Updated Edition!
Can intercessory prayer improve the symptoms of sick people?
Why should it? It’s utterly implausible!
Because the clinical evidence says so?
No, the current Cochrane review concluded that [the] findings are equivocal and, although some of the results of individual studies suggest a positive effect of intercessory prayer, the majority do not and the evidence does not support a recommendation either in favour or against the use of intercessory prayer. We are not convinced that further trials of this intervention should be undertaken and would prefer to see any resources available for such a trial used to investigate other questions in health care.
Yet, not all seem to agree with this; and some even continue to investigate prayer as a medical therpy.
For this new study (published in EBCAM), the Iranian investigators randomly assigned 92 patients in 2 groups to receive either 40 mg of propranolol twice a day for 2 month (group “A”) or 40 mg of propranolol twice a day for 2 months with prayer (group “B”). At the beginning of study and 3 months after intervention, patients’ pain was measured using the visual analogue scale.
All patients who participate in present study were Muslim. At the beginning of study and before intervention, the mean score of pain in patients in groups A and B were 5.7 ± 1.6 and 6.5 ± 1.9, respectively. According to results of independent t test, mean score of pain intensity at the beginning of study were similar between patients in 2 groups (P > .05). Three month after intervention, mean score of pain intensity decreased in patients in both groups. At this time, the mean scores of pain intensity were 5.4 ± 1.1 and 4.2 ± 2.3 in patients in groups A and B, respectively. This difference between groups was statistically significant (P < .001).
The above figure shows the pain score in patients before and after the intervention.
The authors concluded that the present study revealed that prayer can be used as a nonpharmacologic pain coping strategy in addition to pharmacologic intervention for this group of patients.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. This study is, in fact, extraordinary – but only in the sense of being extraordinarily poor, or at least it is extraordinary in its quality of reporting. For instance, all we learn in the full text article about the two treatments applied to the patient groups is this: “The prayer group participated in an 8-week, weekly, intercessory prayer program with each session lasting 45 minutes. Pain reduction was measured at baseline and after 3 months, by registered nurses who were specialist in pain management and did not know which patients were in which groups (control or intervention), using a visual analogue scale.”
Intercessory prayer is the act of praying on behalf of others. This mans that the patients receiving prayer might have been unaware of being ‘treated’. In this case, the patients could have been adequately blinded. But this is not made clear in the article.
More importantly perhaps, the authors fail to provide any numeric results. All that we are given is the above figure. It is not possible therefore to run any type of check on the data. We are simply asked to believe what the authors have written. I for one have great difficulties in doing so. All I do believe in relation to this article is that
- the journal EBCAM is utter trash,
- constantly publishing rubbish is unethical and a disservice to everyone,
- prayer does not need further research of this nature,
- and poor studies often generate false-positive findings.
Is acupuncture a pseudoscience? An interesting question! It was used as the title of a recent article. Knowing who authored it, the question unfortunately promised to be rhetorical. Dr Mike Cummings is (or was?) the ‘Medical Director at British Medical Acupuncture Society’ – hardly a source of critical or sceptical thinking about acupuncture, I’d say. The vast majority of his recent publications are in ‘ACUPUNCTURE IN MEDICINE’ and his blog post too is for that journal. Nevertheless, his thoughts might be worth considering, and therefore I present the essence of his post below [the footnotes refer to my comments following Cummings’ article]:
…Wikipedia has branded acupuncture as pseudoscience and its benefits as placebo [1]. ‘Acupuncture’ is clearly is not pseudoscience; however, the way in which it is used or portrayed by some may on occasion meet that definition. Acupuncture is a technique that predates the development of the scientific method [2] … so it is hardly fair to classify this ancient medical technique within that framework [3]. It would be better to use a less pejorative classification within the bracket of history when referring to acupuncture and other ancient East Asian medical techniques [4]. The contemporary use of acupuncture within modern healthcare is another matter entirely, and the fact that it can be associated with pre-scientific medicine does not make it a pseudoscience.
The Wikipedia acupuncture page is extensive and currently runs to 302 references. But how do we judge the quality or reliability of a text or its references? … I would generally look down on blogs, such as this, because they lack … hurdles prior to publication [5]. Open peer review was introduced relatively recently associated with immediate publication. But all this involves researchers and senior academics publishing and reviewing within their own fields of expertise. Wikipedia has a slightly different model built on five pillars. The second of those pillars reads:
Wikipedia is written from a neutral point of view: We strive for articles that document and explain major points of view, giving due weight with respect to their prominence in an impartial tone. We avoid advocacy and we characterize information and issues rather than debate them. In some areas there may be just one well-recognized point of view; in others, we describe multiple points of view, presenting each accurately and in context rather than as “the truth” or “the best view”. All articles must strive for verifiable accuracy, citing reliable, authoritative sources, especially when the topic is controversial or is on living persons. Editors’ personal experiences, interpretations, or opinions do not belong.
Experts within a field may be seen to have a certain POV (point of view), and are discouraged from editing pages directly because they cannot have the desired NPOV (neutral POV). This is a rather unique publication model in my experience, although the editing and comments are all visible and traceable, so there is no hiding… apart from the fact that editors are allowed to be entirely anonymous. Have a look at the talk page behind the main acupuncture page on Wikipedia. You may be shocked by the tone of much of the commentary. It certainly does not seem to comply with the fourth of the five pillars, which urges respect and civility, and in my opinion results primarily from the security of anonymity. I object to the latter, but there is always a balance to be found between freedom of expression (enhanced for some by the safety of anonymity) and cyber bullying (almost certainly fuelled in part by anonymity). That balance requires good moderation, and whilst there was some evidence of moderation on the talk page, it was inadequate to my mind… I might move to drop anonymity from Wikipedia if moderation is wanting.
