Month: December 2017

Snake-Based Medicine? Another Salmonella Infection Linked to Rattlesnake Pills

Rattlesnake pills, another entry in a long line of bogus cancer cures, have been linked (again) to a potentially deadly Salmonella infection.

/ December 29, 2017

Top ten signs your detox may be a scam

Before you begin a New Year’s detox, look for these ten signs you may be getting scammed.

/ December 28, 2017

A Misguided Study to Test the Reliability of Traditional Chinese Medicine Pulse Diagnosis

Pulse diagnosis and tongue diagnosis are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. They are based on imagination, not on anatomical and physiologic reality.

/ December 26, 2017

Legislative Alchemy 2017: Naturopathy

Via the magic of Legislative Alchemy, naturopathic "doctors" gained state licensure and practice expansion, but also suffered major defeats, in 2017.

/ December 21, 2017

FDA Proposes Changes to Homeopathy Regulation

The FDA has proposed new guidelines for regulating homeopathy. They sound encouraging, and may signal a new era of actual regulation of the homeopathic industry.

/ December 20, 2017

New Blood Pressure Guidelines: Why Are Previously Normal BPs Now Classified as High Blood Pressure?

Under the new blood pressure guidelines, more people are classified as having high blood pressure; but the treatment emphasis is on lifestyle changes, not medications.

/ December 19, 2017
George Carlin

The seven dirty words the CDC won’t be able to say any more (in budget requests)

On Saturday, The Washington Post broke a story that Trump administration will prohibit officials at the CDC from using a list of seven words or phrases — including "transgender," “evidence-based,” and “science-based” — in official documents being prepared for next year’s budget. As much as we like the title of our blog, this is not the sort of recognition we at SBM...

/ December 18, 2017

Vaccine Post Updates: the Good, the Bad, and the Crooked?

Updates on two previous vaccine related posts plus one of the most ridiculous anti-vaccine theories of all time.

/ December 15, 2017

Update on neglect cases

An update on two Canadian cases where reliance on alternative medicine resulted in the death of two children.

/ December 14, 2017

Medical Profession is Underutilizing Computer Technology

There is tremendous potential to improve the medical industry through robust adoption of electronic systems for training and improving practice. So why aren't we doing it?

/ December 13, 2017