charlatan
Yes, the fear of nuclear radiation has gripped the minds of many consumers. And who would blame them? We are all frightened of Putin’s next move. There is plenty of uncertainty. But, let me assure you, there is one certainty:
Homeopathy does not help against the effects of nuclear radiation.
But this indisputable fact has never stopped a homeopath.
Many of them are currently trying to persuade us that homeopathy can protect us. Here, for example, is something I found on Twitter:
But there is more, much more. If you go on the Internet, you find dozens of websites making wild claims. Here is just one example:
Homeopathic remedies as a preventive for adults
To be taken on an annual or bi-annual basis:
Week 1: Carcinosin in CM potency
Week 2: Radium Bromide in CM potency
Week 3: Carcinosin in CM potency
Week 4: Radium Bromide in CM potency
Week 5: Carcinosin in CM potency
Week 6: Radium Bromide in CM potency
Homeopathic remedies as a preventive for children (13 years old)
100
To be taken on an annual or bi-annual basis:
Week 1: Carcinosin in 1000 potency
Week 2: Radium Bromide in 1000 potency
Week 3: Carcinosin in 1000 potency
Week 4: Radium Bromide in 1000 potency
Week 5: Carcinosin in 1000 potency
Week 6: Radium Bromide in 1000 potency.
___________________________
Ridiculous? YES
Irresponsible? YES
Dangerous? YES
It’s high time to stop this nonsense!
Bioresonance is an alternative therapeutic and diagnostic method employing a device developed in Germany by Scientology member Franz Morell in 1977. The bioresonance machine was further developed and marketed by Morell’s son-in-law Erich Rasche and is also known as ‘MORA’ therapy (MOrell + RAsche). Bioresonance is based on the notion that one can diagnose and treat illness with electromagnetic waves and that, via resonance, such waves can influence disease on a cellular level.
On this blog, we have discussed the idiocy bioresonance several times (for instance, here and here). My favorite study of bioresonance is the one where German investigators showed that the device cannot even differentiate between living and non-living materials. Despite the lack of plausibility and proof of efficacy, research into bioresonance continues.
The aim of this study was to evaluate if bioresonance therapy can offer quantifiable results in patients with recurrent major depressive disorder and with mild, moderate, or severe depressive episodes.
The study included 140 patients suffering from depression, divided into three groups.
- The first group (40 patients) received solely bioresonance therapy.
- The second group (40 patients) received pharmacological treatment with antidepressants combined with bioresonance therapy.
- The third group (60 patients) received solely pharmacological treatment with antidepressants.
The assessment of depression was made using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, with 17 items, at the beginning of the bioresonance treatment and the end of the five weeks of treatment.
The results showed a statistically significant difference for the treatment methods applied to the analyzed groups (p=0.0001). The authors also found that the therapy accelerates the healing process in patients with depressive disorders. Improvement was observed for the analyzed groups, with a decrease of the mean values between the initial and final phase of the level of depression, of delta for Hamilton score of 3.1, 3.8 and 2.3, respectively.
The authors concluded that the bioresonance therapy could be useful in the treatment of recurrent major depressive disorder with moderate depressive episodes independently or as a complementary therapy to antidepressants.
One could almost think that this is a reasonably sound study. But why did it generate such a surprising result?
When reading the full paper, the first thing one notices is that it is poorly presented and badly written. Thus there is much confusion and little clarity. The questions keep coming until one comes across this unexpected remark: the study was a retrospective study…
This explains some of the confusion and it certainly explains the surprising results. It remains unclear how the patients were selected/recruited but it is obvious that the groups were not comparable in several ways. It also becomes very clear that with the methodology used, one can make any nonsense look effective.
In the end, I am left with the impression that mutton is being presented as lamb, even worse: I think someone here is misleading us by trying to convince us that an utterly bogus therapy is effective. In my view, this study is as clear an example of scientific misconduct as I have seen for a long time.
