Did you miss me?

It would be a world-class understatement to tell you that I’ve been busy lately. I’ve traveled from one side of the planet to the other and back. I’ve been chasing viruses and bacteria wherever that three-lettered health organization has needed me, and I’m exhausted. So I’m back home to recoup before heading out into the […]

Read more at: Did you miss me? by Reuben

Does auricular acupuncture reduce anxiety? A new study says YES, but I say NO

If you want to scientifically investigate this question, it might be a good idea NOT to start with the following sentence: “Auricular acupuncture (AA) is effective in the treatment of preoperative anxiety”. Yet, this is exactly what the authors did in their recent publication.

The aim of this new study was to investigate whether AA can reduce exam anxiety as compared to placebo and no intervention. Forty-four medical students were randomized to receive AA, placebo, or no intervention in a crossover manner. Subsequently they completed three comparable oral anatomy exams with an interval of one month between the exams/interventions...

Read on: Does auricular acupuncture reduce anxiety? A new study says YES, but I say NO

The most important myth about acupuncture

The ACUPUNCTURE NOW FOUNDATION (ANF) has featured on this blog before. Today I want to re-introduce them because I just came across one of their articles which I found remarkable. In it, they define what many of us have often wondered about: the most important myth about acupuncture.

Is it acupuncture’s current popularity, its long history, its mode of action, its efficacy, its safety?

No, here is the answer directly from the ANF:

The most important myth that needs to be put to rest is the idea promoted by a small group of vocal critics that acupuncture is nothing more than a placebo...

Read on: The most important myth about acupuncture

Prayer as a medical therapy? Time to stop this nonsense!

Can intercessory prayer improve the symptoms of sick people?

Why should it? It’s utterly implausible!

Because the clinical evidence says so?

No, the current Cochrane review concluded that...

Prayer as a medical therapy? Time to stop this nonsense!

Is acupuncture pseudoscience?

Is acupuncture a pseudoscience? An interesting question! It was used as the title of a recent article. Knowing who authored it, the question unfortunately promised to be rhetorical. Dr Mike Cummings is (or was?) the ‘Medical Director at British Medical Acupuncture Society’ – hardly a source of critical or sceptical thinking about acupuncture, I’d say. The vast majority of his recent publications are in ‘ACUPUNCTURE IN MEDICINE’ and his blog post too is for that journal. Nevertheless, his thoughts might be worth considering, and therefore I present the essence of his post below [the footnotes refer to my comments following Cummings’ article]...

Read on: Is acupuncture pseudoscience?

Alternative medicine 2016: what have we learnt?

With well over 800 articles, this blog has become somewhat of a reference library for subjects related to alternative medicine (I know that some journalists already employ it in this way [if you want to use it in this way, try the search box on the right top of the page]). To review the year 2016 in alternative medicine, I will now use it for exactly this purpose. In other words, I will highlight those posts from 2016 which, in my view, have taught us something potentially valuable or are otherwise remarkable...

This way for the news roundup: Alternative medicine 2016: what have we learnt?

Fish oil might prevent asthma

Perhaps I have a weak spot for fish oil; more likely, however, I just like positive news – and, in alternative medicine, there is not much of it. That’s why I have written about the potential benefits of fish-oil again and again and again and again.

Reduced intake of fish oil, i.e. n−3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), may be a contributing factor to the increasing prevalence of asthma and other wheezing disorders. Yet the evidence is neither clear nor strong. This study was aimed at shedding more light on the issue; specifically, it tested the effect of supplementation with n−3 LCPUFAs in pregnant women on the risk of persistent wheeze and asthma in their offspring...

Read on: Fish oil might prevent asthma

America’s ‘leading integrative medicine specialists’: concerns about antibiotic resistance

I came across this website which contains an undated ‘open letter’ that I find most remarkable – so much so that I feel I have to blog about it. All I did below was to abbreviate its text slightly and to omit its references which can, of course, be looked up in the original. The footnotes in square brackets are mine and refer to my comments below.

