Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [alternative-medicine]

Use this tag for claims regarding cures and health practices which fall outside the boundaries of scientifically validated medicine.

Any healing practice, method, compound or procedure which falls outside the bounds of scientifically validated medicine either because it has not demonstrated significant, safe, repeatable results consistently under proper observing conditions, or has not yet had the opportunity to undergo such testing. Can also relate to the study, evaluation, and interpretation of data collected on such processes. Related term: Complementary Medicine.

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Has shea butter been clinically proven to help?

Shea butter has been claimed to help with dozens of skin issues. These benefits include, but are not limited to: anti-aging properties mitigating acne healing wounds/scars/strech marks healing skin issues like dry and inflamed skin However,…
dsollen
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Do lipid droplets in our skin create a laser?

The home page of Dr Jack Kruse, who claims to be a neurosurgeon and "optimal health educator" contains the following paragraph: There is a deep connection between thermodynamics in biology and the processing of energy and information. This process…
matt_black
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Does Ginkgo Biloba "promote memory"?

Most Ginkgo Biloba supplements are sold with the following claims: Studied and Shown to promote memory and provide healthy circulation to the body's extremities. (src) Helps support your memory and mental alertness (src) (I stopped at 2 first…
user5341
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Do homemade pregnancy tests with sugar work?

There are a lot of claims on the internet (like this one) that it is possible to test for pregnancy by just putting sugar in a glass and urinating on it. The hormones in the urine supposedly cause the sugar to clump. There are endless variations on…
Turion
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Does the See Clearly Method of vision improvement work?

I found a product called the See Clearly Method on Amazon. The program claims: The best personal vision improvement system currently available. The results of years of study and clinical experience, refined to a system of simple and practical…
SE is Evil - Support Monica
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Do "Studies Show Ginger to be More Powerful than Chemotherapy?"

Recently got this from Facebook: STUDIES SHOW GINGER IS MORE POWERFUL THAN CHEMOTHERAPY Cancer is one of the greatest scourges for the humankind today. People are subjected to toxic treatments to try and seek cure, but this monster still claims…
Ruut
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Can this Ayurvedic concoction reduce chances of swine flu?

The Indian Government is openly distributing an Ayurvedic Kadha ( concoction) that claims to reduce the chances of contracting Swine Flu. They're doing this along with the sale of vaccines for Swine Flu. This concoction has the following…
Satyajeet Kanetkar
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Does Helminthic Therapy help in the treatment of Crohn's Disease?

I heard on the radio the other day about helminthic therapy for Crohn's Disease. Helminthic therapy, a type of immunotherapy, is the treatment of autoimmune diseases and immune disorders by means of deliberate infestation with a helminth or with…
Otávio Décio
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Does flushing the gallbladder have any positive effect on one's health?

Many websites propose cleansing the gallbladder (or the liver) in specific ways (frequently with fruit juice and oil) which they claim causes the gallbladder to expel cholesterol in the form of small balls. Is there any scientific evidence that it…
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Do Florida woods cockroaches (aka Palmetto bugs) commonly sell for ~US$80/kg in China?

According to this article on Yahoo news, citing a similar South China Morning Post article, Yuan Meixia bought her initial stock of 20kg of cockroaches for around US$1600: Yuan, a pharmacy employee, was inspired to raise roaches after seeing a…
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Does eye exercises help improve your eyesight?

I asked the eye doctor if exercises will help my aging vision and he said basically that the benefits of eye exercise are inconclusive. I looked on Skeptics and found that this was discussed 3 years ago in several posts (linked below). One wonders…
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Low level laser therapy for pain

My dad just visited the chiropractor for leg pain. He was given this "laser" device that is supposed to relieve pain. I think the product is called B Laser (Low Level Laser Therapy). Right away I am skeptical that a laser can be used to treat pain.…
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Is Chi an energy flowing through the body?

Prompted by various answers over an fitness.stackexchange.com where I put into doubt the existence of Chi, I was prompted to provide references for this assertion. Issues with the burden of proof aside, have there ever been systematic studies…
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Is there any substance that is shown to kill germs in vitro and shown not to cure illness?

Dr. Stephen Barrett writes that colloidal silver should not be taken to treat any illness. He says that there have not been any studies done that show that colloidal silver treats illness in vivo. However, he does give a few examples of where…
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Do patients with spinal cord injury recover faster with positive attitudes?

Patients with incomplete spinal cord injuries experience quadriplegia and paraplegia. With therapy, some portion of the patients will recover the ability to walk, either aided or unaided. Yet some of the treatments date back to Hippocrates. (See…
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