One Last Time: Alternative Medicine

There are certain subjects that have come up time and again over the last 9 years. The main benefit of a behavioral approach is that so many seemingly diverse behaviors can be grouped into categories or dimensions to make sense of the consequences that arise from the resulting choices. 

About five weeks ago, in August, I wrapped up the subject of unfounded fears over GMOs with a One Last Time entry. Today the subject is the very broad area of alternative medicine, which I have described as magic pills and miracle cures. Just typing “magic pill” in the search box at the top left corner of the screen will reveal about 20 entries on this subject from vitamins to caffeinated underwear. In these and several other cases I pointed out the fallacies in their advertising and directed attention to the legally required disclaimer: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."

Recently, I found this informative site with an excellent summary.

First they list the various aliases used instead of alternative including: esoteric, complementary, holistic, integrative or natural medicine. It includes such a variety of treatments that “generally accepted definitions do not exist.” 

An incomplete list includes: acupuncture, anthroposophical medicine, applied kinesiology, aromatherapy, autologous blood therapy, Ayurvedic medicine, Bach flower remedies, bioresonance, chelation therapy, chiropractic, colonic irrigation, detox therapies, dietary supplements, energy healing, herbal medicine, homeopathy, iridology, Kampo medicine, macrobiotic, magnet therapy, mind-body therapies, music therapy, neural therapy, ozone therapy, reflexology, Reiki, shiatsu and Traditional Chinese Medicine. I have discussed many of these elsewhere, here and here, for example, but some I’ve never heard of. 

Since they have no scientific backing, how do they lure in customers? “The realm of EM (Esoteric Medicine) is riddled with fallacies which confuse patients and consumers and are used regularly to undermine critical thinking.” In other words, they trick people. The most prevalent and important of these fallacies from the site are summarized below.

The “appeal to popularity” or “appeal to authority” tries to substitute popularity or the opinion of respected people for scientific evidence. But “medicine is no popularity contest” and “even people of high standing make mistakes.”

The post hoc fallacy wrongly assumes “an event ‘X’ that is preceded by another event ‘Y’ must be caused by ‘Y’. If the rooster didn’t crow, the sun would not come up. If the child skipped vaccinations, he would not have autism. (No and no.) It is not true for individuals or for groups.

Many of these interventions rely on the placebo effect. Scientists are just beginning to understand the power of the mind to heal the body. This effect is present whether the medicine is real or not. Likewise, sometimes people just get better on their own. These alternative treatments take advantage of these facts to gather supporters and celebrity endorsements without bothering with scientific evidence.

Using an appeal to tradition, citing a long history is another fallacy, assuming that if it has passed the test of time, it must be effective and safe. This may be good reason to conduct research, and if the argument is valid, the results will be favorable. But long history is no substitute for evidence. Many treatments were applied in the past that would be unconscionable today. Contrary to some popular opinion, ancient Chinese is not a code for safe and effective.

The article gives a long explanation of why EM is unethical by medical standards. “Informed consent is rarely possible in the realm of EM.” Often there is not a professional diagnosis.

“Another fallacy holds that EM defies science or extends beyond the boundaries of science as it is currently understood. Therefore, proponents claim, it cannot be tested in the same way as one would test conventional treatments.” 

Finally, because it is natural, it is assumed to be harmless. “Nature is pictured as benign and natural remedies are therefore not just intrinsically superior but also safer.” This shows a limited viewpoint and a basic misunderstanding of nature. Hurricanes, tornados and blizzards are natural. No one would argue that tobacco is safe because it is natural. To be enamored with words like “natural” and “non-chemical” or the phrase “available without a prescription” is to succumb to deceptive advertising.

These tools are used to “mislead the public such that even the most extravagant absurdities of EM might appear more plausible. Collectively they help foster and perpetuate a culture of unreason that is essential for EM to thrive.”

