A tune from Hansel and Gretal is still running thru my head- Hocus Pocus tra la la. . .
The heading for this post of "humor' is apt.

This was inspired by Abaco's article on why he is going Galt because a child died after receiving a flu vaccine innoculation, and OldUglyCarl's endorsement of healthy food for healthy living. I do agree with much that is (scare quotes) "alternative" medicine. But like "alternative facts" there is only medicine and not-medicine.

I work among people who are sick. I depend on chicken soup, fresh fruits, and vitamin C. I enjoy coffee first thing in the morning, but during the day, I drink tea. Teas - black, green, licorice, nettle, Gypsy Cold cure,... whatever...

And back in 2010, when I had a tumor removed at the University of Michigan, I had to sign off on an understanding that medicine is an art, not a science, and outcomes are not predictable. But I had the tumor removed because all the wild hissop root tea in the world was not going to make it go away... Same thing with my bicuspid aorta. I can eat paleo food that I kill with my bare hands, but it won't get me the missing flapper. My brother's new aorta is made of dacron. He wore his out running marathons. I work out five mornings out of seven, but I am not crazy about it.

You have to engage judgment based on facts that are explained by logically consistent theories. The great flu epidemic of 1918-1919 killed 100,000 people on the East Coast, but it did not kill everyone. So, I understand that being healthy is important. But we all have our personal regimens for reasons of our own.

I highly recommend The Same and Not the Same by Roald Hoffmann. In your own body, considering the size of the molecule and the presence of isotopes, it is likley that no two hemoglobin molecules are identitcal. Individuality is in and of life. So, it is no suprise that macro-level medicine results in (unpredictable) individual outcomes.

Consider also Esceptico's post about the New York Times and fake science. I agree with most of it. But Whole Foods is one of the reasons that we moved to Austin, though we are members of Wheatsville Co-op, just as we belonged to Peoples' Co-op in Ann Arbor, and ELFCO in East Lansing. (In fact, we both served on the board there.) Back in 2000, I lived in Sidney, Ohio. Kroger's store brand peanut butter was just ground peanuts. I would not eat Jif or Skippy on a triple dog dare. But I do eat genetically modified foods -- all the time. My favorite, just for the irony if not the sarcasm, is that our organic, natural, and locally-sourced food co-op sells PLUOTS: plum-apricot hybrids.,.. but they are ORGANIC pluots. (I kid you not.)