Bee sting therapy may be somewhat effective for arthritis, but it can’t be recommended. Are bee strings [correction: stings, not strings!] an effective treatment for arthritis? Many patients with arthritis have reported that their symptoms went away after they were stung by bees. There are testimonials galore from beekeepers whose arthritis resolved after they were
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true. The claims for the Luminas pain relief patch are not just unscientific; they defy common sense. It’s quantum quackery. This will be a short post about a product that doesn’t deserve even this much attention. Recently my Facebook feed has been bombarded with
People are being encouraged to worry about the pH of their skin and to try to change it. These concerns and interventions are not supported by scientific evidence. You have probably heard of the alkaline diet. Public knowledge of pH, the scale by which acids and bases are measured, is plagued by misinformation. People who
A philosopher of science argues that science is not characterized by a specific scientific method but by the scientific attitude. Scientists value empirical evidence and follow the evidence wherever it leads. They are open to changing their mind rather than stubbornly clinging to an ideological belief system. Science is under attack. The evidence for global
A new drug promises to cure postpartum depression, but it is restricted and patients must be hospitalized for a 60-hour IV infusion. There’s a new cure for postpartum depression; but don’t celebrate just yet. It’s far from a panacea, and it’s not for everyone. The devil is in the details. Post-partum depression (PPD) affects about
The author of this book claims to have found a one-minute cure that will heal virtually all diseases. The claim is ludicrous, and is not supported by any evidence. I guess medicine as we know it might as well quit. We don’t need it any more. Madison Cavanaugh has discovered The Secret to Healing Virtually
Juice Plus+ is a multilevel marketing company selling fruits and vegetables that they have reduced to a powder and put into capsules. It’s clever marketing using deceptive advertising. There is no scientific evidence that it benefits health. Juice Plus+ reduces fruits and vegetables like these to a powder, puts it in capsules, and sells it
EverlyWell offers 34 at-home tests for everything from IgG tests for food sensitivities to a Sleep and Stress test. Most of them make no sense and are likely to mislead customers. Here we go again! First I wrote about Theranos, then SmartJane, and now EverlyWell. More companies are jumping on the at-home testing bandwagon; apparently the convenience and
The Walsh Institute offers the Walsh protocol for the nutritional treatment of mental illness. This “orthomolecular psychiatry” is not supported by any clinical studies. You can use the words in Scrabble, but claims to produce mental health with nutrition don’t hold up to scrutiny.The Walsh Institute, founded by William J. Walsh, is “dedicated to unraveling
The editor-in-chief of The New England Journal of Medicine has selected a dozen articles published during his tenure that epitomize the best of science-based medicine. This is the Science-Based Medicine blog, but all too often we talk about things that are not science-based medicine. Examining what is not science-based medicine is a good way to better understand what science-based