Dr Akbar Khan, MD, represents a novel and exciting avenue through which, in this case, a conventionally- trained family physician has come to embrace a broad array of integrative techniques; he witnessed first hand the immense magnitude of safety and efficacy of the practice … Dr Khan describes with frustration the lack of interest displayed by conventional practitioners for safe and effective solutions simply because they come from the realm of natural medicine. “My greatest concern is helping patients.”
From left to right: Douglas Andrews, Akbar Khan, Silvana Marra and Humaira Khan
From left to right: Douglas Andrews, Akbar Khan, Silvana Marra and Humaira Khan[/caption]
An article in the ‘Toronto Sun’, however, tells a very different story. The doctor was found ‘incompetent’ in the treatment of cancer patients. Akbar Khan told one patient she had leukemia when she did not. He told others they were improving under his alternative remedies while their cancer was actually advancing. One of them was a little boy dying of a brain tumor.
Now the Toronto family doctor has been found guilty by the Ontario Physicians and Surgeons Discipline Tribunal of
- incompetence,
- failure to maintain the standard of practice,
- and conduct that’s disgraceful, dishonorable or unprofessional
in his care of a total of 12 patients between 2012 and 2017. “Whether it was ‘snake oil,’ ‘witches’ brew’ or otherwise, whatever it was that Dr. Khan was offering his patients, it was not what he claimed,” concluded the tribunal in its decision. “In doing so, Dr. Khan set aside his obligations as a physician to uphold the College’s CAM and consent policies, and in doing so, he failed his patients.”
Khan is the founder of the Medicor Cancer Centres, which offer “unique non-toxic approaches to cancer treatment.” He treated terminally-ill patients with the unproven treatments that he called “SAFE Chemotherapy” billed as “lifesaving” and more effective than conventional chemo.
There was insufficient science and evidence to support the conclusion that “SAFE chemotherapy” works, or that it can help people in the way that Dr. Khan claims it can, and he should not have used it,” the tribunal found. Yet, Khan never told his patients it wasn’t working. According to the college’s summary: “Therapy stopped only when his patients either could not afford it any longer, their condition had deteriorated to such a degree that they could not tolerate it, they were so ill that they were admitted to hospital, or they died.”
According to the tribunal, Khan’s patients paid (US)$4,200 for one cycle of “SAFE chemotherapy”, and they received between five to 24 cycles of it. One of the most heartbreaking cases involved Khan’s treatment of a six-year-old boy with brain cancer. In 2017, his parents rejected treating him with lifesaving chemo and radiation and transferred his care to Khan, who prescribed Dichloroacetate (DCA) — which is a medication usually used for metabolic disorders, and not a proven cancer treatment. When a follow-up MRI showed their son’s tumor had grown and progressed to his spine, Khan told them it must be wrong and “his current therapy is actually working very well!” The boy died in 2018.
In another disturbing case, Khan used an “unapproved” test to diagnose a 59-year-old woman with acute leukemia — and informed her by email. He treated the devastated woman with honokol, a biological extract from magnolia bark, and Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) — both of which are “not informed by evidence and science,” and “not the appropriate treatment for this patient’s presumed cancer.” Khan referred her to an oncologist who performed a bone marrow biopsy and then gave her the good news: “You do not have cancer. You’ve never had cancer. Go home and enjoy your life.” Yet, Khan insisted the oncologist was wrong. “We were frankly shocked that instead of reassuring Ms. B that her ordeal of worrying that she had leukemia could come to a close, Dr. Khan insisted to Ms. B that indeed, she did still have leukemia and urged her to keep taking LDN ‘to keep this under control,’” the tribunal wrote. “In short, Dr. Khan gave Ms. B a diagnosis that she did not have, for which he sold her a remedy that she did not need, which — as per evidence and science — turned out to be no remedy at all.”Khan’s response to the newspaper: “Since the legal process is still ongoing with the CPSO, I know my lawyer Marie Henein would not like me to comment at this time. Perhaps in the near future, I will be able to share with you another side to the story. If so, I will contact you.”
A penalty hearing has yet to be scheduled.