START OF QUOTE

It is now estimated that antibiotic resistant infections may kill an estimated [1] 10 million people a year and cost the world’s economies some $100 trillion annually by the year 2050… As some of America’s leading integrative medicine specialists [2], we believe it is time to look anew at a modality called homeopathic medicine...

Read on: America’s ‘leading integrative medicine specialists’: concerns about antibiotic resistance

Cheer up: your homeopath is just one phone call away!

In real medicine, most doctors view telephone consultations as highly problematic and would use them but in emergency situations or when there is no realistic other choice. Not so in homeopathy! Here telephone consultations are actively promoted my many – many who have a financial interest in it, that is.

Take this press-release, for instance; I have slightly abbreviated the text but abstained from correcting the many mistakes to give you a realistic impression of the high standard of the firm offering it...

Read on: Cheer up: your homeopath is just one phone call away!

‘Chiropractors Without Scruples’

We had HOMEOPATHS WITHOUT BORDERS and now, I suggest, we acknowledge a similar organisation which could aptly be called CHIROPRACTORS WITHOUT SCRUPLES. This remarkable text from NATURAL NEWS explains it all, I think:

START OF QUOTE

The following chiropractors are speaking up to inform the public about the dangers of vaccines.

Dr. David Jockers, D.C.

Vaccines are one of medicine’s prized attempts to improve human performance. They use artificial laboratory derived medical technology to produce an immune response within the body in hopes it will lead to a long-term positive antibody response...

Read on: ‘Chiropractors Without Scruples’

Have yourself a merry little detox

Yes, the festive season is upon us and therefore it is high time to discuss detox (yet again). As many of us are filling their fridges to the brim, most of us prepare for some serious over-indulgence. Following alt med logic, this must prompt some counter-measures, called detox.

The range of treatments advocated by detox-fans is weird and wide (see also below)...

Read on: Have yourself a merry little detox

A Christmas card to a homeopath

Yesterday I received an electronic Christmas card from two homeopathic institutions called ‘Homeopathic Associates and The Homeopathic College’. It read: WISHING YOU THE BEST OF HEALTH AND HAPPINESS FOR THE NEW YEAR!

Naturally I was puzzled, particularly since I had no recollection of ever having been in contact with them. The card was signed by Manfred Mueller, MA, DHM, RSHom(NA), CCH, and I decided to find out more about this man. It turns out that Manfred Mueller developed The Mueller Method or “Extra-Strength Homeopathy” to meet today’s complex chronic conditions, drug induced disorders, vaccine injuries, toxic overload, radiation-induced health problems, cancers, etc...

Read on: A Christmas card to a homeopath

If we needed proof that much of chiropractic is bogus, this would be it

The fact that much of chiropractic might be bogus has frequently been discussed on this blog. A recent press-release provided me with more evidence for this notion. It proudly announced a new book entitled “Beyond the Back: The Chiropractic Alternative For Conditions Beyond Back Pain”

The text claimed that shortly after the launch, the book hit #1 on the Amazon.com best seller list out of all Chiropractor books and also reached #1 for the category of Holistic Medicine.

Read on: If we needed proof that much of chiropractic is bogus, this would be it

Encyclopedia of American Loons: #1766: Jim Humble

Miracle Mineral Supplement (MMS) a solution of 28% sodium chlorite (NaClO2), a toxic industrial chemical known to cause fatal renal failure, in distilled water and prepared in a citric acid solution (thus forming chlorine dioxide, an oxidising agent used in water treatment and bleaching), named and promoted by former scientologist Jim Humble...

Encyclopedia of American Loons: #1766: Jim Humble

And again: no good evidence that homeopathy works in animals

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES CANNOT POSSIBLY PLACEBOS BECAUSE THEY WORK IN ANIMALS!

How often have we heard this argument?

And how often have we pointed out that it is wrong on more than one level?

On this blog alone...

Read on: And again: no good evidence that homeopathy works in animals