NCAHF Newsletter articles from November 1995

NCAHF Newsletter archives from November 1995

Herbal roulette. (review of herbal medicines available)(adapted from Consumer Reports, November 1995)
November 1, 1995... Consumer Reports (Nov, 1995) reviews the herbal marketplace in an article entitled most appropriately, "Herbal roulette." After describing the current dismal regulatory situation brought about by Senator Hatch and his cronies (unfortunately, the...

The making of a modern medical myth: "only 10-20% of medical procedures are proved."
November 1, 1995... Critics of standard medicine are fond of quoting a 1978 OTA report which stated that "only 10 to 20 percent of procedures currently used in medical practice have been shown to be efficacious by controlled trial.'" Promoters of questionable...

Veggie pills exposed. (includes comment)(adapted from the UCB Wellness Letter, August 1995)
November 1, 1995... The UCB Wellness Letter (August, 1995) examined several dietary supplements containing dehydrated vegetable products. The results are what anyone knowledgeable about nutrition and food processing would expect. Tiny to very small amounts of...

Canadian publisher retracts misstatements on Herbert. (against alternative medicine practitioner, William LaValley)
November 1, 1995... Canadians are being duped by the rhetoric of novoquackery, (ie, "alternative" and "complementary" medicine) at about the same pace as Americans. Nova Scotia has led the retreat into the medical dark ages by setting up a section on alternative...

Anti-science librarians and book reviews. (health misinformation and antiquackery publications)(includes comment)
November 1, 1995... Kurt Butler provides a detailed look at a serious aspect of the problem of health misinformation within society. In 1992, Prometheus published his book Consumer's Guide to "Alternative Medicine. " Hundreds of media outlets were notified of the...

Horrors of managed care. (includes comment)(adapted from Consumers' Research, July 1995)
November 1, 1995... Consumers' Research (July, 1995) presented a cover feature entitled "The trouble wit HMOs" detailing consumer problems wit health maintenance organi-zations and managed care in general. The problem with HMOs is that they are structured in a way...

Athlete regrets use of herbal pills. (Scott Friederichsen suspended for testing positive for pseudoephedrine)(adapted from the San Diego Union-Tribune, October 25, 1995)
November 1, 1995... Beach volleyball player Scott Friederichsen bought herb pills at a health food store that were for increasing one's "energy." He was pleased with the zip that they provided and passed them along to his fellow player Mike Whitmarsh. Both he and...

Flawed idea now bearing bad fruit. (quackery taking credit for good health)
November 1, 1995... Back in the 1970s the legend that ancient Chinese doctors had been paid for keeping people healthy, rather than for treating their diseases, caught the fancy of American thought leaders. People in health care financing ballyhooed the notion that...

Consumers beware: naturopathy in Florida. (adapted from the Orlando Sentinel, July 1995)
November 1, 1995... A Florida man, Brian Dussalt, began seeing Dr. James McKeein 1990 for an irritating rash. McKee over-prescribed prednisone resulting in destruction of tendons and ligaments. Dussalt, a carpenter and mechanic, is now disabled at age 48. Because...

FDA to improve drug information for consumers. (includes comment)(adapted from an FDA News Release, August 23, 1995)
November 1, 1995... The FDA proposes a program to give consumers more and better information about the prescription drugs that they use. The first goal of the proposal is that by the year 2000, at least 75% of consumers will receive understandable written...