Anyway my impression, for what it’s worth, is that the acupuncture page on Wikipedia is not written from an NPOV, but rather it appears to be controlled by semi professional anti-CAM pseudosceptics [6]. I have come across these characters [6] regularly since I was introduced to the value of needling in military general practice. I have a stereotypical mental image: plain or scary looking bespectacled geeks and science nuts [6], the worst are often particle physicists … Interacting with them is at first intense, but rapidly becomes tedious as they know little of the subject detail [6], fall back on the same rather simplistic arguments [6] and ultimately appear to be motivated by eristic discourse rather than the truth [6].
I am not surprised that they prefer to close the comments, because I imagine that some people might object rather strongly to many of the statements made in this text.
Here are my short comments:
[1] I should perhaps stress that I am not the author of nor a contributor to this Wiki (or any other) page. [2] Is this an attempt to employ the ‘appeal to tradition’ fallacy? [3] The Wiki page does by no means classify the ancient history of acupuncture as pseudoscience. [4] I have always felt that classification of science or medicine according to geography is nonsensical; they should not be classified as Western or Asian but as sound or not, effective or not, etc. [5] As we have often seen on this blog, the ‘hurdles’ (peer-review) are often laughable, particularly in the realm of alternative medicine. [6] This article is essentially trying to show that the Wiki page is biased. Yet it ends with a bonanza of insults which essentially reveal the profound bias of the author.IS ACUPUNCTURE PSEUDOSCIENCE? Cummings’ article promised to address this question. Sadly it did nothing of the sort. It turned out to be an incompetent rant about a Wiki page. If anything, Cummings contributed to the neutral reader of his text getting convinced that, indeed, acupuncture IS a pseudoscience! At least Wiki used facts, arguments, evidence etc. and it went a lot further in finding a rational answer to this intriguing question.
‘How to convince someone when facts fail’ – this is the title of a very good and ‘must read’ article by Michael Shermer recently published in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. The issue is clearly relevant to numerous discussions we have on this blog. Therefore, I will repeat Shermer’s conclusions here:
If corrective facts only make matters worse, what can we do to convince people of the error of their beliefs? From my experience,
1. keep emotions out of the exchange,
2. discuss, don’t attack (no ad hominem and no ad Hitlerum),
3. listen carefully and try to articulate the other position accurately,
4. show respect,
5. acknowledge that you understand why someone might hold that opinion, and
6. try to show how changing facts does not necessarily mean changing worldviews.
These strategies may not always work to change people’s minds, but now that the nation has just been put through a political fact-check wringer, they may help reduce unnecessary divisiveness.
Wise words and good strategies! But, as Shermer himself admits, they unfortunately don’t always work. This blog and the comments made by its readers provide ample examples of failures in this respect.
By and large, I try my very best to adhere to Shermer’s principles. Yet, I do not pretend that I always succeed brilliantly – on the contrary, far too often, I lose my rag. I am not particularly proud of it, but neither am I all that deeply ashamed.
The thing is that any attempt at a respectful and constructive dialogue requires the co-operation of both sides. If the opponent is continually disrespectful, offensive, dishonest, unable to grasp even the simplest concepts, etc., I often just stop the dialogue. If that does not prevent my opponent from being a belligerent nuisance, I have been known to get impatient or even rude. TO ALL WHO I OFFENDED IN 2016, I CAN ONLY SAY THIS: THERE PROBABLY WAS A GOOD REASON FOR MY BEHAVIOUR.
I know, this is not good enough, particularly as I should set an example for others. How can I expect all the commentators on this blog to be respectful and constructive, if I too loose my temper from time to time? The answer is I cannot (by the way, this is one reason why I have passed other people’s outbursts and ,so far, published them largely uncensored; as long as I cannot fully control myself, I must not censor others with the same predicament).
So, here is my resolution for 2017:
I will continue to be provocative (this is part of the ‘raison d’etre’ of this blog) but, at the same time, I will try harder to show respect, politeness and understanding. Crucially, I am herewith asking everyone to PLEASE do likewise. Failing this, I will start censoring those sections of the comments that I consider abusive; and [I almost forgot] I will ban those commentators who repeatedly need censoring.
With well over 800 articles, this blog has become somewhat of a reference library for subjects related to alternative medicine (I know that some journalists already employ it in this way [if you want to use it in this way, try the search box on the right top of the page]). To review the year 2016 in alternative medicine, I will now use it for exactly this purpose. In other words, I will highlight those posts from 2016 which, in my view, have taught us something potentially valuable or are otherwise remarkable.
Here we go!
19 January 2016: What are the competencies of a paediatric chiropractor? Chiropractors disagree, of course, but I think they should be foremost to realise that chiropractors must not treat children.
21 January 2016: Are naturopaths dangerous? The short answer is, yes, many are!
29 January 2016: Is the Internet a good source of information for cancer patients? No, in the realm of alternative medicine, the Internet can be very dangerous indeed.
15 February 2016: Alternative practitioners employ a multitude of diagnostic techniques. These methods are not validated and run an unacceptably high risk of false-positive or false-negative results.
22 March 2016: The career-path to becoming a convinced homeopath … may be less far puzzling than you think.
24 March 2016: Even the most respected medical journals are now beginning to publish very weak, borderline fraudulent studies of alternative medicine.
