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Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools of Us All

Rose Shapiro

3.87 · Rating details · 223 Ratings · 30 Reviews

'Alternative' medicine is now used by one in three of us. In the UK we spend an estimated £4.5 billion a year on it and its practitioners are now insinuating themselves into the mainstream. There are methods based on ancient or far-eastern medicine, as well as ones invented in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Many are promoted as natural treatments. What they have i ...more

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Paperback, 304 pages

Published February 7th 2008 by Harvill Secker

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May 23, 2008 Lena rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, medical, skepticism

I live in a community where complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is so mainstream that many of my friends use acupuncturists or naturopaths for primary care, and hardly any of the parents I know have vaccinated their children. Given this environment, reading Rose Shapiro's in-depth examination of the history of CAM and the flawed philosophies behind it made me feel like a creationist who has finally understood evolution for the first time.

Indeed, early on in this book, Shapiro puts forth I live in a community where complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is so mainstream that many of my friends use acupuncturists or naturopaths for primary care, and hardly any of the parents I know have vaccinated their children. Given this environment, reading Rose Shapiro's in-depth examination of the history of CAM and the flawed philosophies behind it made me feel like a creationist who has finally understood evolution for the first time.

Indeed, early on in this book, Shapiro puts forth the theory that CAM has become something of a religion to its adherents, with the practitioner providing the many of the benefits of the sympathetic pastor from times past. In addition, Shapiro makes it clear that adherence to CAM practices requires a level of faith equal to that of religion, particularly when one considers that even the CAM-friendly NCCAM has yet to prove efficacy of a single CAM treatment, despite a research budget of close to a billion dollars.

Shapiro's book begins with a historical look at the ancient Greek idea of the "four humours," a concept that underlies not just ancient systems of Chinese and Ayervedic medicine, but also the current craze for "balancing" the body, hormones, energy fields, or whatever else strikes the modern CAM practitioner's fancy as needing to be balanced.

From there, she crisscrosses the globe with in-depth discussions of past and current CAM practices. It was particularly interesting to me to learn that the "5,000 year-old wisdom" of Traditional Chinese Medicine used to rely heavily on bloodletting, and the fine-needle acupuncture practiced today didn't appear until the 17th century. In addition, 95% of the TCM known in the West comes from beliefs and practices that were carefully selected by the Communist Party as a way to deal with the shortage of genuine medical doctors after the war while simultaneously promoting Party ideals. Shapiro also reveals that the much-ballyhooed cases of "acupuncture anesthesia" referenced by true believers usually fail to mention such patients almost always receive pharmaceutical sedatives in addition to their acupuncture.

Next, Shapiro takes a close look at the deeply flawed reasoning behind various forms of homeopathy, the historical arc behind the quack "electro-diagnostic" machines such as the Vegatest, and the numerous problems with potency and contamination in herbal supplements. Having taken a number of Chinese herbal formulas in the past, I was particularly shocked to discover that a 1998 study revealed that 32% of Asian patent medicines were either adulterated with undeclared pharmaceuticals or contained toxic heavy metals hundreds or thousands of times above accepted safety levels.

Shapiro does a good job of explaining why CAM can seem effective even if it isn't really doing anything beyond making the patient feel cared about, which is certainly an area in which conventional medicine often falls short. Though many would argue that the comfort and illusion of relief CAM provides to its many adherents far outweigh the risks of what are usually harmless practices, her chapter on CAM cancer treatments reveals the very real dangers that the magical thinking behind CAM can pose to those desperate for any glimmer of hope.

This was a particularly painful chapter for me to read as a friend recently opted to eschew chemo in favor of the Gerson diet, a treatment Shapiro examines which claims to "naturally reactivate the body's magnificent ability to heal itself." This program succeeded only in costing my friend precious treatment time—while he was busy juicing 14 times a day, his one small tumor grew into two large ones.

