- Joined
- Feb 21, 2016
Many thanks to @summerandtempest and @Nehelenia for the collaboration on this thread!
BACKGROUND
The history of alternative medicine scams is too long for a single OP: there have been conmen selling miracle cures for as long as stupid people have been desperate for cure-alls and life answers. It’s had to tell which side is more lulzy, the “good doctors” or “healers” who sell the cures, or the seekers who flit from guru to guru, always searching for “good health”. If I went back to academia, I could probably make a PhD out of this subject.
“Snake oil sales” became synonymous with “scammer” by the mid-1800s in ‘Murrica, where enterprising salespersons developed “patent medicines” for all manner of woes, from “female complaints” to cancer to every ache, pain, or worry one might have. The Alternative Medicine fads of the 19th century included vegetarianism, lots of enemas, teetotaling, doctors with crazy vibrators, and other useless stuff all the way through more powerful weapons like laudanum (i.e. a morphine and booze syrup, you know, for headaches) and cocaine (to fix up your sinuses, sonny!)
The 1950s and 60s saw a revival of the heath fads that swept the nation a century prior, as many men returned from damaging wars with no coping skills, and their wives suffered from a stifling social culture that expected them to have no needs beyond “put on your makeup and make me dinner and a martini by 5 pm”. This led to the rise of various social movements, from an interest in Eastern medicine and religions, the spread of psychology as a practice, and even things like Scientology, as a generation of “seekers” desperately wanted answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything.
WHAT THE FUCK IS “WOO”?
The term “woo”, short for “woo-woo”, came into being in the 1990s, more commonly known today as Alternative Medicine. RationalWiki did a great summary of what may be considered “woo”, so I’ll let them take for the short version:
Between the 1990s and today, the internet connected more suckers born every minute with the scammers who are happy to help them. This has led to a generation of mothers who believe they know more than any doctor about vaccines because “MOMMA BEAR INTUTITION” > double blind studies, MLM essential oil companies, herbalists, detoxers, and a whole host of ways to fuck up your body in the name of “health”.
Another phrase commonly used to describe woo and quackery is the acronym CAM: Complementary and Alternative Medicine, or CAM, is an umbrella term for any and all approaches to treating disease that are not accepted by mainstream or allopathic medicine (because they’re not evidence-based). This includes naturopathy/homeopathy, acupuncture, energy healing or energy medicine, reiki, chiropractic, osteopathic manipulation technique, and more. CAM is separate from, but related to, the term “integrative medicine,” which is the practice of combining, or integrating, CAM with “conventional” medicine. These terms were created to make CAM seem like a legitimate scientific approach, which it is not. But it’s damn good marketing. It's convinced a lot of people to buy into CAM and convinced academic medical centers like the Cleveland Clinic (which has a Center for Functional Medicine, functional medicine being another name for CAM), state governments, and the VA to provide funding for the research and study of CAM practices. There is currently a board certification in integrative medicine, and too many well-regarded medical schools have implemented integrative medicine training as part of their curricula for medical students and residents.
There's a lot to be said about the U.S. supplement industry in general, in fact; namely, that it is only very loosely regulated and supplements do not require pre-market review and approval by the FDA. In theory, they need to demonstrate that they are at least safe and not misleading, but they're still effectively operating on an honor system.
QUESTIONABLE QUACKS
It is especially concerning when physicians, who have been presented with every opportunity in medical school to learn how to think critically about science, turn into woo-pushing quacks themselves. Physicians have a responsibility to promote health, to treat disease where they find it, and to guide their patients to make decisions that will protect their health, and to do the opposite—knowingly—is egregious. And so, I present to you a few of the most loony, out-there, woo-loving physicians I know of.
1. Kelly Brogan, MD
Website | Facebook | Personal Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Kelly Brogan is a “holistic women’s health psychiatrist” who does not prescribe drugs (because she thinks taking any pill for anything is un-feminist, whether it’s an antidepressant, antibiotic, birth control, or Tylenol).
