Sysiphus Speaks

NECSS coming. Acupuncturists mimic chiropractic. Flu vaccine prevents death. In the UK they care more for cats than people. The problem is my middle burner, not too many calories. And more.

It is always interesting to see how quickly those who regularly sell products with health claims supported by flimsy evidence convert to aficionados of the scientific method when they feel it's in their best interest.  Commenters pointed out that the decision was based on rat bu not human studies and that "the poison is in the dose.

A bill has been filed in Washington State (House Bill 2034) to substantially expand the prescriptive authority of naturopathic doctors (or "physicians," as they like to call themselves). If the bill passes, naturopaths will be very close to having the same authority to prescribe as MDs and DOs.

Mumps cases, like infected parotids, swell. Doctors win with false news ?!?. More acupuncture studies not recognized as negative. Paying for pseudo-medicine in Vermont. Your consciousness is in your organs. And more.

But are patients the best judge of the severity of their disease? Maybe not.

Is the practice of acupuncture, reiki, homeopathy, chiropractic and the other pseudo-medicines any different from the practice of curse removal? Not that I can see. They have the same basic principles, just different language. Barely.

Protection from vampires. An autistic muppet upsets anti-vaxers. Naturopaths want insurance money. Big Chiro: what THEY don't want you to know. This blog is futile. And more. https://wp.me/psNTX-cqe

a classic example of the observer-expectancy effect : a form of reactivity in which a researcher's cognitive bias causes them to unconsciously influence the participants of an experiment.

A recent FDA report cites some alarming statistics about the health of Americans, or, perhaps more accurately, the lack thereof. The report was commissioned by the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) in recognition of the many health problems with nutritional causes.

I tend to see some issues through the lens of of how it will play in the world of pseudo-medicines. So when I saw "Bending the Rules of Science Can Save Lives, Says Fauci" over at Medscape (where I am a paid blogger) I cringed.

What happened this week? Measles returns to kill. Stem cell injections blind. Lousy acupuncture studies. Fire hot. Skinny jeans are not a reason to see a chiropractor. Lesbian tendencies do not respond to homeopathy. And more.

The lack of a significant difference between the sham and real acupuncture treatments also prevented us from deducing the effectiveness of real acupuncture. Really. Why did they even bother?

Death from naturopathy. Cows and soldiers have a similar problem. Pseudo-medicines never die. Chiropractic complications. And more.

FDA lab tests found that nearly 300 of dietary supplements marketed for ED contain undisclosed drug ingredients.Three hundred!

A comprehensive review of medical advances from NCCAM funding. It's a short podcast.