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.

New Blood Pressure Guidelines: Why Are Previously Normal BPs Now Classified as High Blood Pressure?

Under the new blood pressure guidelines, more people are classified as having high blood pressure; but the treatment emphasis is on lifestyle changes, not medications.

/ December 19, 2017

Freud Was a Fraud: A Triumph of Pseudoscience

Frederick Crews has written a reassessment of Freud based on newly available correspondence and re-evaluation of previously available materials. He shows that Freud was a fraud who deceived himself and succumbed to pseudoscience.

/ December 12, 2017

I Was Wrong about Protandim

A seriously flawed Protandim study seemed to show that side effects were no more common than with placebo. Actually, they were almost twice as common. The researchers were looking at the wrong numbers and didn't even add correctly.

/ December 5, 2017

Science Moms Fight Fears with Facts

A new documentary takes a novel approach. It features scientist moms who are just like other moms except that they understand the science. They set the record straight about GMOs, vaccines, and other subjects of interest to parents. They provide the facts to counteract unreasonable fears.

/ November 28, 2017

The Death of Expertise

In Tom Nichols' new book, The Death of Expertise, he explains how a misguided intellectual egalitarianism is harming our ability to assess the truth and solve problems, and discusses some of the responsible factors and possible long-term consequences.

/ November 21, 2017

Turpentine, the Fountain of Youth According to Dr. Jennifer Daniels

Jennifer Daniels says turpentine is the Fountain of Youth, able to cure many ailments, both real and imaginary. It isn't; it's a poison with no recognized benefits for human health.

/ November 14, 2017

Update on ASEA, Protandim, and dōTERRA

Multilevel marketing distributors of dietary supplements and essential oils point to studies that they think constitute evidence that their products work. They don't understand why those studies are inadequate.

/ November 7, 2017

Facial Cupping: A Kinder, Gentler, Sillier Kind of Cupping

A new cupping fad using silicone devices is gentler than traditional cupping, but even sillier. There is no evidence of health benefits.

/ October 31, 2017

Mainstream Doctors Actually Do What CAM Claims They Don’t

Alternative medicine proponents criticize mainstream medicine and think they can do better. Evidence from medical journals shows that their criticisms are not valid.

/ October 24, 2017

Chiropractor Disregards the Loss of His License, Continues to Treat Patients with Cervical Dysplasia with Escharotics

A chiropractor who bills himself as a chiropractic gynecologist has continued to practice after his license was permanently revoked. Among his many questionable practices, Nick LeRoy is treating cervical dysplasia with escharotics, a potentially dangerous replacement for conventional treatments to prevent cancer.

/ October 17, 2017