A review of 154 studies showed that medical treatments are not evidence-based. Here's how to help clients move from the illusion of making evidence-based decisions to actually doing so.
A series on tools, resources, and support for health and wellness providers to practically rebuild or refine how they serve.
Contents
Evidence-Based Decision-Making: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Streetwise Sourcing Criteria
Considerations for Evaluating Research
How Providers Serve: A Series
Boost Your Impact — Premium Resources Just a Click Away from $19
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Evidence-Based Decision-Making: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The idea of evidence-based medicine is a no-brainer.
But the reality is that while Allopathic Medicine claims to be evidence-based, it has been corrupted and, therefore, the bulk of its standard of care is not backed by reproducible science.
A review of 154 studies showed that medical treatments are not evidence-based.
When you visit your doctor, you might assume that the treatment they prescribe has solid evidence to back it up. But you’d be wrong. Only one in ten medical treatments are supported by high-quality evidence, our latest research shows. The analysis, which is published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, included 154 Cochrane systematic reviews published between 2015 and 2019.
Only 13% of common medical treatments were proven as beneficial with 23% “likely beneficial”.
In 2011 the British Medical Journal performed a general analysis of some 2,500 common medical treatments. The goal was to determine which ones are supported by sufficient reliable evidence. The results: 13 percent were found to be beneficial, 23 percent were likely to be beneficial, 8 percent were as likely to be harmful as beneficial, 6 percent were unlikely to be beneficial, 4 percent were likely to be harmful or ineffective.”
Acupuncture is a well-researched, effective therapy for chronic pain. It has positive side effects rather than negative ones (unlike pharmaceuticals).
Acupuncture has been widely studied for its potential against chronic pain. In one of the largest studies to date on the relationship, a meta-analysis involving almost 18,000 patients found that acupuncture can effectively treat chronic pain, serving as “more than a placebo.” However, the scientific literature shows that stimulating certain points on the body… may go well beyond alleviating pain. Here are seven reasons to try acupuncture for better health today.
And yet, 90% of patients who overdosed on opioids were prescribed these addictive drugs again after overdosing.
A group of researchers at Boston Medical Center recently looked at nearly 3,000 patients who had survived an opioid-related overdose between 2000 and 2012. According to their recently published study, over 90% of these patients continued to receive opioid medications from doctors — even after their overdose.
Research reflecting honest inquiry is often underfunded, overlooked, or suppressed while research that has been manipulated to meet business objectives is given equal or greater attention.
Thus, real evidence-based decision-making requires us to recognize inaccurate and misleading claims, expose fraudulent research, and identify trustworthy evidence.
When a person first learns of manipulated research, he can be dismayed by the prospect of having to methodically identify reliable evidence, likely presuming that it will be a daunting task. But there’s good news: it isn’t actually as hard as it seems. Awareness is more than half the battle.
Once you’ve studied a few cases of manipulated research and have come to understand how and why it occurred, it becomes much easier to:
Spot questionable research.
Spot honest research.
Have a reliable process for making wise, evidence-based decisions.
Streetwise Sourcing Criteria
If you found yourself on a city alley at night, approached by a stranger who came to offer you a good deal on — well, on basically anything — you’d automatically distrust the situation. No matter their appearance, their clothing, the product, or the sales pitch, the fact that they showed up here in the alley to sell you a product makes any transaction questionable.
In the same vein, any research being conducted on the effectiveness of a product for sale — especially big business products, such as pharmaceuticals — is immediately suspect. This was obvious to our predecessors who appointed regulatory bodies such as the FDA and CDC to overcome the obvious bias inherent in research associated with organizations who benefit from a particular outcome. But as it turns out, those agencies and professional bodies have become verifiably corrupted as well.
So it’s up to us to take complete responsibility for the information we use to make health and wellness decisions.
It can make a big difference to simply take a moment to acknowledge and refine the criteria we use when sourcing research.
Considerations for Evaluating Research
Here are some considerations that are not hard but can make all the difference:
Acknowledge corruption of previously reliable sources. — Seeking reliable research requires identifying studies designed and authored by experts who are skilled in turning honest inquiry into reproducible science. In the past, qualified “experts” were found in revered academic institutions, at peer-reviewed journals, in government institutions, and in business. At one time, this ensured reliable sourcing. But now, these sources are just as likely to churn out propaganda and suppress findings that threaten a source of funding as to produce quality, neutral research. Once you see for yourself that this is true, it’s much easier to find honest research.
