My philosophy on health is to start with the least invasive procedure for a particular condition, then to proceed to more drastic treatments. This makes sense right? Start with procedures that do the least damage to surrounding tissues, first. Unfortunately this is not the philosophy of most people today. Doctors will start with drugs that have numerous side affects without even considering natural or herbal remedies. Patients are just as guilty. They often seek drugs and surgery first and try natural remedies as a last ditch effort. People seem to want to do the most drastic and heroic method first. If the drastic method works, the doctors looks like a hero. The natural method would have worked just as well (often times better), but as you can see, that route was never given a chance. Confucius once said, "Never use a cannon to kill a fly".
It is a common belief that because something is natural or comes from a plant, that it doesn’t work as well as a manufactured drug. This is not true on so many levels. First of all, many natural treatments ARE supported by recent research studies. One example is the use of ginger for osteoarthritis treatment (1). Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn defeated heart disease in one of his studies (2). Not only did the test subjects defeat heart disease, they reversed their already advances stages of arterial compromise. This is more than can be said for coronary transplants, bypass surgeries, vasodialtors, ect. However, these do save lives if the patient is in the middle of a heart attack.
Also remember, most drugs start as a plant. Advil is made from white willow bark. Here is some information on willow bark taken from the University of Maryland Medical Center (3):
"Medicinal Uses and Indications:
Willow bark is used to ease pain and reduce inflammation. Researchers believe that the chemical salicin, found in willow bark, is responsible for these effects. However, studies have identified several other components of willow bark that have antioxidant, fever reducing, antiseptic, and immune boosting properties. Some studies show willow is as effective as aspirin for reducing pain and inflammation (but not fever), and at a much lower dose."
Why would we take advil if willow bark works better? Both Advil and Willow bark have been shown to aggravate stomach conditions. Plants and herbs, such as willow bark, have thousands of active compounds that cure, heal and promote health. Ginger referenced above also helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Taking natural things often helps alleviate other conditions, where as pharmaceutical drugs often CAUSE other issues. I'm not saying that all pharmaceutical drugs are evil. There are some cases where they are necessary and life saving! I am saying they are overused and often prescribed without giving patients proper informed consent on other available treatments.
Another mistake commonly made is we try to look at these natural healing agents one chemical at a time. What I mean is, we look at how vitamin E helps neurological disorder or vitamin D helps heart disease and depression. I often tell patients to eat a fruit or vegetable that has a lot of one vitamin or mineral in it (4). I know that the thousands of other bioavailable compounds in the plant that will help the patient too. There are thousands of biochemical processes going on in your body right now. It is completely out of context to pick one and focus on curing that one thing. It would take years to pinpoint each necessary element, and by the time you fix one pathway, the previous will be deficient again! I'm trying to say, you cant think of health and nutrition one pathway at a time. It is a symphony of biomechanical processes that plant food and herbs are the most suited to treat effectively.
Think of chiropractors as natural doctors. If you have a non-emergency condition, I encourage everyone to try a natural or non-invasive treatment first.
Suzanne,
ReplyDeleteFantastic piece! :)
I think it's interesting to follow the economic/political issues that have helped shape people's views on osteopathy/homeopathy vs. allopathy. The AMA has, via legal power, successfully propogandized the history of medicine in the US. Here is a well-cited piece on some of this history. article
The AMA, essentially a doctor's union, has dominated and controlled so-called conventional medicine via its monopoly over "conventional" licensure and medical schools. It has effectively increased the prices of medical care by restricting the supply of doctors. This is a horribly anti-social action. Of course, the government's solution is to give more power to the government and its cronies.
Another sad victim of gov't control and influence is nutrition. Such things as "my plate" and other official nutritional recommendations function as implicit agricultural subsidies. The so-called "lipid hypothesis" which is responsible for the fat-phobia and animal protein-phobia so prevalent in US society came to us from the CDC. Any academic physician who disputes this hypothesis risks losing his/her livelihood. I've seen this in economics as well. The Federal Reserve has a lot of influence/control in today's macroeconomics literature. Criticize the Fed too harshly and you may soon find yourself unable to get published. Thankfully, some of us will dispute the orthodoxy and pay the price. It is the same with nutrition. Many nutritionists in the bodybuilding world are fighting the lipid hypothesis by expounding the virtues of animal fats/proteins and bringing to the fore the research that criticizes the mainline view that grains/starches are essential to one's health.
also... do you know of any tree bark etc. that, say, doubles free testosterone?
ReplyDelete:)