In case you are interested, here is a short CV of Dr. Khan:
| 2019 | FAAO – Fellow of the American Academy of Ozone Therapy |
| 2018 | Certified medical ozone therapy doctor (general ozone therapy, basic ProlozoneTM therapy and advanced ProlozoneTM therapy), certified by the American Academy of Ozone Therapy |
| 2018 | IMD, Integrative Medical Doctor (Board of Integrative Medicine) DHS, Doctor of Humanitarian Service (Board of Integrative Medicine) |
| 1994 | CCFP, Certificant of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (University of Toronto). |
| 1992 | MD, Doctor of Medicine (University of Toronto). |
Guest post by Catherine de Jong
On the 22nd of February 2022, a criminal court in the Netherlands ruled in a case brought by a 33-year-old man who suffered a double-sided vascular dissection of his vertebral arteries during a chiropractic neck manipulation.
What happened?
On the 26th of January 2016, the man visited a chiropractor because he wanted treatment for his headache. The chiropractor treated him with manipulations of his neck. The first treatment was uneventful but apparently not effective. The man went back for a second time. Immediately after the second treatment, the patient felt a tingling sensation that started in his toes and spread all over his body. Then he lost consciousness. He was resuscitated by the chiropractor and transported to a hospital. Several days later he woke up in the ICU of the university hospital (Free University, now Amsterdam UMC). He was paralyzed and unable to speak. He stayed in the ICU for 5 weeks. After a long stay in a rehabilitation center, he is now at home. He is disabled and incapacitated for life.
Court battles
The professional liability insurance of the chiropractor recognized that the treatment of the chiropractor had caused the disability and paid for damages. The patient was thus able to buy a new wheelchair-adapted house.
Health Inspection investigated the case. They noticed that the chiropractor could not show that there was informed consent for the neck manipulation treatment, but otherwise saw no need for action.
Six days after the accident the man applied to the criminal court. The case was dropped because, according to the judge, proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt was impossible.
In rare occasions, vertebral artery dissection (VAD) does occur spontaneously in people without trauma or a chiropractor manipulating their neck. The list of causes for VAD show, besides severe trauma to the head and neck (traffic accidents) also chiropractic treatment, and rare connective tissue diseases like Marfan syndrome. A spontaneous dissection is very rare.
It took several attempts to persuade the criminal court to start the case and the investigation into what had happened in the chiropractor’s office. Now the verdict has been given, and it was a disappointing one.
The chiropractor was acquitted. The defense of the chiropractor argued, as expected, that two pre-existent spontaneous dissections might have caused the headache and that, therefore, the manipulation of the neck would have played at most a secondary role.
It is this defense strategy, which is invariably followed in the numerous court cases in the US. Chiropractors in particular give credence to this argumentation.
The defense of the patient was a professor of neurology. He considered a causal link between manipulation to the neck and the double-sided VAD to be proven.
In the judgment, the judge refers 14 times to the ‘professional standard’ of the Dutch Chiropractors Association, apparently without realizing that this professional standard was devised by the chiropractors themselves and that it differs considerably from the guidelines of neurologists or orthopedics. In 2016, the Dutch Health Inspection disallowed neck manipulation, but chiropractors do not care.
The verdict of the judge can be found here: ECLI:EN:RBNHO:2022:1401
Chiropractic is a profession that is not recognized in the Netherlands. Enough has been written (also on this website) about the strange belief of chiropractors that a wrong position of the vertebrae (“subluxations”) is responsible for 95% of all health problems and that detecting and correcting them can relieve symptoms and improve overall health. There is no scientific evidence that chiropractic subluxations exist or that their alleged “detection” or “correction” provides any health benefit. In the Netherlands, there are about 300 practicing chiropractors. Most are educated in the UK or the USA. The training that those chiropractors receive is not recognized in the Netherlands.
