Confessions of a naturopathic doctor
Naturopathic practitioners should be banned from treating minors. I recently made this proposal in the context of the tragic death of Ezekiel Stephan, whose parents are on trial in Alberta for failing to provide the necessities of life. Ezekiel’s parents needlessly caused him to suffer from bacterial meningitis, in part by getting care from a licensed…
I have been planning to write this post for about a year. It has taken me this long to calmly put words to paper, as the topic of this article is sensitive for those of us who know someone, or who themselves, suffer from bipolar disorder. About ten months ago,...
On February 26, 2015, Senator Marty Block (D-San Diego) introduced CA Senate Bill 538 to remove scope limitations for licensed naturopaths in California. The bill aims to amend the existing law, the Naturopathic Doctors Act, so that naturopaths would be able to independently: order, perform, review, and interpret results of...
You are probably aware of Ezekiel Stephan, a 19 month old boy, who died in 2012, after his parents chose home remedies and naturopathy for the treatment of viral bacterial meningitis. The parents currently are on trial in Canada for failing to provide the necessities of life. Over the course of...
A little bird told me that California naturopathic “doctors” and their supporters are holding a meeting in Sacramento on March 9, 2016 to educate state lawmakers about naturopathic medicine in order to secure support for a stalled bill, S.B. 538, that would, in my opinion, dangerously expand their scope of...
French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin left us with a legacy of diet and cuisine. A rather excellent cow’s milk cheese is named after him, as is the Savarin mould, perfect for those who like their desserts with holes in the middle. His writings remain his greatest contribution, and one quote...
I was not going to write about the recent “Naturopathic Chat” forum leak. But then, while having dinner tonight, I had a dark thought: What if my hypothetical naturopath (or real doctor) were talking about me, my medical history, family, and other personally identifiable information in a web forum with a readership of 3,300 members? And what...
Britt’s note: In this anonymous post, an acupuncturist describes the difficult process of turning one’s back on pseudoscience and facing reality. It is an extraordinarily vulnerable position to renounce colleagues and friends in a public forum. I know this first hand. As other anonymous posters have mentioned to me, writing about their experiences is important...
Robert O. Young, a naturopath in California who ran a luxury medical clinic, was found guilty of two counts of practicing medicine without a license. While this news marks an end to the saga of Young’s spree of quackery and precarious trial, during which the jury was nearly hung and ordered by...
Naturopathy is an ideology. It is not a distinct form of primary care medicine. In fact, it is not any kind of medicine. It is pseudoscience. Naturopathy does not convey the same credibility or deserve the same respect as medicine. But, in an effort to generate credibility, proponents of naturopathic “medicine”...