Ads for a vast number of bogus alternative medical products and services have cropped up since the advent of the COVID-19, faster than the authorities can alert the public or warn the purveyors about their illegal activity. The best defense is: Don’t be a sucker!

The truth is there is no such thing as alternative medicine (no matter what name it goes by); there is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t work. All these tricks, alluring words and excuses do not change that fact. Lack of critical thinking in this area can lead to a waste of money, but worse, real harm to you or your family.

Flashback – Why So Much Bad Advice

[This message was originally posted over six years ago, but since then the dynamic of bad information driving out the good has only gotten stronger with more fake news, advertising weasel words, political spinning, echo-chamber exchanges, media bias and health fads without any scientific basis.]

Why do bad ideas and bad advice seem to persist in a society with easy access to good science? One reason may be the tendency to cling to beliefs then look for evidence to support them, instead of accepting the conclusions of well-designed experiments. In his book The Righteous Mind Jonathan Haidt proposes that feelings and emotions come first, and that most reasoning works to justify rather than to test beliefs, that our “intuitions tend to drive our later reasoning.”  John Stuart Mill presented the same thought more than 150 years ago:  (paraphrasing) the more you argue, even while making clear, rational points, the deeper others dig in to protect long-held beliefs. Adding to the sad situation are the effects of scientists and doctors who would rather become famous as authors or TV stars by promoting popular beliefs than risk challenging them, as they should, with the truth.

One case that comes to mind is the persistent belief that artificial sweeteners are dangerous. Simple research is reassuring, but the belief is ingrained in our culture. The National Cancer Institute states clearly and unequivocally: “There is no clear evidence that the artificial sweeteners available commercially in the United States are associated with cancer risk in humans.” The Mayo Clinic’s view is that “there's no sound scientific evidence that any of the artificial sweeteners approved for use in the U.S. cause cancer or other serious health problems.” So who do Americans trust, these authoritative sources or a Facebook friend who watched some guy in a halloween costume on YouTube with scary stories?

Likewise folk remedies of all kinds continue to circulate. One longstanding belief is that magnetism has magical healing powers, leading people to buy bracelets, insoles and other magnetic devices. This is odd because over the past 15 years the FTC has ordered Magnetic Therapeutic Technologies, among others, to stop advertising magnets as a cure for numerous diseases or even as a pain reliever. No credible evidence exists of healing powers, and none can be claimed in their advertising. One recent well-designed test of such devices confirms this fact concluding: “Wearing a magnetic wrist strap or a copper bracelet did not appear to have any meaningful therapeutic effect, beyond that of a placebo, for alleviating symptoms and combating disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis.” Does that slow the sale of magnetic shoe insoles? – Not for people who don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story, a persuasive ad or a celebrity endorsement.

It’s your money to use as you please. You can save it for college and retirement, give it away to companies selling you magnetic health devices, or even flush it down the toilet. Two of those choices make the same amount of sense, but as Paul Simon sang, “A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

Making Your Feet Happy

I recently ran across an ad for a product that will make your feet happy, make your legs happy, make your back happy, and let you throw away your pain meds and lead a stress-free life. All this from a simple shoe insert! It sounded too good to be true! Being a skeptic at heart, it also sounded to me like the work of a company that follows a philosophy often attributed to P.T. Barnum: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Time to investigate.

My first stop was the company website which confined their promises to a short video and gave some FAQ-type information below about sizing, care, cleaning and the warrantee. It does mention feeling better with every step and healing from the inside out, whatever that means. And it has a free shipping countdown clock which reset at 2:30:00 every time I opened the site – not exactly a deadline.

The video tells how these insoles, using 400 massage points and special magnets, work a number of wonders including: relieving overall body pain, cooling and soothing the feet and boosting endurance. The second is the most plausible.

The video continues by telling how one feature is directed “toward the chakra of personal power,” another “toward the chakra of body function” and still another “toward the chakra of body energy.” None of this chakra stuff has any scientific basis.

Finally, they will balance your mind and body, reduce stress and naturally flush toxins, all by hitting the right pressure points and using magnets.

