific research that some of the hype is extrapolated from, and discuss that. In the case of Bruce Lipton, that may mean finding and discussing scientific papers about epigenetics and about the effects of low-level magnetic fields on biological systems. If you read the actual papers, and understand them enough to explain them to someone with less of a scientific background, then that could be a starting point for discussing the topics with your friends.
I'm not sure if that will help. But many things that look like pseudoscience have something real that is related to them. Talking about the real things can help separate them out from the bullshit.
Science journalism in general is pretty terrible. Someone has to go way beyond what is offered by mainstream media to have any kind of clue. It's a lot of work, and a lot to expect the average person to do, especially when so many scientific journals are paywalled.
Instead of attempting to shatter the illusion, one thing to do may be to demonstrate techniques for dealing with things when they are uncertain, and out of one's control. If it is a psychological crutch, then having techniques to replace it, rather than a new vision of the world, may remove the need for the crutch.
Some people are more open to different points of view than others. I would start with the people who are at least somewhat open to considering other ideas. And also be prepared to listen to them and find out what it is that they think is important about their beliefs. You may share more common ground than you think. Or they may have had personal experiences that are extremely different from yours. You can probably learn something.
I've known for a long time that some people who are very close to me are somewhat inclined to believe the pseudoscience world, but it always seemed pretty benign. In their everyday lives they're pretty normal people and don't do any crazy things, so this was a topic I mostly avoided and left it at that. After all - they seemed to find psychological value in it. A sense of control over their own lives, a sense of purpose, etc.
Recently I found out however that at least one of them seriously believes Bruce Lipton, who in essence preaches that happy thoughts cure cancer. Now I'm starting to get worried...
Thus I'm wondering - what can I do about it? This is in essence a religious question. They believe this stuff with just anecdotal proof. How do I disprove it without sounding like "Your religion is wrong, convert to my religion, it's right"? Pseudoscientists are pretty good at weaving a web of lies that sound quite logical and true.
The one thing I've come up with is to somehow introduce them to classical logical fallacies. That at least doesn't directly conflict with their beliefs. But beyond that I have no idea.
And perhaps more important is the question - should I do anything about it? The pseudoscientific world is a rosy one. You're in control of your life and your body, you control random events, and most importantly - if you do everything right, it'll all be OK. Even if I succeed in crushing that illusion, I have nothing to put in its place. I'm worried that revealing just how truly bleak the reality is might devastate them. They seem to be drawing a lot of their happiness from these pseudoscientific beliefs, either directly or indirectly.
And anyway, more likely that I won't succeed but just ruin my (healthy) relationship with them. Maybe it's best just not to interfere at all? Even if they end up hurting themselves, well... it was their choice. Of course, that also means that I'll be standing idly by and allowing bullshit to propagate, which is kinda not a very good thing. However right now they are not very pushy about their beliefs, and only talk about them if the topic comes up naturally, so I guess it's not that bad.
Any thoughts?