What makes you think alternative medicine is effective?
Indeed, western medicine can be risky. But alternative medicines are not usually backed by any kind of science. Which is not to say that science does not study nature and plants in relation to human health. Aspirin was discovered in the bark of a type of tree.
But with such concrete science backing western medicine and next to no science behind alternative medicine, why should I believe it’s effective?
there is science to some alternative medicine and many are attempts at extracting the ingredients yourself, which is silly if you can buy better stuff for your needs but is a tradition that should be remembered like moon shining and home brew. .
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August 29th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
there is science to some alternative medicine and many are attempts at extracting the ingredients yourself, which is silly if you can buy better stuff for your needs but is a tradition that should be remembered like moon shining and home brew. .
References :
August 29th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
I have battled nerve damage from an accident for the past three years. Conventional medicine had so many side effects, it made me miserable. The actual studies have shown that western medicine has serious limitations to easing nerve damage.
Since I found a good accupunturist, who is also an RN, I have finally found some relief.
Like western medicine, not every doctor or accupuncturist is the same. Care and medicines are subjective. I have felt like a guiniea pig for these meds for three years. I’d rather have the pain and keep my faculties.
Alternative medicine is just as effective as the research you put into it. That is the same with western medicine. In this day of specialists that only want to cope with their specific area, you almost have to self diagnose to get to the right type of Doctor. How is this more scientific.
I have come to the conclusion that the scientific part, is an illusion.
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August 29th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
I used to be a 100% sceptic, having been brought up on conventional western medicine. Then, I decided to give some forms of alternative medicine a try. To my amazement, they really worked. I still hang on to believing parts of western medicine but no longer pooh pooh at alternative medicine.
Whether it is backed by statistics or not, what matters is that it works for you. Alternative medicine do have a science behind it but it is just that some times, wellness or wellbeing is hard to measure in quantitative terms.
You won’t know unless you try them yourself. Some are of course more "believable" than others. You still need to apply some logic to the theory behind them.
References :
http://www.healthandwellnesscentral.com/Category/Alternative-Therapy-CAM/75
August 29th, 2010 at 11:51 pm
What makes me KNOW it is effective is my understanding of the self healing abilities of the human body. I look upon alternative medicine as natural means to help my body heal itself. Western medicine largely deals with symptom control otherwise known as alleviating the symptom but not addressing the cause. Concrete science takes allot of money to research and prove the efficacy. How can this be done with natural herbs or medicines that cannot be patented. Who will pay for these "scientific " studies. Kevin Trudeau has an interesting book out that deals with this topic. it is one of the many I have read regarding this issue and I recommend it.
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August 30th, 2010 at 12:33 am
Hello,
First, I would suggest you change your thinking pattern. ALL treatments, whether or not they involve drugs, supplements, herbs, exercise, medidation, crystals, homeopathic, or "typical Western medicine" are ALL "alternative". In the Mid and Far East and in Africa, "Western medicine would be considered to be "alternative". What determines your definition of "standard" and "alternative" depends on your point of origin and comparison.
Even within the field of "typical Western medicine", literally hundreds to thousands of alternatives exist. Most medications known to Western medicine are actually naturally occurring products from bacteria, fungi, plants, roots, flowers, leaves, animals, etc. Many "folk" remedies are the source of now standard and commonly used prescription drugs. For example, people who suffered from high blood pressure were told to chew on a bay leaf. Well, there is a natural substance in bay that is now marketed as a prescription anti-hypertensive drug. Also, the commonly used heart medicine Digoxin (used to treat irregular heart beat) is derived from a common "weed" known as foxglove. Famously, Penicillin, one of the wonder drugs in the entire history of medicine is derived from simple bread mold. As another person wrote you, Aspirin is derived from the bark of a particular tree. Curare, used to cause muscle paralysis during surgery, is a naturally occurring substance, as is Warfarin, used to prevent blood clotting.
The point of this "lecture" is that what we in the U.S.A. consider to be "standard" medicines are rarely manufactured from nothing inside some sterile "mad scientist" laboratory. Most are based on naturally occurring substances found in the soil or from other living creatures. Chamomile tea has, for centuries, been known to help calm an excited person. Chamomile contains a natural "tranquilizer". St. John’s Wort contains a substance which increases the blood and brain level of serotonin, as do many newer anti-depressants such as Prozac and its cousins. Turkey makes us sleepy because it contains a high level of one amino acid, tryptophan (which was marketed for a few years as a prescription sleeping aid).
