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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Mike Adams explains how to “naturally detox” from mandatory vaccines. It backfires.

One of the most pernicious lies promoted by the antivaccine movement is a trope that I’ve labeled the “toxins gambit.” Basically, it’s the lie, oft repeated in hysterical terms, that there are all sorts of horrible toxic chemicals in vaccines, and it is those toxic substances that are responsible for the claimed adverse effects of […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Naturopathy

Another child dead from quackery

Naturopathy is quackery, and, like many forms of quackery, it kills. People who trust naturopaths to treat actual serious diseases instead of using real doctors and real medicine dramatically decrease their odds of surviving a serious illness. While competent adults have every right to make that choice, to use fake medicine instead of real medicine, […]

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Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Science

No, cancer is not the “best death,” and curing cancer would be anything but a waste of resources

Medical research is a scientific enterprise, but, like most areas of science, nonscientific considerations have a great deal of influence over what sorts of research are funded. This is true regardless of who is funding the research. When it’s the government, obviously it’s impossible to avoid some degree of politics. (Indeed, politics is largely responsible […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Contrary to antivaccine claims, childhood immunization schedules are evidence-based

I write about vaccines a lot here at Respectful Insolence, and for a very good reason. Of all the medical interventions devised by the brains of humans, arguably vaccines have saved more lives and prevented more disability than any other medical treatment. When it comes to infectious disease, vaccination is the ultimate in preventive medicine, […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

“Cat-upuncture”? What did those poor cats ever do to deserve this?

Acupuncture is quackery. As with naturopathy (a medical pseudo-“specialty” that embraces acupuncture and other so-called traditional Chinese medicine), when I write about acupuncture I like to start out with a provocative statement, a statement of—dare I say it?—judgment in order to shock new readers and let them know exactly where I’m coming from. Why I […]