Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Harper (2013), Edition: Reprint, 341 pages
Description
Medical expert Paul A. Offit, M.D., offers a scathing exposé of the alternative medicine industry, revealing how even though some popular therapies are remarkably helpful due to the placebo response, many of them are ineffective, expensive, and even deadly.
User reviews
LibraryThing member speljamr
This is the second book I've read by Paul Offit and it's as fantastic, clear, and conversational as the first one I read. In "Do You Believe in Magic?" Dr. Offit tackles the controversial alternative medicine topic with a firm grasp of the history between standard practice medicine and the
A well written expose that you should read if you care about your health and well being and want to be sure your not the next one taken advantage of by snake oil salesmen. In many cases it can be a matter of life and death.
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alternative medicine industry. This is a critical look at what does, and what does not work in the field of alternative medicine, alone with the abuses the industry is rife with. It clearly shows how the supplement industry gets a complete pass from examination before supplements hit the store shelves, along with numerous cases of supplement contamination and abuse. There is also a chapter that looks at why the placebo effect may be the real reason so many people think alternative therapies work when they are show to be ineffective in studies. The book goes on to further show how many modern day snake oil salesmen have robbed people of potential life saving treatments for something that either made their illness worse, or did nothing while their disease got to the point it could no longer be treated.A well written expose that you should read if you care about your health and well being and want to be sure your not the next one taken advantage of by snake oil salesmen. In many cases it can be a matter of life and death.
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LibraryThing member K.G.Budge
The book is mostly chapters on various kinds of quackery in medicine, as you might expect. However, there are a couple of three interesting wrinkles that make the book particularly worth your time.
Offit gets just a little autobiographical at the start. Turns out he was born with club feet, the
So he then compares traditional medicine with the improvements in scientific medicine over the last two hundred years. As the choir here knows, there's just no comparison.
A brief history of how the FDA got started.
Then Offit gets a little testy, more than I've usually seen in his books. What sets him off is the atrocious Mehmet Oz. There's a chapter on Pauling that rightly admires his contributions to chemistry, not-so-rightly admires his "contributions" to "peace" (yes, I'm a RWK) then recounts the very sad tale of his going completely off the rails over Vitamin C. Followed by something that has actually changed my habits: A number of studies have shown that megavitamin supplements are associated with an increase in cancer and heart disease. Well, so much for my one-a-day; I didn't really think I needed it but considered it harmless insurance. No, not harmless.
A long, angry chapter on how the supplement industry successfully lobbied to be exempt from any kind of regulatory oversight. And a statement I found slightly implausible, namely, that it was once perfectly legal, pre-FDA, to sell "medicine" that the manufacturer had tested and knew was poisonous. If someone actually dies, isn't the manufacturer susceptible to charges of manslaughter under traditional English law?
A long discussion of all the studies disproving any effectiveness for saw palmetto, St. Johnswort, chondroitin, and some others.
A blast at celebrity medicine: Suzanne Sommers, Jenny McCarthy. Blumenthal trying to sue the relevant scientific medicine societies for illegal monopoly for declaring chronic Lyme Disease a nonexistent condition. (Shows how pervasive and insidious this stuff is: I thought the existence of chronic Lyme disease was settled science. Apparently quite the opposite; it is its nonexistence that is settled science.)
Offit is pretty evenhanded in slamming politicians; it's very close to 50/50 Republican/Demicrat pushing alternative medicine in this book.
The sad story of Steve Jobs, whose pancreatic cancer was an unusual form that was highly treatable with scientific medicine, is covered. This leads off a whole section on the sad history of quack cancer cures. Followed by a section on how charismatic a lot of quacks are.
Offit closes in a way I didn't quite see coming. He talks about how powerful the placebo effect is, and ruminates on whether there are any effective and ethical ways to use it scientifically. His conclusion: Confident bedside manner. He then discusses when alternative medicine crosses the line to quackery: When it is promoted at the expense of known effective treatments. When it is promoted in spite of known risks. When it costs a lot. When it promotes magical thinking.
Offit then tells the story of Albert Schweitzer and the witch doctor. The witch doctor would burn herbs and blow smoke at some patients; chant spells at others; and whisper to the patient and point at Schweiyzer with the rest. The first group had minor ailments that would go away on their own, and all the herbal smoke was placebo. The second group had psychological problems for which "African psychotherapy" as good as anything. The third group had massive hernias or ectopic pregnancies or dislocated joints or tumors, and the witch doctor was telling these patients to go to Schweitzer's clinic.