When he chose to go on the Gerson diet, my friend was unaware that people who promote these kinds of programs very often record only the positive case studies in their results. In addition, he was under the influence of the widespread CAM belief that conventional medicine is a corrupt industry that cares only about profit, and therefore regularly suppresses or refuses to research promising new alternatives. Like many conspiracy beliefs, there are enough real world examples of genuine corporate malfeasance give this theory credibility. But Shapiro picks away at this common belief by pointing out that the highly effective polio vaccine was adopted despite putting the iron lung industry out of business, the fact that herbs themselves are not patentable has not stopped many very effective drugs from being developed from them, and the reality that the well-funded NCCAM has failed to prove efficacy of any CAM treatment is definitely not for lack of trying. In addition, it becomes very obvious over the course of the book that CAM practitioners who earn very good livings promoting expensive, unproven treatments to desperate patients are far more guilty of being driven by greed than conventional medicine has ever been.

Because I spent much of my adult life as a die-hard subscriber to CAM beliefs like the one above, one of the most valuable parts of the book for me was the chapter entitled "How to Spot a Quack." Her clear listing of the fundamental belief set underlying most CAM practices, including "feeling worse is a sign of getting better" and that all illness can be attributed to one "universal diagnosis," helped root out the remaining irrationality I was holding onto from having spent so long in a community where many consider these kinds of ideas to be fundamental truths.

Though this book helped me finally put to rest that lingering tug I experienced whenever some friend told me how much better they felt after their latest colon cleanse or candida detox, it also left me feeling more than a little depressed about how badly I'd been deceived by the 20+ CAM practitioners I've seen over the years. I'm pretty certain that most of them were well-meaning people who genuinely believed in the efficacy of their treatments, but I can't help noticing that not a single one offered to give me my money back when they failed to cure the problems they repeatedly assured me would be gone within just a few months.

Though Shapiro covers some of the same ground as Barker Bausell in Snake Oil Science, Suckers is far more of a page-turner. There is more storytelling and less detailed science (though lots of footnoted references if you want to look it up yourself), and Shapiro seasons her engaging form of medical journalism with some very funny quotes and details that make the book particularly hard to put down.

This book is a UK publication, and the copy I ordered on Amazon came directly from England. If you are interested knowing the full story behind what the back cover refers to as the "dangerous global delusion" of CAM, however, this book is well worth seeking out.
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May 23, 2008 Trevor rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: social-theory, science, psychology

Hegel says somewhere – yes, I’ve looked and no, I can’t find it – that the problem with being a philosopher is that it is the only occupation where you can study for years and years and people who haven’t thought twice in the last decade can come along and think they are equally qualified as you to make ‘philosophical statements’, and all because they have the ‘necessary equipment’ to do philosophy in that they have a brain. He says something like, “as if they didn’t have the necessary equipment ...more

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May 15, 2009 Deirdre rated it really liked it

Shelves: fromlibrary, non-fiction, health

Rose Shapiro looks at Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (known as CAM throughout the book) and shines a light in some of the corners. I largely agree with her and also largely despair of people who reject science and regular medicine to delay treatment for serious issues.

Her chapter on how to spot a quack is also quite interesting and informative.

My only quibble with it is that she fails to see some of the reasons why people turn to alternative healers. She glances off it when she admits t ...more

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Jan 13, 2014 Myrnie rated it really liked it

I have been studying herbal remedies and essential oils, trying to find the science behind it. It hit home when the author said the target audience for CAM is the middle class, educated, woman or mother. Guilty on all accounts,and yes I have gravitated towards small home remedies because they work, are inexpensive, I can do them myself, and I know exactly what is in them. I like visiting my naturopath because she is more likely to talk to me than push me put the door with another prescription to ...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Alexis Hall added it

Shelves: rare-deviations-into-nonfiction

Been slightly ill for Reading Project 2015 so I bring you some further insights from H's side of the unmanageable book collection.

He says:

"I only really read half of this. It takes some disappointingly cheap shots at alternative medicine. And while it's been some time since I looked at it, I seem to recall it makes some slightly wobbly arguments that undermine its credibility. Like one of its criticisms of homeopathy is that some homeopathic remedies are recommended for contradictory symptoms bu ...more

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Feb 28, 2018 Michelle rated it liked it

Shelves: library-books

Full confession: I see an acupuncturist every month or so, and it has cured me of several chronic ailments. I used to have terrible TMJ and the consultant I saw said the only treatment he could offer me was a major operation which may or may not work, but would drastically change my features and could possibly make me worse. He gave me six months to ponder it. Ponder it I did, and during that six months I had four sessions of acupuncture and the problem disappeared. When I saw my consultant agai ...more

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Jan 29, 2015 Trista Rundatz rated it it was ok

