supplements
On May 27, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced they are investigating a 3rd multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to moringa powder supplements in 2026. Moringa oleifera supplements (including green powders and capsules) are heavily marketed as a “superfood” and a natural multivitamin powerhouse. They are primarily promoted for:
- Nutritional Support: Providing high concentrations of protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A, C, and E.
- Energy & Metabolism: Boosting daily vitality and supporting healthy weight management.
- Blood Sugar & Heart Health: Helping to regulate glucose levels, lower cholesterol, and manage blood pressure.
- Immune & Inflammation Support: Using rich antioxidant content (like quercetin) to combat cellular stress and ease joint pain or chronic inflammation.
The agencies re-opened an outbreak investigation originally closed on March 17 after discovering 22 new illnesses from 4 US states. The total now stands at 119 patients across 36 states infected with Salmonella Typhimurium or Salmonella Newport strains, including 32 hospitalizations and no deaths. Illness onset dates range from August 22, 2025, to April 26, 2026.
Among 79 interviewed patients, 70 reported consuming moringa leaf powder products. The recalled product list expanded to include TNvitamins-brand Ultra Potent Complete Green Superfood Moringa capsules and Doctor’s Pride Complete Green Superfood Ultra Potent Moringa capsules distributed by Total Nutrition Inc., plus Why Not Natural Pure Organic Moringa capsules and All Live it Up-brand Super Greens dietary supplement powders.
The new investigation involves Salmonella Typhimurium infections linked to MOGO-brand moringa powder capsules distributed by MOGO Moringa LLC of St. Louis. 18 people infected with the outbreak strain have been reported from 14 states, with illness onset from February 3 to April 7, 2026. Of 8 interviewed individuals, 6 reported consuming moringa powder capsules, including 4 who specifically consumed MOGO-brand products. Seven hospitalizations occurred with no deaths reported. MOGO Moringa LLC has recalled specific lots (#15525AA EXP 6/2027 and #00926AA EXP 1/2028) of MOGO-brand Pure Moringa Oleifera capsules. The FDA is conducting traceback investigations to identify the contamination source and working with state partners to collect samples.
In April 2026, the FDA closed a separate outbreak investigation involving moringa supplements contaminated with “extensively drug-resistant” Salmonella. This outbreak linked to Rosabella-brand moringa powder capsules distributed by Ambrosia Brands LLC resulted in seven illnesses across seven states, with three hospitalizations.
Three moringa-related outbreaks in a single year underscore systemic issues affecting botanical ingredients in the global natural health industry, particularly regarding imported moringa leaf powder contamination. Health officials urge consumers who used moringa products and developed symptoms – diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever within 12-72 hours – to seek medical attention and inform doctors about potential Salmonella exposure. Healthy adults typically remain ill for 4-7 days. Severe diarrhea may require hospitalization.
Update, 7/6/26:
Following the May 27, 2026, announcements, Total Nutrition Inc. expanded its voluntary recall on June 2 to include Lot 2748 (Exp. 07/2027) for both TNVitamins and Doctor’s Pride brands after a traceability review linked it to previously contaminated raw materials. Meanwhile, the active investigation into MOGO-brand capsules remains unchanged with 18 reported illnesses, and the FDA continues to urge consumers to check their pantries for any remaining Rosabella-brand products from the closed April outbreak. Federal and state health officials are actively working with major online platforms—including Amazon, Walmart, and TikTok Shop—to ensure all recalled moringa supplements are fully removed from the market, while reminding consumers to seek medical care if they experience Salmonella symptoms.
During outbreaks of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), public health organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) combat “infodemics”, i.e. surges of false information and unproven so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) polluting social media (Bedrosian et al., 2016; Fung et al., 2016; Obol & Nzedibe, 2024). Because these SCAMs are ineffective and frequently dangerous, authorities issue warnings against their use. Here are just a few of the many claims that can be found:
- Bathing in or drinking hot, highly saturated saltwater solutions can sweat out or kill the Ebola virus (Fung et al., 2016). Public health agencies strongly advise against this practice. It does nothing to prevent or treat EVD and can cause severe illness and death from acute hypernatremia (Vijaykumar et al., 2019).
- Solutions containing silver nanoparticles act as powerful natural antimicrobials capable of neutralizing the Ebola virus inside the body (Fung et al., 2016). The WHO has explicitly stated that Nano Silver is an unproven compound with no demonstrated efficacy against Ebola. Authorities recommend avoiding these products, as silver accumulation can cause irreversible organ damage and a condition called argyria (which permanently turns the skin blue/gray).