She has been featured on GOOP, that bastion of women’s health empowerment and knowledge, as a panelist at the In GOOP Health Summit. She has a private practice in New York City, where she charges thousands of dollars per appointment for giving women dangerous advice to get off of all their psych meds and replace them with a vegan, gluten-free diet, supplements, and coffee enemas. Yes, coffee enemas. She credits this idea to her late mentor, Nick Gonzalez, MD, another quack who believed that a specific diet and lots of coffee enemas could be more effective in curing cancer than chemo.
Kelly also has an online scam course called Vital Mind Reset available for purchase, which I'm assuming is how she makes far more money than she could from her private practice. A scary amount of people have bought into this stuff. She has also written a book available on Amazon and at least one e-book pushing fringe conspiracy beliefs, the subject of which I will now address.
It seems like every woo-promoter has one “pet” woo that they love most, their “One Woo to Rule Them All.” But something that also seems to be a pattern among these people is that they can't just stick with one crazy belief. They have to go full-speed down the rabbit-hole.
Perhaps the most interesting (and abhorrent) thing about Kelly is her willingness to discard any good practices when it comes to reading scientific literature, and instead embrace batshit conspiracy theories. She believes that vaccines are dangerous and are meant to make us complicit in Big Pharma's mission to fill us up with toxins. She wrote an article stating that the link between HIV and AIDS is "an assumption" and that Big Pharma is using fear to market antiretrovirals to pregnant women. And she is a believer in wishful thinking--that if you tell yourself that "you got this," and can "see yourself better," you can make your depression, bipolar dis--oh wait, she doesn't recognize those as diseases. But if you believe enough and follow her protocal, you can make them go away!
Kelly even responds to trolls, although she thinks they're all bots or that it's an astroturfing campaign, because no real person could actually disagree with her woke anti-Pharma empowered female wisdom, y'all. But she also appreciates her haydurz and critics for the exposure they give her.
Honestly, I think this bitch might deserve her own thread.
2. Nicholas Gonzalez, MD
Website: "The Gonzalez Foundation"
The late Nicholas Gonzalez, Kelly Brogan's mentor and "spiritual father" was one of the foremost dangers to the public health pioneers in "alternative cancer treatment." His brand of woo involved claiming that he could treat and cure cancer, including advanced and terminal cancers, especially pancreatic cancer, with a detox protocol. This protocol, which is described on his website, includes an organic diet that is "individualized for the patient," "pancreas product" (pancreatic enzymes made from pig pancreas) up to 45 grams/day, supplements--sometimes up to 175 pills a day--and of course, coffee enemas to "enhance liver function" and "flush out the cancer-causing toxins." Dr. Nick also did hair analysis, a useless procedure, to determine things like "heavy metal toxicity" and "unique biochemical patterns" which would tell him about the patient's health status. While Gonzalez claimed spectacular miracle cure rates far greater than anything conventional medicine could offer, a study (funded by the NCI!) proved that patients on the protocol had worse outcomes than treated patients. Unfortunately, many people did and continue to buy into the promises of false hope sold by slick people like Dr. Nick.
3. Christiane Northrup, MD
Website | Facebook page | Facebook (personal) | Twitter
Christiane Northrup is another quacky “women’s health expert” (because apparently all these quacks think that women are easy prey). Northrup is an OB/GYN who believes astrology, tarot cards, energy medicine and spiritual healing all have a place in the doctor’s office, that uncomfortable physical sensations are really just unmet emotional needs, and that uterine fibroids are a result of not being able to express creativity. She is not as much of a lolcow as Kelly Brogan is but still endorses some fucked-up beliefs and is also out to scam women into buying her books and online courses. She, like all woo-peddling physicians, is a danger to the public health. Especially she has been given a platform on Oprah many times, including one notable time where she taught the women in the audience how to direct qi (as in, the mystical Chinese energy source) to their vaginas for better orgasms and increased arousal. I really wish the video of this was still around somewhere, but no luck so far.
Some choice quotes...
