Results for: acupuncture
Bait and switch in Oregon: Substituting quackery for opioids for Medicaid patients
The Oregon Health Authority is on the verge of passing a radical policy that would require chronic pain patients receiving Medicaid to have their opioids tapered to zero while covering "nonpharmacologic treatments for pain" that include primarily acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy, and other "alternative" treatments. Not surprisingly, the Oregon Chronic Pain Task Force, which is responsible for this proposed infliction of quackery...
Smoking Cessation
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death. There are effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods to help people stop smoking.
You can’t breathe through your stomach
Some bottle water is claimed to have extra oxygen which is claimed to give a performance benefit. Are these claims valid?
Brief Announcement: SkepDoc’s Website
I have a newly-revamped website!
Double standards in hematology for integrative and complementary medicine: a case study
In this post I discuss several yoga studies that were presented to a gathering of some of the world’s best MPN researchers and clinicians. They illustrate an apparent double standard in hematological cancer research, which allows integrative and complementary treatments to skip over the normally high rigor and standards typical of the sub-specialty.
Cowabunga! Can Cow Therapy Cure Cancer?
A hospital in India offers to cure cancer in 11 days with Ayurveda and cow therapy, giving patients a drink of desi cow milk, yogurt, ghee, urine, and dung. It's very unlikely that cow therapy can cure cancer; but in another sense, the author of the book Holy Cancer says it "healed" him.
NES Health: Tooth Fairy Marketing
NES Health claims to scan the human biofield, detect imbalances, and correct them with infoceuticals. It's not science, it's clever marketing based on fantasy.
What’s the Truth behind The Truth About Pet Cancer?
The Truth About Pet Cancer (TAPC) is a slick bit of propaganda. Although it contains some interesting, even promising ideas, these are unfortunately served with a heavy seasoning of misinformation and fear-mongering. Hypotheses and opinions are presented as established facts, and anyone who disagrees is suggested to be ignorant at best, venal and corrupt at worst.
Clínica 0-19: False hope in Monterrey for brain cancer patients (part 3)
This is the conclusion of my series on Clínica 0-19, the cancer clinic where Drs. Alberto Siller and Alberto Garcia see patients with DIPG, a deadly brain tumor, whom they treat at Hospital Angeles in Monterrey Mexico with an unproven combination of intra-arterial chemotherapy with up to 11 drugs and a poorly defined dendritic cell immunotherapy. Some people have asked me: What's...
Alternative Flea Control Products
Every natural pet health website has their recommendations for flea treatments that don’t use harsh chemicals. The evidence for their claims is nonexistent. It’s appropriate that they’re talking about parasitic organisms, but I don’t think they see the irony.