The Dore Advertising Juggernaut Rolls On

From the latest Dore radio advertisement:

Prior to treatment children's reading skills were only improving 7 months out of every 12.

Maybe we should give the children something else to do during the nonreading five months?

The Food Nazi

Sadly, EoR missed radio nutritionist Helen Frost's appearance last week (he was too busy reading a book on the scientific evidence for alternative and complementary medicine - short answer, none - and whether it was ethical for medical practitioners to prescribe same - short answer, no), but she made up for it in the quality of her claims this week.

Drugs (not just coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco but also prescription drugs) are bad - you want to be off them. Most common
prescription drugs on the market have severe side effects - if you're taking drugs it means your body is crying out for help. But apparently not from drugs it seems.

Ms Frost was asked "why are they on the market then?" - she didn't answer, instead urging us to listen next week when the expert (Dr Sandra Cabot) will be on with all the answers. EoR can hardly wait to hear about the truths Dr Cabot has learnt from the worlds of alternative sciences.

The announcer was a bit concerned about this draconian attitude to drugs, since he is taking lipitor which his doctor put him on - and which has successfully reduced his cholesterol. Ms Frost was unrepentant, and warned him that you can also have too low cholesterol! Lower it naturally, she urged! So, lowering cholesterol is good, but only if it's done "naturally" and drug-free. If you achieve the same results with a prescription drug it's not acceptable. Altogether now: "Rule number one: NO DRUGS!"

There are also good fats, bad fats, and "evil fats". Ms Frost cited Dr Joseph Mercola as an authority on the evilness of trans fats, further establishing her nonscience altie credentials. Check out the subtle subliminal message in the photo at this page. Can you hear those voices in your head whispering, "Drugs bad. Drugs bad. Drugs baaaaaad..."?

"All of those things on the supermarket shelf have those trans fats in them". All of them? Why haven't Big Pharma and Big Super, with all their massive evil drug-fuelled conspiracy, managed to shut this woman up?

Another announcer refers to her as the "Food Nazi".

I'm A Scientist! I Don't Care About Facts!

Here is the full decision by the judge hearing the appeal by Mr Parenzee on the basis that HIV does not exist. Some highlights, which show how Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos would make a fine altie:

Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos' evidence-in-chief was presented in an unusual way. She gave her evidence with the assistance of a slide presentation. The slide presentation consisted predominantly of quotations or her interpretation of research papers of others. The evidence was not presented as opinion evidence in the traditional manner. During her evidence-in-chief much of the evidence was disjointed and difficult to understand. The research papers upon which she relied were not tendered. Rather, she referred to parts of the papers. Many of the research papers were put to her in cross-examination. In cross-examination, she was often non-responsive to questions. She gave lengthy answers which did not address the questions. On the occasions when she did answer the question, it was often difficult to understand her responses. On some occasions, she simply responded by refusing to accept the validity of work published by reputable scientists.

Overturning established scientific ideas by a powerpoint presentation! Is there no end to the bizarre methods denialists of all sorts will go to in order to push their cases (other than relying on real science, of course)?

EoR admires Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos' gall, when confronted with the fact that a study she relied on did not support the view she purported it to have:

"No, I did not know that. I did not know that. And if I knew, it wouldn't make any difference."

It's not true! It's not true! And even if it was, I don't care!

The judge points out how lacking her "research" is (which mainly consisted of reading and "thinking"):

The two instances to which I have referred demonstrate that Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos is not objective in her
evidence. She commences with a proposition which she then seeks to justify by reliance on material which, when properly understood, does not support the proposition.

EoR hopes Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos will soon turn to homeopathy or acupuncture or something, where such methods of fitting the evidence to the proposition are more welcome.

The Foggy Faeces Of Fantasy

EoR's favourite nutritionist (more correctly, media commentater on nutrition), Helen Frost appears again in the 1st May 2007 Mind&Body supplement, on the subject of "Boost your mood".

Can foods and complementary therapies boost your spirits? The experts say yes.

The "experts" are Ms Frost, and a naturopath from Sydney, as well as a couple of pieces of carefully selected research (one "found people with a diet low in fish oil are also more likely to suffer mood disorders, cardiac problems and other health conditions", and another found yoga and breathing exercises for elderly people "has a 'markedly invigorating' effect on their mental and physical energy and increased their positive moods").

Ms Frost provides the strangest claims, as usual:

Ms Frost estimates that up to 85 per cent of the population is dehydrated and that a lack of adequate water causes brain 'fogginess'.

"Estimates"? How? What method of measurement did she use? What sample size? "Up to 85%"? Was the "estimated" figure lower? In what circumstances? And what, pray tell, is brain "fogginess"? Is this one of the magical altie diseases that western medicine refuses to acknowledge (because magical made-up diseases are so much easier to cure with magical made-up methods than real diseases?).

Ms Frost urges us to drink some freshly squeezed lemon juice in warm water every morning in order to "alkalise" the body. EoR hates to think what will happen when his stomach alkalises.