On divorce:
"My divorce culminated during what is astrologically known as my Chiron return … simultaneously I had been under the influence of an astrological configuration known as a yod … the purpose of this was to move me out of my old life …"
On vaccines:
"Getting your child or yourself immunized is a culturally agreed-upon ritual, designed to shore up your first chakra. The first chakra, or first emotional center, of your body controls your bones, joints, bone marrow, blood, and immune system."
On uterine fibroids:
"Fibroid tumors represent our creativity that has never been birthed. Fibroids may also result when we are flowing life energy into dead end jobs or relationships we have outgrown. Fibroids are often associated with conflicts about creativity, reproduction, and relationships.
If you have fibroids, ask yourself the following questions: What are the creations within me that I want to put out in the world before I’m no longer here? If anything at all were possible, what would my life look like? If I had six months to live, what relationships would I release from my life immediately? What relationships would I give more of my time and attention to? What relationships truly feed and nourish me? Which ones drain my energy? Write your answers in a journal. Discuss them with supportive friends. Deep within you, you have all the answers you need. You just need to be open to hearing them."
On thyroid issues:
"In many women, thyroid dysfunction develops because of an energy blockage in the throat region, the result of a lifetime of “swallowing” words she is aching to say."
Aside from all this, Northrup is also an anti-vaxxer, germ theory denialist (repeating the myth that Pasteur recanted on his deathbed), and has made a lot of money selling useless and potentially dangerous hormones to women, as well as many books and online webinar-type "courses."
FUCKED UP COMMUNITIES
Anti-vaxxers – look up any group that contains the phrase “vaccine injury” and there you’ll find stupidity
Colloidal Silver spergs – this is just one group of thousands, these people think colloidal silver will solve every problem on earth
AIDS denialists – most of them are dead now for obvious reasons, including the entire staff of the now defunct AIDS denialist magazine, Continuum
Parents of children with autism who give them bleach enemas – because of course putting bleach in a kid’s ass – sorry, miracle mineral solution, will cure them of spergery.
Extended pregnancy – crazy women who know more than doctors because I’m A MOM HELLO and refuse to have their labor induced
Followers of ‘The Medical Medium’ – a man who is visited by a Christian ghost receives magical food cures for every ill from the future. No, really.
“Dr.” Robert Morse – a man who will charge you thousands to starve to death for your health; can’t sell his “herbs” legally so he’s made a super sekrit membership club to avoid the FDA and liability. The dude who killed Steve Jobs.
BACKGROUND
The history of alternative medicine scams is too long for a single OP: there have been conmen selling miracle cures for as long as stupid people have been desperate for cure-alls and life answers. It’s had to tell which side is more lulzy, the “good doctors” or “healers” who sell the cures, or the seekers who flit from guru to guru, always searching for “good health”. If I went back to academia, I could probably make a PhD out of this subject.
“Snake oil sales” became synonymous with “scammer” by the mid-1800s in ‘Murrica, where enterprising salespersons developed “patent medicines” for all manner of woes, from “female complaints” to cancer to every ache, pain, or worry one might have. The Alternative Medicine fads of the 19th century included vegetarianism, lots of enemas, teetotaling, doctors with crazy vibrators, and other useless stuff all the way through more powerful weapons like laudanum (i.e. a morphine and booze syrup, you know, for headaches) and cocaine (to fix up your sinuses, sonny!)
The 1950s and 60s saw a revival of the heath fads that swept the nation a century prior, as many men returned from damaging wars with no coping skills, and their wives suffered from a stifling social culture that expected them to have no needs beyond “put on your makeup and make me dinner and a martini by 5 pm”. This led to the rise of various social movements, from an interest in Eastern medicine and religions, the spread of psychology as a practice, and even things like Scientology, as a generation of “seekers” desperately wanted answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything.
WHAT THE FUCK IS “WOO”?