- Consuming large quantities of specific botanical items, such as raw onions, ginger, or alligator peppers, can stave off infection (Nsoesie & Oladeji, 2020). These “natural cures” possess no therapeutic effects capable of stopping viral replication of the filovirus family. Relying on them creates a false sense of security, which delays life-saving, evidence-based triage and supportive care (Fridman et al., 2025; Nsoesie & Oladeji, 2020).
- Ebola has been attributed to spiritual curses or witchcraft that can only be reversed by traditional spiritual cleansing (Bedrosian et al., 2016). Public health organizations work alongside local communities to pivot away from these practices. Delaying medical intervention to seek traditional spiritual healing drastically increases community transmission and prevents patients from receiving SOTA antiviral therapies and fluid replacement, lowering survival rates (Obol & Nzedibe, 2024).
- A homeopath market “e-remedies” online, claiming that the “energy signature” of a remedy could be digitized into an audio file (Moffitt, 2018). He claimed that listening to a specific, hissing MP3 file could stimulate the body’s immune system to fight off Ebola. This prompted an investigation by the Medical Board of California into the doctor’s license for promoting unscientific and unproven online remedies (Moffitt, 2018).
- Some chiropractors claim that spinal manipulations can prevent Ebola infections, because misalignments interfere with the nervous system. Since the nervous system coordinates the immune responses, these misalignments weaken the body’s ability to recognize and destroy the Ebola virus (Terry Chiropractic Boulder). People “have nothing to fear but fear itself” regarding outbreaks if they keep their spines properly aligned to maximize their natural innate immunity. Global public health authorities and mainstream scientific institutions strongly reject these claims. There is zero credible scientific evidence demonstrating that manual spinal manipulation enhances immune competence or protects an individual against Ebola (Côté et al., 2020).
Ebola infection requires immediate, professional medical treatment. Treatments include monoclonal antibody therapeutics along with intensive supportive care. Relying on internet remedies significantly delays proper clinical treatment and increases the risk of mortality.
References
Bedrosian, S. R., Young, E. C., Smith, L. A., Cox, J. D., Manning, C., Pechta, L., Telfer, J. L., Gaines-McCollom, M., Harben, Kathy, Holmes, Wendy, Lubell, K. M., McQuiston, J. H., Nordlund, Kristen, O’Connor, John, Reynolds, B. S., Schindelar, J. A., Shelley, Gene, & Daniel, K. L. (2016). Lessons of Risk Communication and Health Promotion — West Africa and United States. MMWR Supplements, 65(3), 68–74. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su6503a10
Fridman, I., Boyles, D., Chheda, R., Baldwin-SoRelle, C., Smith, A. B., & Elston Lafata, J. (2025). Identifying Misinformation About Unproven Cancer Treatments on Social Media Using User-Friendly Linguistic Characteristics: Content Analysis. JMIR Infodemiology, 5, e62703. https://doi.org/10.2196/62703
Fung, I. C.-H., Fu, K.-W., Chan, C.-H., Chan, B. S. B., Cheung, C.-N., Abraham, T., & Tse, Z. T. H. (2016). Social Media’s Initial Reaction to Information and Misinformation on Ebola, August 2014: Facts and Rumors. Public Health Reports®, 131(3), 461-473. https://doi.org/10.1177/003335491613100312
Moffitt, M. (2018). State doubts Los Gatos doctor can cure ebola with hissing MP3 files. SFGATE. https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/dr-bill-gray-medical-license-homeopathy-treatment-12954925.php
Nsoesie, E. O., & Oladeji, O. (2020). Identifying patterns to prevent the spread of misinformation during epidemics. Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review. https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-014
Obol, S. J., & Nzedibe, O. (2024). Critical perspective on infodemic and infodemic management in previous Ebola outbreaks in Uganda. Frontiers in Public Health, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1375776
Terry Chiropractic Boulder. (2014). Hold On Ebola: How Bolstering Your Immune System Can Help You Avoid Disease. https://terrychiropracticboulder.com/blog/hold-on-ebola-how-bolstering-your-immune-system-can-help-you-avoid-disease/
Vijaykumar, S., Jin, Y., & Pagliari, C. (2019). Outbreak communication challenges when misinformation spreads on social media. Revista Eletrônica de Comunicação, Informação e Inovação em Saúde, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.29397/reciis.v13i1.1623
The effect of calcium, vitamin D, or combined supplementation on fractures and falls in adults were assessed in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Randomised clinical trials were eligible, if they compared calcium, vitamin D, or combined supplementation with placebo or no treatment in adults (≥18 years) not receiving drug treatment for osteoporosis. The primary outcome was the risk of any fracture. Secondary outcomes included the risk of hip fracture, non-vertebral fracture, vertebral fracture, and falling, as well as the total number of falls. Pairs of reviewers independently screened trials, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias using the second version of Cochrane’s risk of bias tool. Findings were synthesised using random effects meta-analyses and appraised using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation, with application of thresholds for absolute effects considered important.
