Trick Or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine

Trick Or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine PDF

Author: Simon Singh

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2008-08-17

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 0393066614

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In this groundbreaking analysis, more than 30 of the most popular alternative healing treatments--acupuncture, homeopathy, aromatherapy, reflexology, chiropractic, and herbal medicines--are examined for their benefits and potential dangers. 16 illustrations.

Trick or Treatment?

Trick or Treatment? PDF

Author: Dr. Simon Singh

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2009-10-06

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 140908180X

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Welcome to the world of alternative medicine. Prince Charles is a staunch defender and millions of people swear by it; most UK doctors consider it to be little more than superstition and a waste of money. But how do you know which treatments really heal and which are potentially harmful? Now at last you can find out, thanks to the formidable partnership of Professor Edzard Ernst and Simon Singh. Edzard Ernst is the world's first professor of complementary medicine, based at Exeter University, where he has spent over a decade analysing meticulously the evidence for and against alternative therapies.He is supported in his findings by Simon Singh, the well-known and highly respected science writer of several international bestsellers. Together they have written the definitive book on the subject. It is honest, impartial but hard-hitting, and provides a thorough examination and judgement of more than thirty of the most popular treatments, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, aromatherapy, reflexology, chiropractic and herbal medicine.In Trick or Treatment? the ultimate verdict on alternative medicine is delivered for the first time with clarity, scientific rigour and absolute authority.

Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine

Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine PDF

Author: Edzard Ernst

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2008-08-17

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9780393069860

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The truth about the potions, lotions, pills and needles, pummelling and energizing that lie beyond the realms of conventional medicine. Whether you are an ardent believer in alternative medicine, a skeptic, or are simply baffled by the range of services and opinions, this guide lays to rest doubts and contradictions with authority, integrity, and clarity. In this groundbreaking analysis, over thirty of the most popular treatments—acupuncture, homeopathy, aromatherapy, reflexology, chiropractic, and herbal medicines—are examined for their benefits and potential dangers. Questions answered include: What works and what doesn't? What are the secrets, and what are the lies? Who can you trust, and who is ripping you off? Can science decide what is best, or do the old wives' tales really tap into ancient, superior wisdom?In their scrutiny of alternative and complementary cures, authors Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst also strive to reassert the primacy of the scientific method as a means for determining public health practice and policy.

Snake Oil Science

Snake Oil Science PDF

Author: R. Barker Bausell PhD

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2009-07-31

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9780199758593

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Millions of people worldwide swear by such therapies as acupuncture, herbal cures, and homeopathic remedies. Indeed, complementary and alternative medicine is embraced by a broad spectrum of society, from ordinary people, to scientists and physicians, to celebrities such as Prince Charles and Oprah Winfrey. In the tradition of Michael Shermers Why People Believe Weird Things and Robert Parks's Voodoo Science, Barker Bausell provides an engaging look at the scientific evidence for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and at the logical, psychological, and physiological pitfalls that lead otherwise intelligent people--including researchers, physicians, and therapists--to endorse these cures. The books ultimate goal is to reveal not whether these therapies work--as Bausell explains, most do work, although weakly and temporarily--but whether they work for the reasons their proponents believe. Indeed, as Bausell reveals, it is the placebo effect that accounts for most of the positive results. He explores this remarkable phenomenon--the biological and chemical evidence for the placebo effect, how it works in the body, and why research on any therapy that does not factor in the placebo effect will inevitably produce false results. By contrast, as Bausell shows in an impressive survey of research from high-quality scientific journals and systematic reviews, studies employing credible placebo controls do not indicate positive effects for CAM therapies over and above those attributable to random chance. Here is not only an entertaining critique of the strangely zealous world of CAM belief and practice, but it also a first-rate introduction to how to correctly interpret scientific research of any sort. Readers will come away with a solid understanding of good vs. bad research practice and a healthy skepticism of claims about the latest miracle cure, be it St. John's Wort for depression or acupuncture for chronic pain.

Do You Believe in Magic?

Do You Believe in Magic? PDF

Author: Paul A. Offit, M.D.

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2013-06-18

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 0062223003

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Medical expert Paul A. Offit, M.D., offers a scathing exposé of the alternative medicine industry, revealing how even though some popular therapies are remarkably helpful due to the placebo response, many of them are ineffective, expensive, and even deadly. Dr. Offit reveals how alternative medicine—an unregulated industry under no legal obligation to prove its claims or admit its risks—can actually be harmful to our health. Using dramatic real-life stories, Offit separates the sense from the nonsense, showing why any therapy—alternative or traditional—should be scrutinized. He also shows how some nontraditional methods can do a great deal of good, in some cases exceeding therapies offered by conventional practitioners. An outspoken advocate for science-based health advocacy who is not afraid to take on media celebrities who promote alternative practices, Dr. Offit advises, “There’s no such thing as alternative medicine. There’s only medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t.”

Summary of Simon Singh & Edzard Ernst, M.D.'s Trick or Treatment

Summary of Simon Singh & Edzard Ernst, M.D.'s Trick or Treatment PDF

Author: Everest Media,

Publisher: Everest Media LLC

Published: 2022-05-15T22:59:00Z

Total Pages: 47

ISBN-13:

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Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The boom in bloodletting started in Ancient Greece, where it fit in with the widespread view that diseases are caused by an imbalance of four bodily fluids: blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. Unaware of how blood circulates around the body, Greek physicians believed that it could become stagnant and cause ill-health. #2 The practice of bloodletting was taken to America with the European colonization of the New World. American physicians saw no reason to question the techniques taught by the great European hospitals and universities, so they also considered bloodletting to be a mainstream medical procedure. #3 On 14 December 1799, George Washington contracted a cold that would prove to be the greatest threat to his life. He had to be bloodlettenged multiple times, and even poulticed, but none of it helped. By the evening, it was clear that his powers of life were clearly yielding to the force of the disorder. #4 The doctors who treated George Washington after he was wounded in the Battle of Yorktown were criticized for their bloodletting methods, but they claimed that it was a last-ditch effort to save the president’s life.

Homeopathy Cures Where Alopathy Fails

Homeopathy Cures Where Alopathy Fails PDF

Author: Subhash C. Madan

Publisher: Pustak Mahal

Published: 2007-09

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 8122307256

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The book written by an eminent surgeon who happened to explore the horizons of homeopathy, brings about a comparative study of both the leading medical fields-Homeopathy and Allopathy, to the best advantage of the patient. Through the proper case studies, he cites various cases where allopathic medicines have not worked while homeopathy worked wonders to cure the patient.

Principles of Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics

Principles of Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics PDF

Author: Russ B. Altman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-01-23

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 1107377471

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The study of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics focuses on how our genes and complex gene systems influence our response to drugs. Recent progress in clinical therapeutics has led to the discovery of new biomarkers that make it technically easier to identify groups of patients which are more or less likely to respond to individual therapies. The aim is to improve personalised medicine - not simply to prescribe the right medicine, but to deliver the right drug at the right dose at the right time. This textbook brings together leading experts to discuss the latest information on how human genetics impacts drug response phenotypes. It presents not only the basic principles of pharmacogenetics, but also clinically valuable examples that cover a broad range of specialties and therapeutic areas. This textbook is an invaluable introduction to pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics for health care professionals, medical students, pharmacy students, graduate students and researchers in the biosciences.