Several times each month patients solicit my view on probiotics. The tens of billions of dollars spent annually by Americans on these agents provides us with overwhelming evidence of an economic truth – marketing works. Conversely, the evidence that probiotics actually deliver on their health claims ranges between thin and absent. Why, then, are they so popular? While modern medicine has delivered much for the public, there are so many mysterious and chronic afflictions that remain out of reach. Patients and physicians struggle over addressing bowel disorders, chronic arthritis, depression, fatigue, memory lapses, allergies, autoimmune diseases, skin rashes, sleep disorders, obesity and many other stubborn conditions. When conventional medicine fails to deliver, many other treatments of questionable quality emerge. This is undeniable. Claiming benefit, however, should not be sufficient. Any new treatment should be subjected to the same rigorous vetting process that
MD Whistleblower presents vignettes and commentaries on the medical profession. We peek 'behind the medical curtain' and deliver candor and controversy in every post.