Ms Frost also proudly displays her chemical knowledge (though EoR suspects she would spit on the "C" word):

The key to a good mood-boosting breakfast, according to Ms Frost is protein. Protein contains an essential amino acid called tryptophan.

All proteins?

Sadly, Ms Frost doesn't grasp this opportunity to also display her indepth knowledge of faeces. For that EoR has to turn to the back page and Dr Charmaine Saunders' dream analysis column. One reader laments:

I often dream that I see big heaps of faeces around me and everyone in the dream does not seem to mind it but me.

What's the problem? This is altieland! Pooh is good! The more the better! As Dr Saunders confirms:

You'll be amazed to hear that one meaning for faeces in a dream is money.

Given all the colonic cleansers out there, EoR is not amazed. Not one bit.

The Bread Of (Eternal) Life

How much of the following paragraph is fact?

The Hunzas exist isolated from the rest of the world in the Himalayan Mountains where they live to be up to 110 years & older. They have no cancer, heart attacks, or other major disorders to speak of. They are active and fit to the very end. Men father children at 90 years and older. [...] Both men and women have perfect teeth and eyesight even at 100 years and older! [...] As you know, the Egyptians were capable of doing many things that modern science still cannot duplicate.

Answer: The Hunzas exist in the Himalayan Mountains.

This is all in support of spam that has been circulating for some years, purporting to sell you the "secret" of Hunza bread, an amazing recipe that will keep you healthy, let you live to 200, and stay trim and fit. The latest example EoR has received emanates from an Australian source (of course, like all fraudulent scams, there are telltale signs, not the least of which is the bright blue Heading6 text on a bright yellow background, or the fact that a supposedly legitimate site is hosted on a UK Geocities account, and probably has nothing to do with this particular spammer, who is just piggybacking on the money train).

Apparently, Mrs Lotte Svenson (EoR bets that's a fake name), a lowly housewife, has trumped the world's scientists by either rediscovering, or just inventing, the magic Hunza bread recipe (both explanations are offered - remember, when fooling the gullible two, different, explanations are always better than one). This amazing bread tastes wonderful but, after eating it, you won't be hungry for hours and hours - thus losing weight the easy way (remember - the gullible are always looking for easy miracle solutions to their problems).

After a piece or two of HUNZA DIET BREAD you eliminate both appetite and hunger. You feel satisfied and full. And, it lasts depending on the person up to 7 hours."

It's also claimed that Hunza bread is "close to being a balanced meal in itself". The supposed interviewer of this apparently fake piece of journalism declaims:

I took a bite. The delicious taste of the bread filled my mouth. You could tell that it was hearty, full of substance, chewy, and I could just tell it was good for you. Perhaps our bodies trigger an instinct that lets us know what's good or bad for us.

Which is why people never eat anything poisonous, presumably.

Producing such a wonderful bread, which would have the world's obese clamouring for more, was, for some reason, too difficult. But it's okay! Fear not! The good genius housewife will sell you the recipe! Just send A$20 to a post office box. Cash only, of course. You'll get what you deserve. Remember: cash. Nothing that's traceable.

Like many altie nutritional beliefs, there's more than a trace of religious zeal about this. Both the South African National Halaal Authority and jesus-is-savior.com support this myth ("How would you like to live in a land where cancer has not yet been invented?" - cancer was invented? Who by? When? And just what is "Hunzaland"?). Though, hang on, it's apricots that are the miracle food. Or the kernels. Or the bread. No, hang on, it's the colloidal mineral clusters. Or apricot oil. Um, the antioxidants in the water. Look: it's something, okay? So buy the miracle cure(s) now! Cash only, of course. Now, if only the Hunza were getting a portion of the money being ripped off worldwide in their name...

Of course, the Hunza may well not have obesity as an issue (malnourished subsistence farmers in the Third World usually have other concerns). But no diseases?

The prevalence of cataract in two villages of northern Pakistan with different levels of ultraviolet radiation.
Application of visual analogue scale of happiness to elderly Himalayan highlanders
Impact of the long term supply of iodized salt to the endemic goitre area.
Tick-borne viruses of West Pakistan. IV. Viruses similar to or identical with, Crimean hemorrhagic fever (Congo-Semunya), Wad Medani and Pak Argas 461 isolated from ticks of the Changa Manga Forest, Lahore District, and of Hunza, Gilgit Agency, W. Pakistan.

The myth of the marvellous Hunza lifestyle originates in some faulty claims made in a 1970's National Geographic documentary.

How Long Did They Live?:
No one really knows. Physicians examined the Hunza and made their best guesses to how old they people were. Without focusing too much on documented maximum age, the truly extraordinary fact is that all reports from the Hunza mention that the elderly population is fit, full of vitality and virtually free from disease.

How Did They Keep Free from Illness?:
In short, exercise. The mountains that the Hunza live in are extremely rough terrain and the Hunza people spend their lives moving among the rough passages and steep ridges. They are said to be more hardy than even the famous Sherpa people of the Himalayan region.

As this page puts it:

Hunza Miracle Diet Bread - doesn't work. Surely, only criminals would knowingly push "products" that don't work.

