Amish Farmer Jailed for Selling Snakeoil

An Amish farmer is convicted of selling a caustic poison as patent medicine (and of witness tampering) and yet is defended by "alternative medicine" proponents who apparently want the freedom to be defrauded and harmed.

/ July 5, 2017

Fun for the Fourth

Is it OK to laugh when we encounter a ridiculous claim in alternative medicine? This video lecture highlights some hilarious claims and encourages both laughter and appreciation of the human creativity involved.

/ July 4, 2017

Emergency acupuncture!

For whatever reason, acupuncturists and acupuncture believers think that acupuncture can be useful in emergency situations, be they in the field ("battlefield acupuncture," anyone?) or in the ER. They even do studies purporting to show that. This is yet another of such a clinical trial, albeit larger than usual. Guess what? It doesn't really show what it's advertised to show. I explain...

/ July 3, 2017

Antibiotic Prophylaxis For Dental Procedures

Transient bacteremia (bacteria in the bloodstream) is common after dental procedures, but it rarely causes a problem. So, who needs antibiotic prophylaxis before a dental procedure? What procedures? What does the science say?

/ June 30, 2017

Adrenal fatigue: A fake disease (updated)

“Adrenal fatigue” is not a real medical condition, but some claim it is real and that medicine is ignoring it. What does the science say?

/ June 29, 2017

The Skinny on Saturated Fat

The bottom line is that there are trade-offs and complexities when it comes to biology. A high carbohydrate diet is a risk factor for many diseases, and this is highly genetically variable. Types of sugar matter, weight matters, exercise matters, and genetics matter. The same is true of fat.

/ June 28, 2017

Consumer Reports Misses the Boat on Back Pain

Consumer Reports' recent articles on low back pain address anecdotal customer satisfaction rather than scientific evidence of effectiveness.

/ June 27, 2017

Can mind-body practices “reprogram” our DNA?

A recent systematic review has been touted as demonstrating that "mind-body" practices like yoga can reprogram our DNA. There are several reasons to doubt these claims, not the least of which is the history of bias in past studies on this topic.

/ June 26, 2017

So Long and Thanks for All the SCAM

So long/Farewell/Auf wiedersehen/Adu/Adu adu to you and you and you.

/ June 23, 2017

“Chronic Lyme” VIP Daniel Cameron disciplined by New York medical authorities

"Chronic Lyme" guru Daniel Cameron, MD, has been put on 3-year probation by New York medical authorities. Will fellow "Lyme literate" doctors take note?

/ June 22, 2017