Detox diets and cleanses are quite popular these days, especially if you’re of the Goop-y persuasion. And while they might seem to make sense on an intuitive level, from a scientific perspective, is there anything to actually back that up? Or is it just pseudoscientific nonsense? “Toxins” Commercial detox products tend to refer vaguely to […]
Do You Actually Need to Detox or Cleanse? Read More »
The term adrenal fatigue was first used by chiropractor James Wilson in 1998, and it became popular with a book he published in 2001. I’ve written before about some of the quacky dabbling of chiropractors outside the neck and back pain issues we commonly associate them with. You can probably guess from that alone where
Does Adrenal Fatigue Actually Exist? Read More »
During this global pandemic, there’s a lot of wild and wacky news out there in the world. This infographic from the International Federation of Library Association and Institutions gives some handy tips for separating the facts from the crap. In this post, I’ll go through those tips with respect to spotting fake health news. Factors
Separating Reality from Fake Health News Read More »
Have you aligned your chakras today? Or perhaps you’ve wondered if the whole chakra craze is a bit over the top, or whether chakras or real or just conceptual. If you’ve read any of my other articles on pseudoscience, maybe you can guess what my take on the matter is. Traditional concept of chakras The
Are Chakras Real or Pseudoscience? Read More »
Let’s say your back hurts. You go to a chiropractor, over a few visits they crack a few joints, and that’s all she wrote, right? That’s certainly what I used to think about chiropractic. It turns out, though, that quackery has been around from the very beginning of chiropractic. The modern back-cracking that most of
Chiropractic Quackery: The Wacky Fringe Side Read More »
What does the gate control theory of pain have to do with a mental health blog? Well, co-occurring mental illness and chronic pain are remarkably common. For example, among people with fibromyalgia, over 50% experience depression. The rates of anxiety disorders are also over 50%. People with depression and anxiety disorders are also at increased risk to
The Gate Control Theory of Pain – What It Means for Pain Control Read More »
Crystals are pretty, there’s no doubt about that. But do they actually have healing powers as some claim, and can they do anything for your health and wellbeing? The belief that precious stones have healing powers has been around for centuries. In current practice, it’s most often associated with the New Age movement. It draws
Do Crystals Have Healing Powers? Read More »
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) incorporates a number of different alternative healing approaches, including neuro-linguistic programming, acupuncture meridians, and energy medicine. It’s not generally accepted within mainstream psychology, and it’s been described as a
What Is… Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Read More »
There are a lot of weird alternative health interventions out there, but colon cleanses, also known as colon hydrotherapy or colonics, have got to be among the weirder ones. Apparently, this has been around since the time of the ancient Egyptians; however, it only appeared on my radar a few years back when a colonics
Colon Cleanses: Is a Coffee Enema Good for You? Read More »
I’m a big fan of aromatherapy. I have a diffuser and use a variety of essential oil blends, and if they’re just a pleasant placebo, I’m good with that. Essential oils smell nice and they’re a great way to practice self-care. But do they live up to the various health claims that people make about
Are Essential Oils a Placebo or Something More? Read More »
