Medical Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths: What We Think We Know May Be Hurting Us

By: Steven Novella, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Steven Novella

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

True or false: Eight glasses of water a day are mandatory for staying hydrated. Vitamin C protects you from catching a cold. Natural foods are always better for you.

What do these nuggets of so-called medical wisdom have in common? They're not true. They're myths, half-truths, and misconceptions - pieces of information so familiar we take them for granted without truly considering the scientific truth behind them.

In today's information age, such medical myths are all around us. And using them to make decisions about your own health can be harmful. Even deadly. That's why it's critical to understand the accuracy of medical information and discover the truth about everyday health and well-being.

That's the core of this important series of 24 eye-opening lectures from an acclaimed neurologist, educator, and science broadcaster. Dr. Novella will give you evidence-based guidelines for good health, enhance your ability to be better informed about common medical myths, and strengthen your skills at assessing medical information and advice.

An essential aid for any home, the lecture series is divided into three sections that focus on specific aspects of health. "You Are What You Eat and Drink": Get pointed looks at proper hydration, the routine use of multivitamins, natural foods and probiotics, antioxidants, and more. "Fighting Diseases": Sort out truth from fiction regarding vaccines, the supposed link between vaccination and autism, chronic diseases, and other subjects. "Exploring the Alternatives": Investigate the claims behind herbal medicines, homeopathy, acupuncture, and other alternatives that aren't as worthwhile as they claim to be.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2010 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2010 The Great Courses

Augment from Authority he claims the hate then use

Prof. Novella - is a good speaker and I believed that by the course he really want to clear our a number of myths and lies that cause people to spend money without getting anything of value for treating their medical needs. The problem with the whole thing is that while he make it clear in the introduction that any authority can get it wrong and there for you should look many sources and go with the majority view of experts - the course it self is a little thin on actually citing where he is getting his views. Thus in effect he has argued not to do what he then asks you to believe - him- which is a bit of logical problem.

I can not speak for the validity of the information in the course. I have no medical training. I enjoyed a few of the lectures where he actually taken about the why and methods of the treatments and disease.

In short: go to a train medical doctor - if what you want is complex or you don't feel comfortable talk to two medical doctors. Guidelines are "guides" - you may need more or less - let your body be somewhat of a guide. And skip on fads or alternate medic - unless you need stress relief in which case it might help a bit.

excellent

loved it the professor was so knowledgeable and had a awesome voice. I enjoyed it and have found it my favorite of all courses.

Great Listen for Anyone!

Would you listen to Medical Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths: What We Think We Know May Be Hurting Us again? Why?

Yes. Because I do not necessarily catch every detail in real time. Often I fall a bit behind because the preceding point still has my attention. Some points I wish to commit to memory. The lectures by Dr Steven Novella are AMAZING. Exciting, informative, fun.... He is a great teacher with a fluent vocabulary. I want to remember to again use some of those words. And I want to have my myths clear! Sure I will be arguing regarding some of them that are so entrenched.

Have you listened to any of Professor Steven Novella’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes and this one was very worthwhile yet lighter. No regrets!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and repeated many "lectures/chapters".

Any additional comments?

Audible!! Obtain content rights for more books featuring lectures on any topic by this man!!! Amazing .... This one the lighter & easier to review of the two I have. NO ONE should be intimidated to go with this book of lectures. No dense scientific or biological knowledge is required to take away an excellent experience with information we all can use!

Very well done and extremely informative

Any additional comments?

Professor Steven Novella presents an entertaining and informative talk about our health. It is broken up into short chapters. Professor Steven Novella is a great speaker and has a good sense of humor. His medical knowledge and confident speaking style makes this an excellent audio book.

A Bit Out-Dated

The lectures were interesting contained little information new to me, but the subjects were explained clearly and put into context. The main issue I have with this series is that it was produced in 2010, nine years ago. For some of the material that didn't matter, but much has been learned in developing area of science and medicine. That fact had to be considered while listening to these lectures.

However, I found the information valuable and well-presented, as are most of the offerings from Great Courses.

Informative until about the halfway point

I enjoy this lecturer and his podcasts (Skeptics Guide); however, this course lost its allure about halfway through. I felt as though there could have been more content than was given and less time focused on things that are more commonly known as "half-truths". I ended up tuning out near the end.

Great for those of us with really short attention span's

Very interesting! I drive two hours a day in the car and this took up that time and made it flyby! Really interesting and well performed. He is an excellent lecture rest and explained words that those of us in the medical field did not know and will never know. I highly recommend this for everyone, no matter what your type of fiction preference is.

Excellent course

I throughly enjoyed these lectures. They are informative, delving into the history and the science and /or the lack thereof.

Shot alternative medicine full holes.

I have tried many things using alternative medicine in the past namely red yeast rice and some vitamins to lower cholesterol for my high LDL. Then I had a heart attack that almost killed me, and I found none of the natural things worked. I appreciated the thoroughness of Dr. Novella debunking many of the homeopaths and natural medicine folks out there. I have also suffered from cancer and have learned that those who try to go natural are dead. like my nurse said everybody goes natural with treatment till they get to chemo. I would warn everyone doing the natural thing to use caution, it could kill you

I enjoyed this very much as with all great courses they mostly do a great job.

I found the chapters very informative as they shot down many of the false theories I have heard about from family members.

I wish there was more about chiropractic medicine and its value.

I would recommend this to anyone who has an open mind about alternatives medicine. but I find most of this lot to be closed minded and insistent that snake oil works.

Narration was great

It just starts with myths.

What made the experience of listening to Medical Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths: What We Think We Know May Be Hurting Us the most enjoyable?

Even though I keep up with health and science news, I had some false information. The dispelation of myth is just the start of the real subject of this course. To start, the information is understandable to a layperson. In addition, it was released this year, 2013 and the information is up to date. The information is biased, but only toward fact. Science based medicine is the subject here. What is known, what is not known, what works, what doesn't, and what will harm you. In the process of describing a myth (and most he gives the history of as well), he must tell you how a biological process actually works. This bolsters the the understanding of your own biology and health, and is quite educational. As I said, I keep up with science, so most myths were obvious to me, but not the biology I learned while listening. The timing of this course is perfect. There are ill people spending money, time and hope on snake oil, others buying products they don't need for health problems they don't have, or don't even exist. Harm is coming to people from mis-information. The vaccination non-controversy is covered here as well, thankfully another platform for reliable factual information. I learned much that will effect my diet henceforth. It was solidified for me that supplements are unnecessary with a healthy diet, sans a specific deficiency which should make itself readily apparent. I decided to stop using medical marijuana because his explanation of the difficulty with dosing in addition to isolation of the active ingredient(s). During the lecture on problems with supplements, I realized why my results are so varied and unreliable. And, smoking a drug is the worst way to administer it. In my case the benefit doesn't justify not only it's risks, but obvious harm. It was costing me $300 /mo. Thanks Steve!

What other book might you compare Medical Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths: What We Think We Know May Be Hurting Us to and why?

The "Skeptoid" podcast books by Brian Dunning, because they dispel myths as well, just from more varied subjects.

What does Professor Steven Novella bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Obviously he delivers his material with the emphasis he intend when he wrote it. Subtle maybe, but I also listen to his podcast, so hearing him deliver the lectures was a treat.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not at all. There is much information here. In fact, I'll most likely listen again in a month or so.