And just in case you ve been experiencing any withdrawal symptoms from the witty blog posts of ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom, you re in luck. Dr. Bloom has a new post over at Medical Progress Today, in which he identifies a multitude of inaccuracies found in Shane Ellison s Over-The-Counter Natural Cures. Among other claims in his book, Ellison argues that Big Pharma didn t invent aspirin. Mother Nature did. Thus, according to the self-dubbed People s Chemist, instead of reaching for the nearest aspirin bottle, folks should resort to remedying their ailments with white willow bark instead which apparently has been in use for thousands of years.
But so what? says Dr. Bloom, who aptly points out that thousands of years ago, people also believed that the sun circled the earth (which was flat), lightning was caused by angry gods, lead could be converted into gold, and drilling a hole in your head would relieve migraine headaches.
And while aspirin is not without its own side effects, they seem more benign than those associated with the natural products Ellison promotes, which may include (but are not limited to) coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds, as well as blood in your urine.
To read Dr. Bloom s full analysis, click here.