The term “woo”, short for “woo-woo”, came into being in the 1990s, more commonly known today as Alternative Medicine. RationalWiki did a great summary of what may be considered “woo”, so I’ll let them take for the short version:
Woo generally contains most of the following characteristics:
1. Anecdotal evidence: Prefers to use testimonials over actual studies. (Much less likely to go wrong.)
2. Panacea: Is a simple idea that purports to be the one answer to many problems (often including many diseases).
3. Pseudoscience: Has a "scientific-sounding" reason for how it works, but little to no actual science behind it; especially:
1. Science woo: Uses words that sound scientific but make no sense in their context, such as "quantum".
2. Quote-mined studies that, if bent properly, appear to support the woo.
3. Appeal to authority: Claims that a scientific authority supports the woo; this is usually combined with a quote mine.
4. Studies from different, unrelated fields.
5. Disdain for objective, randomized experimental controls, especially double-blind testing (which is kind of what makes epidemiology actually, y'know, work. And maybe one or two other obscure corners of the field of scientific endeavor...)
4. A supernatural and/or paranormal involvement; failing that, the preternatural.
5. Persecution complex: Claims to be persecuted, usually perpetrated by the government, "Big Pharma", or the entire worldwide scientific community (see Galileo gambit). Usually accompanied by a claim that the public and/or scientists are blind to the discovery, despite attempts to alert them.
6. A hypothesis that remains virtually unchanged for years or decades, despite changes in the evidence for the woo. This is sometimes presented as a strength.
7. And, almost always, a willingness to share the woo-peddlers' precious knowledge/insight/revelation... for a price. And repeatedly. (Because if it didn't take the first time around then the victims didn't believe sincerely enough.)
1. Anecdotal evidence: Prefers to use testimonials over actual studies. (Much less likely to go wrong.)
2. Panacea: Is a simple idea that purports to be the one answer to many problems (often including many diseases).
3. Pseudoscience: Has a "scientific-sounding" reason for how it works, but little to no actual science behind it; especially:
1. Science woo: Uses words that sound scientific but make no sense in their context, such as "quantum".
2. Quote-mined studies that, if bent properly, appear to support the woo.
3. Appeal to authority: Claims that a scientific authority supports the woo; this is usually combined with a quote mine.
4. Studies from different, unrelated fields.
5. Disdain for objective, randomized experimental controls, especially double-blind testing (which is kind of what makes epidemiology actually, y'know, work. And maybe one or two other obscure corners of the field of scientific endeavor...)
4. A supernatural and/or paranormal involvement; failing that, the preternatural.
5. Persecution complex: Claims to be persecuted, usually perpetrated by the government, "Big Pharma", or the entire worldwide scientific community (see Galileo gambit). Usually accompanied by a claim that the public and/or scientists are blind to the discovery, despite attempts to alert them.
6. A hypothesis that remains virtually unchanged for years or decades, despite changes in the evidence for the woo. This is sometimes presented as a strength.
7. And, almost always, a willingness to share the woo-peddlers' precious knowledge/insight/revelation... for a price. And repeatedly. (Because if it didn't take the first time around then the victims didn't believe sincerely enough.)
Between the 1990s and today, the internet connected more suckers born every minute with the scammers who are happy to help them. This has led to a generation of mothers who believe they know more than any doctor about vaccines because “MOMMA BEAR INTUTITION” > double blind studies, MLM essential oil companies, herbalists, detoxers, and a whole host of ways to fuck up your body in the name of “health”.
Another phrase commonly used to describe woo and quackery is the acronym CAM: Complementary and Alternative Medicine, or CAM, is an umbrella term for any and all approaches to treating disease that are not accepted by mainstream or allopathic medicine (because they’re not evidence-based). This includes naturopathy/homeopathy, acupuncture, energy healing or energy medicine, reiki, chiropractic, osteopathic manipulation technique, and more. CAM is separate from, but related to, the term “integrative medicine,” which is the practice of combining, or integrating, CAM with “conventional” medicine. These terms were created to make CAM seem like a legitimate scientific approach, which it is not. But it’s damn good marketing. It's convinced a lot of people to buy into CAM and convinced academic medical centers like the Cleveland Clinic (which has a Center for Functional Medicine, functional medicine being another name for CAM), state governments, and the VA to provide funding for the research and study of CAM practices. There is currently a board certification in integrative medicine, and too many well-regarded medical schools have implemented integrative medicine training as part of their curricula for medical students and residents.