Most chiropractic treatments do little harm, but that does not apply to neck manipulation. When manipulating the neck, the outstretched head is subjected to powerful stretches and rotations. This treatment can in rare cases cause damage to the arteries, which carry blood to the brain. In this case, a double-sided cervical arterial dissection can lead to strokes and cerebral infarctions. How often this occurs (where is the central complication registration of chiropractors?) is unknown, but given that the effectiveness of this treatment has never been demonstrated and that therefore its risk/benefit ratio is negative, any complication is unacceptable.
How big is the chance that a 33-year-old man walks into a chiropractor’s office with a headache and comes out with a SPONTANEOUS double-sided vertebral artery dissection that leaves him wheelchair-bound and invalid for the rest of his life? I hope some clever statisticians will tell me.
PS
Most newspaper reports of this case are in Dutch, but here is one in English
The ‘HEALY’ device is an odd form of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) if there ever was one. Let me cite just two examples to show you how it is being promoted:
Healy technology is German, based on the scientific principles of quantum physics Healy devices analyse and measure the energetic imbalances on three levels – physical, mental, ad emotional – in order to emit specifically customised frequencies which will readjust your emotional and cellular energy centres to align with bio-energetic balance.
The Healy is a bio-resonance tool that works to support your body’s energetic field and promote deep cellular healing.
Reduced cell voltage occurs in almost all cases of acute and chronic dis-ease. Reduced cell voltage causes the cell’s internal metabolic processes to malfunction leading to disease. The Healy helps restore equilibrium through the use of resonant frequency waves. It works to stimulate and restore optimum cellular function with the use of very specific, harmonic energetic currents.
The Healy is a small, very complex piece of equipment. Using precise frequencies and low intensity currents, the Healy works to reverse the process of decreasing cell voltage by restoring the natural voltage of the cell membrane. Compromised cells lead us to experience a debilitating range of different symptoms, such as the inability to concentrate, learning difficulties, stress/burnout, physical diseases and illness, slow recovery from injury, cellulite, skin breakouts, mental health challenges and emotional instability…
The Healy delivers energy frequencies to positively influence the body to function at it’s natural, harmonic frequency. We were not designed to be depressed, anxious, highly reactive or suffer from chronic pain and exhausting conditions of disease. These are symptoms of much deeper imbalances and your Healy is a way to take back control of your wellbeing to positively influence all the cells in your body to start functioning just as nature intended.
Such advertising is disturbing and dangerous. It might make some consumers believe that the ‘Healy’ is based on cutting-edge science, and they might thus use it for serious conditions which, in extreme cases, could cost them their life. In truth, the ‘Healy’ is based on the purest BS that I have encountered for a long time. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, you might say. Perhaps the ‘Healy’ is based on odd assumptions, but what counts is that it works.
So, does it?
Is there any sound evidence that the ‘Healy’ is effective?
No!
There is, as far as I can see, no scientific evidence to suggest that the ‘Healy’ is effective to prevent, cure or alleviate any condition or symptom.
If that is so, why is the ‘Healy’ licensed by the authorities of several countries?
Search me!
I really don’t know. All I do know is that I am unable to find any good evidence that the ‘Healy’ helps anyone – except, of course, those entrepreneurs who earn their living by exploiting vulnerable patients.
Since about two years, I am regularly trying to warn people of charlatans of all types who mislead the public on COVID-related subjects. In this context, a recent paper in JAMA is noteworthy. Allow me to quote just a few passages from it:
COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation flood the public discourse; physicians are not the only source. But their words and actions “may well be the most egregious of all because they undermine the trust at the center of the patient-physician relationship, and because they are directly responsible for people’s health,” Pawleys Island, South Carolina, family medicine physician Gerald E. Harmon, MD, president of the American Medical Association (AMA), (which publishes JAMA), wrote recently. In November, the AMA House of Delegates adopted a new policy to counteract disinformation by health care professionals.
… Few physicians have been disciplined so far, even though the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), representing the state and territorial boards that license and discipline physicians, and, in some cases, other health care professionals, and the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), consisting of the boards that determine whether physicians can be board-certified, have issued statements cautioning against spreading false COVID-19 claims.