26 March 2016: Alternative practitioners seem to never protest even against the most outrageous quackery within their ranks.
28 March 2016: NICE might finally start being a little more critical about the value of alternative therapies.
02 April 2016: The ability to think critically seems extremely rare amongst alternative practitioners.
13 April 2016: Many, if not most, of the ‘research’ papers published in alternative medicine seem to have little to do with science but turn out to be exercises in promotion.
16 April 2016: There is no epidemic that does not bring some dangerously delusional homeopaths to the fore.
29 April 2016: Most alternative practitioners have little idea about medical ethics (see also here).
01 May 2016: Some, one could even say most CAM journals are not worth the paper they are printed on (see also here).
23 May 2016: Integrative medicine is one of the most colossal deceptions in healthcare today.
24 May 2016: Some CAM researcher are too good to be true.
10 June 2016: Pharmacists who sell quackery are probably quacks.
22 July 2016: Far too many TCM products are of lamentably poor quality.
19 August 2016: The German ‘HEILPRAKTIKER’ is a relic from the Nazis that continues to endanger public health.
03 September 2016: Homeoprophylaxis is a criminally bad idea; it has the potential to endanger public health.
04 September 2016: Quackery can kill people – and sadly, it does so with depressing regularity.
06 September 2016: Research into alternative medicine is scarce and usually of deplorably poor quality.
26 September 2016: Holistic dentistry is a con – just like holistic medicine; the term ‘holistic’ has degenerated into an advertising gimmick.
04 October 2016: Data fabrication in China is rife and further undermines the trustworthiness of TCM studies.
21 October 2016: Most (if not all) of the money spent on chiropractic is wasted.
10 December 2016: When sceptics criticise homeopathy, they are often wrong.
19 December 2016: Charlatans‘ income crucially relies on advertising lies.
22 December 2016: Homeopathy is not just useless for humans, it also does not work in animals.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Perhaps I have a weak spot for fish oil; more likely, however, I just like positive news – and, in alternative medicine, there is not much of it. That’s why I have written about the potential benefits of fish-oil again and again and again and again.
Reduced intake of fish oil, i.e. n−3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), may be a contributing factor to the increasing prevalence of asthma and other wheezing disorders. Yet the evidence is neither clear nor strong. This study was aimed at shedding more light on the issue; specifically, it tested the effect of supplementation with n−3 LCPUFAs in pregnant women on the risk of persistent wheeze and asthma in their offspring.
The investigators randomly assigned 736 pregnant women at 24 weeks of gestation to receive 2.4 g of n−3 LCPUFA (fish oil) or placebo (olive oil) per day. Their children were followed prospectively with extensive clinical phenotyping. Neither the investigators nor the participants were aware of group assignments during follow-up for the first 3 years of the children’s lives, after which there was a 2-year follow-up period during which only the investigators were unaware of group assignments. The primary end point was persistent wheeze or asthma, and the secondary end points included lower respiratory tract infections, asthma exacerbations, eczema, and allergic sensitization.
A total of 695 children were included in the trial, and 95.5% completed the 3-year, double-blind follow-up period. The risk of persistent wheeze or asthma in the treatment group was 16.9%, versus 23.7% in the control group (hazard ratio, 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49 to 0.97; P=0.035), corresponding to a relative reduction of 30.7%. Prespecified subgroup analyses suggested that the effect was strongest in the children of women whose blood levels of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid were in the lowest third of the trial population at randomization: 17.5% versus 34.1% (hazard ratio, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.83; P=0.011). Analyses of secondary end points showed that supplementation with n−3 LCPUFA was associated with a reduced risk of infections of the lower respiratory tract (31.7% vs. 39.1%; hazard ratio, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.58 to 0.98; P=0.033), but there were no statistically significant associations between supplementation and asthma exacerbations, eczema, or allergic sensitization.
The authors concluded that supplementation with n−3 LCPUFA in the third trimester of pregnancy reduced the absolute risk of persistent wheeze or asthma and infections of the lower respiratory tract in offspring by approximately 7 percentage points, or one third.
The authors must be congratulated. This trial is stunning in many ways: it was carefully designed and executed; its results are clear and important; its write-up is excellent. The research was supported by private and public research funds, all of which are listed at www.copsac.com. The Lundbeck Foundation, the Danish Ministry of Health, the Danish Council for Strategic Research, the Danish Council for Independent Research, and the Capital Region Research Foundation provided core support.
It is debatable whether the intake of fish oil falls under the umbrella of alternative medicine. In a way, it reminds me of the famous saying: what do we call alternative medicine that works? We call it medicine. It also holds an important reminder for all who make claims about the benefit of alternative therapies: extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Can these findings be translated into practical advice to consumers? The NEJM discussed this question in an accompanying article in which the case of a fictional pregnant woman (Ms. Franklin) was considered. Here is what they concluded: …there is benefit and little risk associated with n−3 LCPUFA supplementation. Even though we do not know Ms. Franklin’s EPA and DHA levels, there is likely to be a benefit for her child, at little risk, cost, or inconvenience. She should start taking n−3 LCPUFA supplements.
Despite my soft spot for fish oil, I might add that, while we give advice of this nature, we nevertheless need to insist on independent replications to have certainty.
I came across this website which contains an undated ‘open letter’ that I find most remarkable – so much so that I feel I have to blog about it. All I did below was to abbreviate its text slightly and to omit its references which can, of course, be looked up in the original. The footnotes in square brackets are mine and refer to my comments below.
