Tag: herbal remedies
Widespread Use of Dietary Supplements Linked to Liver Damage
Millions of Americans are taking herbal remedies that may be toxic to the liver.
Pandemic drives huge surge in herbal remedy sales
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled a boom in herbal supplement sales.
The Natural Medicine Handbook
Dr. Walt Larimore has written a very mixed bag of a book, combining useful general advice about supplements and "natural medicine" with some questionable specifics about individual products.
Billions on herbal remedies – and for what?
Consumers spend billions each year on herbal remedies, with little to show for it.
It’s Still Not Safe to Go Back in the Water, and Other Tales of Woo
A thoughtful discussion of water-based topics ranging from toddlers pooping in the pool to recommendations on daily alkaline water intake for newborns.
Medical Neglect of Children
Medical neglect caused horrific suffering for these children, ending in death or permanent impairment. Their parents failed them, but so did society.
Natural Remedies for Diabetes: Plavinol, Glucopure
There is not enough evidence to support using dietary supplements in the treatment of diabetes. There is preliminary evidence that some herbs lower blood sugar by a modest amount, but it would be foolish to think they could replace conventional treatment of diabetes.
What’s in your Traditional Chinese Medicine?
What's in your Traditional Chinese Medicine? An Australian analysis of 26 products found 92% were contaminated with heavy metals, undeclared plants, pharmaceuticals, or even animals like the endangered snow leopard, cat, dog, rat and pit viper.
Testing a Chinese Herbal Flu Remedy
During the early days of the 2009 H1N1 influenza A pandemic, the popular herbal formula maxingshigan–yinqiaosan was used widely by TCM practitioners to reduce symptoms. (It’s hard to pronounce and spell, so I’ll refer to it as M-Y.) A new study was done to test whether M-Y worked and to compare it to the prescription drug oseltamivir. It showed that M-Y did...
Report a doctor’s dubious practices, go to jail?
Althought I and other SBM bloggers have criticized state medical boards for not doing enough to protect patients from physicians who practice pseudoscientific medicine and quackery, they do nonetheless serve a purpose. Moreover, critical to medical boards doing even the limited amount of enforcement that they do is the ability of health care providers or other citizens to submit anonymous complaints against...