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.
Confronting homeopathy, naturopathy, homeopathy, and other quackademic medicine at my alma mater
Several years back, I was forced to confront quackery at my alma mater in the form of an anthroposophic medicine program at the University of Michigan. The situation has deteriorated since then, as now the Department of Family Medicine there is inviting homeopaths to give talks and teaching acupuncture as credulously as any acupuncturist. Will the disease metastasize to other departments in...
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?
Naturopathy Textbook
The Textbook of Natural Medicine reveals what students of naturopathy are taught. It claims to be a scientific presentation, but it reveals just how unscientific naturopathy is. It mixes good science with bad science, pseudoscience, outright errors of fact, vitalism, philosophy, ancient history, superstition, gullibility, misrepresentations, metaphysics, religion, hearsay, opinion, and anecdotes.
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.