Viotren and other dietary supplements are being illegally marketed to treat erectile dysfunction. Some of them work, but only because they are adulterated with prescription drugs like Viagra (at up to 31 times the prescription dose). Using them can be risky. Never tested on animals. Never tested on humans, either! The headline reads “New $2
“Mary is really bitchy today; she must be on the rag.” Comments like this are all too common, and are misguided. In her new book, Robyn Stein DeLuca dispels the myths about how hormones affect women’s moods and mental health, myths that have contributed to unequal treatment of women. Junk science supported the myths; good
A novel about a doctor who raped a minor and is being investigated by his state medical board provides behind-the-scene insights into the workings of medical boards. It helps explain why these boards are so often ineffective, why medical malfeasance so often leads to a token disciplinary action rather than to loss of license. In
Anthony William, the Medical Medium, hears voices that give him advanced scientific information from the spirit world. He offers reams of health advice based on nothing but fantasy. He even tells readers to call on 12 angels out loud by their name. I call bull. Anthony William calls himself the Medical Medium. He claims to
AllerVarx, a new dietary supplement, claims to relieve nasal allergy symptoms, but the only “evidence” is a single disreputable clinical trial with no control group. There is no reason to try this unproven remedy when there are so many effective remedies offered by mainstream medicine. Allergic rhinitis can be treated effectively, but not with dietary
Some people are reluctant to take statins because they don’t benefit the majority of patients who take them. Actually, most drugs don’t benefit most of the patients who take them. Since we have no way of identifying those who will benefit, we are stuck treating the many to benefit the few. Most of these won’t
The documentary “What the Health” espouses the fairy tale that all major diseases (heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many others) can be prevented and cured by eliminating meat and dairy from the diet. It is a blatant polemic for veganism, biased and misleading, and is not a reliable source of scientific information. Several people have
Is it OK to laugh when we encounter a ridiculous claim in alternative medicine? This video lecture highlights some hilarious claims and encourages both laughter and appreciation of the human creativity involved. Since today is a holiday, I decided to take a holiday from writing my usual posts and instead direct you to the video of
Consumer Reports’ recent articles on low back pain address anecdotal customer satisfaction rather than scientific evidence of effectiveness. A correspondent e-mailed me, saying: “I received my latest issue of Consumer Reports with great interest because the cover story is about back pain. However after reading the article I walked away disappointed. How this well respected publication printed
There are many myths about the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Some of them are pretty funny. In the SBM comments section, someone recently posted this gem: “That ‘Spanish flu’ pandemic was actually caused by a typhus vaccine. They called it Spanish flu so the vaccine didn’t get blamed.” Other commenters quickly pointed out that time travel
