Yet another round of media stories last week picking up on an “expert’s” claim that vitamins are ineffective and dangerous. Such stories are the medical equivalent of blaming immigrants or single mothers for various social ills; scare stories that spin the data and draw totally unjustified conclusions. The Guardian version opened with this claim: ‘… over-the-counter […]
What’s the key to cancer? Clue it’s not gene mutations.
January 22, 2015 by Leave a Comment
There is a major flaw in our current theory about cancer: This says it’s caused by random genetic changes in a cell that allow it to grow uncontrollably and the only solution is drugs and surgery. This ignores, says a University of California professor, the many ways our bodies can encourage a tumour or block […]
Junk science: the badly flawed research with lab rats that seems to support eating low fat.
January 6, 2015 by 4 Comments
Do you think it basically makes more sense to keep your carbohydrates pretty low, rather than going the familiar low fat route, to lose weight and stay healthy? If so you are in good company and the evidence is building up that it’s a better way to go. But there is one source of supposedly […]
Do doctors treat pensioners with snake oil?
August 24, 2014 by 13 Comments
A cheering and optimistic story about dementia at HealthInsightUK.org.When Obhi Chatterjee’s dad was diagnosed, Obhi set about researching the most plausible supplements and diets to help him. The piece tells you what they are and why they might work and also has useful advice for anyone wanting to follow his example. Two of the biggest […]
Conflicts of interests swirling round statins
July 22, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Another five or six million people will be offered a prescription for statins after NICE confirmed its decision last week to halve the risk of heart disease that makes you eligible for these cholesterol lowering drugs. This is a bad decision if you think that the only consideration was the welfare of patients. If you […]
Should I take statins? The wizard of Oz won’t help you decide
March 26, 2014 by 3 Comments
If you are not confused about statins you haven’t been paying attention. Are they life saving drugs that should be given to millions more or are they pills that are largely unnecessary, if you don’t actually have heart disease, that come with a nasty range of side effects? Recently experts who are highly critical of […]
Statins: the secret data that decides if you get treated
March 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment
You’ve probably heard that there’s a proposal to make even more people eligible for the cholesterol lowering drugs statins. I’ve just published post on the website HealthInsightUK that puts a big question mark over the over the reliablility of the evidence that suggestion is based on. It comes from the highly respected but rather secretive […]
Statins: why saying no makes sense
February 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment
If you are a 50-something or older, the next time you go to the doctor for a check up you could find yourself being told you should start taking cholesterol-lowering statins even if your weight is good, you don’t have raised blood pressure, you exercise and you have no history of heart disease. That’s because […]
Prescription drugs: ineffective and possibly dangerous
January 13, 2014 by 22 Comments
Apologies for the hysterical headline but it’s just the kind of irresponsible, ill-informed screamer that regularly heads stories about some new study that “proves” that vitamins are ineffective generators of expensive urine and may well be dangerous. If you want to know why such studies are all too often based on poor science and frequently […]
How do you know if the drug you’re on works? You don’t
January 7, 2014 by 2 Comments
One of the comforting myths about the powerful drugs used in modern medicine is that they are prescribed on the basis of good scientific evidence. However this is an illusion, which experts have known about for decades, because drug companies can prevent doctors and regulators from seeing unfavourable evidence. If you are being prescribed a […]
Body of Evidence 
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