Author
Apple Cider Vinegar
I just watched the new Netflix series, Apple Cider Vinegar, which tells the story of Belle Gibson, an Australian woman who launched a wellness business based largely on the false claim that she had survived “terminal brain cancer”. It is worth a watch, and overall I feel the writers (this is a fictionalized version, not a documentary) captured the industry of fake...
The Telepathy Tapes – More FC Pseudoscience
Documentaries can be powerful. They can use the mature art-form of cinema in order to convey a specific narrative. The viewer can get drawn into that narrative, unaware they are being exposed to a very one-sided or limited take on a complex topic. I recently, for example, participated in a fun review of the Earthing Movie which was basically propaganda for the...
Can AI Reduce Doctor Burnout?
I lived and worked through the transition in medicine from completely paper-based documentation to completely digital-based – using an electronic medical record (EMR). There is no question, the EMR system is much better. Access to information, communication, ordering tests, tracking results, and documenting visits are all much easier with an EMR. But modern doctors and other health care providers are not exactly...
Why Did the FDA Ban Red Dye #3
The FDA recently removed FD&C Red No. 3 from the list of approved food additives. This was not based on any new data or interpretation of the data, but rather was a response to a petition from food safety and environmental groups. Their argument was in turn based on the Delaney Clause, a 1960 law saying that the FDA must ban any...
COVID Is Still Here, But Changing
My hospital just reinstituted mask mandates for all staff working with patients. They also advise patients to wear masks while in the hospital, but have not made it a requirement. I still have a stash of N95 masks so it was easy, and all too familiar, for me to comply, but I admit it created an unpleasant flash-back. All things considered, I...
Surgeon General Alcohol Warning
In 1964 the US Surgeon General released its first report on the health risks of smoking and tobacco use. This turned out to be a landmark move, paving the way for the following decades of progressively more restrictive regulation of public tobacco use and marketing. In 1964 smoking was at its peak in the US, when 42% of Americans smoked. Today the...
RFK Jr On Obesity
We have been giving a lot of attention to RFK Jr recently, with good reason. He is poised to be put in charge of the federal institutions that regulate health and medicine. This is beyond problematic, as he has a long list of antiscience opinions. Part of the problem is that he lacks topic expertise (he is not a health care professional...
Health Benefits of the Weekend Warrior
I tend to view skeptically science reporting that leans heavily on simplistic concepts and flashy titles. However, “skeptical” does not mean “dismissive”. Mainstream reporting may focus on click-bait terms but that does not necessarily mean anything about the underlying science. I have seen lots of recent headlines about the benefits of being a “weekend warrior” and decided to look at the primary...
Questions About Pandemic Preparedness
The theme at SBM this week is questions for Trump’s nominees for key health positions within the federal government. David got the ball rolling with an excellent summary of the nominees and questions for each. Jonathan followed up with his own list of questions. I would like to continue the theme, focusing on our preparedness for the next pandemic. It is arguably...
BBC Takes On Appeal to Nature Fallacy
It’s always good (and frustratingly rare) to see the mainstream media get it right when it comes to pseudoscience in medicine. Too often the narrative is – scientists are baffled at this alternative “one easy trick” to improve your health. Most mainstream articles on pseudoscience in medicine frame their reporting around a positive anecdote, and at best throw in some token skepticism...