Of course, "Hunza" bread recipes are available free on the internet. Here's a number, or just google. Though you're probably better off just climbing up and down mountains to get fit.

HIV Denialists "Delusional"

Late last year EoR blogged about a man appealing a conviction of having unprotected sex without informing his partners he was HIV positive.

The verdict is now in.

Justice John Sulan today dismissed the witnesses' testimony, saying the pair lacked credibility and were advocates for a cause rather than independent experts. He said the evidence that HIV existed was compelling and he rejected the application for a re-trial. [...] To counter the claims, the prosecution called eight HIV experts including AIDS research pioneer Professor Robert Gallo. Prof Gallo, who was one of the scientists who discovered AIDS in the early 1980s and linked HIV as the cause of the disease, testified via video-link from his home in Bethesda, Massachusetts. He told the court the Perth Group members was misguided, inappropriate and delusional.

The main witness for the delusional idea was Eleni Papadopulos-Eleopulos, founder member of the HIV denialist Perth Group and who, during the trial, apparently claimed Africa does not have an AIDS epidemic. EoR suspects the whole of Africa breathed a sigh of relief.

EoR still remains confused about Ms Papdopulos-Eleopulos' qualifications. According the the Perth Group website, she is a biophysicist. According to the Australian newspaper, she is a medical engineer. According to the news.com.au report, she is both a medical researcher and a physicist.

More Good News For Psychics

Just what every real psychic needs: GPS tracking for your dog.

Instead of guessing where the lost pooch is, use amazing invisible powers to locate the wandering canine!

Which Clash Of Civilisations?

In the Guardian recently, Julian Baggini considers the moral vacuum that has been created between relativism and dogma.

The clash of civilisations is happening not between Islam and the west, as we are often led to believe, but between pragmatic relativism and dogmatic certainty. [...] How did we get to this dismal Hobson's choice? The finger of blame has to be pointed largely at academics and intellectuals who have been so keen to debunk popular notions of truth that they have created a culture in which the middle ground between shoulder-shrugging relativism and dogmatic fundamentalism has been vacated. [...] Perhaps the most powerful idea to filter through from the universities to the streets was articulated by Foucault, who adapted and popularised the Nietzschean idea that what passes for truth is actually no more than power. There are no facts, only attempts to impose your view on the world by fixing it as "The Truth". This idea is now so mainstream that even a conservative like Donald Rumsfeld could complain about those who lived in the "reality-based community", arguing "that's not the way the world really works anymore ... when we act, we create our own reality."

EoR is impressed by Donald Rumsfeld channelling Deepak Chopra while demonstrating the power of the Nonsecret.

Baggini argues that this postmodernist inspired relativism has, in fact, widened the gap from dogma and made dogma more attractive because of its unflinching certainty:

Far from making liberal openness more attractive, such denials actually make it appear empty, repugnant and weak compared to the crystalline clarity and certainty of dogma.

Baggini concludes:

They owe us an apology for failing to either see themselves, or make it clear to others, that in the everyday world we can and must distinguish truth and falsity, right and wrong, even if on close examination these terms do not mean what we thought they did. Science may not be God-like in its objectivity, but it is not just another myth. Moral values must be questioned, but if discrimination against women, homosexuals or ethnic minorities is wrong here, then it is wrong anywhere else in the world. Truth may not be the simple phenomenon we assume it to be, but falsehoods must be challenged.

Unless we can make a convincing case that the choice is not between relativism or dogmatism, more and more people will reject the former and embrace the latter. When they do, those who helped create the impression that modern, secular rationality leaves everything up for grabs in the marketplace of belief will have to take their share of the blame.

Which really, EoR suspects, the vast majority of the population would agree with. You don't regularly see alties walking across busy highways because "they create their own reality". Instead they check for an opening in the traffic first. You don't regularly see alties stepping out of tenth floor windows because "they create their own truth". They take the lift. You do, however, see alties regularly taking homeopathic water, having needles stuck in indeterminate and nonexistent "meridians", and having nonexistent "auras" smooth and placated. Because "they create their own reality and truth".

Natural Life Threatening Medicines

Since the requirements to register natural supplements in Australia are far less stringent than those for pharmaceutical medicines, the Australian population effectively becomes the large scale drug testing cohort for the "natural" manufacturers. This week sees a Class One recall ("Class I defects are potentially life-threatening or could cause a serious risk to health") of a Herbal Health International product, Excite for women and Ultimates for men. Ultimates seems a most appropriate name, given the life-threatening nature of this "natural" product:

The products have been found to contain an analogue of sildenafil, a prescription only medicine, which could give rise to serious health consequences, especially for patients with existing medical conditions such as heart problems, or persons at risk of stroke.

This product was registered with the TGA. Which just shows that registration does not equate to safe, effective or necessary.

Trust Me, I'm A Doctor

Listen to an anti-fluoridation believer squirm, at Bad teeth, bad economics

One of the leading advocates in the anti-fluoride push in Queensland is Brisbane GP Dr John Ryan, from a group called Australian Professionals Against Fluoridation. In an opinion piece in Brisbane's Courier Mail late last year, Dr Ryan said water fluoridation lowered the IQ of children, increased rates of hip fractures and bone cancer, and decreased thyroid functions. Dr Ryan based his claims on an influential review of the science literature on fluoride in water by the National Research Council, the NRC, in the United States. Background Briefing dug up the report to see if it did indeed make these findings.

