All posts by Harriet Hall

Harriet Hall, MD also known as The SkepDoc, is a retired family physician who writes about pseudoscience and questionable medical practices. She received her BA and MD from the University of Washington, did her internship in the Air Force (the second female ever to do so),  and was the first female graduate of the Air Force family practice residency at Eglin Air Force Base. During a long career as an Air Force physician, she held various positions from flight surgeon to DBMS (Director of Base Medical Services) and did everything from delivering babies to taking the controls of a B-52. She retired with the rank of Colonel.  In 2008 she published her memoirs, Women Aren't Supposed to Fly.

Rapid-onset Gender Dysphoria and Squelching Controversial Evidence

A flawed study suggested that rapid onset gender dysphoria around the time of puberty might be a result of peer pressure and media influence. It raised some important questions, but Brown University succumbed to pressure from activists and removed it from its website

/ September 18, 2018

Gender Dysphoria in Children

Gender transitions are becoming more and more common. Adults can make informed decisions about hormone treatments and gender reassignment surgeries, but what about children?

/ September 11, 2018

Estrogen Matters

Hormone replacement therapy in menopause is safer and more effective than we have been led to believe. A new book examines the evidence and sets the record straight.

/ September 4, 2018

Smoking Cessation

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death. There are effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods to help people stop smoking.

/ August 28, 2018

For Peat’s Sake! Naturopath Promotes Peat Bras and Tampons

This ND recommends peat therapy, including peat baths, peat tampons, and peat bras, for a variety of conditions including infertility and HPV infections. The evidence is lacking.

/ August 21, 2018

Naturopathy Textbook

The Textbook of Natural Medicine reveals what students of naturopathy are taught. It claims to be a scientific presentation, but it reveals just how unscientific naturopathy is. It mixes good science with bad science, pseudoscience, outright errors of fact, vitalism, philosophy, ancient history, superstition, gullibility, misrepresentations, metaphysics, religion, hearsay, opinion, and anecdotes.

/ August 14, 2018

The Trans Fat 51-Day Half-Life Myth

Various websites repeat the myth that trans fats are slowly metabolized, with a 51-day half-life. There is no evidence for that claim.

/ August 7, 2018

Cowabunga! Can Cow Therapy Cure Cancer?

A hospital in India offers to cure cancer in 11 days with Ayurveda and cow therapy, giving patients a drink of desi cow milk, yogurt, ghee, urine, and dung. It's very unlikely that cow therapy can cure cancer; but in another sense, the author of the book Holy Cancer says it "healed" him.

/ July 31, 2018

NES Health: Tooth Fairy Marketing

NES Health claims to scan the human biofield, detect imbalances, and correct them with infoceuticals. It's not science, it's clever marketing based on fantasy.

/ July 24, 2018