Hilary's Desk

Why would any real skeptic suggest pamol as a treatment to reduce fever? It’s standard medical practice, and has been used for decades, and THEREFORE, according to skeptics, is ASSUMED to be the truth.  Continue Reading

Adam Dudding of the Sunday Star times, wrote and article on 15 August, 2010, called “The exasperation-filed: they want to believe”  On 22nd, August, Scott Sharpe from Nelson replied: Continue Reading

In the wake of the TV3 documentary "Living Proof",  thoughout New Zealand, families who have members in ICU with H1N1, are being told that their near-death family members cannot be given intravenous vitamin C because it would cause renal failure. The medical literature does not support this statement. Many times we hear about vitamin C and kidney stones, but where did that "information" come from? According to Professor Hemila of Finland, it is an "urban legend". Quite why the medical profession feel it so necessary to create urban legends, is another matter altogether. Professor Hemila details the literature on this on his a page on his website called "Safety of Vitamin C: Urban Legends" (page pdf'd):  Continue Reading

Amonst all the whining ricochetting around the hallowed halls of pharmaceutically driven medicine in New Zealand, a couple of points should be logged into the system's hard drive. The first is that the medical profession should stop going on about how irresponsible and dangerous vitamin C is. The second is, by extension, stop the ludicrous, continual attempts via suitably brainwashed report-ersss in the newsmedia, to demonise herbs and supplements.  It seems to me that Medsafe et al, have forgotten that in 2006, at the request of the then Minister of Health, Annette King, the coronial system did a thorough investigation into deaths from alternative medicine, which found just about zilch.  Instead, the finger came right back pointing at the medical system, not the alternative medical system, supplements or herbs.  Continue Reading

Today, the Sunday Star Times published an edited version of a letter I sent them after reading this article. What follows is the full version. The text they published is in blue: Continue Reading

It never ceases to amaze me, when people who put themselves out as scientists, display woeful researching skills, and appear not to hear what is said on programmes they criticise. Peter Griffin at Sciblogs had this to say about the 60 Minutes documentary “Living Proof”. Amongst his various ramblings, he misses the fact that experts were asked to comment.. but refused. He also asked heaps of redundant questions:   Continue Reading

Are doctor prepared to their patients to die, rather than take note of either Allan Smith, or the known medical literature? Hence, this open letter to New Zealand Herald. Continue Reading