Andy L – Page 34 – The Quackometer Blog

Is Chiropractic X-raying Illegal?

29th January, 2009 24

Chiropractors have achieved a status amongst practitioners of alternative medicine that is almost unrivalled. In the UK, they have achieved a level of mainstream acceptance, regulation and recognition that must be the envy of homeopaths and herbalists. Such is their standing that I suspect that many people would not even consider them as part of the alternative medicine scene. Chiropractors, like their close cousins the Osteopaths, are statutorily regulated in [read more…]

Ofquack’s Toothless Squawk

19th January, 2009 1

Today sees the long awaited launch of the government backed Ofquack, better known in some circles as the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). Ofquack is the “national voluntary regulator for complementary healthcare practitioners” and was set up by Prince Charles’ Foundation for Integrated Health and funding from the Department of Health. You can find their sparkly new website at http://www.ofquack.org.uk/. It has been quite a long road getting here. [read more…]

Deeside Water Quackery

16th January, 2009 1

The gullibility of British newspapers never ceases to amaze me. The British press today carried uncritical articles about the miracles of Deeside Mineral Water. The Telegraph – a paper with no serious science credibility anymore – told us, Scientists claim that Deeside Water can give drinkers a younger appearance and more radiant skin tone. Those who drank the Scottish water, which is bottled from a spring near the Queen’s Balmoral [read more…]

Auricular Acupuncture: A Word in Your Foetus Like…

11th January, 2009 5

Prince Charles’ Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) is listened to by many in our Government as a sound source of information on complementary medicine. It has been given large sums of money over recent years by the Department of Health to set ways of regulating CAM sellers. The result has been the moribund Ofquack: the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. FIH has been regularly criticised for being hopelessly naive and [read more…]

Hasta el Absurdo Siempre!

9th January, 2009 14

It looks as if homeopaths will be making a noise about their victorious successes in Cuba against the scourge of leptospirosis. Last month, a conference was held in Havana, entitled “Nosodes 2008: International Meeting on Homeopropylaxis, Homeopathic Immunization and Nosodes against Epidemics”. Homeopaths turned up to hear stories of the successes of magic water against dangerous diseases. What is a nosode? A Nosode is “a homeopathic remedy prepared from a [read more…]

Mistletoe and Cancer

24th December, 2008 7

Merry Christmas! Last Christmas, we looked at the quackery surrounding myrrh. This year, it is time for me to have little whine about mistletoe. Christmas would not be the same without a little cheeky kiss under this herb – usually with someone you really ought not to. But, its role at Christmas undoubtedly stretches back in time to more paganistic practices. According to Pliny the Elder, it was central to [read more…]

An Academic Responds to the Homeopathy Challenge

23rd December, 2008 2

After two weeks of silence from ten UK academic homeopaths, I get a response to my recent challenge. The challenge was simple: can any of the Universities offering a BSc in Homeopathy tell six different homeopathic pills apart if they do not know which is which to start with. Several emails to them and not a single response from any of the academics. However, last week I got an email [read more…]

The Society of Homeopaths: The Failure of Self Regulation

14th October, 2008 73

The Adverting Standards Authority has today found that a homeopath advertised their asthma clinic for kids by making untruthful, unsubstantiated and irresponsible claims. Archway House Natural Health Centre holds an Asthma and Eczema clinic for children, run by Julia Wilson, a member of the Society of Homeopaths. Inasmuch, this is not news. The ASA make judgments like this every week. Their weekly published list today contains all sorts of findings [read more…]

Julian Graves: Not Just Nuts – Dangerously Irresponsible

8th October, 2008 37

So. Today. I had a quite jaw dropping conversation in my local branch of Julian Graves. For my American readers, Julian Graves is a shop that sells large bags of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, food ingredients and confectionery. I quite like them. Low on packaging, low on branding, and excellent value for money for kitchen basics. And they are not too puritanical in their outlook. You can buy enough liquorice [read more…]

Neutrahealth in Trouble

5th October, 2008 8

In the last few days, vitamin pill company Neutrahealth (NUT.L), has seen a precipitous drop in its share price. Its investors look like they believe the company is going to have a difficult time weathering the credit crunch. Neutrahealth is known to us through its involvement with Patrick Holford. He sold his online pill company to them for £464,000. He then joined their team as Head of Science and Education [read more…]