The review included 69 trials involving 153 902 participants. Participants in most of the trials were community dwelling (87%) and not at high risk of fractures or falls (73%). For the primary outcome of any fracture, little to no effect was found from use of calcium supplements (11 trials, 9067 participants; risk ratio 0.91, 95% confidence interval 0.81 to 1.01; moderate certainty), vitamin D supplements (36 trials, 92 045 participants; 1.00, 0.95 to 1.06; high certainty), or combined supplementation (15 trials, 51 126 participants; 0.91, 0.84 to 0.99; high certainty). Calcium, vitamin D, or combined supplementation appeared to have little to no effect on other fracture and fall outcomes, based largely on moderate to high certainty of evidence. The findings remained robust after an extensive exploration of heterogeneity across multiple subgroup analyses. Evidence for high risk patients or those requiring residential care was limited for many outcomes for calcium monotherapy and for combined supplementation.
The authors concluded that, based on absolute risk reductions and thresholds considered clinically meaningful, this review found little to no benefits from use of calcium, vitamin D, or combined supplementation on the prevention of fractures and falls.
An accompanying BMJ editorial points out that observational studies have associated low dietary calcium and low serum levels of vitamin D with low bone density and falls. Consequently, calcium, vitamin D, or combined supplementation has been widely promoted for preventive musculoskeletal health in older adults…
Th editorial concludes that other interventions, such as balance and resistance exercise, and several multicomponent interventions (eg, combining exercise, hazard assessment, or education with other interventions tailored to risk assessment) have been shown to offer meaningful prevention of falls and falls related injuries.
This new systematic review is a prime example for the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis with an ugly fact. But all is not negative – think of the money that can now be saved and put to better use!
The US “Health Freedom Movement” (HFM) is a coalition of activists, alternative practitioners, supplement and device manufacturers, and libertarian or populist politicians who oppose strong government regulation of healthcare. They claim to defend the individual’s right to choose any treatment or product they consider beneficial, especially so-called alternative medicine (SCAM).
Its roots lie in resistance to medical licensing and in movements around homeopathy, naturopathy, and chiropractic, which often portrayed organized medicine as a cartel limiting patient choice. The John Birch Society and other conservative groups use the term to oppose fluoridation, vaccination mandates, and federal health programs. During 1990s–2000s, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, backed by a coalition of supplement companies and “health freedom” advocates, limited the FDA’s pre‑market control over supplements; libertarian politicians like Ron Paul and figures such as Prince/King Charles support aspects of this agenda. More recently, anti‑vaccination activism, opposition to the Affordable Care Act, and then COVID‑19 mandates and vaccines gave the HFM a major boost and re-grouped as “medical freedom” or “health freedom” across partisan lines, but with a strong right‑wing infrastructure.
The HFM’s main players include politicians (e.g. Ron Paul, Tom Harkin, Orrin Hatch, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) and media personalities (e.g. Gary Null, Kevin Trudeau, and many supplement‑selling influencers as well as SCAM doctors). Many of them have strong financial ties to supplement, wellness, or SCAM industry.
The HFM’s stated aims sound liberal: individual autonomy, informed and access to SCAM. In practice, however, its core goals are sharper and consistently deregulatory:
- Limit or abolish pre‑market safety and efficacy requirements for supplements and many SCAMs.
- Oppose or roll back mandatory childhood vaccination, COVID‑19 vaccination and mask rules, school-entry requirements, and sometimes even basic disease‑reporting obligations.
- Resist overarching government health programs, including water fluoridation, electronic health records, and population‑level data sharing, which they portray as surveillance or tyranny.
- Create broad legal shields for all types of SCAM practitioners and restrict the enforcement powers of medical boards and public‑health authorities.
While the rhetoric centres on “freedom” and “choice”, the policy is liberating commercial interests from evidence‑based standards and oversight. For this, the HFM uses a mixture of advocacy and classic populist agitation:
- Legislative lobbying: Drafting model bills that redefine or exempt SCAM practitioners, weaken vaccination requirements, and restrict state health departments’ emergency powers.
- Litigation: Groups such as the “Health Freedom Defense Fund” use lawsuits against mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and school or airline rules both as legal tools and as high‑visibility fundraising and mobilization devices.
- Electoral politics: Endorsing and funding candidates who promise to “reign in” public‑health agencies, defund WHO, or defy CDC guidance; in some places, anti‑vaccine activists have captured local hospital or school boards.
- Media ecosystems: Conferences, podcasts, Substack newsletters, and “documentaries” circulate narratives of regulatory capture, big‑pharma malfeasance, and heroic mavericks, often entwined with sales of supplements or courses.
