1 in 10 of studies in JAMA, Lancet, and NEJM reversed medical thinking

10 Medical Myths We Should Stop Believing. Doctors, Too New York Times

• “Of more than 3,000 studies published from 2003 through 2017 in JAMA and the Lancet, and from 2011 through 2017 in the New England Journal of Medicine, more than one of 10 amounted a “medical reversal”: a conclusion opposite of what had been conventional wisdom among doctors” June 2019)

  Researchers identified nearly 400 common medical practices and theories that were contradicted by rigorous studies. Here are some of the most notable.

  All of the following were found to be true

• Peanut allergies occur whether or not a child is exposed to peanuts before age 3.

• Fish oil does not reduce the risk of heart disease.

  • Wrong – see VitaminDWiki Omega-3 Cardiovascular meta-analysis has at least 5 major problems – Jan 2018

• A lifelike doll carried around by teenage girls will not deter pregnancies

• Ginkgo biloba does not protect against memory loss and dementia

• To treat emergency room patients in acute pain,

  • a single dose of oral opioids is no better than drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen

• Testosterone treatment does not help older men retain their memory

• To protect against asthma attacks, it won’t help to keep your house free of dust mites, mice and cockroaches

  • But Vitamin D does help

• Step counters and calorie trackers do not help you lose weight

  • They actually result in a weight gain

• Torn knee meniscus? Try physical therapy first, surgery later.

  • Note: 460,000 patients in the US get surgery each year to fix knee cartilage

  • .. when patients with a torn meniscus and moderate arthritis were randomized to six months of physical therapy or surgery, both groups improved, and to the same extent

• If a pregnant woman’s water breaks prematurely, the baby does not have to be delivered immediately

  📄 Download the study PDF from VitaminDWiki

A portion of the chart in the publication

See also Myths in VitaminDWiki

• Vitamin D Myths - SUN

• Vitamin D Myths - DOSE

• Vitamin D Myths - OTHER

• Vitamin D - Facts and Myths 67 from 2014

• Kidney stones myth from medical book on vitamin D - 2010

• Low salt often causes WORSE health

• Reduced cholesterol is associated with WORSE health

  • Reducing fat content in milk cut the Vitamin D bio-availability in half

  • Reduced fat consumption reduced the Vitamin D precusor in the skin, so less Vitamin D from the sun

• Calcium supplements often cause WORSE health

• ((Daily aspirin reduced chance of heart problems by 0.4 percent (but 50X more reduction if Vitamin D) – Meta-analysis Jan 2019|Baby aspirin reduces heart problems by only 0.4 percent (Vitamin D is 50X better))

  • Baby aspirin DOUBLES risk of AMD