We can eradicate smallpox, decipher the genome, and put a man on the Moon, but we can’t cure the common cold. Well, maybe I can. I have a cartoon plaque, painted many years ago by my brother in a fit of creative zaniness, entitled “Milestones in Medicine: Dr. Harriet Hall… read more "Curing the Common Cold"
Bioidentical Hormones: Estrogen is Good. No, It’s Bad. No, It’s Good
MENOPAUSAL WOMEN USED TO HAVE NO ESCAPE from the sufferings of the dreaded “Change.” In the mid-20th century, they were offered a reprieve. They could take a pill to replace their missing hormones, and feel back to normal. That was good in itself, but then they found that replacing estrogens… read more "Bioidentical Hormones: Estrogen is Good. No, It’s Bad. No, It’s Good"
Don’t Let Them Hoodia-Wink You
I first heard of Hoodia last summer, when a radio ad told me it was the new miracle weight loss pill. Since then, I’ve been seeing ads for Hoodia everywhere. Anna Nicole Smith took it. It was featured on Oprah. Lesley Stahl went to Africa to taste the plant on… read more "Don’t Let Them Hoodia-Wink You"
Three Perspectives on Longevity: Fantasy, Reality and Confusion
A book review of three books on longevity: Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever by Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman, M.D. Rodale, 2004. 400 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 1579549543. Anti-Aging Medicine: The Hype and the Reality, edited by S. Jay Olshansky, Leonard Hayflick, and Thomas T. Perls. The Gerontological… read more "Three Perspectives on Longevity: Fantasy, Reality and Confusion"
Keeping an Eye on Alternative Medicine
In case you hadn’t noticed, snake oil is alive and thriving under the shield of alternative medicine. As the Baby Boomers approach retirement age and develop health problems, we can expect an even greater boom of quackery, pseudoscience, and misinformation. Even the most critically thinking scientist may think less critically… read more "Keeping an Eye on Alternative Medicine"
Energy Medicine
A review of Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis by James L. Oschman. London: Churchill Livingstone, an imprint of Harcourt Publishers Limited, 2000. 274 pp. ISBN 0-443-06261-7 “ENERGY MEDICINE” INCLUDES therapeutic touch, craniosacral therapy, homeopathy, acupuncture, and numerous other alternative medicine practices. It usually implies a vitalistic philosophy: something immaterial produces… read more "Energy Medicine"
The God Code
The God Code: The Secret of Our Past, the Promise of Our Future, by Gregg Braden, Hay House, Inc., Carlsbad, California, 2004. Seek and you will find. You can find prophecies in the Bible and Nostradamus – they are surprisingly accurate (at least in retrospect). Children find animal shapes in… read more "The God Code"