How does Dr Ryan, a member of a professional organisation, a man who (presumably) understands how to read a scientific report and who, indeed, has summarised that report in the press, respond to criticism? Will he specify the science supporting his beliefs? Or will he simply resort to excuses, fluffs and non sequitars?

Background Briefing put a call in to Dr Ryan's surgery and raised the fact that the report concentrated on research that was looking at much higher levels of fluoride than exists in Australian water.

John Ryan: There was some manipulation, and there was a report on to - there's some trickery involved there, to take the focus on the fluoridated areas, but if you read the report, there is an enormous amount of reference notwithstanding their brief, to any harm done from fluoridation.

Wendy Carlisle: Is it right though, for you to say that, because I've had a good look at that report, and it doesn't actually say what you claim it to be saying. You say that water fluoridation causes hip fractures. But that actual report says that no conclusions could be drawn on fracture risks for levels of 1 milligram per litre; isn't that dishonest of you to present that as unequivocal proof that fluoride in water causes hip fractures?

John Ryan: Well I'll have to agree to disagree until I check what you are saying. But the report I am reading now was prepared with access to that very study. And there was also in that report, if you read it, it was a little bit divided in pro and anti fluoride, and there was this large amount of dissenting. So the consensus that you wish to rely upon, was not agreed to by all parties.

"Agree to disagree"? Doesn't he know what the report stated? Why was he publishing an article in the press about it then? EoR admires the way the interviewer isn't fobbed off by flippant excuses, and sticks to her point.

Wendy Carlisle: But you're making unequivocal statements from that report to support your case against fluoride.

John Ryan: But in terms of hip fracture I can give many other studies, and I'm happy to -

Wendy Carlisle: But you're relying on the NRC report to say that, and it doesn't support what you are saying.

John Ryan: I was quoting that particular report.

Wendy Carlisle: You say also that this National Research Council Report from the States supports your claim that fluoride causes lower IQ in children. The report doesn't actually say that.

John Ryan: It says so even - there's a lot that goes on in that report, I disagree, it says that, and it said even in low doses.

Wendy Carlisle: The report says, and I'm quoting here, that it cannot assess the strength of the studies due to methodological problems.

John Ryan: Yes, well I haven't got the report right in front of me, but colleagues have received the report and lots of summaries, and this is the consensus of what we perceive that the report says. Have you got the report right in front of you this minute, Wendy?

No! Don't ask that Dr Ryan!

Wendy Carlisle: Yes, I do.

Damn! A journalist who's read the report and has a copy right in front of her! It's time for obfuscation again...

John Ryan: It's a very big report and there's a lot said in it other than in the summary.

Is "the consensus of what we perceive" supposed to mean something? If the statements Dr Ryan made, based on the report, are not supportable by the report, why doesn't he simply state where the evidence for his statements was in the report?

EoR admires his closing riposte. Yes, it is a big report. Sadly, some journalists actually take the time to read the whole thing and call him on the misleading statements.

Get Your Entries In

Anthony Grzelka, where are you? It's time for the 4th Annual Paranormal Photo Hoax. Mr Grzelka has a whole page of fake ghost photos that would be ideal as entries. His site even satisfies the optional condition:

I also recommend including a one-paragraph phony story to go along with the photo, fabricating how you happened to capture the photo. This is not required, but adds to the fun

There's phoney stories aplenty on his website. All about magic skills and ghosts and boggarts and things that go "Wooooo!" in the night. Though looking at last year's winners, the competition seems to be pretty stiff, and Mr Grzelka's "let's run a clone brush over this one!" and "Oooh! Look at the dust on the lens!" and "Look! A reflection from a whiteboard!" efforts probably wouldn't even warrant a "Thanks for submitting" note.

My Magical Weekend - Part Two

I rose at dawn and fed the horses. When I returned I found breakfast underway - at least I'll call it breakfast, but I shouldn't give the impression they were ingesting food, as such. Before each setting at the massive jarrah table was an assortment of what, at first glance, appeared to be mixed lollies. Then I realised they were pharmaceuticals.

The capsules, coloured pills and powders were explained one by one: fish oil for brain and joints, glucosamine for joints, calcium for bones, herb-X for liver cleansing, herb-Y for female troubles, herb-Z for free radicals, psyllium for the colon, iron for blood, B12 and folic acid for brain, multivitamins for anything else, and a couple of ibuprofen tablets thrown in - for what? I felt conspicuous with my bowl of sliced peaches, yogurt and macadamia nuts.

Packing saddlebags was exciting. I stuffed mine with mushroom and fetta foccacia bread, an apple, carrots and chocolate. I wondered if the others would get by on pills - but they seemed to be loading up with real food too.

