A book review of The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina – Separating the Myth from the Medicine by Jen Gunter, MD. New York: Citadel/Kensington Books, 2019. ISBN-13: 978-080653931. 432 pages. Paperback, $18.95. Considering that half the population has one, the vagina has been plagued by an inordinate amount of myth and misinformation. There are many reasons. Prudery inhibits
Chiropractic has come a long way since its invention in 1895, but where is it going? Its inventor, Daniel David Palmer, was a grocer and magnetic healer who didn’t have the benefit of x-rays and didn’t know about the germ theory of disease. Based on pseudoscientific and metaphysical ideas, chiropractic has been trying to establish
Lipo-Flavonoid is sold to treat tinnitus. The claims are misleading, and the evidence isn’t there. The dietary supplement Lipo-Flavonoid is advertised as an effective treatment for tinnitus. They claim “More than 50 Years of Clinical Experience” and go on to explain: Lipo-Flavonoid® Plus is a natural bioflavonoid product that has been used extensively for decades
The ads claim SuperMannan cures bladder infections. The science is a single uncontrolled study of 9 women; its design is a recipe for disaster. I was surprised to read that SuperMannan cures bladder infections. I’m a skeptic; I question and proportion my belief to the evidence. I wanted to know more. Who says that? How
Naturopath Barbara O’Neill has been banned in Australia for spreading dangerous lies about health. Sodium bicarbonate. Good for baking, but not for curing cancer. On 24 September 2019, the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) issued a Permanent Prohibition Order against Barbara O’Neill. Their investigation showed that she had breached five clauses of the Code
A new fad, drinking hydrogen water, claims to provide all kinds of health benefits. The scientific evidence isn’t there. Hydrogen is an element, not a medicine Hydrogen water? Good grief! There are already two atoms of hydrogen in every molecule of water (H2O). They are not talking about that; they mean molecular hydrogen, the gas
Science has made great strides in understanding, treating, and preventing HIV/AIDS. We can hope for an AIDS vaccine, but meanwhile there is a pill that can markedly reduce the risk of becoming infected. Truvada: a good alternative while we wait for an AIDS vaccine. Image taken from the NIAID flickr page with a Creative Commons license. The story of
The VA is contracting with naturopathic doctors to provide non-science-based treatment to our veterans. This is a mistake. Are they planning to replace that eagle with a duck? On August 14, 2019, the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) reported a success in their 5-year campaign to get the Veterans Health Administration to authorize naturopathic
Coconut oil: is it good for you or bad for you? Some sources say it’s a super nutrient that miraculously reverses Alzheimer’s dementia and has a multitude of other health benefits. Others advise avoiding it because it increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. How can you make sense of the conflicting advice you
Edzard Ernst assigns a grade to 150 alternative medicine modalities, evaluating plausibility, efficacy, safety, cost, and risk/benefit balance. A very useful reference. Edzard Ernst has written another book, and it’s a real tour de force: Alternative Medicine: A Critical Assessment of 150 Modalities. He probably knows more about alternative medicine than anyone else alive, and he