Review of 'Do You Believe in Magic?: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
This is the second book I've read by Paul Offit and it's as fantastic, clear, and conversational as the first one I read. In "Do You Believe in Magic?" Dr. Offit tackles the controversial alternative medicine topic with a firm grasp of the history between standard practice medicine and the alternative medicine industry. This is a critical look at what does, and what does not work in the field of alternative medicine, alone with the abuses the industry is rife with. It clearly shows how the supplement industry gets a complete pass from examination before supplements hit the store shelves, along with numerous cases of supplement contamination and abuse. There is also a chapter that looks at why the placebo effect may be the real reason so many people think alternative therapies work when they are show to be ineffective in studies. The book goes on to further show how …
This is the second book I've read by Paul Offit and it's as fantastic, clear, and conversational as the first one I read. In "Do You Believe in Magic?" Dr. Offit tackles the controversial alternative medicine topic with a firm grasp of the history between standard practice medicine and the alternative medicine industry. This is a critical look at what does, and what does not work in the field of alternative medicine, alone with the abuses the industry is rife with. It clearly shows how the supplement industry gets a complete pass from examination before supplements hit the store shelves, along with numerous cases of supplement contamination and abuse. There is also a chapter that looks at why the placebo effect may be the real reason so many people think alternative therapies work when they are show to be ineffective in studies. The book goes on to further show how many modern day snake oil salesmen have robbed people of potential life saving treatments for something that either made their illness worse, or did nothing while their disease got to the point it could no longer be treated.
A well written expose that you should read if you care about your health and well being and want to be sure your not the next one taken advantage of by snake oil salesmen. In many cases it can be a matter of life and death.