Some of my patients ask me if I "believe in" Eastern, or holistic, or homeopathic medication. The truth is I don't "believe in" any kind of medicine. I need to be convinced. I'm not a Western medicine chauvinist; I'm an evidence-based medicine chauvinist. If there is a good study that supports that a medication is safe and effective I'll use it. I won't ask if it comes from the East or West, or if it's natural or artificial, or if it's a tablet or a crushed leaf. I just want the evidence.
Tha...
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The Evidence on Acupuncture
I've introduced you to the Medical Letter in a previous post. It's a great source of unbiased reviews of the medical literature. In their most recent issue, the Medical Letter reviewed the available evidence about acupuncture. Since I can't link to the full text (it's available only to subscribers) I'll summarize their review.
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Coenzyme Q10 — Some Good News about a Supplement
The recent clinical studies about dietary supplements have been largely negative, important reminders that most supplements can't deliver on the expectations that patients have for them.
Given this bleak background, I wanted to share with you some good news about Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). The Medical Letter, one of the best unbiased sources of reviews of medical studies, reviewed CoQ10 in last week's issue. Since the article is available on...
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