While I agreed with some of ideas contained within this book, I felt like it was a bit sloppy and biased at times. The chapter on herbal medicine basically dismissed the whole ENTIRE field as nonsense when it is common knowledge that some remedies of this sort are very effective. And just because a remedy lacks the proper research to back up its claims does not automatically render those claims false - It just means we don't have the information as of yet. The tone of this book almost implies ot ...more

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Feb 14, 2011 Ciara rated it it was amazing

Save yourself loads of money and buy this book. It's so sad that in this day and age of scientific progress people are still taken in by sham treatments which have no scientific basis whatsoever. Understandable when people are seriously ill but all the more deplorable that people make money out of this false hope. It's scary how mainstream complementary and alternative medicine has become. Well educated women beware (as you're the main consumers of this crap for some bizarre reason). Fascinating ...more

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Mar 12, 2009 Lynn O'Neill added it

Coming from an holistic healing point of view it was interesting to read this book. I disagreed with a lot of the points made, but I believe it's a starting point for me to figure out in my own mind what I believe to be true or not.
I also believe the author is a journalist, which is hard to digest as I thought the style of writing was terrible.

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Mar 06, 2018 Mary Worley rated it liked it

Useful & caused me to do add'l research. Now I know I don't need to consult a naturopath!

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Apr 09, 2018 Dee rated it did not like it

I’m all for the thesis, but this is so dryly written I couldn’t get through it.

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Aug 08, 2017 Zac rated it really liked it

I found this really interesting, but I don't think it would convince people who already believe in alternative medicine.

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May 10, 2014 Христо Блажев rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Как алтернативната медицина ни баламосва: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/k...

Отново навлизаме в тази толкова щекотлива тема – алтернативната медицина, която обещава непреходно блаженство на приемлива цена чрез методи, идещи уж от дебрите на хилядолетията и обичайно абсолютно недоказуеми. За мнозина това е свещена тема като религията – и се сърдят, когато някой им закачи нещото, в което вярват, без значение дали е хомеопатия, цветотерапия, акупунктура и прочие. И приемам, че за тях тя може б Как алтернативната медицина ни баламосва: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/k...

Отново навлизаме в тази толкова щекотлива тема – алтернативната медицина, която обещава непреходно блаженство на приемлива цена чрез методи, идещи уж от дебрите на хилядолетията и обичайно абсолютно недоказуеми. За мнозина това е свещена тема като религията – и се сърдят, когато някой им закачи нещото, в което вярват, без значение дали е хомеопатия, цветотерапия, акупунктура и прочие. И приемам, че за тях тя може би “работи”, макар че в тази книга е доволно изследвано колко е лесно да се предизвика субективно усещане, че нещо се случва или има резултат, а реалността да е съвсем различна.

Проблемът според мен е, че дори да вярват в едно нещо, хората разпростират автоматично доверието си – “може и да работи” – върху всичко с етикет “алтернативно”, без да си дават сметка, че в сянката на някои безобидни в общи линии неща (като хомеопатията, детоксикацията, магнитните гривни) виреят безброй шарлатанщини, които откровено са опасни за здравето, но успешно избягват както регулиране, така и нуждата да доказват ползата от съществуването си. В “Псевдонауката” на Бен Голдейкър се описва примерно шарлатанинът Матиас Рат, който “лекува” СПИН с витамини и с мощна реклама в Южна Африка си осигурява баснословни печалби – това не е безобидно. Затова и вярвам, че още такива книги са нужни да излизат в България – моя селекция е и настоящата – “Как алтернативната медицина ни баламосва” на Роуз Шапиро. И се надявам, дори да видите неща, в които вярвате, да не се отказвате да погледнете голямата картинка – защото това е многомилиарден бизнес, който паразитира върху уязвими хора. И ако считате фармацевтичните компании за зло (за което има някакви основания, вижте “Капаните на фармацевтиката”), то тези не са добрите хора, които ще ви спасят от тях – напротив, ще ви вземат парите и няма да получите нищичко насреща, а често може и да ви възпрат да потърсите адекватна помощ.

Издателство "Изток-Запад"
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/k... ...more

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Oct 13, 2015 Петър Стойков rated it liked it · review of another edition

Как се нарича алтернативната медицина, за която е доказано, че действа?
Медицина.