What Westerners typically consider "alternative" treatments, beyond herbal preparations, include things such as acupuncture, acupressure, massage, aromatherapy, meditation, chanting, prayer, religious ritual, exorcism, visualization, guided sensory imaging, sensory deprivation, achieving "higher" levels of consciousness, use of crystals and healing stones, etc. Do these work? Yes, for a great many people, all across the world. If they didn’t provide some benefit, why would they have lasted thousands of years? How and why do they work? There are as many theories as there are alternative methods of treatment. Any method of increasing concentration and focus force our brains and bodies to make a choice. You cannot be both physically and mentally calm and nervously anxious and upset at the same time; it’s simply not possible. So, meditation, chanting, seeking "oneness" or enlightenment, prayer, ritual, etc., all put us in that "choice" mode. We cannot be focused and concentrate on peace, tranquility and reaching a "higher plane" and at the same time focus on our pain or misery, so we feel better. And, the more we practice these things, the better tools they become. As we become more calm and peaceful, our bodies and minds relax, which allows our own internal healing mechanisms to work more effectively, and have been shown to improve the overall functioning of the immune system.
So, can we "think" our way to feeling better? Of course we can, since we can also "think" our way to feeling ill. Many people experience nausea, fluttery stomach, queasy feelings before a test, having to perform, or before doing something new to us. Yet, once we are into the test, performance, etc., our "bad" feelings and symptoms go away. Was there anything really "wrong" with us before the test? Yes, we were anxious and stressed. So why do we feel better when we dive in? Because we’ve made the choice, and now there’s no further need for the "defensive" device to "protect" us and it goes away. So, if we can literally make ourselves sick before something as simple as a school quiz or test because of the way we think, it makes perfect sense that changing our thinking pattern can make us feel better and not become "ill". Whatever tool or method you use to achieve this, whether "standard" or "alternative" is probably of little importance. It is the choice to use "something" that permits us to feel better. How many times has your head stopped hurting immediately after taking a couple Tylenol? The medicine can’t possibly have even gotten into your bloodstream, so why does the headache go away? Because we "know" we’ve done "something" that will give us relief, and don’t need the warning symptom of pain that led us to take the tablets in the first place, so it stops. So, did we really need the Tylenol? My response would be, "Does it really matter? It worked, didn’t it?". Could you have gotten the same result from prayer, herbal tea, or meditation? Certainly. So, which is the "standard" and which is the "alternative"?
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I’m a psychiatrist with over 20 years of clinical experience.
August 30th, 2010 at 1:19 am
Hey Guys, Andromeda has it totally bagged, in a nutshell so to speak………….. I am absolutely astounded at his clarity and ability to so succinctly get his message across………. I mean to say, even the most dim witted of us should need no further encouragement to ditch the chemically obsessed, symptom eliminators of today?????
…………. :0)
PEACE
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August 30th, 2010 at 1:36 am
Because alternative medicine has helped me out of several different binds. Three incidents immediately leap to mind.
1980; I was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy, and given 6 months to live.
1996 I fell breaking two bones in my right foot and just about grinding my ankle into hamburger. Dr. Ahern suggested amputating the foot above the ankle, I still have my right foot and it is as strong as it ever was.
1998 a tumor on my pituitary gland caused my pituitary gland to completelt shut down, and the doctor put me on life sustaining drugs, and told me that I would have to take those meds for the rest of my life. I placed an amethyst under my pillow and carried an amethyst in my pocket, Four years later I was able to take myself off those medications with their caustic side effects I did this very gradually; but it did happen.
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August 30th, 2010 at 2:18 am
Alternative medicine works for me. I take 900 milligrams of St. John’s Wort every day, and it really does help to prevent stress. Some people take it for depression. Who knows? It might work for depression too. Doctors don’t seem to have a pill that prevents depression 100 percent of the time. So, St. John’s Wort might help people with depression. I like St. John’s Wort because it doesn’t have any side effects. Almost all prescription drugs have side effects.
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