Schweitzer was good with that.
Highly recommended.
Offit gets just a little autobiographical at the start. Turns out he was born with club feet, the
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corrective surgery was botched, and he's never really been able to walk without pain. He's also had a benign nevus on his nose misdiagnosed as metastatic malignant melanoma, leading to a year of high anxiety waiting for the primary tumor to be found before finally getting a correct pathological diagnosis of the original tumor. He's woken up from what was supposed to be minor knee surgery for a torn meniscus to find they had to do microfracture treatment with a recovery time of a year. He understands that scientific medicine sometimes fails and sometimes has no good treatment to offer, and why this might get people looking at alternative medicine.So he then compares traditional medicine with the improvements in scientific medicine over the last two hundred years. As the choir here knows, there's just no comparison.
A brief history of how the FDA got started.
Then Offit gets a little testy, more than I've usually seen in his books. What sets him off is the atrocious Mehmet Oz. There's a chapter on Pauling that rightly admires his contributions to chemistry, not-so-rightly admires his "contributions" to "peace" (yes, I'm a RWK) then recounts the very sad tale of his going completely off the rails over Vitamin C. Followed by something that has actually changed my habits: A number of studies have shown that megavitamin supplements are associated with an increase in cancer and heart disease. Well, so much for my one-a-day; I didn't really think I needed it but considered it harmless insurance. No, not harmless.
A long, angry chapter on how the supplement industry successfully lobbied to be exempt from any kind of regulatory oversight. And a statement I found slightly implausible, namely, that it was once perfectly legal, pre-FDA, to sell "medicine" that the manufacturer had tested and knew was poisonous. If someone actually dies, isn't the manufacturer susceptible to charges of manslaughter under traditional English law?
A long discussion of all the studies disproving any effectiveness for saw palmetto, St. Johnswort, chondroitin, and some others.
A blast at celebrity medicine: Suzanne Sommers, Jenny McCarthy. Blumenthal trying to sue the relevant scientific medicine societies for illegal monopoly for declaring chronic Lyme Disease a nonexistent condition. (Shows how pervasive and insidious this stuff is: I thought the existence of chronic Lyme disease was settled science. Apparently quite the opposite; it is its nonexistence that is settled science.)
Offit is pretty evenhanded in slamming politicians; it's very close to 50/50 Republican/Demicrat pushing alternative medicine in this book.
The sad story of Steve Jobs, whose pancreatic cancer was an unusual form that was highly treatable with scientific medicine, is covered. This leads off a whole section on the sad history of quack cancer cures. Followed by a section on how charismatic a lot of quacks are.
Offit closes in a way I didn't quite see coming. He talks about how powerful the placebo effect is, and ruminates on whether there are any effective and ethical ways to use it scientifically. His conclusion: Confident bedside manner. He then discusses when alternative medicine crosses the line to quackery: When it is promoted at the expense of known effective treatments. When it is promoted in spite of known risks. When it costs a lot. When it promotes magical thinking.
Offit then tells the story of Albert Schweitzer and the witch doctor. The witch doctor would burn herbs and blow smoke at some patients; chant spells at others; and whisper to the patient and point at Schweiyzer with the rest. The first group had minor ailments that would go away on their own, and all the herbal smoke was placebo. The second group had psychological problems for which "African psychotherapy" as good as anything. The third group had massive hernias or ectopic pregnancies or dislocated joints or tumors, and the witch doctor was telling these patients to go to Schweitzer's clinic.
Schweitzer was good with that.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member DebbieMcCauley
Growing up in an 'alternative medicine' household, I found this book incredibly interesting. Just as big business is behind pharmaceutical companies, so they are behind the so called alternative medicine industries. Bearing in mind that the author is a co-developer of a vaccine, his investigations
I was interested to find out the side effects of some commonly used herbs, for example Stevia causing reduced fertility and high doses of garlic, bleeding. I was also concerned at how unregulated the alternative industry is and at how dreadful some of the standards where many are manufactured is.
I think choosing the best medicine for your family requires investigation so that we are not taken in by the proliferation of 'snake-oil' salesmen that are responsible for prolonging peoples pain and even causing their death. More reputable studies should be published online in a user friendly format so that the ordinary person had access to the latest research before making decisions about their health.