Така си е - методите от традиционната медицина, които хората са видели, че наистина работят, дават началото на това, което днес наричаме модерна медицина. С проби и грешки (о, колко грешки) медицината бавно изпълзява от средновековието и изоставя практиките на шамани и баячки, преминава през опитите на бръснари и ковачи във ваденето на зъби и ампутациите с трион и катран и днес продължава (пак бавно) да се отърсва от ...more

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Jul 21, 2010 Ian Fiddes rated it it was amazing

Shelves: general-non-fiction, recommended-reads, 10-out-of-10-brilliant

10/10. The majority of CAM treatments have one thing in common. They do not show efficacy in controlled scientific tests. There is a major comparison to be made with religion here. Blind faith is the order of the day. Some treatments e.g. homeopathy are said to work by means which are completely implausible by any known scientific rationale. This book is well set out and cogently argued. Criticisms I have heard from CAM proponents are no better than anecdotal. Scientific evidence of efficacy is ...more

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Apr 22, 2014 Helen Bowes rated it it was amazing

This book is much like "Trick or Treatment" and the author of that book is mentioned quite frequently. She is quite outspoken against "altmed" and has some very good arguments. If only the medical profession had more time to spend with each patient as opposed to production line appointments and if alternative medicine was subject to evidence based science then there might be a happy medium and fewer snake oil salesmen. Both books do agree about the power of the placebo effect and the quandary of ...more

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Aug 23, 2013 Ian rated it it was amazing

This book was a total eye-opener. It did made me feel like a sucker (the one being fooled of course) to be honest. An in-depth account on how convincing alternative medicine can be with its quackery methods, it also highlights origins of various forms of alt med including but not limited to chiropractic, osteopathy, etc, some of which have ulterior motives.

I believe the author's message in this book is to challenge all forms of medicine, may it be conventional or alt med. in terms of its effect ...more

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May 27, 2015 Sandra rated it really liked it

Shelves: social-history

An excellent review of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Going through the history and current state of the most popular forms of CAM and leaving no doubt about how foolish and dangerous they are. It was written by a British citizen, so it provides a cautionary tail as to the cost to tax payers of these unfounded, unscientific practices and how they had become part of their national health system. I highly recommend this book to all who are considering using CAM.

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Oct 04, 2011 Cath Murphy rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, science

Another book to add to the list of those which explain why homeopathy, acupuncture, herbalism and all the other alternative therapies we're so fond of at this point in history don't work, can't work and will never work. My only complaint is the title, which characterises those who are taken in as stupid, when in fact superstitious thinking is something we all do, however smart we like to think we are.

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Dec 31, 2013 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

eye opening, mainly as I had never investigated many of these alternative therapies, so thought they were more scientific than they really are. for example, I thought chiropractic was just to fix your back, so thought it was ok. turns out it's supposed to cure everything, which is bs. good information to know, and not as vitriolic in the writing style as some other books in the genre.

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Apr 03, 2014 David F. rated it liked it

A good book on the quackery that masquerades as non-traditional medicine. A bit too harsh in its judgement of all wellness programs based on the many bad apples that have borrowed that name without any grasp of what it really meant when introduced by Halbert Dunn, a genuine scientitst.

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Apr 08, 2010 AJ rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, 2013, do-not-own, medical

An overall good book, but I would have hoped that the author could have figured out that the name of the US FDA is actually Food and Drug (singular) Administration, and not Food and Drugs Administration. (Just as we don't say maths in the US!!!!)

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Jun 09, 2008 Tracey marked it as to-read

Shelves: recommended

NOT AT LIB 6/08 - IU Library Blmgtn - Life Sciences Library (B-LIFESCI) R730 .S53 2008 - ON ORDER
Lena Phoenix gave 5 stars

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Sep 28, 2010 Irwin marked it as to-read

I will read this book. I know this book is crab before I even read it. Lets see if I am wrong.I am trained in mainstream medicine.

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Feb 20, 2010 Kristjan Wager rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: skepticism

Good overview on the problems with alternative medicine, though seen through an UK perspective.

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Aug 16, 2012 Jan Ryšavý rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Worse then both Trick or Treatment and Bad Science. Despite being sometimes boring, it's still a very good book full of how-alternative-medicine-makes-fools-of-us-all stuff.

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