Sysiphus Speaks

As it turns out, direct entry midwife and naturopath-assisted "natural childbirth" is a lot like naturopathic practice in general: feel-good theater versus actual education, training, demonstrated competence and better results. This may not make always make a difference when you're dealing with the worried well. But when two lives are on the line all at once, I'll go with results over atmospherics any day. Apparently, the state of Oregon is starting to agree.

Haemophilus influenzae b deaths in the unvaccinated. The Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Neides beloved by the anti-vaccine. Naturopaths get more unjustified practice expansion in Mass. Legislative update. Chiropractic does not work for shoulder pain. 80% of Chinese literature is fabricated. Homeopaths torture cats. Parasites like milk. And more.

Michigan chiropractors support a bill (House Bill 4712; more information here) allowing them to prescribe physical therapy for their patients. Physical therapists oppose the bill, along with medical doctors, as well as business and insurance interests, who are concerned about costs.

Institutional Review Board protect neither animals or children from nonsense.

Child dies as parents do not trust doctors. Massachusetts wants to license ND's. Yoga should be yogas. Seek fertility help from a holistic iridologist.

She was, in my opinion, totally defrauded by this unnamed chiropractor: bait and switch of the price, given services and studies she didn't need or ask for, and she got better on her own with time and still she would be willing to see a chiropractor.

The inability to determine what the patient has and needs in an expeditious manner also suggests that NDs have no clue what they are doing. And shows a lack of respect for the patients time. If it takes hours HOURS to misdiagnosis a patient, perhaps you should send the patient to someone with real training who knows what they are doing.

CAM leads to decreased quality of life. Is acupuncture a pseudoscience? It is according to semi professional anti-CAM pseudosceptics, 6600 potentially dangerous drivers on the road thanks to one chiropractor. Auricular acupuncture doesn't help for test taking anxiety. The 2016 legislative year in review. And more.

So it was with some surprise that I recently discovered all of this vital information had been removed from the NCCIH's main information page on naturopathy. Now, there are no warnings whatsoever about the possible dangers of seeing a naturopath, or, as they say, "naturopathic physician."

The weirdest headline popped up in my feeds today: Russian scientist says he is stronger and healthier after injecting himself with 'eternal life' bacteria. That got my attention.

Anatoli Brouchkov, head of the Geocryology Department at Moscow State University, found a bacteria in the permafrost that is 3.5 million years old. They call it Bacillus F. How it is dated to that age is not mentioned in the paper. They suggest that the bacteria themselves are 3.5 million years old, but it appears they are extremophiles that live in permafrost that dates to 3.5 million years. As always in the paper, important details are lacking.