Our Bowen specialist went ahead to prepare her Natural Horsepersonship- trained horse, Billy. He needed to be chased in circles to earn her respect before a ride. I caught Red, my unnaturally well mannered horse, and saddled up in the old-fashioned way.

We set off in perfect mild and sunny conditions. The forest shimmered. Butterflies, blue wrens and scarlet robins flit through the undergrowth and bright red and green parrots flashed by. But noises from the rear of the ride indicated all was not well. Someone was riding a new horse. Although aged and apparently placid, his rider was anxious and felt out of control. She and the hypnotherapist chose to turn back, so as not to spoil the ride for the rest of us. I was disappointed. What about hypno-firstaid to treat her fear? The Bowenist was also displeased. She saw it as a healing crisis. Things may seem bad but they'd get better, she said. They should work through it.

As the two turned for home, the Bowenist's horse, Billy, decided he'd like to go too. After some plunging he was sent up the front. But Billy refused to lead. He was put in the middle, but he didn't like our horses and showed it. Billy was sent to the back, rolling his eyes and on a tight rein, and he stayed in that position most of the ride.

We continued on through a lush Jurassic landscape dominated by macrozami "palms" and tall grass trees, then through groves of muted dark greenish-grey casuarina, their wispy needles padding the track, and eventually into a Dr Suess landscape of banksia with crazy zigzagy leaves.

Distant rumblings could be heard. Clouds rolled over and it began to rain. I cowered as the thunder closed in. Someone cheerily said she knew of a horse struck dead in a storm only last week. We plodded on, wondering if things were going to worsen before they got better, but fortunately the storm passed without a crisis. Then my friend's horse, Sam, decided to liven up. She said rain excited him, but I wondered if it had anything to do with all the ponycubes he stole from my horse's dinner.

As well as kangaroos, we came upon a family of emus. They ruffled their brindle feathers and bounced ahead of us down the track. Eventually the forest gave way to pine plantations. This was our halfway point so we found a resting place, tethered the horses, and raided our saddlebags.

The homeward ride was uneventful, apart from Billy being unrepentant to the end and Sam not exhausting his ponycube energy. I think they needed twice the distance to become respectful and tired. My horse managed without any soreness on his bare hindfeet after riding for about five hours. Nothing extraordinary for endurance enthusiasts, but enough for pleasure riders.

Back at the cottage the other two greeted us with gluten-free chocolate cake (proving you don't need flour to make a cake delicious) and hot drinks. On their way back after leaving us, they had happened to stop by at the vineyard, and after tastings of essence of nashi, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, pear, quince, plum and grapes, and applecider, had felt perfectly able to resume riding. They'd continued on for a few hours through forest trails. As the vineyard is only 10 minutes walk from the cottage, I wasn't sure whether this was by choice, or under the influence of tasting.

The evening's topic of conversation fluctuated between the benefits of Natural Horsepersonship and Amazing Cancer Cures. Pat Parelli was worshiped. Monty Roberts was forgotten (possibly due to falling behind in merchandise). But even Parelli was deemed to have "holes" in his methods. I was informed these gaps were being filled by inventive local instructors, marketing their own brands of NH. No one seemed to care how blatantly opportunistic these commercial ventures were. They loved the displays like going to the movies.

Gossip intensified with tales of local personalities who cheated in their supposedly Natural Horsepersonship methods, depraved riding establishments, cruelty and RSPCA rescues, muddled veterinarians, horror horses fit for dogmeat but whose owners doted on them, and horror owners fit for dogmeat.

In between horse-talk we heard "proof" of hypnotism/herbs/vibrational thoughts curing cancer. A study was described - allegedly half the cancer sufferers were cured and half went into remission. We also learnt we are beyond the age of Newtonian physics and into the Einsteinian age, and how everything we used to call science is useless because of something to do with quantum physics, and how scientists know nothing yet these women know everything.

I practically ground my teeth away to keep my mouth shut. Perhaps the hypnotherapist caught my expression, as she announced she never argued with people of fixed views, but respected their right to think what they wished. In other words, arguing with her would be rude.

One by one others drifted off to bed. I found myself alone with the hypnotherapist. I felt strangely drawn to her. Maybe opposites do attract. We sat by the woodfire and she recited excerpts of NOVA to me. There was an article on being nice - how women try too hard to smooth things over, avoid conflict and subvert their own wishes for the sake of others. She looked at me meaningfully. "Yes", I nodded. "Guilty!"

I thought of people who cut themselves, to shock themselves back to reality when experiencing bad hallucinations or delusions. I wondered if there was anything sharp on hand.

To be continued...

Carnival Time

much qi in balance
59th skeptics' circle
questioners abound

What I Tell You Repeatedly Will Be True

In the latest Mind&Body supplement to the West Australian newspaper (24th April 2007) Dr Dingle again appears, pushing his "diet causes disease" line.

Associate professor in environmental science at Murdoch University Dr Peter Dingle said highly processed food could trigger ADHD symptoms. [...] Dr Dingle said decreasing protein could cause difficulty in producing neurotransmitters in the brain which can result in depression and ADHD.

