Tag: inflammation

The PULS test and COVID-19 vaccinations

No, nobody has proven that the COVID vaccine series increases your risk of heart attack. Here's why.

/ December 7, 2021
Lab mice

Even in a pandemic, bait-and-switch acupuncture studies still get published in Nature

Last week, a study claiming to have identified a neurologic mechanism by which acupuncture reduces inflammation was published in Nature. It does no such thing. it's another bait-and-switch mouse study that likely would never have been published in such a high profile journal if it hadn't rebranded electrical stimulation as "electroacupuncture".

/ October 18, 2021

Buzzword Medicine – Anti-Proinflammation

Does it make sense to simultaneously recommend interventions to suppress and boost the immune system?

/ August 11, 2021

Torturing mice, data, and figures in the name of antivaccine pseudoscience

In September, antivaccine "researchers" Christopher Shaw and Lucija Tomljenovic published a study claiming to link aluminum adjuvants in vaccines to neuroinflammation and autism. Naturally, the antivaccine movement pointed to it as slam dunk evidence that vaccines cause autism. It's not. In fact, not only is it bad science, but it might well be fraudulent.

/ October 30, 2017

Amino Neuro Frequency: Just More “Embedded Frequencies” Silliness

Amino neuro frequency treatment uses one-inch stick-on patches with embedded "frequencies" that the body recognizes and directs to the proper area to treat pain and inflammation. The concept of "embedded frequencies" is bogus and ANF is nothing but a theatrical placebo.

/ October 3, 2017

“New vaccine replaces statins?” Not So Fast!

News reports suggest new drugs may replace statins. PSCK9 inhibitors are useful, but only along with statins in high risk patients not controlled on statins alone, or for patients who can't tolerate statins. They're not about to replace statins.

/ September 5, 2017

Can mind-body practices “reprogram” our DNA?

A recent systematic review has been touted as demonstrating that "mind-body" practices like yoga can reprogram our DNA. There are several reasons to doubt these claims, not the least of which is the history of bias in past studies on this topic.

/ June 26, 2017

Beetroots Don’t Cure Cancer

Alternative medicine, like all good marketing, is largely about creating a narrative. Once you have sold people on the narrative, products essentially market themselves. That narrative has been evolving for literally centuries, although it seems to have accelerated with the advent of mass media and now the internet. It is optimized to push emotional buttons in order to sell products. There are...

/ April 13, 2016

“Magic Socks?” Alternative Medicine’s Obsession With Your Feet.

I recently received an email from none other than Jann Bellamy pointing out a particular flavor of naturopathic nonsense that I had missed up until this point: “magic socks.” A quick search revealed that our own Scott Gavura had briefly mentioned this remedy in a 2013 post, but I plan on going into much greater detail. The claim contained in the newsletter...

/ October 9, 2015

Inflammation: Both Friend and Foe

A number of buzz-words appear repeatedly in health claims, such as natural, antioxidants, organic, and inflammation. Inflammation has been implicated in a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, Parkinson’s, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, atherosclerosis, and even cancer. Inflammation has been demonized, and is usually thought of as a bad thing. But it is not all bad. In a study in Nature Medicine in September...

/ December 27, 2011