Month: January 2018

Vision Therapy Quackery

Behavioral optometry claims to treat a wide range of disorders, including learning difficulty and attention problems. But these claims are not based on solid scientific ground, and are not supported by rigorous evidence.

/ January 31, 2018

Broken Brain

In his new video series, Dr. Mark Hyman says your brain is broken and functional medicine can fix it. He mixes conventional healthy lifestyle advice with highly questionable claims and recommendations based on speculation rather than on evidence.

/ January 30, 2018

The effort of integrative medicine advocates to co-opt the opioid crisis to claim non pharmacological treatments for pain as solely theirs continues apace

Last week, I wrote about how advocates for quackery were trying, and succeeding, at persuading state Medicaid agencies to pay for acupuncture for pain. This week, I discuss how they are promoting the integration of quackery with medicine. In this case, they are promoting a white paper and trying to influence the AHRQ.

/ January 29, 2018

Rabies Claims the Life of a 6-Year-Old Florida Child: The Tragic Case of Ryker Roque

Rabies is an incredibly deadly infection, but one that is virtually 100% preventable. Unfortunately a Florida child recently paid the ultimate price when his parents failed to seek out appropriate medical care for a bat bite, and despite an experimental but flawed treatment protocol.

/ January 26, 2018

Georgian College’s Homeopathy Program: Magical Thinking Presented as Fact

Georgian College in Ontario, Canada is now offering a 3-year advanced diploma in the pseudoscience of homeopathy.

/ January 25, 2018

Mental Illness Denial

This is really hard, and we have limited knowledge, but we have accumulated enough knowledge about mental health and illness to take a practical approach to many patients and to help them improve their lives. This should include the full range of options available, including medication and counseling. To deny the role of medication can do great harm to those who may...

/ January 24, 2018

Fake News About Margarine

An alarmist email is circulating with misinformation about margarine. A little fact-checking shows that both margarine and butter can be part of a healthy diet.

/ January 23, 2018
Acupuncture

“Integrative medicine” advocates: Co-opting the opioid crisis to promote funding for acupuncture by Medicaid

The opioid epidemic is a serious public health crisis in the U.S., and new tools and treatments to deal with chronic pain are urgently needed. Unfortunately, where public health officials see a crisis, advocates of "integrating" quackery with science-based medicine see an opportunity. In this case, promoters of pseudomedicine are taking advantage of the opioid crisis to persuade state Medicaid systems to...

/ January 22, 2018

Legislative Alchemy 2017: Acupuncture

Acupuncture is nothing more than a theatrical placebo. Yet acupuncturists, defined as primary care practitioners in some states, are succeeding in licensing and practice expansion efforts in state legislatures.

/ January 19, 2018

Cancer quack Colleen Huber sues Britt Hermes over criticism

Naturopathic cancer quack Colleen Huber is attempting to silence criticism of her practices by suing Britt Hermes. Help Britt fight back with a donation to help defray legal expenses.

/ January 18, 2018