These activities reinforce distrust of science and conventional medicine and thus create a host of issues and problems:
- Selective use of autonomy: Autonomy is invoked vigorously when opposing vaccines, fluoridation, or regulation of supplements, but tend to disregard it when patients are misled by misinformation, coercive marketing, or opaque conflicts of interest in the alternative sector itself. Yet protection against deception and unsafe products is essential for meaningful autonomy; “choice” among misrepresented options is not genuine choice.
- Systematic downplaying of risk and evidence: The HFM treats lack of evidence of benefit as if it were evidence of safety and legitimacy and often dismisses adverse‑event data. Regulators and critics must meet impossibly high standards, while proponents of SCAM face essentially none.
- Commercial conflicts of interest: Many leading voices within the HFM derive substantial income from selling SCAM. The HFM criticizes “Big Pharma” conflicts of interest while largely ignoring or concealing its own.
- Wilful ignorance of collective harms: Opposition to vaccination, masking, and quarantine treats infections as purely individual matters, neglecting that infectious disease risk is shared and that one person’s “choice” can impose morbidity and mortality on others. Yet any rights framework that leaves no space for legitimate public‑health constraints on individual choice is incompatible with controlling epidemics.
- Alliance with broader conspiracist and extremist currents: Sections of the HFM have fused with anti‑globalist, anti‑UN/WHO, and sometimes far‑right political currents, amplifying conspiracy narratives and distrust that spill over into many domains beyond health. Thus they corrode trust in institutions that are necessary for coordinating large‑scale health responses.
In a nutshell, the HFM is a deregulatory, commercially entangled project that uses the language of liberty to erode evidence‑based medicine and to normalise quackery as well as anti‑vaccination politics. To put it bluntly: the HFM does not seem to operate in the best interest of either the individual patient or the collective public health.
I am quite fond of garlic, but not as a cancer therapy. Dr. Mohsen Ali, a former doctor whose UK medical license was revoked by the General Medical Council (GMC) in January 2015, has been permanently struck off the medical register following a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) investigation into his running of an illegal clinic. The tribunal, which began proceedings on December 1, 2025, reconvened on January 14 and concluded from April 22 to 24, 2026, found Ali guilty of serious professional misconduct for preying on vulnerable cancer patients with unproven and dangerous treatments.
In 2018, Ali treated two patients from a semi-detached Leicester property described as a “squalid council house.” Patient A had stage three prostate cancer, while Patient B suffered from terminal ovarian cancer. Referred to Ali by word-of-mouth, both were told he could cure their cancers with a claimed 90% success rate. He charged Patient A up to £15,000 and Patient B between £10,000 and £12,000 for sessions involving intravenous vitamin C, garlic oil, ozone therapy, oxygenated water, and sodium bicarbonate injections.
Ali disparaged conventional medicine, asserting that the NHS was “killing them” through ineffective chemotherapy and radiotherapy, while “big pharma companies were making money.” During a phone call, he laughed off Patient A’s diagnosis, calling prostate cancer “easy to cure.” For Patient B, he overrode the NHS’s prognosis that nothing more could be done, promising her husband a full recovery. Patient B died shortly after stopping treatment, before police and Public Health England (PHE) probes began.
The case surfaced when Patient A emailed Leicestershire Police, prompting a GMC referral. A police raid uncovered a flyer at Ali’s address, advertising him as a “qualified doctor” who left the NHS because standard treatments “did not work.” It invoked “Allah the best healer” and boasted over 90% cure rates for cancers and other severe illnesses.
MPTS evidence revealed grave hygiene failures. PHE inspections described the property as a “dirty and unhygienic” shared residential-clinical space with visibly contaminated surfaces, reused equipment without decontamination, and no basic infection prevention measures. Ali reused intravenous bags, exposing patients to serious infection risks. The tribunal deemed his actions dishonest, as he knew these were not evidence-based cancer cures.
An expert witness confirmed no clinical studies support these so-called alternative medicines (SCAMs) for curing any cancer. Ali also failed to obtain informed consent, particularly from Patient B. Absent from the hearing, he emailed the GMC denying claims of cure, but the flyer and patient testimonies contradicted him.
Ali, who graduated from Cairo University in 1994 and practiced in the UK from 2001 was erased him from the register, underscoring the dangers of unqualified SCAM practitioners – even (or perhaps especially) when they have a doctor title.
Trump and his allies have produced many claims that experts have flagged as false, misleading, or dangerously unscientific. Below is a (probably incomplete) selection:
- In April 2020, Trump suggested during a press briefing that scientists explore whether injecting or “bringing disinfectant inside the body” could treat COVID‑19. Medical experts immediately warned that this would be dangerous or lethal.
