The BMA Debunk Medical Myths

The BMA have published a handy one stop shop to point people to when they insist on drivelling on about how you only use 10% of your brain, that you have to drink 8 glasses of water a day, that eating in the evening makes you fat, or that reading in low light makes you blind.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec17_2/a2769
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/335/7633/1288

See also the nonsense of Detox: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7808348.stm

Well done Science kids!

Homeopathy Cures AIDs (or not)

http://www.badscience.net/?p=578

I've just been reading this article by Ben Goldacre.

I've always considered Homeopathy to be utter nonsense (Homeopathic medicines are just sugar pills and contain no active ingredient) but relatively harmless nonsense that gives the recreationaly unwell something to squander their money on in exchange for a dose of the placebo effect.

Recently however I have discovered that practitioners are recommending that people give their children sugar pills to prevent malaria, or as a substitute to the MMR vaccine (Measles has claimed its first child fatality as a result of the declining immunization rate BTW) and cure AIDs. I'm starting to come to the conclusion that it should be entirely outlawed, or at the very least that practitioners should not be able to refer to what they give as medicine, or a therapy and furthermore that people setting themselves up in a position of authority giving people dangerous health advise should be held criminally responsible for the damage they might cause.

Richard Dawkins Documentary

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2293483151556804649

Link to a fascinating pair of documentaries by Richard Dawkins dealing with spiritualism and faith healing / alternative medicine.

One thing I didn't realize is that Homeopathy is being paid for with tax payers money which I find sickening.