Results for: supplement quality

Australia ends insurance subsidies for naturopathy, homeopathy, and more

The Australian government has eliminated the insurance subsidy for 17 alternative health practices due to a lack of evidence for efficacy. This is a win for medicine and Australian taxpayers.

/ October 19, 2017

Integrative medicine advocates react to criticisms of the Samuelis’ $200 million gift to UC-Irvine

Last month, Susan and Henry Samueli donated $200 million to the University of California, Irvine to promote integrative medicine. We were pleasantly surprised by the unflattering coverage in the press of the gift. We were unpleasantly unsurprised by the reaction of integrative medicine advocates to the criticism.

/ October 16, 2017

Complementary and Alternative Medicines and Cancer

Does complementary and alternative medicine offer any meaningful benefits to cancer patients?

/ October 5, 2017

Reiki: Fraudulent Misrepresentation – Revisited

Factual misrepresentations about manipulating "energy" in a patient's body and its positive effects on health are integral to reiki. They can also be the basis of an action for fraudulent misrepresentation.

/ September 28, 2017

Maximized Living: “5 Essentials” of Chiropractic Marketing Propaganda

What do vitalism, old school chiropractic subluxations, germ theory denial, detox supplements, marketing gimmicks, and practicing way beyond a reasonable scope have in common?

/ September 22, 2017

Quackademic Medicine at UC Irvine

UC Irvine Medicine School opens a center for integrative medicine, selling out to promote quackery in medicine.

/ September 20, 2017

Naturopathy vs. patients: Patients lose

Over the weekend, there was a news story describing two cancer patients treated by naturopaths in New Zealand. Both died, one almost certainly unnecessarily, the other after enduring more suffering than she likely had to. These tragic cases and others reminded me of why it is so appalling that so many physicians are "integrating" naturopathy into "integrative medicine." In reality, they are...

/ August 28, 2017

Is something better than nothing? The many ineffective ways we treat nocturnal leg cramps

While leg cramps won't kill you, they can make you miserable when you are trying to sleep. There's not much evidence for effective treatments, and there are far more proposed treatments than there is evidence.

/ August 10, 2017

Naturopathy and dubious compounding pharmacies: A deadly combination

In March, it was widely reported that a young woman named Jade Erick had died suddenly of a hypersensitivity reaction while undergoing an infusion of intravenous curcumin ordered by a naturopath named Kim Kelly to treat her eczema. The FDA investigated and found egregious problems with the injectable curcumin used. This tragic incident thus serves to demonstrate how dangerous a combination naturopaths...

/ August 7, 2017

Abraham Cherrix is alive and well because of science-based medicine

Although I haven't discussed it here in depth, the case of Abraham Cherrix is an instructive example. Eleven years ago, he and his parents chose quackery over science-based medicine to treat his cancer. He's alive now because he finally realized the error of his decision and underwent chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.

/ July 31, 2017