ISBN: 9780195313680

Millions of people worldwide swear by such therapies as acupuncture, herbal cures, and homeopathic remedies. Indeed, complementary and alternative medicine is embraced by a broad spectrum… Mehr…

Millions of people worldwide swear by such therapies as acupuncture, herbal cures, and homeopathic remedies. Indeed, complementary and alternative medicine is embraced by a broad spectrum of society, from ordinary people, to scientists and physicians, to celebrities such as Prince Charles andOprah Winfrey. In the tradition of Michael Shermers Why People Believe Weird Things and Robert Parks''s Voodoo Science, Barker Bausell provides an engaging look at the scientific evidence for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and at the logical, psychological, and physiological pitfalls that leadotherwise intelligent people-including researchers, physicians, and therapists-to endorse these cures. The books ultimate goal is to reveal not whether these therapies work-as Bausell explains, most do work, although weakly and temporarily-but whether they work for the reasons their proponentsbelieve. Indeed, as Bausell reveals, it is the placebo effect that accounts for most of the positive results. He explores this remarkable phenomenon-the biological and chemical evidence for the placebo effect, how it works in the body, and why research on any therapy that does not factor in theplacebo effect will inevitably produce false results. By contrast, as Bausell shows in an impressive survey of research from high-quality scientific journals and systematic reviews, studies employing credible placebo controls do not indicate positive effects for CAM therapies over and above thoseattributable to random chance. Here is not only an entertaining critique of the strangely zealous world of CAM belief and practice, but it also a first-rate introduction to how to correctly interpret scientific research of any sort. Readers will come away with a solid understanding of good vs. bad research practice and ahealthy skepticism of claims about the latest miracle cure, be it St. John''s Wort for depression or acupuncture for chronic pain. | Snake Oil Science by R. Barker Bausell Hardcover | Indigo Chapters Books > Health > Mental Health > Psychology & Psychiatry P10178, R. Barker Bausell<

ISBN: 9780195313680

The author examines the scientific evidence for and against complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in an entertaining critique of the strangely zealous world of CAM belief and pract… Mehr…

The author examines the scientific evidence for and against complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in an entertaining critique of the strangely zealous world of CAM belief and practice that also furnishes an introduction on how to interpret scientific research of any sort. Buch, Oxford University Press<

ISBN: 9780195313680

Find Snake Oil Science by R. Barker Bausell in Hardcover and other formats in Medical > Alternative & Complementary Medicine. Medical 9780195313680, Oxford University Press USA