- At the same briefing, he also floated the idea of “hitting the body with a very powerful light,” including using UV light inside the body to kill the virus, a suggestion that clinicians stressed had no scientific basis and could be harmful.
- Throughout 2020, Trump repeatedly claimed the virus would “just disappear” like a “miracle,” even as case counts and deaths surged.
- He heavily promoted hydroxychloroquine as a “game changer” long after clinical trials had shown it to be ineffective against COVID‑19 and associated with serious adverse effects.
- In February 2020, Trump claimed the number of COVID‑19 cases in the US would soon be “down to close to zero.”
- Trump frequently claimed that COVID‑19 was “just like the flu,” despite the fact that its mortality rate and impact on health systems were substantially higher.
- In late 2025 and early 2026, the Trump administration falsely claimed that acetaminophen use during pregnancy was linked to a much higher risk of autism, despite the lack of clear evidence and warnings from experts that this messaging was misleading.
- The administration also promoted leucovorin as a treatment for autism, a claim that has little robust evidence and is not supported by mainstream medical guidelines.
- Following the appointment of RFK Jr. to HHS in late 2024, federal vaccine guidance was rolled back in several areas, including flu recommendations for some groups and changes to how RSV and other vaccines were positioned. This created confusion and encouraged a further “decoupling” of some state health policies from traditional CDC guidance.
- Trump has claimed that the noise from wind turbines causes cancer, a statement that has no credible scientific basis.
- Trump has claimed that sea levels will rise by only “1/8 of an inch over the next 200 to 300 years,” contradicting widely accepted projections that show substantially higher rise even over the next 30 years along US coasts.
- Trump has also claimed that the human body is like a battery with a finite amount of energy, and that exercise is harmful because it “depletes” that energy, a view that runs counter to mainstream physiology and public‑health guidance.
- Trump claimed that drinking fizzy diet soda “kills cancer cells” because the drinks kill grass when spilt, implying they might do the same to cancer inside the body.
- In 2026, Dr. Mehmet Oz, as head of CMS, falsely claimed that 5 million New Yorkers were using Medicaid personal‑care services—nearly 75% of all enrolees—when the actual figure is far lower.
- RFK Jr. has spent decades claiming that thimerosal, a mercury‑based preservative in some vaccines, causes autism. Thimerosal was removed from nearly all childhood vaccines in 2001 as a precaution, yet autism rates continued to rise, and large studies have found no causal link.
- RFK Jr. frequently claims that no vaccines have ever been tested against a true saline placebo. In fact, many vaccines have been tested against saline placebos in clinical trials, and others were tested against earlier versions or standard care, in line with evolving ethical standards.
- RFK Jr. pushed for the removal of fluoride from all US water systems, falsely labelling it an “industrial waste” and a key cause of lower IQ, bone fractures, and cancer, despite the bulk of evidence supporting its safety and dental benefits at standard levels.
- RFK Jr. has also falsely claimed that polyunsaturated fats such as canola or soybean oil are toxic and the primary driver of obesity and inflammation in America, a view that contradicts large‑scale dietary and epidemiological data.
- RFK Jr. has falsely claimed that WiFi causes “leaky brain” and that 5G is a tool for mass surveillance and causes cancer, assertions that have no support from mainstream science.
- RFK Jr. has become an advocate for the federal legalisation of raw milk, downplaying the risks of Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria. Yet pasteurization remains a cornerstone of public‑health measures to prevent foodborne illness.
- RFK Jr. has wrongly suggested a link between the use of SSRIs and the rise in mass shootings, a claim not supported by credible data.
- Janette Nesheiwat (JN), a Fox News contributor and Trump’s nominee for US Surgeon General, withdrew her nomination in May 2025 following allegations that she had significantly misrepresented her credentials. Her official bio and LinkedIn profile claimed she received her medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; in fact she attended the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in St. Maarten.
- JN repeatedly described herself as “double board‑certified,” but investigators found verified certification only in family medicine.
- Casey Means (CM), Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, is a Stanford‑educated physician who left surgical residency before completion and whose medical license has been inactive since 2019. She has not practiced clinical medicine in years and has limited experience overseeing large‑scale public‑health systems.
- CM has built a profile as a health‑tech entrepreneur and co‑founder of Levels, promoting “functional medicine” and the MAHA movement.
- CM has made strong claims that continuous glucose monitoring and metabolic optimization can prevent or “cure” a wide range of modern diseases, a view that overstates the evidence and oversimplifies complex chronic conditions.
As indicated in the title of this post: if you waant to say healthy, it is wise to ignore the incompetent president and his equally incompetent cronies.
