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Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

What’s more quackademic medicine than Harvard’s acupuncture course? Maybe Duke’s reflexology course!

Quackery has thoroughly infiltrated medical academia in the form of “integrative medicine.” So what’s worse than Harvard offering an acupuncture course? It might be Duke offering a reflexology and reiki course.

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Bad science Cancer Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Quackademic medicine versus being “science-based”

A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed by the a reporter from the Georgetown student newsletter about its integrative medicine program. It got me to thinking how delusion that one’s work is science-based can lead to collaborations with New Age “quantum” mystics like Deepak Chopra. “Integrative medicine” doctors engaging in what I like to refer to as quackademic medicine all claim to be “evidence-based” or “science-based.” The words apparently do not mean what integrative medicine academics think they mean.

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Autism Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Parents are still feeding their children bleach to “cure” their autism

Nearly six years ago, I learned of parents who treated their children’s autism by feeding them “Miracle Mineral Solution”—or even giving it to them in enemas. It turns out that MMS is a strong bleach. I had thought this cult of bleaching away autism had gone away. I was wrong. Incredibly, parents are still giving their children bleach enemas and tearing up their colons.

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Anti-Semitism Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine News of the Weird Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience

Out for signatures: A California ballot initiative by Cheriel Jensen that sounds as though it were written by Mike Adams

Last week, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla approved a ballot initiative to collect signatures that would, if passed, reverse school vaccine mandates, ban GMOs, and demonize chemicals. It sounds like something Mike Adams would have written. Fortunately, 365,880 signatures of registered voters are needed, which makes it unlikely that this will pass.

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

Quackery and “wellness”: The case of David and Collet Stephan and their son Ezekiel

David and Collet Stephan stand convicted of not having provided their son Ezekiel with essential medical care, which led to his death from meningitis. None of this stopped the “wellness” industry from featuring David as a speaker at its expos; that is, until it started causing bad publicity. When that happened, Stephan was unceremoniously dumped. But the quackery in “wellness” remains unchanged.