In July 2021, the FSMB warned that spreading COVID-19 misinformation could put a physician’s license at risk. The organization said it was responding “to a dramatic increase in the dissemination of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and disinformation by physicians and other health care professionals.”
The ABMS released a statement in September 2021. “The spread of misinformation and the misapplication of medical science by physicians and other medical professionals is especially harmful as it threatens the health and well being of our communities and at the same time undermines public trust in the profession and established best practices in care,” the ABMS said.
In an annual survey of its 70 member boards conducted in fall 2021, the FSMB asked about complaints and disciplinary actions related to COVID-19. Of the 58 boards that responded, 67% said they had seen an uptick in complaints about licensees spreading false or misleading COVID-19 misinformation, according to results released in December 2021. But only 12 (21%) of the 58 boards said they’d taken disciplinary action against a physician for that reason…
- What percentage of lay-homeopaths misinform their patients?
- What percentage of chiropractors misinform their patients?
- What percentage of energy healers misinform their patients?
- What percentage of naturopaths misinform their patients?
- What percentage of acupuncturists misinform their patients?
- etc., etc.
As the total number of SCAM practitioners might, in some parts of the world, easily outnumber doctors, these questions are highly relevant. Yet, I am not aware of any reliable data on these issues. Judging from what I have observed (and written about) during the pandemic, I guess that the percentages are likely to be substantial and way higher than those for doctors. To me, this suggests that we ought to focus much more on SCAM practitioners if, in future health crises, we want to prevent the confusion and harm that misinformation inevitably causes.
Auriculotherapy (or ear acupuncture) is the use of electrical, mechanical, or other stimuli at specific points on the outer ear for therapeutic purposes. It was invented by the French neurologist Paul Nogier (1908–1996) who published his “Treatise of Auriculotherapy” in 1961. Auriculotherapy is based on the idea that the human outer ear is an area that reflects the entire body. Proponents of auriculotherapy refer to maps where our inner organs and body parts are depicted on the outer ear. These maps are not in line with our knowledge of anatomy and physiology. Auriculotherapy thus lacks plausibility.
This single-blind randomized, placebo-controlled study aimed to investigate the effect of auriculotherapy on the intensity of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) symptoms.
Ninety-one women were randomly assigned to
- Auriculotherapy (AG),
- Placebo (PG),
- Control (CG) groups.
The intervention was 8 weeks long, done once per week. At each session in AG the microneedles were placed in seven points related to PMS symptoms (Anxiety; Endocrine; Muscle relaxation; Analgesia; Kidney; Shen Men; and Sympathetic). At PG the microneedles also were placed in seven points but unrelated to PMS symptoms (Tonsils; Vocal cords; Teeth; Eyes; Allergy; Mouth; and External nose). The women allocate in the CG received o intervention during the evaluation period.
Assessments of PMS symptoms (Premenstrual Syndrome Screening Tool), musculoskeletal pain (Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire), anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory), and quality of life (WHOQOL-Bref) were done at baseline, before the 5th session, after program completion, and a month follow-up.
The AG and PG showed significantly lower scores of PMS symptoms, musculoskeletal pain, and anxiety. On the quality of life and follow-up analysis, the significance was observed only in PG.
The authors concluded that auriculotherapy can be used as adjunctive therapy to reduce the physical and mood PMS symptoms.
If I understand it correctly (the paper is unclear), verum and placebo were both better than no intervention but showed no significant differences when compared to each other. This is strong evidence that auriculotherapy is, in fact, a placebo. To make matters worse, in the follow-up analysis placebo seems to be superior to auriculotherapy.
Another issue might be adverse effects. Microneedle implants can cause severe complications. Thus it is mandatory to monitor adverse effects in clinical trials. This does not seem to have happened in this case.
The mind boggles!
How on earth could the authors conclude that auriculotherapy can be used as adjunctive therapy to reduce the physical and mood PMS symptoms.
The answer: a case of scientific misconduct?