START OF QUOTE
It is now estimated that antibiotic resistant infections may kill an estimated [1] 10 million people a year and cost the world’s economies some $100 trillion annually by the year 2050… As some of America’s leading integrative medicine specialists [2], we believe it is time to look anew at a modality called homeopathic medicine.
As physicians [3], we are the first to acknowledge that the diagnostic and surgical tools of conventional medicine are scientific marvels – truly extraordinary and life saving. However, it is also a well-documented fact that many of the drugs currently used by conventional medicine carry risks that are often unacceptable, and in the case of bacterial infections – increasingly ineffective [4].
Signatories, and tens of thousands of our medical colleagues around the world, have repeatedly used homeopathic medicine to effectively and safely treat patients with a wide range of ailments, including serious, and in some cases, life threatening bacterial and viral infections, without the risk of creating further drug resistant organisms [5]. We reached our decision to employ these medicines after careful experimentation and observation, in search of a drug system that relieved suffering without potential toxic side and after-effects [6]…
Twelve independent research laboratories in North America, Russia, Europe and Asia have now confirmed that all classically-prepared homeopathic medicines studied contain various nanostructures, including source and silica nanoparticles which are heterogeneously dispersed in colloidal solution [7]. The above mentioned laboratories and others have found that homeopathic medicines, like modern engineered nanoparticles, have been found to act by modulating biological function of the allostatic stress response network, including cytokines, oxidative stress and heat shock proteins [8]. Additionally, there are hundreds of peer-reviewed studies including randomly controlled trials and large observational studies on individual cells, plants, animals and humans, that show homeopathic medicines are exceptionally safe [9] and have measurable and positive biological and therapeutic effects [10].
Reliable and extensive clinical and public health records have also been carefully examined internationally, looking for evidence of homeopathic medicine’s efficacy during some of the deadliest epidemics of the past 200 years. The main findings of this research show that when homeopathic medicine was employed during these deadly events, mortality rates were routinely very low. This constancy remained regardless of the homeopathic physician, time, place or type of epidemical disease, including diseases carrying a high mortality rate, such as cholera, smallpox, diphtheria, typhoid fever, yellow fever, influenza and pneumonia [11].
…we are calling for a collaborative effort to investigate the efficacy of homeopathic medicine in the treatment of patients with these increasingly dangerous infections whereby homeopathic medicine is used only as an adjunct to conventional therapies [12] …
END OF QUOTE
These are my footnotes, questions and comments:
[1] Does twice ‘estimated’ result in accuracy, according to homeopathic teaching? [2] Are we impressed by people who call themselves ‘leading specialists’? [3] I can see many signatories who I would hesitate to call ‘physicians’. [4] In the case of antibiotics, it is mostly the over-use and not the drug per se that created their ineffectiveness. [5] Using homeopathic remedies for infections is not effective and therefore also not safe. [6] If that were true, they would have clinical trial evidence which they clearly have not. [7] Even if this were true, it would not mean that the nano-particles cause therapeutic effects. [8] Even if this were true, it would still not necessarily amount to clinical benefit in sick patients; where are the clinical trials showing that homeopathic remedies are effective antibiotics? I am not aware of any. The references provided certainly do not refer to such clinical studies. [9] Yes, highly dilute homeopathic remedies contain no active ingredients and are therefore unlikely to cause direct adverse effects. [10] The totality of the evidence from reliable clinical trials fails to show therapeutic effects. [11] The epidemiological data can be interpreted in several ways, and the majority of non-homeopaths do not share this interpretation. [12] About 500 clinical trials are available, and their results suffice to call for an end to such research; it’s a waste of resources – resources which are urgently needed to find solutions for the serious problem of antibiotic resistance.Who is this letter addressed to? I could not find an answer to this question. It seems to be addressed to nobody – perhaps just as well!
Who would sign such an amateurish letter full of mistakes and dangerously misleading statements? The full (and embarrassingly long) list of signatories is here:
Stephen Albin, ND
Nathalie Allen, ND
Lisa Amerine, ND
David Anderson, MD
Kristy L. Anderson , ND
Yumi Ando, MD
A. M. Aurigemma, M.D.
Jyotsna Ayachit , M.D. CCH, DIH
Linda Baker, MD
Michael Baker, ND
Toni Bark, MD
Alex Bekker, MD
Iris Bell , MD, Ph.D.
Paul Bergquist, MD
Brian Berman, MD
Andrea Bitter, MD
Blossom Bitting, ND
Manon Bolliger , ND
Philip Bonnet, MD
Sue Boyle, ND
Mark Breiner, DDS
Maureen Bunce, MD
Anthony Capobianco, DO
Youngran Chung, MD
Mary Alice Cooper, MD
Mary Ellen Coulter, MD
Karin Cseak, DO
Stephen Davidson, DO
Tim Dooley, MD
Michelle Dossette, MD
Joseph Dubroff, ND
Robert Dumont, MD
Ronald Dushkin, MD
Samuelle Easton, ND
Rebecca Elmaleh, MD
Kristy Fassler, ND
Timothy W. Fior , MD
Laura Firetag, ND
Richard D Fischer , DDS, ND, MIAOMT, FAAO
D Fischer , DDS, ND, MIAOMT, FAAO
Mitchell A. Fleisher, M.D., D.Ht.