This is a very valuable book giving an excellent insight and should be read widely. I like that it includes up to date research as I haven't read studies on these topic's for many years.
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into alternative's is very interesting. My friend has an officially recognised vaccine damaged child so that is where we would have some debate.I was interested to find out the side effects of some commonly used herbs, for example Stevia causing reduced fertility and high doses of garlic, bleeding. I was also concerned at how unregulated the alternative industry is and at how dreadful some of the standards where many are manufactured is.
I think choosing the best medicine for your family requires investigation so that we are not taken in by the proliferation of 'snake-oil' salesmen that are responsible for prolonging peoples pain and even causing their death. More reputable studies should be published online in a user friendly format so that the ordinary person had access to the latest research before making decisions about their health.
This is a very valuable book giving an excellent insight and should be read widely. I like that it includes up to date research as I haven't read studies on these topic's for many years.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
I have always had a great deal of curiosity for alternative therapies, so many people have claimed it has made a huge difference in their lives. After reading this book I think it might be a case of mind over matter. Offit tackles everything from the laetrile nightmare that cost so many people
empire based on the supposed assumption that not only did she recover from cancer by going her own way but that she has also found the fountain of youth. I am a skeptic, I will admit it, fr every one person that says something has helped them, there are usually many more that say it didn't. Vitamins are covered. Are they good for you? Many will probably be surprised at some of the contentions in this book. Am I any less confused, maybe some but as long as there are competing experts out there, some saying do this and others saying no, that is not good for you, do this, I will just keep using my common sense and make my way somewhat in the middle.
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their lives, to Dr. Oz and his menage of alternative mystics and n to Suzanne Sommers and her multi millionempire based on the supposed assumption that not only did she recover from cancer by going her own way but that she has also found the fountain of youth. I am a skeptic, I will admit it, fr every one person that says something has helped them, there are usually many more that say it didn't. Vitamins are covered. Are they good for you? Many will probably be surprised at some of the contentions in this book. Am I any less confused, maybe some but as long as there are competing experts out there, some saying do this and others saying no, that is not good for you, do this, I will just keep using my common sense and make my way somewhat in the middle.
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LibraryThing member Lezle9
A quick and interesting read. I must admit I was ignorant to a lot of the things that the author talks about (details of the origins of acupuncture and controlled studies showing that taking supplemental vitamins can actually be detrimental to most people's health, etc.) so this is definitely a
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book that opened my eyes a little bit. A tale of manipulation and misdirection, and alternative medicine. Show Less
LibraryThing member arosoff
This is a fairly brief survey of alt-med/pseudoscientific quackery. It covers a bunch of the Greatest Hits of Woo: Suzanne Somers, Deepak Chopra, Dr. Oz, cancer quackery (Burzynski, laetrile), the lack of regulation of the supplement industry, autism, and the placebo effect.
The only real flaw of
I have two specific criticisms of the book: First, he attributes Steve Jobs' death to his decision to delay traditional cancer treatment. Other physicians have taken issue with this interpretation. Second, his chapter on harnessing the placebo effect is a bit of a mishmash and doesn't take the time to explore how this can be done ethically and the implications of encouraging quackery, particularly homeopathy.
If you're just dipping your toes into learning about alternative medicine and quackery, this is a good intro. Also read Trick or Treatment (Edzard Ernst and Simon Singh) which goes into greater depth on several topics, with a more rigorous focus.
The only real flaw of
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the book is that it could easily have been twice as long, if not longer. In only 250 pages, Dr. Offit only gets to touch on a lot of the issues surrounding alternative medicine. If you've been a regular reader of blogs such as Respectful Insolence, a great deal of the material will be familiar to you. (I read the bibliography and went "know him, woo, woo, read that, read that, woo, woo, woo...." - Let no one accuse Dr. Offit of not having read the material he criticizes.) I have two specific criticisms of the book: First, he attributes Steve Jobs' death to his decision to delay traditional cancer treatment. Other physicians have taken issue with this interpretation. Second, his chapter on harnessing the placebo effect is a bit of a mishmash and doesn't take the time to explore how this can be done ethically and the implications of encouraging quackery, particularly homeopathy.
If you're just dipping your toes into learning about alternative medicine and quackery, this is a good intro. Also read Trick or Treatment (Edzard Ernst and Simon Singh) which goes into greater depth on several topics, with a more rigorous focus.
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Awards
NPR: Books We Love (2013)
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