Recently, I came across a remarkable paper about the German ‘Association of Catholic Doctors’ and homeopathic conversion therapy. Its author is Yannick Borkens from the College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Science, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia. I think, it is worth reading in full, but here I have just a few excerpts for you:
Even in modern Germany of the 21st century there is still homophobia and other intolerances towards different sexualities and genders. These are also evident in the presence of so-called conversion therapies, which are still offered although there are already legal efforts. Among those groups, the Bund katholischer Ärzte (Association of Catholic Doctors) is a unique curiosity. Although this group is no longer really active, it is currently moving into the German focus again due to criminal charges and reporting in the tabloid press. The aim of this paper is to bring the Bund katholischer Ärzte not only into a more scientific but also into a more international focus. Furthermore, it is an ideal example to show what strange effects homophobia can produce…
The Bund katholischer Ärzte was founded in the year 2004 as the katholische Ärztevereinigung (catholic medical association). In 2010, the name was changed to BkÄ—Bund katholischer Ärzte. The BkÄ was founded by Dr. (I) Gero Winkelmann, a general practitioner and homeopath based in Unterhaching (the second largest municipality in the district of Munich—Bavaria) (Winkelmann, 2013)…
Nowadays, the BkÄ is best known for its conversion therapies and its general homophobic attitude. On its website, the BkÄ describes these topics as special forms of therapy from a Catholic medical point of view (“allgemeine wie auch besondere Therapieformen aus katholischer-ärztlicher Sicht”) and to the extent to which certain forms of therapy are harmful or even acceptable to Christians (“[…] inwiefern gewisse Therapieformen schädlich oder für Christen überhaupt annehmbar sind”). The term therapies (“Therapieformen”) does not actually describe medical therapies, but rather actions, measures, character traits and sexualities like homosexuality. Other topics addressed by the BkÄ are abortions, the prohibition of contraceptives (condoms and birth control pills), but also medical and biologically ethical topics such as stem cell research (Winkelmann, 2020d). However, The BkÄ is primarily concerned with homosexuality and conversion therapies. But these differ from the classic and well-known therapies, which are mostly psychotherapies. On his online presences, Gero Winkelmann describes not only his therapeutic approaches but also scientific backgrounds, which however do not stand up to modern scientific knowledge and can (and should) be called pseudoscientific.
… Dr. (I) Gero Winkelmann is a German general practitioner with the additional title Homöopathie (homeopathy)… Nowadays he is best known for his homophobic and comparable views. He describes himself as a doctor who also practices his Catholic faith at work (Winkelmann, 2019). According to him, this is achieved through three pillars: Christian ethics, especially at the beginning and the end of life (“Christliche Ethik, insbesondere am Lebensanfang und Lebensende”), prayers and visits to church services (“Gebete und Besuch von Gottesdiensten”) and to participate in church services on public holidays and also on working holidays, especially as a doctor on call who works at untimely times (e.g. holidays, at night) (“Gerade als Bereitschaftsarzt, der zu “Unzeiten” tätig ist (feiertags, nachts) […] die Gottesdienste an Feiertagen und auch an Werktagen (z.B. Rorate-Amt) zu besuchen”) (Winkelmann, 2019).