Ecaterina Floroiu, MD
Gary Fortinsky, DDS
Glenn Frieder, DC
Joyce Frye , DO
Susana Galle, ND, Ph.D.
Juan Gamba, MD
Stewart Garber, DC, Ph.D.
Harold Goodman, DO
George Guess, MD, DHt
Sohilraj Gupta, MD
Regina Gurevich, MD
Robert Hall, MD
Eashwar Hariharan, MD
Alice Harper, ND
Travis Herring, MD
Sharon Herzfeld, MD
Richard Hiltner, MD
Todd Hoover, MD
Torey Ivanic, PA-C
Jennifer Jacobs, MD
Naseem Jagani, MD
Chris Johnson, NS
Bernice Johnson, DC
Sandra Kamiak, MD
Emily Kane, ND
Polina Karmazin , MD
George Keeler , MD
Elena Klimenko, MD
Edward C. Kondrot, MD, MD(H)
Gary Krarcoff, NMD
Christine Kuhlman, ND
J.W. Kwee, MD
Julie Lachman, ND
Janet Lavatin, MD
Gail Littell, ND
Ian Luepker, ND
Linda Madore, ND
Larry Malerba, DO
Christopher Maloney, ND
Ruth Martens, MD, DHt
Robert Melo, MD
Bernardo A Merizalde, M.D.
Stephen A. Messer, MSEd, ND
Jeff Migdow, M.D.
Jacob Mirman, MD
Lucia Elena Mitrofan, MD
David Moreira, MD
Roger Morrison , M.D.
Richard Moskowitz, MD
Anca Nitulescu, MD
Nick Nossaman , MD, DHt
Stephanie Ogura, ND
Jamie Oskin, ND
Roy Ozanne, MD
Donna Panucci , DDS
Pamela Pappas, MD, MD(H)
Iva Peck, MD
Vladimir Petroci, MD
Luigi Pioli, MD
Liliana Plaesu, MD
Wendy Pollock, DC
Molly Punzo, MD
Danny Quaranto, MD
Ignatiadou Radmila, MD
Rakesh Raj, MD
Vinay Ranade, MD
Ioana Razi, MD
Sandy Reider, MD
Karl Robinson, MD
Henry Rostecki, DVM
Todd Rowe, MD MD(H)
DeeAnn Saber, NMD
Andre Saine , ND
Susanne Saltzman, MD
Lisa Samet , ND
Gundi Schulz, ND
Tova Sebaoun, MD
Irene Sebastian, MD
Joel Shepperd , MD
William Shevin , MD, D.Ht.
Jonathan Shore , MD
Hydie Sobel, MD
Rumen Stoychev, MD
Sergio Suárez, MD
Christine Sutton, ND
Michelle Thatcher, NMD
Anja Troje, MD, Ph.D.
Eric Udell, ND M.Ed.
Corey Weinstein, MD
Richard Weintraub, MD
Judith Weiss, MD
Ronald Whitmont, MD
Melanie Whittaker, ND, RN
Jacquelyn Wilson, MD
Linda Woodward, MD
I happen to know several of these ‘leading integrative medicine specialists’. What did they think when composing this letter?
The answer can only be NOT A LOT.
This is so cringingly embarrassing and pathetic that it beggars belief. If ‘integrative medicine’ ever did have anything resembling credibility, these ‘leading specialists’ would have destroyed it with their letter.
Antibiotic resistance is, of course, a huge, complex and very serious problem, and we need to solve it urgently – but surely not with lies, half-truths, wishful thinking and incompetence.
In real medicine, most doctors view telephone consultations as highly problematic and would use them but in emergency situations or when there is no realistic other choice. Not so in homeopathy! Here telephone consultations are actively promoted my many – many who have a financial interest in it, that is.
Take this press-release, for instance; I have slightly abbreviated the text but abstained from correcting the many mistakes to give you a realistic impression of the high standard of the firm offering it.
START OF QUOTE
Solviva Health is an online treatment initiative based on… homeopathy. Since homeopathy’s introduction by Samuel Hahnemann in 1796, the popularity of this system is growing day by day [1]. According to World Health Organization, homoeopathy is the second largest system of medicine in the world [1]. India is one among the top nations to adopt this technique of curing and describes it as a natural way of healing. Solviva Health is an online homeopathic treatment platform that interacts with their patients through online initiatives like emails, video conferencing, web chat, telephonic and all other possible communication sources. The main motto of this initiative is to provide medical services not only to the local people of Mohali but also to extend the reach of this quality treatment to rest of India & all across the world. It’s one amongst very few genuine platforms to avail the world class homeopathic medical services without visiting the doctors…
Whenever you need an expert guidance, the doctor is just a phone call away.
The medical team present under SolvivaHealth is well-known personalities in their respective field. The clinic specializes in Allergies, Polycystic ovarian disease, Female disorders, Rheumatoid arthritis, Joint problems & Child disorders. Suppose, “Before a specified team of doctors has to handle a particular case, the patient can check all the doctors’ detail for testimonial verifications, which are available online on the official website.” As per many sources, homeopathic treatment do not have side-effects and one of the safe & reliable way to tackle Allergies, Asthma, Female Disorders which are usually not having any cure in Allopathy… “Solviva Health provides the much awaited first Indian homeopathy online consultancy treatment services, which allows you to get all the precise treatment at the comfort of your home.”
Solviva Health is one of the first of it’s kind in India that offers treatment via online or telephonic interactions between doctors and patients. They have successfully completed 3 years in offering quality homeopathic treatment services with a patient satisfaction rate of 95%.
