Category: Health Fraud
How do you like your coffee? Rectally?
Fill it to the rim? Please don't.
The Paddison Program for rheumatoid arthritis: An unproven treatment that provides only the illusion of control
Clint Paddison is an Australian comedian with a science degree who developed rheumatoid arthritis at age 31. He now claims to have controlled it with a diet he developed to alter the gut microbiome. How plausible is his story, and does his Paddison Program work? Answer: Not very and almost certainly no.
Maine considers protecting quacks from accountability to regulators and patients
The Maine Legislature is considering a bill that would put quacks beyond the reach of state healthcare regulatory authorities and leave patients without effective redress for harms.
Bleaching away what ails you: The Genesis II Church is still selling Miracle Mineral Supplement as a cure-all
Miracle Mineral Supplement (MMS) has been sold by the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing as a cure-all to treat conditions and diseases as diverse as autism, cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and malaria. Indeed, it's touted as a cure for nearly all disease. It is, however, basically industrial bleach. As ridiculous and harmful as MMS is, it's a quackery that just...
Médecins Sans Medicine? “Homeopaths without borders” giving sugar pills for infectious diseases in Honduras
Canadian homeopaths are in Honduras, and claim their magic water remedies can prevent diseases such as Chagas, dengue, and chikungunya.
Combatting dangerous quackery and antivaccine misinformation on streaming services and social media
Last week, Amazon began removing antivaccine videos from Amazon Prime. Last month, YouTube announced that it was demonetizing antivaccine videos, and Facebook stated that it would be taking action to de-emphasize antivaccine pages in its searched. These are all good first tentative steps, but the problem of quackery on streaming platforms and social media goes way beyond just antivaccine content. Making it...
FDA promises industry-friendly “modernization” of dietary supplement regulation
The FDA promises the "most significant modernization of dietary supplement regulation" in 25 years while maintaining its industry-friendly regulatory scheme.
Pharmacies continue to sell sugar pills as flu remedy
Oscillococcinum is a homeopathic remedy that is made by taking the heart and liver of a duck and diluting it to nothing. It's a placebo, but sold widely by pharmacies as a "treatment" for colds and influenza.