Questions tagged [alternative-medicine]
Use this tag for claims regarding cures and health practices which fall outside the boundaries of scientifically validated medicine.
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Do coca leaves help relieve symptoms of altitude sickness?
Coca leaves are widely used to relieve symptoms of altitude sickness in some South American countries, either chewed or brewed into a tea. Wikipedia says that no study has studied their effectiveness ...
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Does chlorophyll have any health benefits for humans?
I was surprised to see in advertisements for "miracle" natural / alternative / herbal etc. medicine that they contain "liquid chlorophyll" and that is really useful for our health.
I wondered how it ...
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Do salt lamps produce negative ions?
Do claims that Himalayan Salt Lamps produce negative ions when lit with an incandescent bulb have any science to back it up?
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Is practical psychophysics based on science?
My girlfriend visited a place in Latvia associated with the Institute of Practical Psychophysics.
A number of aspects have made me skeptical, including recommendations for products from health food ...
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Healing Tooth Decay via Electrically Accelerated and Enhanced Remineralisation?
According to The Guardian scientists from the UK have developed a tool to repair cavities without filling or injections.
The new treatment, called Electrically Accelerated and Enhanced
...
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Is "Oil Pulling" an effective treatment for arthritis or other chronic diseases?
Oil Pulling is apparently an ancient practice, but is seeing a recent surge in popularity. It is claimed it can cure almost anything, from bad breath to AIDS.
The process apparently involves ...
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Can bee stings be treated with onions?
Someone told me that when you have a bee sting you should cut an onion in half and apply it to the sting for 30min - or even better make onion puree and apply it.
This sounds a bit like folk-medicine ...
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Does toothpaste get rid of cold sores?
My girlfriend has told me that the varieties of toothpaste that are actually paste and have some granularity to them (as opposed to gel varieties) get rid of cold sores if applied early in the sore's ...
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Can Monistat improve hair growth?
I was surprised to read in a Long Hair Care forum that people who spray diluted Monistat (the yeast-infection treatment!) onto their scalp significantly increases and accelerates hair growth. I can't ...
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Are regular tea bags effective in treating pink eye?
http://myculturedpalate.com/blog/2013/03/11/tea-bags-a-natural-remedy-for-pink-eye/
or http://altmedicine.about.com/od/healthconditionsdisease/a/pinkeye.htm
Chamomile is also used in folk medicine ...
user21713
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NAET - is it a hoax or does it have any merit?
Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques seems to claim to be able to heal almost anything.
It primarily focuses on allergies as the core of all issues. It seems to talk of meridians in human ...
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Does push-ups on finger tips affect eyesight negatively?
Some time ago I've been told that push-ups on your fingers (instead on fists) can affect eye-sight. The explanation was not clear (something about a lot of nerves in fingertips and pressure on them).
...
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Can good smells boost our immune system?
According to aromatherapists and articles such as this, good smells boost our immune system, and conversely, bad smells deteriorate our bodies.
Is there a plausible mechanism to explain why this ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Does Pavan Mukta Asana help releasing gastrointestinal gas?
Pavan Mukta Asana
As mentioned above, practicing the purvana-mukta-asana will help to release gastrointestinal gas. It is also improves other gastrointestinal problems like upset stomachs and ...
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Is jergon sacha any use against viral infections such as HIV?
I've just been followed on twitter by @Jergon_Sacha who claims that the plant jergon sacha (which appears to be from the genus Dracontium) is
Traditionally used for viral infections HIV, AIDS, ...
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Did herbalist Maria Treben really systematically confuse inulin with insulin?
The widely read Austrian herbalist Maria Treben is frequently said to have fundamentally confused a number of biochemical concepts, theories, or at least names of substances.
As seen with the always ...
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Does the "Lightning Process" successfully treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
My partner suffers from Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME) otherwise known as Chronic Fatigue Sydrome. It is a condition that remains not particularly well understood, even to the point where there doesn't ...
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Do "Rife machines" cure cancer?
The book The Cancer Cure That Worked: 50 Years of Suppression (ISBN 978-0982513866), by Barry Lynes, claims that:
there are Rife instruments which, combined with dedicated practitioners and ...
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Does carrying or consuming onions help to prevent heatstroke and/or reduce your body temperature?
Will consuming onions help to reduce your body temperature, or prevent heatstroke? Some common variations of this claim include applying onion juice to your skin, or even just carrying an onion in ...
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Were the reference ranges of liver function tests set three times higher than their usual values during the research on the use of statins?
I am now holding a book called "The Hidden Therapies - What your doctor won't tell you" authored by Jerzy Zięba, who is widely considered to be a quack by medical authorities in my country. ...
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Was there any scientic research backing up the setting of the reference range of cholesterol up to 200 mg/dl?
I am now holding the original, Polish edition of a book called "The Hidden Therapies - What your doctor won't tell you" authored by Jerzy Zięba, who is widely considered to be a quack by medical ...
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Did Gary Taubes prove that cholesterol levels between 200 mg/dl and 240 mg/dl are normal and healthy?
I am now holding the original, Polish edition book called "The Hidden Therapies - What your doctor won't tell you" authored by Jerzy Zięba, who is widely considered to be a quack by medical ...
- 2,645
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Was the cholesterol reference range set up to 200 mg/dl in order to to allow the research on statins on a wide range of population?
I am now holding the original, Polish edition of a book called "The Hidden Therapies - What your doctor won't tell you" authored by Jerzy Zięba, who is widely considered to be a quack by ...
- 2,645
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Does Bee Pollen reduce inflammation?
There are plenty of sites and people declaring the benefits of Bee Pollen.
A few examples from this site specifically site that the benefits are caused because the pollen will reduce inflammation. ...
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Is Flexarome effective to relieve aching joints and tense muscles?
Flexarome is a blend of essential oils to relieve aching joints and tense muscles. It was created by Dr. Jean Valnet, who is regarded as a founder of modern aromatherapy.
Cold, humid weather and age ...
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Can Master Kanzawa make animals sleep at a distance?
As seen here and other places, like Stan Lee’s Superhumans, Master Kanzawa claims to be able to put animals to sleep at a distance by exchanging "chi energy".
I am doubful this is true, since Chi ...
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