END OF QUOTE
I am sure that Hahnemann would be turning in his Parisian grave, if he knew about this. He and most of his followers have always stressed the importance of taking a long and detailed history during an empathetic, personal encounter with the patient.
But there is another important aspect here to consider: telephone consultations are by definition devoid of any physical examination of the patient by the clinician. I know that, generally speaking, homeopaths attach much less importance to physically examining their patients. I always have found this odd and borderline negligent. To omit them completely is no longer borderline but crosses the line into unethical behaviour, I think.
To me, it seems as though Solviva Health (and all the other firms that offer homeopathy by telephone) have found a method of maximising their income, while minimising the already meagre benefit of homeopathy. As we all know, if homeopathy has any positive effects on patients, it is through the personal encounter with an empathetic clinician. Telephone services are likely to be far less effective than fact-to-face consultations at building constructive therapeutic relationships.
We had HOMEOPATHS WITHOUT BORDERS and now, I suggest, we acknowledge a similar organisation which could aptly be called CHIROPRACTORS WITHOUT SCRUPLES. This remarkable text from NATURAL NEWS explains it all, I think:
START OF QUOTE
The following chiropractors are speaking up to inform the public about the dangers of vaccines.
Dr. David Jockers, D.C.
Vaccines are one of medicine’s prized attempts to improve human performance. They use artificial laboratory derived medical technology to produce an immune response within the body in hopes it will lead to a long-term positive antibody response.
The vaccine ideology is based on the belief that people are created with inferior immune systems that are unable to keep up with the demands of the environment and need modern technology in the form of man-made vaccine formulations in order to bolster immunity.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, “The following substances are found in flu vaccines: aluminum, antibiotics, formaldehyde, human aborted fetal apparatus (dead human tissue), monosodium glutamate (MSG), and thimerosal (mercury).” Many of these same ingredients are in childhood vaccines. They are all very toxic for human physiology and have a track record for insulting the body’s immune system.
I would prefer to trust the innate ability of the body to overcome infectious microorganisms and I will fully support my body through healthy diet and lifestyle along with natural supplements and proper spinal alignment. I absolutely reject the idea that injecting a group of toxic, immune insulting chemicals into my bloodstream will improve someone’s long-term immune response.
Nancy Tarlow, D.C.
When you inject chemicals into your body that are toxic, there will be an effect. It may not be obvious at first. A child might have a fever that the doctor says is “normal”, but it isn’t. A fever or screaming could be that the brain is swelling and causing damage. The real problem is that children cannot convey to us how they feel. It’s not like an adult who can tell us that they felt great prior to a vaccination but then started having health problems.
Dr. Haroot Tovanyan, D.C.
I am a doctor of Chiropractic and I primarily work with autistic children.
… Every single parent in my practice that has an autistic child has the same story. Child was born normal; child was developing normal. Child went in for their 12-month, 18-month, normal usually 24 or 36-month shots and regressed. This may be anecdotal, but when you hear it over and over and over again, there’s something to be said. These are children that have severe neurological issues. They’re not verbal; 8-10-year-old children that are still wearing diapers.
I have a quadriplegic niece in my family who received 4 shots, a total of 10 vaccines in 1 day. She was born normal. She developed normal until about a year and a half. At a year and a half she received 4 shots, 1, 2, 3, 4, and she … This was 1990 when they started doing multiple vaccines and they also quadrupled the number of shots that you’re normally receiving. She basically regressed. She’s a vegetable. I mean, she became a quadriplegic. Nowhere in nature would your child go to get exposed to let’s say 6 or 7 or 8 or 9, or in the case of my niece, 10 viruses and bacteria at the same time.
In nature that just doesn’t happen. They don’t co-exist like that. It’s not natural to put a combination of vaccines, combinations of viruses and bacteria that just don’t belong together or don’t co-exist in nature in a vial and inject it into a child and expect them to be healthy. The CDC schedule has never been tested for safety. There have never been double-blind studies. It’s never been tested for synergistic effect. They’ve refused to study un-vaccinated versus vaccinated.
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On this blog, we have discussed the issues related to chiropractic and immunisations repeatedly (for instance here, here, here and here).
In case you wonder about the origins of this odd and unethical behaviour, you best look into the history of chiropractic. D. D. Palmer, the magnetic healer who ‘invented’ chiropractic some 120 years ago, left no doubt about his profound disgust for immunisation: “It is the very height of absurdity to strive to ‘protect’ any person from smallpox and other malady by inoculating them with a filthy animal poison… No one will ever pollute the blood of any member of my family unless he cares to walk over my dead body… ” (D. D. Palmer, 1910)
D. D. Palmer’s son, B. J. Palmer provided a more detailed explanation for chiropractors’ rejection of immunisation: “Chiropractors have found in every disease that is supposed to be contagious, a cause in the spine. In the spinal column we will find a subluxation that corresponds to every type of disease… If we had one hundred cases of small-pox, I can prove to you, in one, you will find a subluxation and you will find the same condition in the other ninety-nine. I adjust one and return his function to normal… There is no contagious disease… There is no infection…The idea of poisoning healthy people with vaccine virus… is irrational. People make a great ado if exposed to a contagious disease, but they submit to being inoculated with rotten pus, which if it takes, is warranted to give them a disease” (B. J. Palmer, 1909)
We are often told that such opinions have all but died out in today’s chiropractic profession. But is this true? I see precious little evidence to assume this to be true.