Dr Dingle also provides an ADHD curing menu which EOR won't bother boring his readers with. He says we should eat what "grandma and grandpa used to eat." Which, given the sort of unhealthy food they fed on, is perhaps not the best advice.

As EoR has pointed out before: Dr Dingle is not a medical doctor or mental health specialist; depression is a multifactorial problem; depression is frequently lethal.

To be implying that depression is a result of a bad diet is incorrect (indeed, the effect may actually be the cause). To be publicly repeating these statements is potentially dangerous. Particularly when the last week has seen the tragic case of two young girls hanging themselves.

Is Dr DIngle suggesting that if only these girls had had a proper breakfast, this tragedy would not have occurred? Would he be prepared to state that directly to the girls' parents? Is Dr Dingle's continued insistence on his diet/toxin source of ADHD and depression not only dangerous, but deeply offensive?

Why does this article describe Dr Dingle as an environmental scientist, but not reveal a possible conflict of interest in relation to his commercial enterprise?

Other media nutrition advisors seem to be more circumspect.

What I Dream Three Times Is True

From Mind&Body for 24th April 2007, Dr Charmaine Saunders advises a correspondent:

Some theorists believe that if you dream the same thing three times in a row, then it's a prediction. Obviously, if the same dream comes very close together, then the precognitive aspect is intensified, simply because the message is clearly urgent.

Some theorists? Can anyone name these mysterious theorists? Does Ms Saunders mean somebody once speculated wildly, and she's now presenting it as proven? Unless Ms Saunders is referring to the published Dr Carroll Theory of Triplicate Veracity.

My Magical Weekend - Part One

Someone wise said it is good for you to spend time in the company of people who possess different points of view to your own. Therefore I am trying to console myself that last weekend, despite being infuriating, was ultimately beneficial.

Let's start at the beginning. We had a small group of circa 45 - 55 years old (should I just say "perimenopausal"?) women. We brought horses. We brought food. We rented a beautiful cottage in gorgeous surrounds. There was a grassy paddock for our horses, picturesque gardens, a jarrah forrest and a vineyard. Magical.

Day one: arrival, settling horses, putting away food, and a short walk through forest to sample the fruit essences of the vineyard. Quince wine was fine but the strawberry champagne won our hearts and a place on the table that night. As we relaxed under the influence of berry essence, conversation turned to personal interests and ambitions. I had been invited by a friend who is a physiotherapist. In a strange lack of professional jealousy, she had invited other friends who practise (in varying combinations) Bowen therapy, reflexology, iridology, numerology, hypnotherapy, homeopathy, aromatherapy and herbal medicine. None professed to be psychic investigators or past-soul retrievalists, but The Secret was mentioned so I expect they covered all specialties.

Being horse owners, equine woo was foremost in our minds. Barefoot was a hot topic. They all endorsed The Movement, but one by one made shamefaced admissions of relying on conventional shoes as their horses were unable to sustain ridden work without them. The trail rides in this area cover hilly hard ground, and I had been told fully-shod was a must as last year's gathering had been spoilt by lame horses - turning the long ride into a misery of a long Barefoot limp home.

Now, my horse has good feet and doesn't need shoes on the sandplain where we live but I keep him shod (on the front feet only) so we are always ready for anything, as I take him out in the hills occasionally. As it transpired, my horse was the only one at this gathering with barefeet, albeit only the hind ones, and I don't even bother with Barefootology. I have an excellent, experienced farrier and my horse has never had hoof troubles. We leave shoes off his hind feet, but he gets trimmed and front shoes replaced monthly. I didn't bother putting hinds on for this occasion as he's managed similar rides without soreness.

The other women were tormented by their belief in the goodness of "natural" yet being unable to sustain the dream. They fretted on about how they might achieve this: designer yards with footsoaking baths, limestone crunch pads, beds of nails and obstacle courses. And still they'd need to call out the 4-point-Barefoot Podiatrist every week to gouge out their horses' soles. The inaccessibility of their dream drove down the strawberry champagne and we had to break open dark chocolate essential supplements.

Next we concentrated on hypnotherapy. I admitted an anxiety about difficult situations sometimes reduces my participation in events. For example, I was scared to attempt some of the higher jumps in crosscountry courses, which limited us to lower level competitions. It was tempting to accept the
hypnotherapist's offer of a session that would "deal with fear". But what about the consequences? If it worked, wouldn't my horse need to be hypnotised too? And what if our confidence overrode his ability to jump massive neckbreaking obstacles? "But there you go again", the hypnotist said. "I Can!" must replace "if only I could".

It was time for dessert. The coeliac served a gluten-free packet-bake. I wondered if she should get hypnotised "I can eat eat flour" and thereby share in the delectable plum syrup cake I had brought from home.

On full stomachs, the Bowenists commiserated about rates of pay. They said hypnotherapists received more than they did, and Bowen was badly under-enumerated for the skill involved. They complained health funds required accreditation in order to provide a rebate on a service. This
involved going back to study anatomy at TAFE or University, which meant long hours of application, memorising and recalling information. This was considered a waste as they already knew they could heal people. It was decided they should take up hypnotherapy instead - and direct patients to
stop feeling the pain, and to heal sore muscles/strained joints/blocked chi all by themselves (under weekly hypno-maintenance). The hypnotherapist said she used to feel guilty about taking so much money, but now she thinks of it as "energy transfer" so it's okay afterall. She also disclosed she dabbles in property development to further optimise energy inflow.