The ‘Smallwood Report‘, entitled “The Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the NHS” was published in October 2005. It recommended greater integration of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) into the UK’s National Health Service and to address “effectiveness gaps” in treating chronic and psychosocial conditions, claiming potential cost savings.
Its core recommendations were:
- NICE assessment: Urged Health Ministers to task the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) with a full review of the cost-effectiveness of therapies like acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathy, herbal medicine, and homeopathy.
- Targeted applications: Suggested these SCAM options for lower back pain (manipulative therapies over conventional), asthma (homeopathy), common colds (echinacea), and other chronic issues where orthodox medicine falls short, potentially reducing absenteeism and NHS costs by hundreds of millions.
- Implementation steps: Promote GP referrals to SCAM, target deprived communities, prioritize research on cost-effectiveness/safety, address regulatory barriers, and use case studies showing reduced GP visits and secondary care savings.
At the time, I called its evidence “grossly misleading,” citing ignored Cochrane reviews showing no superiority for most of the claims. Many critics agreed with me, and the Lancet editor Richard Horton famoulsy called it “dangerous nonsense”.
As the recommendations were pure BS, it is comforting to note that – 20 years later – they have been largely ignored.
NICE assessments:
NICE has issued selective endorsements—e.g., acupuncture and manipulative therapies for low back pain—but stopped short of broad SCAM evaluations, often citing “insufficient evidence” or requiring further trials, directly countering the report’s call for comprehensive cost-effectiveness reviews. No large-scale NICE program emerged to validate the report’s claimed savings (hundreds of millions annually), and guidelines frequently dismiss or deprioritize unproven modalities like homeopathy.
NHS integration status:
- Limited GP referrals: Sporadic pilots exist (e.g., acupuncture in some pain clinics, osteopathy/chiropractic for musculoskeletal issues), often GP-led and adjunctive, but not systematic; social prescribing now favors mindfulness over traditional SCAM.
- Funding barriers: Most Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) classify SCAM as “low priority” absent robust evidence, funding only exceptional cases in palliative or pain management pathways; many services closed due to austerity post-2010.
- No deprived-community focus: The report’s equity push for high-need areas saw negligible uptake, with barriers like clinician resistance and regulatory hurdles persisting.
The report’s optimistic case studies (e.g., Glastonbury) proved anecdotal and unscaled, undermined by critiques highlighting flawed evidence (e.g., ignored Cochrane reviews). Today, NHS policy emphasizes evidence-based conventional care, with SCAM relegated to private or niche settings – realization sits at ~10-20% for endorsed therapies, 0% for broader vision.
In other words, ignoring the report has saved the NHS many millions. More importantly, it has prevented UK evidence-based healthcare from getting watered down by ineffective therapies.
Could that also have happened without my loud protests (e.g. here and here) at the time?
Nobody can know for sure?
But when I feel a little bit down, I tell myself that I had an important role in saving the UK millions!
Sufficient evidence concerning the impact of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on clinical outcomes for breast cancer patients in Taiwan is not available. This study sought to examine the association between TCM integration and post-operative outcomes among women undergoing mastectomies.
Utilizing a large insurance database, the Taiwanese researchers identified a cohort of adult women who underwent breast cancer surgery during the 2010–2019 period. They compared sociodemographic profiles and comorbidities between TCM users and non-users. Multiple logistic regression models were employed to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for both mortality and postoperative complications.
Among 91,298 eligible patients, the one-year pre-operative prevalence of TCM utilization was 40%. Compared to the control group, TCM users demonstrated:
- a significantly lower likelihood of postoperative stroke (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.62–0.93),
- and a reduced requirement for intensive care (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.59–0.91).
Moreover, the cumulative exposure of more than 4 TCM consultations within the year preceding surgery was linked to a decreased risk of stroke (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.61–0.95).
The authors concluded that “our findings indicate that integrating TCM during the year preceding breast cancer surgery is correlated with lower risks of postoperative stroke and a reduced requirement for intensive care. Nevertheless, these observed benefits warrant further verification through prospective and large-scale clinical investigations. Based on these results, we suggest that both Western medical practitioners and public health administrators should be mindful of TCM’s role in the comprehensive care of patients with breast cancer.”
In the paper itelf, the authors “hypothesize that pre-operative TCM integration contributes to the observed reduction in stroke risk and intensive care requirements following mastectomy. These prior insights provide a plausible biological foundation for the favorable outcomes observed in our study”. In other words, they believe that the associations is causal.
I beg to differ!
Much research has demonstrated that people who use so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) in addition to conventional therapies differ from those who don’t. In general, they tend to be more health concious – if not, they would not go to the trouble of using and paying for SCAM. This difference alone suffices to bring about the observed outcomes – even if TCM has no or perhaps a slightly negative overall health effect.
