Blue light blocking glasses and other products that block blue light promise to improve eye health along with many other questionable claims. The evidence is lacking. Blue light is part of the spectrum of sunlight. Other sources include digital screens (TVs, computers, laptops, smart phones and tablets), electronic devices, and fluorescent and LED lighting. We
Surgery or antibiotics for appendicitis? This new study can help with the decision. The standard treatment for appendicitis has long been appendectomy, the removal of the appendix. The successful use of antibiotics instead of surgery was first reported in 1956 by Dr. Coldrey in the British Medical Journal, and since then there have been several randomized trials of
Paul Offit’s new book covers the evidence for many surgeries, medications, and screening tests that have been proven ineffective and harmful yet are still being used by doctors who refuse to follow the science. Science-based medicine is all about testing medical ideas against reality. If there is abundant evidence from well-designed controlled clinical trials that
Biofield tuning uses tuning forks to assess the health of clients. This study of inter-rater agreement is a prime example of Tooth Fairy science. A study recently published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine is titled “Inter-Rater Agreement of Biofield Tuning: Testing a Novel Health Assessment Procedure.” It is a prime example of what
Ian Harris explains that more than half of commonly performed surgical operations may be placebos. Adequate studies using a blinded control group are essential. Ian Harris, a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, wrote a book titled Surgery, The Ultimate Placebo. I haven’t read the book, but I
Dr. McDougall is a maverick who disagrees with most experts. He recommends a high starch, low fat diet with no dairy or animal foods and other prohibitions. Its severe restrictions make it nutritionally questionable and it has never been properly tested in a controlled study. It is commonly believed that people who want to lose
Ads selling CBD oil feature Dr. Oz and other celebrities, but Oz warns that he never endorses products, and that ads using his name or image are fraudulent. All sorts of ads for CBD oil have been popping up on my Facebook news feed. Many of them feature Dr. Oz. They have much in common,
Alex Tarnava sells Drink HRW Rejuvenation tablets. The evidence for the health benefits of drinking hydrogen water is not convincing. This is Alex Tarnava. He sells hydrogen water in the form of Drink HRW Rejuvenation tablets. The scientific evidence is not convincing.I am always ready to follow the evidence wherever it leads, but it has
Some people think you can murder someone by putting ground glass in their food. That’s a myth. This Indian lawyer has a strange habit. He eats glass for fun but urges others not to try it.Don’t believe everything you hear. I recently watched an old episode of Midsomer Murders where the corpse was dead but the pathologist
Edzard Ernst’s new book is a handy, comprehensive reference for all things chiropractic. Edzard Ernst’s prolific output continues. In his latest book Chiropractic: Not All That It’s Cracked Up to Be he takes on one of the most popular SCAMS (So-Called Alternative Medicines). It is an even-handed review of the history and claims of chiropractic, examining the
