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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Andrew Weil, the Coors Foundation, and Americans for Prosperity, or: “Integrative medicine” isn’t just for hippy dippy lefties anymore

The question of whether it is worthwhile to debate cranks, quacks, and advocates of pseudoscience has long been a contentious issue in the skeptic community. Those of you who’ve been reading my posts for a while know that I’ve always come down on the side that it is not a good idea One thing I’ve […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Tell the FDA not to embrace quackery: Write to oppose its proposal on acupuncture and chiropractic for chronic pain

Chiropractors and acupuncturists have lobbied for a greater role in treating pain. They might well have won it. Last week, the FDA released proposed changes Wednesday to its blueprint on educating health care providers about treating pain, which now recommend that doctors learn about chiropractic care and acupuncture as therapies that might help patients avoid opioids. There’s still time to stop this, but you have to write the FDA.

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Science

Another preventable death thanks to alternative medicine

What is it about Florida and quacks? It’s as though it’s the Wild West there when it comes to regulating the practice of medicine. There, quacks can get away with almost anything, or so it would seem. After all, Brian Clement, who isn’t even a doctor and isn’t even really a naturopath either, has been […]

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Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

What’s in a word? “Integrative” versus “alternative” medicine, again

I’ve written a lot about the language issue with respect to alternative medicine. As I like to put it (at least in shortened form), first there was quackery. Quacks did not like that name at all, and thus was born alternative medicine. And the quacks did think it good—for a while. There was a problem, […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Naturopathy Quackery

The “big idea” behind integrative medicine is not so big at all…

I’ve frequently referred to “integrative medicine” as the “integration” of quackery with conventional, science-based medicine for the very good reason that that’s what it really is. However, advocates of medicine not based in science are nothing if not masters of marketing, which is how, over the course of three decades or so, “alternative medicine” morphed […]