A colorful assortment of fresh vegetables, including carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, radishes, garlic, green beans, lettuce, kale, and spinach, arranged on a wooden surface outdoors.

MAHA Ruins Everything – Apeel Edition

About 30-40% of all food produced is wasted and not consumed. That is a stunning figure – a third of produce goes to waste. That amount of food is grown on land area the equivalent of China, uses 45 trillion gallons of water, and produces about 3% of greenhouse gas emissions. An average American household of four spends about $3 thousand a...

/ May 20, 2026
Fengxi

Lipstick on Fengxi

Another attempt to demonstrate that the fiction of acupuncture is based in reality. This time it is the interstitium. Nope.

/ May 19, 2026
Interstitium

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!

/ May 18, 2026
Two men in suits are smiling on either side of a table filled with various foods. Bold text says "THE FDA IS BROKEN" with "MARTY MAKARY" at the top. The words "ALL IN" appear in the bottom left corner.

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.

/ May 15, 2026
A newspaper titled "The Daily News" appears faded and partially erased, with a pink eraser beside it, leaving eraser shavings on the paper against a blue background.

How Journalists Enable the COVID Amnesia Project

People need to know the past credibility of our medical leaders to accurately gauge their current credibility.

/ May 14, 2026

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...

/ May 13, 2026
A table titled "Domain 1: Foundational Nutrition Knowledge" lists competencies with descriptions and assigned hours, such as nutrient content, absorption, deficiencies, and dietary requirements, with hours ranging from 1.5 to 3.

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...

/ May 12, 2026
A woman lies face down on a massage table with several acupuncture needles inserted into her bare upper back, receiving acupuncture treatment. A white towel covers part of her body, and she appears relaxed.

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.

/ May 11, 2026
A young man looks directly at the camera, covering his mouth with both hands. The image is black and white, and the background is plain and blurred.

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.

/ May 8, 2026
A person kneels on the floor, wearing a teal sports bra and red leggings with the word "Guess" printed on them. They are holding a small red weight, engaging in a fitness activity on a light-colored wooden surface.

Hyaluronic Acid Adulteration

There may be undisclosed ingredients in your hyaluronic acid supplement.

/ May 7, 2026