Another related site looks like a more scientific explanation of the same product, except none of it sounds like science. It explains that the insole wearers were inclined “to visit the bathroom more often and were thirstier. This is your body’s way of naturally cleansing toxins and eliminating them from your body!” True, visiting the potty is a natural way to eliminate toxins, but do you need shoe inserts to make it happen? Then they tell us, “Based on the theory of reflexology, magnets are believed to balance your body’s natural electromagnetic levels.”

Well, the theory of reflexology may think so, but the FDA differs. “To date, the FDA has not cleared for marketing any magnets promoted for medical uses.” And the National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health, a group typically sympathetic to these kinds of claims, says, “Magnets have not been proven to work for any health-related purpose.”

After searching through various sites for about 15 minutes, I finally found what I was looking for, the expected standard disclaimer. Here is an abridged form:

“ALL CONTENT AND INFORMATION…ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND ARE STRICTLY NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE, FOOT PROBLEM OR ANY OTHER MEDICAL CONDITION. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT WITH YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER BEFORE USING OUR PRODUCT….

“Testimonials and comments found within our website are unverified results…which are…not intended to guarantee that everyone will achieve the exact same results.

“Our website content…is solely for informational purpose only…. We do not represent in any manner whatsoever that the content of our website contains the opinions of a healthcare professional.”

In summary, the shoe inserts will yield a large number of miraculous results from your head to your feet. You will have higher energy, less stress and all parts of your body will be happier – including your chakras! But if it doesn’t work for you, don’t blame the company.

But what about all those endorsements from satisfied customers? Can you say placebo effect?

Why So Much Bad Advice?

Why do bad ideas and bad advice seem to persist in a society with easy access to good science?  One reason may be the tendency to cling to beliefs then look for evidence to support them, instead of accepting the conclusions of well-designed experiments.  In his book The Righteous Mind Jonathan Haidt proposes that feelings and emotions come first, and that most reasoning works to justify rather than to test beliefs, that our “intuitions tend to drive our later reasoning.”  John Stuart Mill presented the same thought more than 150 years ago:  (paraphrasing) the more you argue, even while making clear, rational points, the deeper others dig in to protect long-held beliefs.  Adding to the sad situation are the effects of scientists and doctors who would rather become famous as authors or TV stars by promoting populist beliefs than risk challenging them, as they should, with the truth.

One case that comes to mind is the persistent belief that artificial sweeteners are dangerous.  Simple research is reassuring, but the belief is ingrained in our culture.  The National Cancer Institute states clearly and unequivocally:  “There is no clear evidence that the artificial sweeteners available commercially in the United States are associated with cancer risk in humans.”  The Mayo Clinic’s view is that “there's no sound scientific evidence that any of the artificial sweeteners approved for use in the U.S. cause cancer or other serious health problems.”  So who do Americans trust, these authoritative sources or a Facebook friend who watched some guy in a halloween costume on YouTube?

Likewise folk remedies of all kinds continue to circulate.  One longstanding belief is that magnetism has magical healing powers, leading people to buy bracelets, insoles and other magnetic devices.  This is odd because over the past 15 years the FTC has ordered Magnetic Therapeutic Technologies, among others, to stop advertising magnets as a cure for numerous diseases or even as a pain reliever.  No credible evidence exists of healing powers, and none can be claimed in their advertising.  One recent well-designed test of such devices confirms this fact concluding: “Wearing a magnetic wrist strap or a copper bracelet did not appear to have any meaningful therapeutic effect, beyond that of a placebo, for alleviating symptoms and combating disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis.”  Does that slow the sale of magnetic shoe insoles? – Not for people who don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story, a persuasive ad or a celebrity endorsement.

It’s your money to use as you please.  You can save it for college and retirement, give it away to companies selling you magnetic health devices, or even flush it down the toilet.  Two of those choices make the same amount of sense, but as Paul Simon sang, “A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.