American Loon #2200: Ray Sahelian

Ray Sahelian is an MD and relatively well-known promoter of all sorts of herbal products and supplements for which there little or no evidence for efficacy, and a rather striking scarcity of evidence for safety. Though Youtube seems to be his preferred marketing channel, Sahelian has...

Read the full lunacy: #2200: Ray Sahelian Encyclopedia of American Loons

Kampo, a form of herbal medicine that is not as harmless as some might have hoped

Kampo, the traditional Japanese herbal medicine, developed out of traditional Chinese herbal medicine after it was introduced into Japan in the 7th century. In the early 20th century, Kampo was further influenced by modern Western medicine and science. The Kampo system is a pragmatic and simplified version of Chinese herbal medicine. Kampo medicines are standardised and […]

Read the rest here: Kampo, a form of herbal medicine that is not as harmless as some might have hoped

American Loon #2185: Lawrence Rosen

Lawrence Rosen is an “integrative” pediatrician and chair-elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at UMDNJ/New Jersey Medical School, and Chief of Pediatric Integrative Medicine at the Joseph M....

Read the full lunacy: #2185: Lawrence Rosen Encyclopedia of American Loons

‘Doctors turn to herbal cures when the drugs don’t work’ … THE TIMES is wallowing in nonsense

An article in yesterday’s Times makes the surprising claim that ‘doctors turn to herbal cures when the drugs don’t work. As the subject is undoubtedly relevant to this blog and as the Times is a highly respected newspaper, I think this might be important and will therefore comment (in normal print) on the full text […]

Read the rest here: ‘Doctors turn to herbal cures when the drugs don’t work’ … THE TIMES is wallowing in nonsense

The death of a diabetic child: God had guided the herbalist to use herbs rather than conventional medicine

Newsweek recently reported that a herbalist has been charged with the death of a 13-year-old diabetic boy. Allegedly, the therapist replaced the boy’s insulin with herbal remedies. Tim Morrow, 83, was charged with

1. child abuse causing death
2. and with practising medicine without a license. 

Morrow stated that god had guided him to use herbs rather than […]

Read the rest here: The death of a diabetic child: God had guided the herbalist to use herbs rather than conventional medicine

How turn a negative trial into a positive one? Simple, just cheat!

Sipjeondaebo-tang is an East Asian herbal supplement containing Angelica root (Angelicae Gigantis Radix), the rhizome of Cnidium officinale Makino (Cnidii Rhizoma), Radix Paeoniae, Rehmannia glutinosa root (Rehmanniae Radix Preparata), Ginseng root (Ginseng Radix Alba), Atractylodes lancea root (Atractylodis Rhizoma Alba), the dried sclerotia of Poria cocos (Poria cocos Sclerotium), Licorice root (Glycyrrhizae Radix), Astragalus root […]

Read the rest here: How turn a negative trial into a positive one? Simple, just cheat!

An effective herbal treatment for upper respiratory infections

Many hard-nosed sceptics might claim that there is no herbal treatment for upper respiratory infections that makes the slightest difference difference. But is this assumption really correct?

According to my own research of 2004, it is not. Here is the abstract of our systematic review:
Acute respiratory infections represent a significant cause of over-prescription of […]

Read the rest here: An effective herbal treatment for upper respiratory infections

The Daily Telegraph’s story about herb/drug interactions

Herb/drug interactions are important, much-neglected and potentially dangerous. We have covered this issue several times, e. g. here. Recently, a valuable new paper has been published on the subject in a respected journal. Here is the abstract:

AIM:
The aim of this review was to assess the severity of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) due to […]

Read the rest here: The Daily Telegraph’s story about herb/drug interactions

Chinese herbs for Alzheimer’s disease? An excellent example of how fatally flawed research misleads us all

Can conventional therapy (CT) be combined with herbal therapy (CT + H) in the management of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to the benefit of patients? This was the question investigated by Chinese researchers in a recent retrospective cohort study funded by grants from China Ministry of Education, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing Municipal Science and Technology […]

Read the rest here: Chinese herbs for Alzheimer’s disease? An excellent example of how fatally flawed research misleads us all

The ‘Dead Vagina Syndrome’ (DVS) and its herbal cure

Who could resist reading an article entitled “Is Dead Vagina Syndrome Real? Plus, 4 Ways To Boost Your Libido“? 

Well I couldn’t, particularly as it came from a site promisingly called ‘ALTERNATIVE DAILY’! 

And I did not regret it. Here are some excerpts: …

“Dead vagina syndrome” or DVS is used to describe a woman’s over-sensitized […] Read the rest here: The ‘Dead Vagina Syndrome’ (DVS) and its herbal cure

Lies, damned lies, and homeopathy

If you had chronic kidney disease (CKD), would you be attracted by an article entitled ‘How to Reduce Creatinine Level in Homeopathy’? (Elevated levels are normally caused by CKD which makes it an important diagnostic test to diagnose the condition) I am sure many patients would! A few days ago, an article with exactly this […]

Read the rest here: Lies, damned lies, and homeopathy

Herbal Remedies Have Been Linked To Liver Cancer Across Asia | IFLScience

Herbal remedies containing aristolochic acids (AA) have been linked to liver cancer from samples collected in hospitals around the world. The dangerous compounds are found in the birthwort family of plants, which are commonly used in traditional medicine to “help” with childbirth and promote healing.

