Lipstick on Fengxi
Another attempt to demonstrate that the fiction of acupuncture is based in reality. This time it is the interstitium. Nope.
A blast from the past: The “interstitium,” the inspiration for that recent awful NYT acupuncture article
I'm on vacation this week and decided to repost a 2018 article that I had written for my other blog (but never published on SBM) that's oddly relevant to the SBM post last week about that awful NYT acupuncture article. Meet the introduction of the "interstitium" in acupuncture, complete with a major Deepak Chopra connection!
No One Should Care About or Trust Anything Dr. Marty Makary Says Ever Again
That, and 4 other thoughts on the resignation of Dr. Marty Makary.
How Journalists Enable the COVID Amnesia Project
People need to know the past credibility of our medical leaders to accurately gauge their current credibility.
NYT Epic Fail on Acupuncture
This makes the third time in just two weeks that a major mainstream or scientific outlet published credible nonsense about acupuncture, but I had to cover it after dozens of people e-mailed me about this recent article in the New York Times Magazine. It is ostensibly about the interstitium, but pivots to using this recent discovery to retcon an alleged explanation for how...
More credulous nonsense about acupuncture, this time from National Geographic
PNAS recently published credulous nonsense about acupuncture so bad that I thought it couldn't be topped. "Hold my beer!" cried National Geographic, as it proceeded to top PNAS.
The “We’re Not Allowed to Question This” Gambit
Anyone who truly values open and rational discussions about controversial subjects need to be cleared-eyed about where the threat to such dialogue is coming from.
Hyaluronic Acid Adulteration
There may be undisclosed ingredients in your hyaluronic acid supplement.
Measles Surging As Vaccine Rates Drop
As easily predicted, declining measles vaccine rates in the US is leading directly to surging measles cases. In 2025 we saw the highest measles cases, 2288, since 1991, and in 2026 we are on track to exceed this number with 1814 confirmed cases so far (these are confirmed cases). The US is also not getting the worst of it, that would be...
Can Medical Schools Really Teach 71 Nutrition ‘Competencies’? Should They?
In recent years, nutrition has become the focus of renewed attention in medical education. Advocates argue that physicians receive too little formal training about diet and that more comprehensive nutrition education is needed to address chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. A greater focus on the “root causes of chronic diseases” is a mantra of the Make...