Exaggerations and untruths in the promotion of homeopathy

There seem to be plenty of myths and misunderstandings about homeopathy in India.

Homeopathy was first introduced to India by a German doctor from Siebenbuergen, Martin Honigberger (1795 – 1869). He first came to India in 1829 as a conventionally trained physician and treated amongst other personalities the Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab. In 1834, he returned to Europe, met Hahnemann, and became a convert of homeopathy. Subsequently he returned to India, in 1839, and brought homeopathy to this country. Initially, homeopathy was practised mainly by lay practitioners. Mahendra Lal Sircar is said to have been the first Indian who became a homeopathic physician, and he is often called the ‘Hering of India’... Exaggerations and untruths in the promotion of homeopathy

Homeopathy, Cancer and Dr Dietmar Payrhuber: how TV endangers cancer patients

Dr. Dietmar Payrhuber is not famous – no, by no means. I had never heard of him until a watched this TV discussion about homeopathy (it’s in German, and well-worth watching, if you understand the language). I found the discussion totally mesmerising: Payrhuber is allowed to come out with case after case alleging he cured […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathy, Cancer and Dr Dietmar Payrhuber: how TV endangers cancer patients

The incredible health benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

This is a blog about alternative medicine! A blog that promised to cover all major forms of alternative medicine. So, how could I have so far ignored the incredible health benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)? Realising that this omission is quite frankly scandalous, I now quickly try to make amends by dedicating this entire […]

Read the rest here: The incredible health benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

Recklessly stupid TCM-promotion by the ‘Daily Mail’

The ‘Daily Mail’ is not a paper famed for its objective reporting. In politics, this can influence elections; in medicine, it can endanger public health. A recent article is a case in point, I think. 

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Traditional Chinese medicines could help prevent heart disease and the progression of pre-diabetes, according to research. Some herbal […]

Read the rest here: Recklessly stupid TCM-promotion by the ‘Daily Mail’

The BCA: still happily promoting bogus notions

The British Chiropractic Association (BCA) has lost all credibility after suing Simon Singh for drawing the public’s attention to the fact that they were ‘happily promoting bogus treatments’. Now, it seems, they are trying to re-establish themselves with regular, often bogus or dubious pronouncements about back pain. It looks as though they have learnt nothing. A recent article in THE INDEPENDENT is a good example of this ambition, I think:

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Skinny jeans and coats with big fluffy hoods can contribute to painful back problems, chiropractors have warned. […]

Read it all here

The False Hope of the Hufeland Klinik – The Quackometer Blog

Wales Online reports the tragic story of a two-year old girl with stage-four neuroblastoma. I cannot imagine the emotions the parents must be going through. I am sure if my children were ever in this position, I would consider anything to save them. Such desperation though provides rich pickings for those offering miracle cures and dubious treatments. As a society, we do a very poor job of protecting children and parents from such questionable practices...

Read full story: The False Hope of the Hufeland Klinik – The Quackometer Blog

Ear-candles, a TV-doctor, THE DAILY MAIL, and journalistic ‘balance’ | Edzard Ernst

This article in THE DAILY MAIL caught my eye. It’s about ear-candles, a subject we have discussed before on this blog. Apparently, the ‘TV doctor’ Dawn Harper was had to apologise after recommending ear candling for clearing ears of wax. This prompted various protests from listeners of her programme one of whom even called Dr Harper a ‘dangerous quack’. Dr […]

Read on: Ear-candles, a TV-doctor, THE DAILY MAIL, and journalistic ‘balance’

The future of cupping: it’s bright, profitable and vacuous | Edzard Ernst

As predicted, thanks to its high visibility in Rio, to the journalists, editors, photographers, numerous ‘experts’ crawling out of the woodwork, and last but not least the gullible public, cupping has fast become fashionable, ‘cool’ and ‘en vogue’.

Yes! Literally ‘en vogue’! 

It has conquered the pages of ‘VOGUE’ (and any quackery that achieves this feast must have a bright […]
Read on: The future of cupping: it’s bright, profitable and vacuous

There is a sucker born every minute – more thoughts on the Olympic cupping craze | Edzard Ernst

“THERE IS A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE” – this quote is commonly attributed to P.T. Barnum. If he really coined the sentence, he certainly did not think of the little cups sucking in the skin of patients undergoing cupping therapy. Yet, the recent media coverage of cupping made me think of this quote. The suckers here are not […]

Read on: There is a sucker born every minute – more thoughts on the Olympic cupping craze

Is the media complicit in promoting quackery?

I despise articles like this: not just because they are (the celebrity/health-drecked online version of the) Daily Mail; not just because they are dumbly written/edited under the assumption that readers will be lost if they risk paragraphs containing more than one sentence. But because such sensationalist clickbait churnalism, though guaranteed to draw attention and instigate a good playground scrap, is not only irresponsible and misinformative; I would argue it is also, in its quackery-promoting complicity, potentially dangerous...

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How does naturopathy work? A bit like a flying vacuum-cleaner to Mars � Spectator Blogs

Every so often you read a piece about alternative medicine that asks: how does it work? How does homeopathy work, how does acupuncture work, etc. There was a piece in the Telegraph recently that asked: how does naturopathy work?

There was a complicated answer about ‘healthy electromagnetic frequencies’ and so on; ‘bioresonance’, ‘modalities’, and a marvellous quote about how

‘Every cell in the body puts out a certain electromagnetic frequency, that can be measured – a healthy stomach cell sounds different to a healthy brain cell…’

Read the rest of this excellent post by Tom Chivers (who is a journalist at The Telegraph) here: How does naturopathy work? A bit like a flying vacuum-cleaner to Mars | Spectator Blogs

No, it's not often we link to the Spectator.

Irresponsible promotion of quackery even by the ‘respectable’ press | Edzard Ernst

The question that I hear with unfailing regularity when talking about alternative medicine is WHY IS IT SO POPULAR? I always struggle to find a simple answer – mainly because there is no simple answer. The reasons for patients and consumers to use alternative medicine are complex and multiple. They range from dissatisfaction with conventional medicine to clinging to the last straw. However, one factor is very clearly always involved: the often bafflingly uncritical promotion of quackery by the daily papers – and that even includes those with a reputation for being respectable.

Yesterday’s article in THE TELEGRAPH is as good an example as any. In the following section, I quote excerpts from it and add my own comments in bold. 

It is perhaps easier to list what the naturopath Katrin Hempel doesn’t offer her clients than what she does. “Bioresonance and live blood analysis, acupuncture, biopuncture, infusion therapy, oxyvenation…”

Read more: Irresponsible promotion of quackery even by the ‘respectable’ press