One of our readers asked for a critique of the movie “The Business of Being Born.” I guess my sex and specialty make me the best qualified to comment. I delivered over 200 babies as a family physician. I had two babies of my own (at age 37 and 39),… read more "The Business of Being Born"
The Ethics of CAM: More Harm than Good?
Edzard Ernst is arguably the world’s foremost expert on the claims and the evidence (or lack thereof) for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Now he has teamed up with a medical ethicist, Kevin Smith, to co-author a new book, More Harm than Good? The Moral Maze of Complementary and Alternative… read more "The Ethics of CAM: More Harm than Good?"
Dr. Joel Fuhrman Sells Useless Iodine Test
Joel Fuhrman, MD, who practices so-called functional medicine and integrative medicine, sells an at-home urine iodine test on his website for $131. He claims the test can assess if one is deficient in iodine. The test requires two urine samples (morning and evening) dried on filter paper and submitted by… read more "Dr. Joel Fuhrman Sells Useless Iodine Test"
Coca’s Pulse Testing to Diagnose “Allergies”
I recently got an email from a gentleman who told me I was wrong about many things because I “come from an era of incomplete medical education and information.” He rambled on but had two main points: modern doctors fail to recognize a kind of allergy that defies standard diagnosis… read more "Coca’s Pulse Testing to Diagnose “Allergies”"
The Debate Is Over: Antidepressants DO Work Better Than Placebo
Depression can kill. Antidepressants can help. A meme that continues to appear regularly in the media and in the comments section of this blog is “antidepressants are no better than placebo.” It is a false belief based on a faulty interpretation of the evidence. A new study has just… read more "The Debate Is Over: Antidepressants DO Work Better Than Placebo"
Chiropractor Lost His License; Patient Lost Her Uterus
Flowers of the bloodroot plant, Sanguinaria canadensis. You’re welcome, I could have used a very different image (warning: gross bordering on horrifying). I first wrote about escharotic treatment for cervical dysplasia in 2015. A caustic substance is applied to the cervix. This produces an uncontrolled chemical burn and the dead… read more "Chiropractor Lost His License; Patient Lost Her Uterus"
Answering Our Critics – Again!
Instead of a new post this week I decided to recycle and revise what I wrote about Answering Our Critics a few years ago, here and here. I thought it was time to visit this issue again, because our critics didn’t get the message. They are still flooding the… read more "Answering Our Critics – Again!"
Another Acupuncture Study – On Heartburn
Patients with heartburn are often diagnosed with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and treated with a drug called a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) to reduce stomach acid production. It is pretty effective, but it doesn’t always work. When it doesn’t, standard practice has been to double the dose of PPI. Doubling… read more "Another Acupuncture Study – On Heartburn"
Puritan’s Pride Vitamin Advisor Gives Questionable Advice
The Puritan’s Pride website has a Vitamin Advisor that claims to provide a personalized supplement plan, with expert recommendations chosen just for you. In my opinion it is deceptive, designed not to provide evidence-based personalized health advice, but to sell their products; and one can only wonder what kind of “experts” would… read more "Puritan’s Pride Vitamin Advisor Gives Questionable Advice"
MyMedLab Offers Expensive, Useless, Nonstandard Lab Tests
One of our regular commenters forwarded to me an email that had slipped by her spam filters. It was from MyMedLab, whose slogan is “Lab Tests the Easy Way.” It starts out: What is glyphosate? Glyphosate was patented as an antibiotic Glyphosate kills bacteria in the soil The same… read more "MyMedLab Offers Expensive, Useless, Nonstandard Lab Tests"