There's a lot to be said about the U.S. supplement industry in general, in fact; namely, that it is only very loosely regulated and supplements do not require pre-market review and approval by the FDA. In theory, they need to demonstrate that they are at least safe and not misleading, but they're still effectively operating on an honor system.
QUESTIONABLE QUACKS
It is especially concerning when physicians, who have been presented with every opportunity in medical school to learn how to think critically about science, turn into woo-pushing quacks themselves. Physicians have a responsibility to promote health, to treat disease where they find it, and to guide their patients to make decisions that will protect their health, and to do the opposite—knowingly—is egregious. And so, I present to you a few of the most loony, out-there, woo-loving physicians I know of.
1. Kelly Brogan, MD
Website | Facebook | Personal Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Kelly Brogan is a “holistic women’s health psychiatrist” who does not prescribe drugs (because she thinks taking any pill for anything is un-feminist, whether it’s an antidepressant, antibiotic, birth control, or Tylenol).
She has been featured on GOOP, that bastion of women’s health empowerment and knowledge, as a panelist at the In GOOP Health Summit. She has a private practice in New York City, where she charges thousands of dollars per appointment for giving women dangerous advice to get off of all their psych meds and replace them with a vegan, gluten-free diet, supplements, and coffee enemas. Yes, coffee enemas. She credits this idea to her late mentor, Nick Gonzalez, MD, another quack who believed that a specific diet and lots of coffee enemas could be more effective in curing cancer than chemo.
Her screening questionnaire is conveniently designed to rule out anyone who might actually need medication for anything.
Kelly also has an online scam course called Vital Mind Reset available for purchase, which I'm assuming is how she makes far more money than she could from her private practice. A scary amount of people have bought into this stuff. She has also written a book available on Amazon and at least one e-book pushing fringe conspiracy beliefs, the subject of which I will now address.
It seems like every woo-promoter has one “pet” woo that they love most, their “One Woo to Rule Them All.” But something that also seems to be a pattern among these people is that they can't just stick with one crazy belief. They have to go full-speed down the rabbit-hole.
Perhaps the most interesting (and abhorrent) thing about Kelly is her willingness to discard any good practices when it comes to reading scientific literature, and instead embrace batshit conspiracy theories. She believes that vaccines are dangerous and are meant to make us complicit in Big Pharma's mission to fill us up with toxins. She wrote an article stating that the link between HIV and AIDS is "an assumption" and that Big Pharma is using fear to market antiretrovirals to pregnant women. And she is a believer in wishful thinking--that if you tell yourself that "you got this," and can "see yourself better," you can make your depression, bipolar dis--oh wait, she doesn't recognize those as diseases. But if you believe enough and follow her protocal, you can make them go away!
Kelly even responds to trolls, although she thinks they're all bots or that it's an astroturfing campaign, because no real person could actually disagree with her woke anti-Pharma empowered female wisdom, y'all. But she also appreciates her haydurz and critics for the exposure they give her.
Honestly, I think this bitch might deserve her own thread.
2. Nicholas Gonzalez, MD
Website: "The Gonzalez Foundation"
The late Nicholas Gonzalez, Kelly Brogan's mentor and "spiritual father" was one of the foremost dangers to the public health pioneers in "alternative cancer treatment." His brand of woo involved claiming that he could treat and cure cancer, including advanced and terminal cancers, especially pancreatic cancer, with a detox protocol. This protocol, which is described on his website, includes an organic diet that is "individualized for the patient," "pancreas product" (pancreatic enzymes made from pig pancreas) up to 45 grams/day, supplements--sometimes up to 175 pills a day--and of course, coffee enemas to "enhance liver function" and "flush out the cancer-causing toxins." Dr. Nick also did hair analysis, a useless procedure, to determine things like "heavy metal toxicity" and "unique biochemical patterns" which would tell him about the patient's health status. While Gonzalez claimed spectacular miracle cure rates far greater than anything conventional medicine could offer, a study (funded by the NCI!) proved that patients on the protocol had worse outcomes than treated patients. Unfortunately, many people did and continue to buy into the promises of false hope sold by slick people like Dr. Nick.