At bed time, having a limited number of double beds between us, it was a case of "sleeping with the enemy". I chose the safest option - and shared with my physio friend. It is strange going to bed with another woman when you are accustomed to a hetero lifestyle. We both lay very still on the outer edges of the bed, facing opposite directions, and hardly breathed, let alone slept.

To be continued...

Reiki Real, Really.

Thanks to Liz Ditz providing a link to a minor woo healer and fantasy artist, EoR was gradually drawn deeper into the maelstrom of reikisms, and all the amazing "scientific" proof for it which he'd been studiously avoiding for far too long.

First there was Reiki 4 Life [sic].

Reiki is an amazing energy that comes from the highest spiritual source. It has its own intelligence and knows exactly where to go and what to do. It is multi-dimensional and will heal the cause of a problem on whatever level it may exist - body, mind, or spirit. It does not have to be directed by the practitioner. Because it is a channeled healing, the Reiki practitioner's energies are never depleted. In fact, when giving a treatment, the Reiki practitioner is healed as well and always experiences an increase in life-force energy. People that already do healing work report their healing energies increase by at least 50% after receiving Reiki training.

EoR wonders how that claimed 50% improvement is measured? A life-force-o-meter? A God-o-graph? And why does "Meredith" go on about how to gradually "project" the energy to various parts of the body, when she has just said the energy "knows" where to go? And what, precisely, is a "channeled healing" that "does not have to be directed"? In fact, why does it even need a human? Isn't god (EoR presumes that's what she means by "the highest spiritual source", though it might just mean Deepak Chopra) sufficiently omnipotent and omniscient to do the work herself?

"Meredith" also makes some pretty far reaching (and frankly unproven) claims:

In its long history of use Reiki has aided in healing virtually every known illness and injury including serious problems like cancer and heart disease as well as skin problems, cuts, headaches, colds, sunburn, insect bites, insomnia, anxiety, depression, mood swings, etc.

"Aided"? What does "aided" mean? Cured? Improved? Worked in any manner different from a placebo? Or just "believed" or "claimed" to help? What's the bet that all these reiki healers and miracle workers still have aspirin in their home (or willow bark at least)?

Then there's the Reiki 4 Life blog. Now, EoR might have become confused somewhere, but it seems all you need to do to become healthy is to shake faster:

Have you ever noticed that animals in the wild are rarely traumatized, yet experience life or death situations every day? That is because they RELEASE the traumatic energy almost as soon as it has occurred. Have you ever seen animals trembling and shaking after being attacked, or hit by an automobile? The shaking and trembling releases the survival energies from their bodies. [...] Thoughts, like emotions, hold a vibration, and frequency. Negative thoughts hold a lower or denser vibration, which may be perceived as thick, heavy, soupy, or solid like a wall. When a person holds onto these lower vibrational thoughts, the entire system is affected and weighed down. Reiki will transform the lower vibrations into those of higher quality such as peace, serenity, love, joy, etc which may be perceived as light, fluffy, soft, or effervescent.When experiencing a higher vibration, the person feels lighter, bubbly, and happy. These feelings attract thoughts of similar vibration thereby accelerating the journey towards wholeness.

"Thoughts of similar vibration"? What, the "light, fluffy, soft" type of thoughts? Well, EoR certainly can't deny that. This article is its own condemnatory evidence.

Moving on further, EoR was pleased to learn that global warming appears to have been averted:

The World Peace Crystal Grids were placed at the North and South Poles on May 3, 1997 and December 17, 1999 respectively. These two grids are located right at the places where the earth's magnetic field converges. The magnetic field of the earth is like the earths aura and so by having the Peace Grids located there, they affect the energy of the whole planet. The inscription on the grids says: "May the followers of all religions and spiritual paths work together to create peace among all the people of earth." The World Peace Crystal Grid is made of solid copper in the shape of the heart chakra, 12 inches in diameter and plated with 24 carat gold. A 12 sided quartz pyramid is at the center under which are inscribed the Usui power symbol and the Karuna peace symbol. Double terminated quartz crystals are on each petal.

Crystals, pyramids and reiki! The world is safe at last! With so many busy practitioners healing the "earths aura" and others doing acupuncture on the earth, we can all rest easy at night now.

Finally, EoR was stunned by the evidence provided in Science and the Human Energy Field, not least the fact that the human body emits light. EoR knew it reflected light, but not emitted it as well. Presumably, this means we can all save on those incandescent light bulbs that are so harmful to the environment. Also "In a sense, all medicine is energy medicine". In a sense, maybe. Though EoR's not sure how that applies to surgery, for example. The actual "science" (and very poor science it is at that), seems to come down to:

Based on this information, one possible hypothesis is that when a Reiki practitioner begins giving Reiki, feelings of compassion, love, and other healing feelings are created in the heart. These feelings modify the electrical energies of the heart, which travel through the nerves and especially through the electrically conductive vascular system into the hands, where they create healing biofields that are induced into the client. My guess is that the fields produced during Reiki treatments will be tiny and very precisely tuned to specific frequencies that stimulate the immune system and other important body systems. This is a hypothesis that needs to be tested.

