October 29th, 2009 by Peter Lipson, M.D. in Better Health Network, Quackery Exposed
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Dr. Weil is often seen as the smiling “mainstream” of alternative medicine. He’s a real doctor (unlike, say, Gary Null), and much of what he advocates is standard and uncontroversial nutritional advice. But Weil illustrates the two biggest problems with so-called alternative medicne: once you’ve decided science is dispensible, the door is open to anything, no matter how insane; and no matter how altruistic you may start, sooner or later you start selling snake oil. Most doctors out there are working hard to help their patients prevent and overcome disease use the available evidence. Others decide that science is too constraining and start practicing at the periphery of knowledge, throwing plausibility and ethics to the wind.
The fact that Weil claims to donate to charity all of his ill-gotten gains does not mitigate the harm he causes. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
January 9th, 2009 by Stacy Stryer, M.D. in Quackery Exposed
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Not only am I welcoming in a new year, but also a new opportunity. This is my first blog on getbetterhealth.com, and I am very excited. I previously worked with Dr. Val at Revolution Health, where I was a pediatric consultant and blogger, and I now have the good fortune of working with her on her new health website.
I plan on blogging regularly and look forward to getting to know you better – your interests, questions, and goals. Actually, I would love to learn what you want from me and how I can best serve you. It might help if I first tell you about myself and my own interests. I am a pediatrician in private practice in Maryland. I am also a blogger, speaker and writer. I just finished my first book, “Anorexia,” for ABC-CLIO and recently wrote a story which will appear in a book about pediatricians, which is being edited by Dr. Perri Klass and published by Kaplan Publishing.
I love to teach. One of my favorite aspects of pediatrics is educating parents and kids, whether it’s about breastfeeding, asthma, puberty, or the latest clinical research. I love to travel and learn about new cultures. My late-husband and I spent three years working at the Kayenta Health Center on the Navajo Reservation, where we were constantly learning about health-related customs and decisions which were so different from our own.
And I love my children. I have two wonderful daughters (if I must say so myself), ages 13 and 10 years. I enjoy writing about them in my blogs occasionally. It hasn’t bothered them yet, but I assume I will soon have to be careful about what I divulge with regards to my teenager.
A very sad part of my life was the death of my incredible husband almost four years ago. He was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor, on his 40th birthday, and died exactly one year later. His illness and death were not only difficult for obvious reasons, but also because the location of the tumor caused significant personality changes and the loss of his ability to do every day things which we take for granted, such as motivating himself to stand up from a sitting position. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the pitfalls of the health care system and how to look for clinical research trials. Since my husband became ill, I have been working on a book for children whose parents have cancer. I am determined to finish it.
I think that’s enough about me. Now I’d like to know about you. I want to know what your issues and concerns are, and what you would like me to discuss and blog about. Let’s make this year our best and most productive yet!
Stacy Beller Stryer, M.D., FAAP