The study, published in Science Translational Medicine, found that in 78 percent of liver cancer samples collected in Taiwan showed a distinctive mutation consistent with AA exposure. The team looked at 98 samples of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer, and the most common cause of death in people with cirrhosis... Read on: Herbal Remedies Have Been Linked To Liver Cancer Across Asia | IFLScience

Lung cancer patients live longer with Chinese herbal medicine… or don’t they?

The claims that are being made for the health benefits of Chinese herbal medicine are impressive. I am not sure that there is even a single human disease that is not alleged to be curable with the use of some Chinese herbal mixture. I find this worrying because some patients might actually believe such outrageous […]

Read the rest here: Lung cancer patients live longer with Chinese herbal medicine… or don’t they?

Insomnia? Avoid alternative therapies!

Insomnia is a ‘gold standard’ indication for alternative therapies of all types. In fact, it is difficult to find a single of these treatments that are not being touted for this indication. Consequently, it has become a nice little earner for alternative therapists (hence ‘gold standard’).

But how good is the evidence suggesting that any […]

Read the rest here: Insomnia? Avoid alternative therapies!

Goop touted her as one of 'our doctors.' Dr. Aviva Romm rejects that label | Statnews

The headline on Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness site, Goop, looked straightforward enough: “Uncensored: A word from our doctors.”

It featured a defense of the alternative medical practices that Goop has promoted, such as tucking a jade egg in the vagina to enhance sexual pleasure. An attack on an OB-GYN who has publicly slammed Goop’s advice. And then, open letters from two doctors who have written for Goop in the past...

Read on: Goop touted her as one of 'our doctors.' Dr. Aviva Romm rejects that label

Aviva Romm, Big Farma shill | The Skeptical OB

Why is it that in the world of “alternative” medicine (aka quackery), shilling for Big Pharma is viewed as the ultimate disqualification by aficionados, but those same people simultaneously turn a blind eye to shilling for Big Farma (herbs and supplements)?

Indeed, as Aviva Romm, MD demonstrates, one of the most effective tactics in shilling for Big Farma is criticizing Big Pharma. Romm, former homebirth midwife, and current herbalist and functional “medicine” physician, is a walking, talking financial conflict of interest. She monetizes fear of Big Pharma to shill for Big Farma...

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The end of homeopathy on the NHS? [but wait for the ‘spider memos’]

NHS England have published a list of medicines that they propose to stop funding. Items were considered for inclusion if they were:

• Items of low clinical effectiveness, where there is a lack of robust evidence of clinical effectiveness or there are significant safety concerns;
• Items which are clinically effective but where more cost-effective […]

Read the rest here: The end of homeopathy on the NHS? [but wait for the ‘spider memos’]

Garlic against infections?

Many garlic supplements are heavily marketed as a treatment of infections. 

But are they really effective? 

To answer this question, we clearly need clinical trials. 

The aim of this RCT was to examine the impact of garlic tablets on nosocomial infections in hospitalized patients in intensive care units. It was carried out on 94 patients, […]

Read the rest here: Garlic against infections?

Profits before ethics: pharmacist continue to recommend and sell bogus treatments

A recent article in the Guardian revealed that about one third of Australian pharmacists are recommending alternative medicines with little-to-no evidence for their efficacy, including useless homeopathic products and potentially harmful herbal products.

For this survey of 240 Australian pharmacies, mystery shoppers were sent in to speak to a pharmacist at the prescription dispensing counter and ask for advice about feeling stressed. The results show that three per cent of the pharmacists recommended homeopathic products, despite a comprehensive review of all existing studies on homeopathy finding that there is no evidence they work in treating any condition and that ‘people who choose homeopathy may put their health at risk if they reject or delay treatments’. Twenty-six percent of all pharmacists recommended Bach flower remedies to relieve stress. A comprehensive review of all existing studies on Bach flower remedies found no difference between the remedies and placebos. Fifty-nine per cent of people were just told the complementary and alternative product recommended to them worked, and 24% were told the product was scientifically proven, without any evidence being provided to them...

Read the rest here: Profits before ethics: pharmacist continue to recommend and sell bogus treatments

Aloe vera for diabetes: a meta-analysis. If implemented, its conclusions could kill millions!

This meta-analysis was performed “to ascertain the effectiveness of oral aloe vera consumption on the reduction of fasting blood glucose (FBG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c).”

PubMed, CINAHL, Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, and Natural Standard databases were searched. The searches were limited to clinical trials or observational studies conducted in humans and published in English. Studies of aloe vera’s effect on FBG, HbA1c, homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), fasting serum insulin, fructosamine, and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in prediabetic and diabetic populations were examined...

Read on: Aloe vera for diabetes: a meta-analysis. If implemented, its conclusions could kill millions!