3. Christiane Northrup, MD
Website | Facebook page | Facebook (personal) | Twitter
Christiane Northrup is another quacky “women’s health expert” (because apparently all these quacks think that women are easy prey). Northrup is an OB/GYN who believes astrology, tarot cards, energy medicine and spiritual healing all have a place in the doctor’s office, that uncomfortable physical sensations are really just unmet emotional needs, and that uterine fibroids are a result of not being able to express creativity. She is not as much of a lolcow as Kelly Brogan is but still endorses some fucked-up beliefs and is also out to scam women into buying her books and online courses. She, like all woo-peddling physicians, is a danger to the public health. Especially she has been given a platform on Oprah many times, including one notable time where she taught the women in the audience how to direct qi (as in, the mystical Chinese energy source) to their vaginas for better orgasms and increased arousal. I really wish the video of this was still around somewhere, but no luck so far.
Some choice quotes...
On divorce:
"My divorce culminated during what is astrologically known as my Chiron return … simultaneously I had been under the influence of an astrological configuration known as a yod … the purpose of this was to move me out of my old life …"
On vaccines:
"Getting your child or yourself immunized is a culturally agreed-upon ritual, designed to shore up your first chakra. The first chakra, or first emotional center, of your body controls your bones, joints, bone marrow, blood, and immune system."
On uterine fibroids:
"Fibroid tumors represent our creativity that has never been birthed. Fibroids may also result when we are flowing life energy into dead end jobs or relationships we have outgrown. Fibroids are often associated with conflicts about creativity, reproduction, and relationships.
If you have fibroids, ask yourself the following questions: What are the creations within me that I want to put out in the world before I’m no longer here? If anything at all were possible, what would my life look like? If I had six months to live, what relationships would I release from my life immediately? What relationships would I give more of my time and attention to? What relationships truly feed and nourish me? Which ones drain my energy? Write your answers in a journal. Discuss them with supportive friends. Deep within you, you have all the answers you need. You just need to be open to hearing them."
On thyroid issues:
"In many women, thyroid dysfunction develops because of an energy blockage in the throat region, the result of a lifetime of “swallowing” words she is aching to say."
Aside from all this, Northrup is also an anti-vaxxer, germ theory denialist (repeating the myth that Pasteur recanted on his deathbed), and has made a lot of money selling useless and potentially dangerous hormones to women, as well as many books and online webinar-type "courses."
FUCKED UP COMMUNITIES
Anti-vaxxers – look up any group that contains the phrase “vaccine injury” and there you’ll find stupidity
Colloidal Silver spergs – this is just one group of thousands, these people think colloidal silver will solve every problem on earth
AIDS denialists – most of them are dead now for obvious reasons, including the entire staff of the now defunct AIDS denialist magazine, Continuum
Parents of children with autism who give them bleach enemas – because of course putting bleach in a kid’s ass – sorry, miracle mineral solution, will cure them of spergery.
Extended pregnancy – crazy women who know more than doctors because I’m A MOM HELLO and refuse to have their labor induced
Followers of ‘The Medical Medium’ – a man who is visited by a Christian ghost receives magical food cures for every ill from the future. No, really.
“Dr.” Robert Morse – a man who will charge you thousands to starve to death for your health; can’t sell his “herbs” legally so he’s made a super sekrit membership club to avoid the FDA and liability. The dude who killed Steve Jobs.
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fftopic
, but from what I've read on the farms it seems that when children are removed from their home they are to be placed with nearby stable relatives if possible, and if that possibility isn't there then poor children go back to the parents/guardians that were the cause of them being removed in the first place. It seems like there is no hope for the children of fundies.
