As revealed in a previous post, we’ve recently implemented some fairly large additions to Lintbox and its direction.  Many may have noticed the newly-added Special Features section, wherein we will occasionally bring you a variety of special content.  Among these is the Panel Discussion, a biweekly compendium where the Lintbox staff and contributors alike may [...]

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Is it ethical to prescribe a placebo?
Glucosamine is a drug that is sometimes prescribed, and often recommended, to treat joint pain and arthritis. Extracted from the shells of shellfish, it isn’t toxic, and it’s relatively cheap to purchase. People who use it often notice a substantial decrease in their joint pain while they [...]

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I recently read this article on organic foods over at quackwatch.org. Following the article, the author had posted a reader protest complaining how it was unfair to lump organic farmers/foodies in with other “quacks”. The reader asks:
Honestly, is it so nutty to think we would be better off eating food that ISN’T full of [...]

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The CBC posted this article on naturopathic “medicine” by “Doctor” Lorne Swetlikoff, N.D. (not M.D.).
The article is a load of crap (the claims can be easily dismissed as nonsense), but what do you expect from a “doctor” of naturopathy? What surprises and disgusts me is that the CBC, a supposedly reputable news source, thought [...]

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In my recent article about Consumer Reports, I mentioned that there was no evidence to support the hypothesis that organically grown foods are any safer, tastier, or more nutritious than are their non-organically grown counterparts. Accepting this premise, you might say that it is still a legitimate choice to purchase organic food to support [...]

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I am a big fan of Consumer Reports magazine. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a consumer information and advocacy magazine. In each issue, it selects groups of products (e.g. computers, televisions, lawn mowers, refrigerators), and makes recommendations based on a battery of tests, surveys, and investigation of the product. It tests [...]

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The BBC posted an article a while back, announcing, “Trust drug may cure social phobia.” Arguably, this article may be jumping the gun a little in terms of efficacy of the product, but the BBC does tend to be pretty good with this type of stuff, and the headline does include the important word may. [...]

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In relation to Mitchell’s previous post, I often find it hard to discuss the case for or against “natural” substances, since the distinction between what is “natural” and what is “artificial” is an entirely imaginary construct.
While we as humans have advanced a great deal in our understanding of science and technology we’re nevertheless very, very [...]

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Meet the castor bean:

It is grown around the world to produce castor oil. Not only is it 100% natural, but it contains one of the most toxic substances known to man-kind: ricin. While eating a castor bean might make you very sick, exposure to virtually any amount of concentrated ricin will cause death1.
So [...]

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Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is sold as an alternative to conventional (i.e. science/evidence based) medicine. The rallying cry of CAM supporters is usually that of choice. They feel that the supporters of conventional medicine have backed them into a corner, and conspire alongside “Big Pharma” to ensure that their choices for treatment [...]

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