Another possible hypothesis is that there is nothing occurring, or nothing that cannot be differentiated from a placebo effect. This is not a guess. This is a high probability. Before explaining how "biofields" modify "electrical energies" based on the frequency of "compassion, love and other healing feelings", it first needs to be established that there is, in fact, anything happening at all. Especially since a child can easily show nothing is happening, whereas Dr Oschman has to twist himself into verbal gymnastics of possibilities and guesses to even come up with bizarre way that a nonexistent effect might do something (which he still only claims are "tiny")

Dr Oschman then goes on for some while about quantum non-locality and other effects that are noticeable at the subatomic scale but not elsewhere, before a much clearer statement about how reiki works:

My suspicion is that what is being passed during the attunement process is a frequency or a set of frequencies that can be transferred from a teacher to a student via the energy field and that will always be remembered by the student. The memory process is probably similar to that involved in homeopathy

Reiki is like homeopathy? Ah, so it is a placebo effect!

Doing a search at PubMed showed only one vaguely related entry (as well as a number of publications on cockroach and squid cell functions which were non-reiki related) from Dr Oschman: a comment in the J Altern Complement Med on Our place in nature: reconnecting with the Earth for better sleep..

That would be the sleep of reason, then?

Chi Whiz: The Surprising Amazing World Of Altie Reality

The latest issue of Nova is a joy to behold. EoR could fairly feel it vibrating with quantum healing powers as he picked it up (this month's theme: chi - though EoR continues his push to rename it "fairy dust" since fairy dust has exactly the same amount of science, proof, validity and evidence, and is a much more accurate term).

Rather than analyse any particular article (since there's nothing you haven't seen before) EoR thought it would be interesting to skim the amazing weltanschauung of the target audience of this magazine.

There's a lot of stuff about "spiritual insight", "meditation", "connecting" and so on. Now, EoR has no problem with this. If people feel the need to seek out the Meaning of Life, then all well and good. But when that search contradicts reality, a choice needs to be made. Most people would redefine their search. Alties instead deny reality.

The inside cover is a full page ad for a remarkable (aren't they all?) new (aren't they all?) unique (aren't they all?) totally effective (aren't they all?) easy (aren't they all?) method of weight loss "backed by quantum physics". EOR can't see how that would work though he supposes if you were inside a high energy particle accelerator, it might reduce your weight by knocking a few electrons off. "Defies common sense wisdom". Indeed.

There's an article on the wonders of swimming with dolphins: "Apparently, humans and dolphins are the only two species on earth to have evolved with highly intelligent brains." EoR's not too sure about some humans having highly intelligent brains, based on that fallacious statement. It goes on to describe a woman with a PhD in psychology who states "dolphins connect with your higher self" and who is now using her toddler as a "research subject". This is probably not official research, and it is probably not subject to Ethics Committee approval. The "journalist" mentions her fear of sharks. Shouldn't she also be welcoming the opportunity to "connect" with them? Especially as she admires dolphins for having achieved their higher evolutionary form millions of years ago - sharks did that far earlier. They must be much "higher" beings than dolphins, and surely they have more "connectedness" to impart?

Then there's the effusive report of a Deepak Chopra seminar. Fear and stress are "responsible for all the major epidemics of our time like heart disease, cancer and degenerative disorders." Also, presumably, polio, AIDS, autism etc etc. EoR got lost when the article went on about "Possibility waves allow the 'immeasurable potential' for synchronicity - or to use Chopra's expression 'non-local correlation' - meaning events that occur outside the space-time nexus as we currently understand it." Later, Deepak states "Death offers opportunities for quantum leaps in creativity and evolution." As a groundbreaking genius cutting edge scientist, EoR is surprised he hasn't taken the opportunity himself. He'd still be able to report back to us, since he seems to exist outside the space-time-logic nexus.

Teya Skae (MA, BA, Dip Health Sciences, Dip Clinical Nutrition as well as a slew of alternative letters) states colonics are "quite beneficial to the whole body and especially the mind. This is because in TCM, the bowels (large intestine) and the mind are linked as one". This probably explains why these people seem to have brains that are filled with faecal matter. Reading between the lines (and EoR acknowledges that's dangerous when dealing with alties), Ms Skae seems to be arguing that we know the brain and bowel are clearly not linked as one. However, because an ancient belief system (Traditional Chinese Medicine) once argued that this nonexistent linkage existed) we should continue to belief this falsehood in order to somehow improve health. It's the scientific equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and shouting "La, la, la! I'm not listening!" very very loudly.

Weird Talkback Caller Of The Day 2

How much do we need to flog that dead horse and milk it for all it's worth?

Weird Talkback Caller Of The Day

I'm not religious but I am a Christian.

Try telling that to the deity of your choice.