In pseudoscience, appeals to nature are everywhere. It’s not surprising, then, that there is profit to be made selling “raw” (i.e., untreated) water at very high prices for its nonexistent health benefits, those benefits all claimed to be due to the “naturalness” of the water. I can’t help but note that cholera, Giardia, amoebic dysentery, and a wide variety of waterborne illnesses prevented by modern water treatment techniques are all very, very “natural.”
Naturopaths are not the only relentless quacks seeking to bend government to legitimize their quackery. Acupuncturists are now working to get Medicaid to fund acupuncture services. They are succeeding.
Earlier this week, the FDA issued draft guidance that would, if adopted, allow it to regulate homeopathic remedies as drugs. Will 2018 be the year that the FDA finally stops deferring to homeopaths and regulating homeopathic remedies as drugs?
Last week, while discussing the antivaccine stylings of “holistic psychiatrist” Dr. Kelly Brogan, I promised to revisit her e-book “Vaccines and Brain Health.” Never let it be said that Orac doesn’t keep his promises.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. claims that he is “fiercely pro-vaccine.” His words and actions say otherwise, for instance his Indiegogo campaign to raise money to promote antivaccine misinformation.
