Trick or TreatmentThe Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine

Noted science writer Singh and British professor of complementary medicine Ernst offer a reasoned examination of the research on acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, herbal medicine and other alternative treatments. Singh (Fermat's Last Theorem) and Ernst work hard to be objective, but their conclusion is that these therapies are largely worthless. As they examine the research on various alternative therapies, the authors explore the principles of evidence-based medicine on which their conclusions are based, including clinical trials and the placebo effect; they also explore related ethical issues. The authors report that many patients will improve with any alternative remedy—but no more than those given a placebo. Exceptions exist; some herbal remedies (e.g., St. John's wort, echinacea) can be helpful though not always advisable, and chiropractors can relieve low back pain under certain circumstances. This is a stimulating and informative account that will be indispensable to ...

Author: Ernst Edzard, Singh Simon
ISBN: 9780393069860
Year of publication: 2008
Genre: Medicine, Scientific literature
Number of pages: 368
Reading time: 6 h. 8 min.
Formats: FB2, EPUB, PDF
Language: english
Requests: read online, download without registration, e-book