Here's why *real* medicine is different than woo:

[intaglio]

80. For once I thought you were going to say something sensible

Instead I find you deceptive and an issuer of lies. You use several completely different standards of "evidence" and false accounting pretending that you have justification for your loathings.

A link to assist you in your ineffective search for people hurt by the alternatives Where's the Harm

Science based medicine does "fuck up" but you fail to account for it's massive success and the vast numbers of people successfully treated. You take what must be the inevitable failures amongst the many patients who are assisted by real measurable effects and call that evidence of how it fails, completely ignoring the triumphs. For medicine, the majority of treatments are tested in controlled circumstances and the effects noted. Sometimes there are cock-ups and that is taken into evidence and results in the removal of the treatment. That is evidence, scientific evidence, and is what is meant by "evidence based medicine".

In contrast you want us to accept the bogus claims of snake oil salesmen who cite only anecdotal evidence, dubious traditional accounts or misuse scientific terms like "quantum" or "vibrations" or "micronutrients". Luckily most of what these frauds sell has no effect whatsoever so, guess what? there are few deaths due to their nostrums (though there are such deaths) and of course there are the deaths from illnesses left untreated because the patients believe the propaganda you and your ilk spew in your hatred of "Big Pharma".

Let us look at some alternative medicine with consequences

Ayurvedic Medicine - largely invented by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and pushed by that champion of the irrational Deepak Chopra. The actual formulations contain lead, arsenic and mercury, other formulations contain feces. Yes, people have been poisoned by this garbage but as much of this 1970s spiritualism is concerned with avoiding or eating certain normally harmless foods, meditation and magical charms (which work because of quantum vibrations) it is pretty harmless until you get a real illness. In this last case visit a doctor and get a treatment that works.

Chinese traditional medicine - cobbled together from several different traditions at the behest of Mao Tse Tung. The majority of this new age nonsense is the usual herbal medicines (which rarely have any real effect), non-herbal medicines (bear spleen, anyone?), mysticism (unblocking the flow of your Chi). There are also 2 totally ineffective physical treatments - acupuncture and acupressure both of which have effects indistinguishable from the placebo effect - i.e. getting well on your own.

Chiropracty - is fine if you have neck or back pain but it would be better to go to a real physiotherapist who is unlikely to break your spine or rupture your aorta by their manipulations. Chiropractors also claim to be able to treat other illnesses; they can't.

Homeopathy and flower remedies - water and sugar pills. People don't die from the effects but they do die from trying to treat real illnesses with this eighteenth century nonsense.

A link to assist you in your ineffective search for people hurt by the alternatives Where's the Harm