Get a sense for the powerful research that’s available. — Many independent researchers exhibit integrity in their work. If you peruse research curations as we’ve provided here and here and here, you’ll quickly see the incredible benefit of becoming more aware of all the powerful research that’s actually available. That’s when it becomes clear that we were being fed only an artificially narrow slice of all research, and now our world can greatly expand.
Avoid making decisions based on one study; instead, look at the wider context. — The vast majority of corrupted research is quickly identifiable with the simple technique of reviewing related research and information. If plenty of other research appears to invalidate it, that’s a sign to look more closely. A 2025 study claiming “plant-based oils” are superior to butter is a perfect example. One look at the context makes it clear that this doesn’t make sense. Despite extensive propaganda, replacing natural fats with manufactured “vegetable oils” has never been proven to lower the risk of heart disease or death. In fact, extensive research has showed the opposite: seed oils cause chronic inflammation, diabetes, fatty liver, harm to the brain and hypothalamus, dysregulated immunity, allergies, blood clots, autoimmune reactions, increased fat, obesity, depression, cardiovascular disorders, skin diseases, and oxidative stress. So the 2025 study is immediately suspect. A doctor who investigated and reported here elucidates the primary research flaw that obviously invalidates the findings: researchers did not distinguish olive oil from seed oils. This is nonsensical. Those are completely different oils with opposing effects, and therefore need to be compared, not merged where the effects are confounded.
In cases where you might need to dig deeper, here are additional considerations:
Consider how to evaluate integrity. — Revealing corruption is not intended to imply that we should reject data and research, which are key forms of evidence, but rather that we must actively validate the integrity of research we consult. There are many strategies that can be quite effective in helping to do that. When evaluating research, key considerations are context, intention/agenda, funding and associated organizations, and the implications for business outcomes.
Investigate the source’s motive and agenda. Follow the money. — It’s now more widely understood that corruption can often be identified through a bit of sleuthing to identify where the money behind the research comes from. While this can never be a thoroughly reliable way to evaluate research, it’s a valid consideration that can suggest a need for closer inspection. Integrity is more likely when a source offers transparency (not hidden agendas) and accessibility to the data (not persuasion or propaganda).
Look at the methods and assumptions. — Research comes in many forms, such as reviewing existing research papers, investigating past medical records, or conducting a trial comparing an intervention to placebo. Some research is designed to be exploratory—to learn something about the factors involved in the subject at hand. Some research endeavors to determine statistical prevalence. Sample size can vary from a case report of one to a study of hundreds or a review of tens of thousands of records. Just as important as those factors are the assumptions built into the research design. The importance of clarifying assumptions cannot be overstated.
Learn how to spot deception in numbers. — Be informed about how numbers can be manipulated and be prepared to spot deception. “Statistics, because they are numbers, appear to us to be cold, hard facts... But it’s important to remember that people gather statistics. People choose what to count, how to go about counting, which of the resulting numbers they will share, and which words they will use to describe and interpret those numbers. Statistics are not facts. They are interpretations.” See also: Evaluating Numbers and Statistics
How Providers Serve: A Series
A series on tools, resources, and support for health and wellness providers to practically rebuild or refine how they serve.
Providers Face a Changed Wellness Landscape — We’re in the midst of a metaphorical storm. Shall we pause for a moment to assess and consider how we’re moving forward, individually and together?
Symptoms, Conditions, Root Causes — Use these teachings to help clients and students frame their situation by differentiating symptoms and diagnoses, underlying conditions, and root causes.
Evidence-Based Decision-Making (you’re here) — Help clients move from the illusion of making evidence-based decisions to actually doing so.
Using Context to Individualize Wellness Strategies — A decision can be helpful in one situation and not in another. Providers need concrete ways to evaluate context with authentic and practical tools that hold up under real world conditions.
Foundational Considerations, Universal Truths — A springboard for client discussions or workshops on health and wellness: universal truths. These significant and practical teachings create a strong foundation from which to build.
Incontrovertible Facts about Germs & Immunity — You know this, but many clients need to see the evidence for themselves. AMA research published in 1919 proves without a doubt that germs don’t cause disease. How immunity works and why we must dismantle false beliefs to inspire people to identify the real causes of illness.
Chronic Inflammation — Teach about chronic inflammation. It’s rampant and causes an extravagant number of symptoms & chronic diseases. Get comprehensive summaries of 100% evidence-based root causes & reversal therapies.
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