The point of Christian ethics, in particular, requires a closer look. “Christian ethics, especially at the beginning and the end of life” results in a pro-life view. In the United States, this pro-life view, also known as pro-life movement, results not only in demonstrations and political petitions but also in violence, sometimes with death consequences. Since 1993, at least 11 people have been killed in attacks on abortion clinics, mostly doctors and physicians who perform abortions. The perpetrators can often be assigned to a radical Christian spectrum (Stack, 2015). In Germany, Winkelmann is both an opponent of abortion and contraceptives as well as an opponent of medical euthanasia. Before he became known throughout Germany through the establishment of the BkÄ, he founded the European Pro-Life Doctors (2020) association, which campaigns against abortion, but also against contraceptives and research such as stem cell therapy. The foundation was in the year 2000. However, there is neither an official establishment of the EPLD as an official association nor an official entry in the German association register. This also applies to the BkÄ (European Pro-Life Doctors, no publication date; Winkelmann, 2016b). In addition to the rejection of abortions and euthanasia, Winkelmann uses the EPLD webpage also to spread the view that condoms do not work and also do not help against AIDS. He explains this with the fact that the latex skin of the condom is too thin and the HI-Virus could penetrate it without any problems. According to him, this made condoms reflect a pseudo-security (Winkelmann, 2016a). Furthermore, he also defended the statement of Pope Benedict XVI, that condoms could not help against AIDS. Pope Benedict XVI stated that on his Africa trip in 2009 (Welle, 2009). Especially for men who have sex with men (MSM), the condom is an important means of protection against AIDS infections (Wirth et al., 2020). This is especially true in African countries that have a high AIDS rate. In some parts, the AIDS rate is 100 times higher than in the United States (with a similar sexual activity) (Epstein and Ashburn, 2004).
On his website, Winkelmann not only describes the scientific background of homosexuality and his conversion therapy (which, however, does not stand up to modern scientific findings) but also defends the use of conversion therapies in general. He describes that every bad state needs a reversal (conversion). Furthermore, users of those therapies should not be afraid of a reversal, inner maturation and strengthening of self-healing powers. In addition, users should not let themselves be deterred from improving the situation. Those statements prove that Winkelmann considers homosexuality to be an evil condition that requires conversion, which in turn leads to inner maturation. According to Winkelmann, there are various causes for homosexuality. The causes include hormones, liver damages, epigenetically transmitted syphilis or abuse in childhood (Lau, 2018; Psiram, 2019). Thus, he contradicts not only biological-medical but also socio-behavioral knowledge. However, his conversion therapies differ from the classic conversion therapies, which are often psychotherapies. In contrast to these, Winkelmann uses homeopathy in his conversion therapies. He himself does not call his therapy conversion therapy but constitution therapy. This constitution therapy is a whole-body therapy that is primarily intended to stimulate physical and emotional self-healing. In that therapy, he combines homeopathy with psychotherapy and religious care. At the beginning, the body is detoxified with sulfur globules and nosodes, globules made from pathological material. Winkelmann says that the therapy has already been successfully completed for many after this detoxification. It should be noted that there is no information available on the number of people who accepted Winkelmann’s offer. If the detoxification is not enough, a lengthy homeopathic therapy begins, which also includes psychological and religious support. In this therapy, Winkelmann uses Calcium Carbonicum and Clacium Phosphoricum globules. Religious support includes prayers, sacraments, anointing of the sick and the holy communion (Lau, 2018).
______________________
The article left me speechless. I don’t know what to say other than thank Dr. Borkens for publishing the paper. Therefore, I will leave this here without further comment
I have studied so-called alternative medicine for decades, and yet, I have to admit that I am learning every day. There is so much I did not know. Take this statement, for instance:
All alternative healing methods work specifically on a certain level, they are a part of the zero point energy/tachyon energy and therefore optimal to combine. For example, very good experiences have been made with homeopathy, plant extracts, Bach flowers, aura soma, bodywork, oxygen and gemstone therapy by doctors and alternative practitioners. Here, zero-point energy products were used together with other forms of therapy. Sometimes the applied remedies (e.g. Bach flowers, homeopathy) were combined with a zero-point energy product. This is done by simply placing the remedy on e.g. a zero point energy cork plate. Very good results were achieved when an applied remedy was directly converted into a zero-point energy antenna. Silica, healing earth, herbal teas and extracts, and especially water are particularly suitable for this.
The statement comes from a manufacturer that sells no end of fascinating products. This advertisement (my translation) does not hold back, for example:
Through the rediscovery of “old” Atlantic knowledge, it is now possible to use this directly for everyone.
This also includes the Atlantic energy grid. It consists of copper wire, is tuned exactly according to the sacred geometry and connected to form a grid.
