Killing us softly
Subtitle: the sense and nonsense of alternative medicine
By: Dr Paul Offit
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Published: 2013
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 322
ISBN-13: 9780007491728; 9780007491735; 9780007491742
Subjects: Alternative medicine; Health risk assessment; Complementary Therapies; Medical misconceptions
Description: A medical expert - the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia - offers a scathing expose of the alternative medicine industry, revealing how its popular therapies are ineffective, expensive and even deadly. A half a century ago, acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, Chinese herbs, Christian exorcisms, dietary supplements, chiropractic manipulations and traditional Indian remedies were once considered on the fringe of medicine. Now, these practices-known as alternative, complementary, holistic, and integrative medicine-have become mainstream, used by those seeking to burn fat, detoxify livers, shrink prostates, alleviate colds, stimulate brains, boost energy, reduce stress, enhance immunity, eliminate pain, prevent cancer, and enliven sex. But as Paul Offit reveals, alternative medicine - an unregulated industry under no legal obligation to prove its claims or admit its risks - can actually be harmful to our health.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Distrust of modern medicine (Rediscovering the past : Mehmet Oz and his superstars); title: The lure of all things natural (The vitamin craze : Linus Pauling's ironic legacy); title: Little supplement makers versus big pharma (The supplement industry gets a free pass : neutering the FDA ; Fifty-one thousand new supplements : which ones work?); title: When the stars shine on alternative medicine (Menopause and aging : Suzanne Somers weighs in ; Autism's Pied Piper : Jenny McCarthy's Crusade ; Chronic Lyme disease ; the Blumenthal affair); title: The hope business (Curing cancer : Steve Jobs, Shark cartilage, coffee enemas, and more ; Sick children, desperate parents: Stainslaw Burzynski's urine cure); title: Charismatic healers are hard to resist (Magic potions in the Twenty-First Century : Rashid Buttar and the Lure of personality); title: Why some alternative therapies really do work (The remarkably powerful, highly underrated placebo response ; When alternative medicine becomes quackery); title: Epilogue : Albert Schweitzer and the Witch Doctor : a parable.