Category: Herbs & Supplements
Creatine Supplements for Brain Function
There is a long history of supplements marketed to enhance memory, focus, overall cognitive function, and brain health. None of them are backed by quality scientific evidence, and they seem to go through the typical conveyor belt of claims – by the time one claim is collapsing, such as ginkgo biloba, the industry is happy to move on to the next. The...
Surgeon General nominee Dr. Casey Means and functional medicine: Legitimizing quackery
Surgeon general nominee Dr. Casey Means is an advocate of "functional medicine." She, MAHA, and a new "board certification" will falsely legitimize quackery.
The Growing Problem of Supplement–Drug Interactions in Seniors
Many people take supplements alongside prescription drugs without realizing the risks.
What do mRNA vaccines, Synthroid, and pharmaceuticals have in common (according to MAHA)?
If you want to understand why Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has halted $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine development, look no further than Synthroid and herbal medicines.
GLP-1 Patch Scams: The Science Doesn’t Support the Hype
GLP-1 drugs work; GLP-1 patches don’t
Your terrain, your fault? Germ Theory Denial 2025
Terrain theory is making a comeback, offering the illusion that illness is always preventable, and blaming the sick for being sick.
Garden of Healing
As I read the plaques in the Garden of Healing, I thought it would be a fun project to compare the content with reality.
Oregano Snake Oil
Oregano oil is being marketed with a variety of health claims, including as a treatment for various infections, inflammatory disorders, and skin conditions. This TikTok video by an “Ayervedic specialist” is typical of the claims made for this product. The claims suffer all the usual problems of the supplement industry, which we can go through them in some detail. But here is...
Should You Take Vitamin K With Your Vitamin D?
Vitamin K is increasingly marketed with Vitamin D. But is this combination evidence-based?
Self-Treating with Serious Drugs on the Rise
One of the greatest innovations benefiting public health was regulation. In the pre-FDA “patent medicine” days, there were countless products on the market that ranged from useless to directly harmful. This was a time when you could sell radioactive tonics, cocaine-laced elixirs, and products containing poisons, like turpentine. The sellers of these products made many unsupported claims and preyed disproportionately on the...