Today the anti-vaxx notions of chiropractors are mostly expressed in a less abrupt, more politically correct language: The International Chiropractors Association recognizes that the use of vaccines is not without risk. The ICA supports each individual’s right to select his or her own health care and to be made aware of the possible adverse effects of vaccines upon a human body. In accordance with such principles and based upon the individual’s right to freedom of choice, the ICA is opposed to compulsory programs which infringe upon such rights. The International Chiropractors Association is supportive of a conscience clause or waiver in compulsory vaccination laws, providing an elective course of action for all regarding immunization, thereby allowing patients freedom of choice in matters affecting their bodies and health.
Yes, I do realise that some chiropractors now acknowledge that immunisations have been one of the most successful interventions in the history of medicine. Yet, far too many others still vehemently adhere to the gospel of the Palmers, and statements like the following abound:
Vaccines. What are we taught? That vaccines came on the scene just in time to save civilization from the ravages of infectious diseases. That vaccines are scientifically formulated to confer immunity to certain diseases; that they are safe and effective. That if we stop vaccinating, epidemics will return…And then one day you’ll be shocked to discover that … your “medical” point of view is unscientific, according to many of the world’s top researchers and scientists. That many state and national legislatures all over the world are now passing laws to exclude compulsory vaccines….
Our original blood was good enough. What a thing to say about one of the most sublime substances in the universe. Our original professional philosophy was also good enough. What a thing to say about the most evolved healing concept since we crawled out of the ocean. Perhaps we can arrive at a position of profound gratitude if we could finally appreciate the identity, the oneness, the nobility of an uncontaminated unrestricted nervous system and an inviolate bloodstream. In such a place, is not the chiropractic position on vaccines self-evident, crystal clear, and as plain as the sun in the sky?
So, the opinions by chiropractors cited above seem more the rule than the exception. NATURAL NEWS is not normally one of my favourite publications; on this occasion, however, I am thankful to the editor for alerting us to what I might call CHIROPRACTORS WITHOUT SCRUPLES.
Yes, the festive season is upon us and therefore it is high time to discuss detox (yet again). As many of us are filling their fridges to the brim, most of us prepare for some serious over-indulgence. Following alt med logic, this must prompt some counter-measures, called detox.
The range of treatments advocated by detox-fans is weird and wide (see also below):
- various alternative diets,
- herbal, vitamins, minerals and other ‘natural’ supplements,
- various forms of chelation therapy,
- electromagnetic devices,
- colonic irrigation and enemas,
- various forms of skin bruising,
- cupping,
- sauna and other means of inducing extensive sweating,
- homeopathy,
- ear candles,
- foot-baths,
- etc., etc.
I suppose it was to be expected that detox often goes with other crazy beliefs. This website, for instance, shows that it is even associated with anti-vaxx:
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Whether you believe vaccines to be harmful or not, one has to admit that all the ingredients added to vaccines cannot be good for anyone, especially children.
As David Wolfe has discussed, vaccines contain the following: sucrose, fructose, dextrose, potassium phosphate, aluminum potassium sulfate, peptone, bovine extract, formaldehyde, FD&C Yellow #6, aluminum lake dye, fetal bovine serum, sodium bicarbonate, monosodium glutamate, aluminum hydroxide, benzethonium chloride, lactose thimerosal, ammonium sulfate, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, bovine extract), calf serum, aluminum phosphate, aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, and ethanol.
That is a long scary list and many of these things will not leave the body naturally. Thus, a gentle detox is necessary.
Detoxification Bath
Living Traditionally suggests a detoxification bath with both Zendocrine and epsom salt. Zendocrine is an essential oil mixture made up of tangerine, rosemary, geranium, juniper berry, and cilantro. Rosemary, juniper berry, and cilantro are good choices for detoxification and tangerine and geranium are purifiers.
Garlic
Garlic has been scientifically proven to treat heavy metal poisoning. Organic Lifestyle Magazine suggests consuming three cloves a day to help remove toxins.
Silica
Silica is also good for a heavy metal detox. Natural News states, “Aluminum (Al) is passed out through the urine when one supplements silica. It seems there’s little danger of taking too much, as long as adequate water is consumed and vitamin B1 and potassium levels are maintained.”
One of the best ways to get silica in your system is with the horsetail herb, rye, barley, oats, wheat, and alfalfa sprouts nuts.
Chlorella
Chlorella is one of the best detoxifying substances available. According to Dr. Mercola, “Chlorella is uniquely designed to not bind to the minerals your body naturally needs to function optimally. It does not bind to beneficial minerals like calcium, magnesium, or zinc. It’s almost as if chlorella knows which metals belong in your body and which chemicals need to be removed. Supplementing with chlorella is like unleashing a tiny army inside your body to fight the battle of removing toxins from your tissues and ushering them back outside your body where they belong.”
You can take it in supplement form or add a powdered version to your smoothie.
Probiotics
Probiotics are what is needed to put good bacteria system to rights when it has been thrown off by toxins. “They can provide assistance by decreasing the number of bad bacteria while helping to restore balance between good and bad bacteria in the gut and to keep your body functioning properly.” (LiveStrong)
Some probiotic foods include: organic yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha, and fermented vegetables.
Omega-3
Omega 3 oils are especially good for cell repair and keeping your brain healthy. This is because of their high fat content is similar to the fats that are naturally part of cell and brain systems. (Daily Mail)
A teaspoon daily should be enough or you could take a supplement.
Cilantro
According to Natural Society, cilantro is a very gentle detoxification tool. It is also effective for removing heavy metals from the brain.