But let’s be generous!
Let’s assume the authors are correct in assuming that the association is causal and that TCM brought about the observed outcomes.
What does that actually mean?
TCM consists of many different modalities. If we just focus on oral medications and assume that there are 1000 different ones [in fact, the number is about 6 times higher], which one do we take to experience the observed outcome? Perhaps all of them?
What I am trying to point out that such research is meaningless; it has zero practical consequences, even if its results were real – which they probably are not.
In the end, it boils down to one main thing: the promotion of unproven (and occasionally dangerous) TCM.
Large-scale randomized trials have found that multivitamin–multimineral (MVM) supplements and cocoa flavanols may benefit several age-related chronic conditions among older adults, but it remains unclear whether these two supplements directly slow the biological aging process. This prespecified ancillary study evaluated the 2-year effect of a daily MVM (Centrum Silver) and cocoa extract (500 mg cocoa flavanols per day, including 80 mg (−)-epicatechin) on five DNA methylation measures of biological aging (PCHannum, PCHorvath, PCPhenoAge, PCGrimAge and DunedinPACE) among 958 participants (482 women and 476 men) in the Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS).
Compared with placebo, daily MVM supplementation modestly reduced the rate of increase of second-generation epigenetic clocks, with a between-group difference in yearly change of −0.113 years (95% confidence interval (CI) −0.205 to −0.020; P = 0.017) for PCGrimAge and −0.214 years (−0.410 to −0.019; P = 0.032) for PCPhenoAge. MVM had a stronger effect on PCGrimAge among those with accelerated biological aging at baseline (−0.236 [−0.380 to −0.091]).
Compared with those with normal or decelerated biological aging (−0.013 [−0.130 to 0.104]; P = 0.018 for interaction). Cocoa extract did not have an effect on the five epigenetic clocks tested. Although the statistically significant but small effects of daily MVM supplementation on slowing biological aging are encouraging, additional studies are needed to determine the clinical relevance of daily MVM supplementation on epigenetic clocks and whether such effects can help explain the beneficial effects of MVM supplementation on aging-related chronic conditions.
Experts who were not involved in the new study urged caution. While the researchers saw an effect with two epigenetic clocks, three other epigenetic clocks included in the study showed no statistically significant change to their speed. “The multivitamin produced small favorable changes in two epigenetic aging markers, but not across all the clocks that were measured,” says José Ordovás, a professor of nutrition and genetics at Tufts University. “That makes the finding interesting, but it is still far from showing that multivitamins broadly slow aging or improve longevity.”
One of the study’s strengths is that the researchers carefully matched the characteristics of people in the vitamin group to those in the placebo group, says Zachary Clayton, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz, who was also not involved with the research. “However, the magnitude of the observed differences was modest, and their clinical significance remains uncertain,” he says. The study doesn’t take a person’s exact diet or physical activity during the two-year period into account, and those factors can’t be ruled out as having an effect on biological aging, he adds.
Still, in nutrition science, randomized clinical trials of this kind are rare. They aren’t generally required to sell supplements like multivitamins, even if the makers claim specific health benefits. Additional trials, the authors note, “are needed to confirm these findings and determine the role of [multivitamins] in extending healthy aging not only among older adults, but also across the lifespan.”
In addition to these criticisms, I would add a few further points:
- Scientists emphasize that “biological age” as measured by DNA methylation is a biomarker, a surrogate endpoint, but not a direct health outcome. It is currently unknown if a 2-month reduction in an epigenetic clock actually translates into a lower risk of disease, disability, or a longer life.
- The 2-year duration of the study is a great achievement for such a trial; yet it still is considered relatively short for assessing biological aging, which is a process that accumulates over decades. Longer-term data is needed to see if these small changes persist or lead to meaningful health differences.
- The fact that those study participants who started “biologically older” saw the most benefit could be a statistical artifact known as “regression to the mean” rather than a true systemic effect of the supplements.
- The study participants were primarily of Caucasian descent and over the age of 60. This limits the ability to generalize the findings to younger populations or diverse ethnic groups.
- Epigenetic alterations are only one of several “hallmarks of aging.” Because the study did not measure other factors like DNA damage, protein stability, or cellular communication, it provides only a very narrow “snapshot” of the aging process.
- The multivitamin might not have “slowed aging” in a general sense, but could have corrected minor, undiagnosed nutrient deficiencies in some participants, which then reflected positively on their biomarkers. If that were true, supplementation of non-deficient volunteers would have no effect.
