Category: Herbs & Supplements
Treating The Common Cold
For the last week I have had a cold. I usually get one each winter. I have two kids in school and they bring home a lot of viruses. I also work in a hospital, which tends (for some reason) to have lots of sick people. Although this year I think I caught my cold while traveling. I’m almost over it now,...
The risks of CAM: How much do we know?
CAM products and treatments are often sold as "all-benefit, no-risk". While we can highlight the lack of evidence for benefit, even harder can be assessing the risks of CAM.
For shame, Dr. Oz, for promoting Joseph Mercola on your show!
Dr. Oz goes deeper into the quackery well by hosting one of the most notorious quacks of all on his show, Dr. Joe Mercola.
Cranberry Juice
It always somewhat surprises me how some interventions never seem to die. Theophylline seems to have disappeared in the medical pantheon, but what comes around, goes around. I predict a resurgence of theophylline this century. Despite the recent study that shows, yet again, echinacea has no effect on colds, I predict the study will neither decrease the sales of echinacea nor prevent...
Energy Drinks
Energy drinks are becoming more and more common as the stimulant of choice targeted at the young, athletic, and anyone under a deadline. What are the risks, benefits, and above all the science?
Echinacea for Cold and Flu
Echinacea continues to be a popular herbal product, used primarily for treating and preventing colds and flus. Sales were estimated at $132 million in the US alone in 2009, an increase of 7% over the previous year. Reports of major negative clinical trials have had only a modest and temporary effect on the popularity and sale of this herb, contradicting claims that...
Vitamin E and Stroke
One of the recurrent themes of science-based medicine is that any medical intervention that can plausibly cause physiological benefit can also plausibly cause physiological harm. There is no such thing as “it can’t hurt.” Sometimes the risk may be minuscule – but we should never assume that it is zero. Being “natural” or “holistic” or being blessed with some other alleged marketable...
Short Attention Span SBM
The bar on this blog is set high. The entries are often complete, with no turn left unstoned. Yet, not every topic needs the full monty with every post. The blog has extensive evaluations on many topics, and new medical literature doesn’t require another complete analysis. Many new articles add incrementally to the literature and their conclusions need to be inserted into...
Yes, drug companies do pay attention to herbal medicine
I’m only a monthly contributor here but between being a SBM reader and having my own blogs, I often grow weary of the blind criticism that researchers and drug companies couldn’t care less about traditional folk medicines as drug products. My laboratory spends every single day working on natural product extracts in the search for compounds that may have selective effectiveness against...
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September 3, 2010