For 2-3 weeks, add a teaspoon of cilantro to your food, smoothie, or just eat it up. You can also substitute with 6-7 drops of cilantro essential oil by adding it to your bath.
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Don’t you just adore the sources quoted by the author as evidence for his/her statements?
As I said, the therapies recommended for detox are diverse. Yet, they have one important feature in co<span style=”color: #668a1d;”>mmon: they are not based on anything remotely resembling good evidence. As I stressed in my article of 2012:
The common characteristics of all of these approaches are that they are unproved. Even experts who are sympathetic to alternative medicine and AD admit: ‘while there are hundreds of randomized controlled trials on drug and alcohol detox, there are no such trials of detox programs focusing on environmental toxins … at present, “detox” is certainly more of a sales pitch than a science’. The ‘studies’ of AD that have been published are of such poor methodological quality that no conclusions can be drawn from them.
While there is a total absence of sound evidence for benefit, some of these treatments have been associated with risks which depend on the nature of the treatment and can be particularly serious with diets (malnutrition), supplements (hepatoxicity), chelation (electrolyte depletion) and colonic irrigation (perforation of the colon).
Yet detox is big business’. A recent survey, for instance, suggested that 92% of US naturopaths use some form of detox. To lay people, its principles seem to make sense and, in many of us, the desire to ‘purify’ ourselves is deep rooted. Thus detox-entrepreneurs (including Prince Charles who, several years ago, launched a ‘Detox-Tincture’ via his firm Duchy Originals) are able to exploit a gullible public.
Proponents of detox are keen to point out that ‘a modern science of ‘detoxicology’ seems to be emerging’. If there is such a thing, it should address the following, fundamental questions:
- What are the toxins and toxicants?
- What evidence exists that they damage our health?
- How do we quantify them?
- How do we diagnose that a patient requires detox?
- Which treatments are effective in eliminating which toxins?
Currently, there is insufficient evidence to answer any of these questions. Until this situation changes, I do not think a ‘science of detox’ exists at all.
Yesterday I received an electronic Christmas card from two homeopathic institutions called ‘Homeopathic Associates and The Homeopathic College’. It read: WISHING YOU THE BEST OF HEALTH AND HAPPINESS FOR THE NEW YEAR!
Naturally I was puzzled, particularly since I had no recollection of ever having been in contact with them. The card was signed by Manfred Mueller, MA, DHM, RSHom(NA), CCH, and I decided to find out more about this man. It turns out that Manfred Mueller developed The Mueller Method or “Extra-Strength Homeopathy” to meet today’s complex chronic conditions, drug induced disorders, vaccine injuries, toxic overload, radiation-induced health problems, cancers, etc.
Now, this sounds interesting, I thought, and read on. Just a few clicks further, Mueller offers his wisdom on homeopathic cancer treatments in a lengthy article entitled ‘Is Homeopathy an Effective Cancer Treatment?‘
According to Mueller, the answer to his question is a clear yes. I will spare you the torture of reading the entire paper (if you have masochistic tendencies, you can read it via the link I provided above); instead, I will just copy Mueller’s conclusion:
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Laboratory studies in vitro and in vivo show that homeopathic drugs, in addition to having the capacity to reduce the size of tumors and to induce apoptosis, can induce protective and restorative effects. Additionally homeopathic treatment has shown effects when used as a complementary therapy for the effects of conventional cancer treatment. This confirms observations from our own clinical experience as well as that of others that when suitable remedies are selected according to individual indications as well as according to pathology and to cell-line indications and administered in the appropriate doses according to the standard principles of homeopathic posology, homeopathic treatment of cancer can be a highly effective therapy for all kinds of cancers and leukemia as well as for the harmful side effects of conventional treatment. More research is needed to corroborate these clinical observations.
Homeopathy over almost two decades of its existence has developed more than four hundred remedies for cancer treatment. Only a small fraction have been subjected to scientific study so far. More homeopathic remedies need to be studied to establish if they have any significant action in cancer. Undoubtedly the next big step in homeopathic cancer research must be multiple comprehensive double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials. To assess the effect of homeopathic treatment in clinical settings, volunteer adult patients who prefer to try homeopathic treatment instead of conventional therapy could be recruited, especially in cases for which no conventional therapy has been shown to be effective.
Many of the researchers conducting studies — cited here but not discussed — on the growing interest in homeopathic cancer treatment have observed that patients are driving the demand for access to homeopathic and other alternative modes of cancer treatment. So long as existing cancer treatment is fraught with danger and low efficacy, it is urgent that the research on and the provision of quality homeopathic cancer treatment be made available for those who wish to try it.
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Amazing! What could be more wrong than this?
But it’s the season of joy and love; so, let’s not go into the embarrassing details of this article. Instead, I feel like returning the curtesy of Mr Mueller’s Christmas card. Therefore, I have decided to post this open ‘Christmas card’ to him:
Dear Mr Mueller,
thank you for your card, the good wishes, and the links you provided to your websites, articles, etc. I only read the one on cancer but was impressed. It is remarkably misguided, unethical and dangerous. Crucially, it has the potential to shorten the lives of many desperate patients. I therefore urge you to desist making your opinions public or from applying them in your clinical practice. I say this not merely because I am concerned about the patients that have the misfortune to fall into your hands, but also to prevent you from getting into trouble for immoral, unethical or unlawful behaviour.
In this spirit, I wish you happiness for the New Year.
Edzard Ernst