Guest post by Ken McLeod
Over the years these pages and many others have reported on the risks of using ayahuasca and kambo, psychoactive substances used by shamans, alt-med practitioners, cranks and downright frauds for spiritual, social, and medicinal purposes. Those risks go so far as an excruciatingly painful death, which has led to bans and severe restrictions in many countries including Australia. [1]
The Australian ban issued by the Therapeutic Goods Administration followed the death of Natasha Lechner who had ingested kambo in 2019. The Coroner’s report of her death said in part ‘it appears to me that a number of vulnerable people are drawn to using Kambo in circumstances where those who administer it may hold themselves out as part of a healing profession, and yet lack training in basic first aid.’ [2]
One report here from 17 February 2024 [3] is that of the death of Jarrad Antonovich who died from a perforated oesophagus after consuming ayahuasca and kambo frog toxin in October 2021, at the age of 46, while attending the ‘Dreaming Arts festival.’ This was a six-day retreat at Arcoora in northern New South Wales, Australia. See our article for more detail on ayahuasca and kambo and how the festival organisers and attendees responded to Mr Antonovich’s worsening condition.
In that article we reported that the New South Wales State Coroner had commenced an inquest into Mr Antonovich’s death and we promised to keep you informed.
So, keeping you informed; the Inquest began in May 2023 and was suspended in May 2024 when the Coroner referred the matter to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for consideration of whether charges should be laid.[4]
After the DPP’s lengthy consideration, on 5 March 2026 NSW Police arrested and charged ‘Soulore Solaris’, 52, a self-described ‘….Counsellor who facilitates Ayahuasca ceremonies’ with manslaughter over the death of Jarrad Antonovich at the Dreaming Arts Festival.[5] He was granted conditional bail to face Lismore Local Court on March 30 2026.
The media reported at length on the manner of Mr Antonovich’s death and on the reactions of the festival attendees to his worsening condition. Those reactions, as we reported in our article of 17 February2024, included:
– While Jarrad Antonovich‘s condition worsened there was resistance to calling for an ambulance. An ambulance was finally called at 11.30pm and took an hour to arrive because of the remote location.
- -One ambulance officer reported that a female told them to “move away from Jarrad because it was affecting his aura” and no one told them he had consumed Kambo. [6]
- -The event organiser Soulore “Lore” Solaris described Jarrad Antonovich’s death as ‘beautiful.’ [7]
- -Fred Woller, the site manager at Arcoora, was unaware those running the event did not have any medical training. [8]
- -Soulore “Lore” Solaris said Mr Antonovich ”…. had good support, a couple of kinesiologists with him and they couldn’t find anything wrong.” [9]
- -Mr Antonovich “was surrounded by people who loved him and an Aboriginal elder called Uncle Andrew who was chanting sacred songs and calling the spirit out of his body” and “the koalas were making a special sound that is known to the elders when the land accepts a spirit”. [10]
As usual, the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission conducted a thorough investigation and issued a comprehensive report. That is in their Statement of Decision on their imposing a Permanent Prohibition Order on ‘Soulore Solaris’. That Statement is so thorough, and their report of the events leading up to and following Mr Antonovich’s death are so harrowing, that readers should go that Statement. [11] How such an excruciating death can be described as ‘beautiful’ beats me.
What is not in the Statement is the mind-set of ‘Soulore Solaris,’ his gullible acolytes and festival attendees. The Courts will examine that of the accused, Solaris, but what I am interested in is how do all these others, ayahuasca and kambo practitioners and their supporters, come to the belief that they know more than all the health and medical experts and regulators in the world.
Surely they score 15 on the Richter Scale of ‘Dunning-Kreuger Effect.’
References
[1] https://tinyurl.com/4t6kpm35 and https://tinyurl.com/59mxe38m and NSW Coroners Report para 70 at https://tinyurl.com/2xxf26ac and ‘Shamanic Kambô Frog Hyponatremic Toxicity Leading to Brain Death: A Case Report’ Tran et al NLM https://tinyurl.com/59mxe38m
[2] Coroners Report paragraph 72 at https://coroners.nsw.gov.au/documents/findings/2024/Inquest_into_the_death_of_Natasha_Lechner.pdf
[3] https://edzardernst.com/2024/02/inquest-into-ayahuasca-and-kambo-death/
[4] ABC https://tinyurl.com/mr22yjah
[5] ABC https://tinyurl.com/bdz7nwty
[6] The Guardian http://tinyurl.com/328manjt
[7] ABC http://tinyurl.com/5n7ejydy
[8] The Guardian http://tinyurl.com/59wa3rmn
[9] ABC http://tinyurl.com/5n7ejydy
[10] ABC https://tinyurl.com/bdfb3y4y
[11] See their Statement of Decision at https://tinyurl.com/4ad4aju3. (The Statement of Decision gives a lot of useful material about these poisons and their ceremonies and the people who use them).
