- ISBN13: 9780195383423
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Product Description
Hailed in the New York Times as “entertaining and immensely educational,” Snake Oil Science is not only a brilliant critique of alternative medicine, but also a first-rate introduction to interpreting scientific research of any sort. The book’s ultimate goal is to illustrate how the placebo effect conspires to make medical therapies appear to be effective–not just to consumers, but to therapists and poorly trained scientists as well. Bausell explores this remarkabl… More >>
Snake Oil Science: The Truth About Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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For anyone who truly understands Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), this book is written based on an oversimplified premise in the first place. Unlike biomedicine, there is no one-to-one mapping between a prescription (whether that is an herbal or acupuncture formula) and a symptom. For patients having the same symptom, there can be various underlying pathological pattern differentiations according to TCM, and therefore different treatment plans. So to achieve the clinical result that a particular TCM modality is able to achieve, the so-called scientific research trial should first of all be designed in such a way that a true TCM treatment actually treats a patient.
TCM is a highly individualized health care modality whose methodology is in between science and art. Because of that, choosing a credible experienced practitioner is vitally important. Also because of that, I seriouly question the validity of utilizing the current science methods to evaluate something that is beyond mere science(by the way, I’m not an alternative medicine practitioner, I myself am a scientist.) Just like one can not use Newtonian physics to evaluate quantum physics.
Rating: 1 / 5
The proof is in the pudding, Europe is way ahead of the US in alternative medicine and the results are there for all to see, the US is falling farther and farther behind.
I suffered from severe GERD so bad that I would spray my bedroom walls with gastric fluid while fighting for air. My psoriatic arthritis was so bad I had a very difficult time with mobility, even touching my toes was painful. I was scheduled for Aortic arch replacement surgery since my aorta had grown to over 5cm, according to tests at both Mayo and the U of Minn hospitals.
So I threw away my Nexium and my Enbrel and started on high doses of pro and prebiotics, EFAs such as fish oil, vascular support supplements such as hyalauronic acid, and cellular support supplements such as MSM and CoQ-10, in total 25 supplements.
My GERD is completely gone, it took two months. My psoriatic arthritis symptoms are completely gone, I’m more limber than I can ever remember, my range of motion constantly amazes me. I no longer need the aorta replacement since my last diagnostic has it at 4cm. I’ve been carefully monitoring my aorta for 5 years now, I was seriously preparing for open-heart surgery. How one can relate the changes that I’ve seen to “placebo effect” is beyond me. Why I can eat anything before retiring without any problems with GERD is related to placebo is beyond me. Why you can put a quarter 2 feet in front of me and I can pick it up without moving my feet or bending my knees is related to placebo is beyond me, I could never do that before.
I trust nutrition and nutraceuticals *much* more that what I consider the true snake oils – prescription drugs. I’m 56 and will no longer take prescription drugs unless absolutely necessary. 90% of all prescription drugs world-wide are consumed by Americans. You can cite statistics but remember the words of Mark Twain: There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
My trust is with alternative medicine, it’s been my boon, not my bane, and this book doing people a big disservice my minimizing it.
Rating: 1 / 5
This book could help more people appreciate research critically. A noble aim. However, the writing lumps alternative medicine into one broad and vague category. That’s not helpful for patients, clinicians, or researchers. It’s easy to relate to the author’s story of having a relative searching for a miracle cure for pain through pills or special foods and treatments. Isn’t there a better way to inform and protect consumers? The author’s answer is to focus on the placebo effect and end with a sermon on the power of hope. I would have liked to see a more nuanced discussion of risks versus benefits. For instance, even without definitive research, learning breathing exercises could be considered low risk. According to the author, there’s currently nothing but placebos, hope, and miracle seekers. I would have liked to see him reserve some of his hope for advancements in research.
Rating: 2 / 5
Click on the following link for a clear and concise discussion on the current hot button subject in the press; health care reform in the U.S. and in particular: “Ten Things That Are Missing from Obama’s Health Care Reform Debate”. Big Pharma and the AMA don’t get a lot of praise but CAM and Natural approaches are not only a wonderful option, but indeed may be the only long term, sustainable possibility! [...]
Rating: 1 / 5
I’d rather be an exception-to-the-rule healthy anecdote than be a reliably miserable statistic. We owe it to ourselves to break out of statistical distributions. Distributions tell you what will become of you if you do what the masses do. Of course, sometimes it is good to belong to the curve but when sickness strikes, it often is not.
Rating: 3 / 5