Results for: vitamins
Speaking Skeptically About Vitamins
The scientific understanding of vitamins has evolved over time, from the identification of frank deficiencies, to exploring the value of supplements to prevent chronic diseases. Among health professionals, taking a multivitamin “for insurance” has long been considered to be a reasonable strategy. But as more robust evidence has emerged about the benefits and possible harms of vitamins, even that advice is facing...
Another Negative Study of Vitamins
Perhaps one of the most common questions I receive from those who wish to utilize science-based medicine for their own health is what I think about vitamins. Even among hard-nosed skeptics, this question is often perplexing. On the one hand, vitamins themselves were discovered by medical and biological science, they play a vital role (by definition) in the healthy functioning of our...
The Truth vs. Alex Jones: How the DSHEA of 1994 gave conspiracy mongers the means to fund their empires
As the HBO documentary The Truth vs. Alex Jones shows, Alex Jones promoted the conspiracy theory that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax to sell his supplement line. It's a model that many Internet conspiracy theorists use, like Mike Adams. Did the DSHEA help create Alex Jones and the modern conspiracy industry?
Quality differences of supplements vs. drugs
When it comes to drugs or dietary supplements, accuracy should be a given. What’s on the label should accurately describe what’s in the bottle. No exceptions. When it comes to ensuring the products we buy are of high quality, we’re all effectively reliant on regulation to protect us. As a pharmacist, I can’t personally verify that each tablet in your prescription contains...
Boosting. What To Do.
The immune system can't be "boosted." It is an inane concept used by those who promote unscientific approaches to medicine.
The Wellness Company: How antivaccine grift becomes plain old quackery
The Wellness Company, promoted by Dr. Peter McCullough, is the product of a trend in which antivax doctors have predictably become just quacks. At least in this case, there is an amusing quack fight at the heart of it all.
2024 Detox Trends To Watch (Out) For
Trends come and go but the popularity of detoxification and cleansing in January is eternal.
The Food Is Medicine (FIM) Movement
Optimal nutrition can be a highly cost-effective, even net positive, government program.
Reeling In Misrepresentation: Fish Oil Supplements Found Lacking
An analysis of label claims for fish oil supplements finds a lot of tall tales
“Base Spike Detox” and Signature Spike Support Formulas: Nattokinase quackery to treat COVID-19 and COVID-19 “vaccine injury”
Dr. Peter McCullough and a number of "anti-COVID-19 vaccine" antivaxxers out there has pivoted to quackery to "detox" from the supposedly malign effects of COVID-19 vaccines. Everything old is new again, this time with nattokinase.