Why Double-Blind Studies?
For most types of products, only a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study can properly answer the question: “Is the product effective or not?” To explain this, we will work backwards and illustrate the problem that could occur if we attempt to answer this question in any other way. Common sense tells us that we can determine if a product works by simply trying it. Does it help me? Does it help my friends? If so, it’s effective. If not, it doesn’t work. Right? Unfortunately, no, that’s not right. Medical conditions are an area of life in which direct, common sense observations aren’t reliable at all. The insights brought to us by double-blind studies has been invaluable. It’s the only form of unbiased valuation we have. The understanding that products must be grounded in double-blind studies is called the “evidence-based” movement and it is the same movement that must become the norm in alternative medicine. According to the evidence-based approach, if a product has not been
