Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine

Edzard Ernst · Simon Singh

Aug 2008 · W. W. Norton & Company

About this ebook

The truth about the potions, lotions, pills and needles, pummelling and energizing that lie beyond the realms of conventional medicine. Whether you are an ardent believer in alternative medicine, a skeptic, or are simply baffled by the range of services and opinions, this guide lays to rest doubts and contradictions with authority, integrity, and clarity. In this groundbreaking analysis, over thirty of the most popular treatments—acupuncture, homeopathy, aromatherapy, reflexology, chiropractic, and herbal medicines—are examined for their benefits and potential dangers. Questions answered include: What works and what doesn't? What are the secrets, and what are the lies? Who can you trust, and who is ripping you off? Can science decide what is best, or do the old wives' tales really tap into ancient, superior wisdom?In their scrutiny of alternative and complementary cures, authors Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst also strive to reassert the primacy of the scientific method as a means for determining public health practice and policy.

Ratings and reviews

I perceived a slippery slope fallacy around the section on whether physicians and pharmaceutical companies would begin promoting alternative therapies. I have difficulty imagining any conversation with an MD/DO concluding in anything other than casual remarks about lack of efficacy. I have difficulty imagining my science distrusting relatives purchasing homeopathic remedies from Phizer or Eli Lilly, the whole point is to avoid anything that looks like peer-reviewed science after all.

This was my first book on evidence based medicine and I found it to be incredibly fair. I truly believe the authors' goal was to find and convey objective truths as well as the degree of certainty, and what that means. It's paired perfectly with risk assessment to paint a perfect picture of how to come to an informed conclusion on anything, far broader than the context of the book. I couldn't recommend it highly enough, especially if you're finding it hard to wade through the waters of medicine, studies, and cherry picked data.

Absolutely brilliant. The meta-analyses constitute a deeper truth. Well done to you both. As a scientist and skeptic and not a cynic, I accept as the truth only information that has been shown to be true through repeatable demonstration by my colleagues. In my case my skepticism includes religious tenets which, according to the terms of scientific investigation, fails to convince me of a higher or divine power or being. I am nonetheless impressed with the clear and simple manner in which the information in this book has been presented. Many thanks for putting to print what I have long believed. This book deserves five stars. Well done Simon and Edzard. Gratefully yours, Ladd de Villiers

About the author

Edzard Ernst, based at the University of Exeter, is the world’s first professor of complementary medicine. He is the author of numerous books for professionals, including The Oxford Handbook of Complementary Medicine.

Simon Singh, science journalist, tv producer, and best-selling author, lives in London. His books include Trick or Treatment, Fermat’s Enigma, The Code Book, and Big Bang.