With the cancellation of "The Dr. Oz Show", his alternative medicine audience should not think of it as a time to mourn. but instead should take a moment to celebrate the man who created all their worst fears; they should rejoice a guy who wore medical scrubs during a show in which he suggested apple juice was as dangerous for children as plutonium, who taught concerned viewers to fear chicken and to love juice cleanses.
Search
In a move steeped in nonsense, Dr. Mehmet Oz has been appointed by Donald Trump to the President's Council on Sport, Fitness and Nutrition. Since his views on health and medicine are so lacking in scientific evidence, we have no idea why anyone is still listening to him at all anymore.
Dr. Oz is a fraud who ought to be fired from Columbia University and have his medical license revoked. Instead, he's headed to the White House.
The CDC recently cautioned that there's a wide range of diseases being transmitted by ticks, and the caseload is growing. Some, like Lyme’s disease, we are familiar with. To take it an important step further, let's take a look at some others that aren't necessarily on our radar – but should be.
Healthcare has cultural roots. Chicken soup as “Jewish penicillin” exemplifies one culture’s role in signifying quality, remedy and affective connotations like comfort. Meanwhile, many choose traditional Chinese medicine over its Western counterpart, a decision that provides insight but leaves us with some questions.
Nearly a century ago, Lord Carnavon, who attended the opening of King Tut’s Tomb, died shortly afterwards, in April 1923. At the time, the sensational media linked his death to supernatural causes activated by the curse of the mummy’s tomb. More recently, this tale was rationalized by suggesting that his death was due to ancient disease causing microbes, lurking in the tomb, rather than supernatural influences.
A new study details the call burden on U.S. Poison Control Centers of both unintentional and intentional exposures to medications used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Just substitute the substance and read why it's the same story, just a different day.
Many people believe that scientists, who have the most knowledge on a particular topic, are often the least able to provide a straight answer. It happened in the early 1970s, when environmental activists claimed supersonic planes, like the Concorde SST, would punch a hole in the ozone layer. Which led to this famous quote by an exasperated U.S. Senator.
Vical continues to push its VCL-HB01 herpes vaccine through development. Larry Smith, Ph.D., the senior VP of Research, answers some questions about where things stand now and what to expect in the near future.
A major thread in public policy debates about the opioid crisis is an asserted need to “solve” it by limiting production of opioid analgesics, and reducing medical exposure to potentially addicting drugs. But will these steps produce a remedy? Will our addiction and overdose problems improve with such a one-size-fits-all policy? Almost certainly not.
The World Health Organization wants global views on trans-fats. It remains common in middle and lower income countries and what to do remains a problem, After all, the devil is in the details.
It's dangerous being livestock. If you aren't being fattened up to be turned into a Happy Meal, you're wandering the fields, gobbling up plants that appear tasty and innocent – but are actually toxic. Plant poisonings cost the livestock industry more than $500 million every year.
Sepsis, sometimes inaccurately referred to as blood poisoning, is sparked by the body’s reaction to infection. Between 12 and 25 percent of patients with sepsis will die during hospitalization. Sepsis contributes to one-third to one-half of all in-hospital deaths.
States and councils around Australia have been struggling since the imposition of import restrictions that exclude 99% of the recyclables that the country previously sold to China. Hopes are high that the federal government will step in and take a clear role.
Nature is amazing. When potatoes go bad they sometimes turn green and produce a potent neurotoxin. But the chemical that's responsible for the green is chlorophyll, which is anything but toxic. How does the green color indicate that the potato is bad?
Do physicians act differently when their patient outcomes are reported publicly? Some studies say yes and others no. Now, a new study adds to the confusion.
In the grand tradition of misidentifying problems and offering proposals that won’t work, the city council of Washington, D.C. wants to force manufacturers of flushable toilet wipes to change the label to “non-flushable.” This is wrong.
"Methylene chloride is arguably the most dangerous of all the solvents sold at Home Depot," one of ASCH's experts says. Given the assessments, we believe this happens to be an instance where EPA concern is warranted.
This allergy test, a sometimes unpleasant childhood right of passage, may be a thing of the past someday. New research shows that a urine test can determine if a person has an allergy to a specific substance.
Though well-intentioned, "at all costs" breastfeeding messages are routinely misguided. And even intellectually dishonest.
Dr. Michael Dourson, who sits on ACSH's Board of Scientific Advisors, discusses changes at the EPA. He notes the public interest is best served when science is replicable, and when it's not access to underlying data is vital to independent analysis. Without quality risk assessment, we can't create effective national regulations.
Shaming and blaming isn't part of improving patient safety or resolving the opioid crisis. Healthcare workers and Congress frequently blame others and rarely take personal responsibility, and that's not a culture that fosters reflection and meaningful improvement.
If integrative medicine wants to be taken seriously, then they need to provide data obtained from actual scientific studies. There is no complementary science.
Walmart apparently has some big plans for its pharmacies and it will involve you. A whistleblower document from the company reveals what steps it will take to (wrongly) address the overuse of painkillers. You will be graded on your probability of misusing not just opiate drugs, but also sedatives and stimulants. Since when does Walmart tell our doctors what they can or cannot give to their patients?
The FDA is going after the most egregious violators of common sense: those who are clearly targeting children. To name and shame the bad actors who are doing a great harm to legitimate smoking cessation efforts, we offer them up here. Take a look; it's truly shameful.
Pagination
ACSH relies on donors like you. If you enjoy our work, please contribute.
Make your tax-deductible gift today!