Or do you have any?
I think it is pretty interesting although the homeopaths seem rather wacky (just an opinion).
I don’t know enough about it to give an educated opinion, but I’m sure some of it is actually effective.
Yes, homeopathy is wacky, it is/was better than some harmful medicine though, since it doesn’t hurt you. But, yeah, you’d be better off not going to a homeopath. There’s lots of wack in the “natural health” movement, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of their remedies were beneficial.
I know the tale all too well.
Man has condition; man sees AM quack; man’s condition worsens; man is sent to doctor be it by appointment or emergency; the cycle repeats.
Alternative medicine is critical the functioning of the health care market place. It provides necessary competition for traditional medicine providers and provides the medical care consuming community with more choices and ergo better off.
Think how much better the lives of people dying from digestive diseases could be if cannibus (An herb used by the ancient Aztecs to combat a host of illnesses and AN ALTERNATIVE THERAPY to narcotics) was decriminalized? But traditional medicine (Read Big Pharma) sez NO.
I treat my minor joint pain with concentrated tart cherry juice which is a natural analgesic and alternative medicine.
Well.. doctors legally aren’t allowed to suggest natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals. Example: A friend had gastro-intestinal problems and the doctor prescribed some drug my friend didn’t want to take. My friend asked for a natural alternative, and all she has to do is take a teaspoon full of cod oil in the morning and its peachy.
Idk if you call this alternative medicine.
The one thing that makes me uncomfortable about our mainstream medicine is this lack of institutional candor. Plus the fact that the FDA=big pharma.
On the other hand obviously AM does have its quacks but if I had something terminal I would probably rather take my chances with the AMs, after some research on who has the best reputation.
In connection w/this thread I did find out that snake-oil was pretty effective back in the 19th century. Apparently the bad stuff was due to it being made out of north american snakes instead of asian ones. I also found out that american snake oil was patent protected -could be a reason why it worked so badly idk. Not to mention that but I’m not sure if the federal gov. recognized useless products to be fraudulent so there was no regulation there -thanks gov. I’m sure there were probably ways that free people compensated for this though but again…just hypothetical.
The very fact that we have a term “alternative medicine” should clue you in to the situation.
Alternative medicine is basically defined as anything other than what is taught in schools that given M.D. designation. A few facts have to be stated from the outset. Firstly, pharmaceuticals became a central part of the education when the pharma industry began sponsoring it. Secondly, everything that is published about alternative medicine is medical union propaganda. Thirdly, most experiments with alternative medicine have been conducted by M.D.'s using tests based on the placebo effect hypothesis. Finally, the placebo effect was never remotely proven.
With that said, chiropractic is more useful for some things. I’m not convinced that homeopathy works.
I recommend Jon Barron’s wesbite for an overview of “mainstream” alternative medicine. Although he goes all new agey on a few small issues, the rest he defends quite well.
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Welcome to the forum, James.
The Mrs. & I have had a remarkable experience with alternative medicine over the last year. I truely believe our physician rescued us both from a dire future. She (the Dr.) was trained by both AMA and non-AMA sanctioned institutions - 3 doctorites and 2 specialties.
Her method for us included:
Biological terrain
Type II food allergies
Adrenal/cortisol cycle
Bioidentical hormones
Thyroid therapy
Cholesterol and C-Reactive protein moderation
Stress management
Liver detox
Yeast detox (candida albicans)
The results have been almost miraculous.
After almost 30 years of being abused by the medical monopoly, we have finally found life-changing relief from what has been ailing us. I am very thankful and willing to share the ideas we have learned along the way.
Alternative medicine fits right in with libertarian principles that expose the failures of government-granted monopoly and priviledge and the success of free information and association.
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If the medical industry were actually a free market rather than heavily regulated by the state, then I believe some alternative medicine solutions could be viewed as superior to main stream treatment.
That said, consumers would probably demand more scientific proof that any medical treatment is safe and effective. A lot of treatments, both mainstream and alternative, might have a difficult time holding up to this scrutiny.
The FDA does not protect people from bad medical treatments. The FDA provides the framework for monopolies within the medical industry. An alternative solution may in fact be the most effective and the safest, but the developer of the solution may not be able or willing to afford the entry costs the government has established.
At the same time, the FDA restricts any claims of a product from being able to “cure” something unless it goes through it’s expensive process. This means there’s a market of alternative products where good products are mixed in with a lot of bad products. The consumer is left guessing which products or treatments are beneficial and which are not. There are organizations that attempt to provide some standards, but if a product claims it’s a cure for something, the FDA shuts them down.