In connection with a healing generator, which among other things consists of a large natural rock crystal, this copper grid has a very balancing effect on one’s own energy balance. Measurements with the Prognos measuring method (meridian skin zone measuring device) have already been carried out with success.
This therapy device has also been converted into a zero-point energy antenna. Thus the energy buffet is enlarged, the strong Atlantic energies are harmonised and the body can elegantly help itself to the energies. More detailed descriptions of the energy grid are difficult to formulate in words. Here we recommend simply testing the energy grid and feeling into it. One’s own experiences convey more than words.
All users who have used it so far are simply thrilled.
_______________________
In case you find the price for the ‘Atlantic Energy Grid’ of 5.500 Euro unconvincingly low, I recommend another product from the same manufacturer. Here is what they say about it: 
Our T 33, the Torus Tesla coil, has been newly designed and specially developed to harmonise the problems of microwave radiation, especially 5G. The combination of the Torus energy with a Tesla coil has the possibility to additionally connect a frequency generator.
The cells align themselves energetically again according to their origin, the polarity in the cells is readjusted. A true fountain of youth!
Introductory price of 7890 € is valid until all test results are available.
_____________________
Gadgets like this never fail to remind me of a post I published 10 years ago entitled How to become a charlatan. I cannot help thinking that the entrepreneurs who market them have studied my advice thoroughly and followed every word I said.
:
People often say WHAT’S THE HARM?
Why not let Prince Charles promote any nonsense he likes?
Let him be!
He means well!
He is not harming anyone!
I think this attitude is not correct. Charles’s advocacy of quackery is by no means harmless. This is one of the points I have been trying to make repeatedly, most recently in my biography of Charles.
And there are plenty of examples for this; just think of the Gerson therapy (a whole chapter in the said book). Another, less obvious example is homeopathy. Charles has promoted homeopathy during all his adult life. When he fell ill with COVID in the early phase of the pandemic, the realm of homeopathy predictably decided that he recovered so well because he homeopathic treatment. A report dated 7 April 2020, for example, is quite clear about it:
British Crown Prince Charles has been “101 per cent” cured of COVID-19 using Ayurveda and Homeopathy treatment, Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik … “I am proud that the Ministry which I head, managed to cure such a great man, there is no greater credit than this. He may have some problem (admitting to it) because the system in his country does not give recognition to Ayurveda. He may have felt he would violate rules, that is why his refusal to admit is obvious,” Naik told a local cable news channel in an interview late on Monday. “I believe 101 per cent, that he has been cured (using Ayurveda and Homeopathy),” Naik also said.
On April 2, Naik had told a press conference in Goa, that Prince Charles had been cured of COVID-19 after seeking treatment from a Bengaluru-based alternative treatment resort, SOUKYA International Holistic Health Centre’ run by a doctor Isaac Mathai. A day after his statement, Clarence House, the official residence of Prince Charles had said that the claim was incorrect and that the royal “followed the medical advice of the National Health Service in the UK and nothing more”. The royal had been diagnosed COVID-19 positive last month.
Naik in the cable TV interview on Monday continued to insist that Ayurveda and Homeopathy had indeed cured the Prince and that it was a “victory” for Indian traditional medicine systems. Naik also said that there was no need to disbelieve the doctor Isaac Mathai, who cured Prince Charles. “The man (Dr. Mathai) himself is saying this. He is a doctor, an owner of a resort, he is trustworthy, when he says this, it is a victory of our Indian system,” Naik said.
The royal denial had little effect; Indian officials had persuaded themselves and key decision-makers that Charles’s case was proof for homeopathy’s effectiveness against COVID. Consequently, homeopathy was widely used for that purpose. As a result, millions of Indians deemed themselves sufficiently protected (possibly not taking other measures seriously). And the rest is history: in the summer of 2020, about 1000 Indians per day were reported to have died of COVID (the number of unreported deaths was estimated to be even higher).
The point I am trying to make is this: the promotion of quackery by a ‘VIP’ can have dramatic unforeseen consequences, even if (like in Charles’s case) a direct cause-effect relationship is impossible to prove.
