Philosophy Discussion Forums | A Humans-Only Club for Open-Minded Discussion & Debate

[Treehugger]

I thought this book could have used some info on alternative medicine, an emerging field.

[popeye1945]

Treehugger,
alternative medicine is a temporal thing, if it proves to be effective it is soon brought into contemporary medicine.

[LuckyR]

I thought this book could have used some info on alternative medicine, an emerging field.

Most alternative medicine actually predates modern medicine. Thus it is fading, not emerging.

[Buzzard3]

Treehugger,
alternative medicine is a temporal thing, if it proves to be effective it is soon brought into contemporary medicine.

Not always. I once had a Heliobacter pylori (the bug that causes stomach ulcers) infection that the doctors couldn't cure with their antibiotics. A friend of mine suggsted I try colloidal silver (an alternative medicine) ... and it worked! Yet I'm not aware of any doctor anywhere who prescribes colloidal silver for anything.

[popeye1945]

Treehugger,
alternative medicine is a temporal thing, if it proves to be effective it is soon brought into contemporary medicine.

Not always. I once had a Heliobacter pylori (the bug that causes stomach ulcers) infection that the doctors couldn't cure with their antibiotics. A friend of mine suggsted I try colloidal silver (an alternative medicine) ... and it worked! Yet I'm not aware of any doctor anywhere who prescribes colloidal silver for anything.

Yes, I guess I was being a bit flippant. I believe there is much to be had from ancient Chinese medicine but the western bias is slow to accommodate.
On top of this, there is in modern times little time for a general practitioners to truly know and look after their patients. It is a similar situation with public education, you get what you pay for and the community dollar does quite measure up to proper medical care or proper education.

[Sushan]

Alternative medicine emerge in various ways. And if they get enough attention, and go through the accepted process to be accepted as a recommended ttreatment for a particular illness, then it will be included into the practice guidelines. But a medicine being successful as an alternative medicine once or twice does not say anything about the efficacy of that medication.

[Sushan]

Treehugger,
alternative medicine is a temporal thing, if it proves to be effective it is soon brought into contemporary medicine.

Not always. I once had a Heliobacter pylori (the bug that causes stomach ulcers) infection that the doctors couldn't cure with their antibiotics. A friend of mine suggsted I try colloidal silver (an alternative medicine) ... and it worked! Yet I'm not aware of any doctor anywhere who prescribes colloidal silver for anything.

Colloidal silver is a mineral. Colloidal silver products were once available as OTC drug products, but in 1999 the FDA ruled that they aren't safe.

Colloidal silver can kill certain germs by destroying proteins, which is why it was previously used in wound dressings. But silver has no known function in the body and is not an essential mineral. Taking silver by mouth can cause the skin to turn a permanent bluish color. It can also cause brain function problems.

I read a bit about the alternative memedicine that you used and found the above-mentioned information. The link to the complete article is mentioned below.

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingre ... dal-silver

It was good that your symptoms were alleviated by using it. But seemingly it is better not to recommend it to others blindly.

[Sushan]

Treehugger,
alternative medicine is a temporal thing, if it proves to be effective it is soon brought into contemporary medicine.

Not always. I once had a Heliobacter pylori (the bug that causes stomach ulcers) infection that the doctors couldn't cure with their antibiotics. A friend of mine suggsted I try colloidal silver (an alternative medicine) ... and it worked! Yet I'm not aware of any doctor anywhere who prescribes colloidal silver for anything.

Yes, I guess I was being a bit flippant. I believe there is much to be had from ancient Chinese medicine but the western bias is slow to accommodate.
On top of this, there is in modern times little time for a general practitioners to truly know and look after their patients. It is a similar situation with public education, you get what you pay for and the community dollar does quite measure up to proper medical care or proper education.

Yes, there are records about magical medicine in the ancient and traditional healing systems. But for many known and unknown reasons, most of them are either nowhere to be found or are not proven as effective as they were used (or said so) to be.

[Sushan]

I thought this book could have used some info on alternative medicine, an emerging field.

Most alternative medicine actually predates modern medicine. Thus it is fading, not emerging.

I think that that is true for some, but not for all. Some drugs are accidentally found to be effective for some other illness out of the medicine's known and basic focus. Such drugs can be taken as emerging alternative medicine.

[LuckyR]

I thought this book could have used some info on alternative medicine, an emerging field.

Most alternative medicine actually predates modern medicine. Thus it is fading, not emerging.

I think that that is true for some, but not for all. Some drugs are accidentally found to be effective for some other illness out of the medicine's known and basic focus. Such drugs can be taken as emerging alternative medicine.

I believe "most" is more accurate than "some". Name the first 5 forms of alternative medicine that come to your mind and we'll see.

[Sushan]

I thought this book could have used some info on alternative medicine, an emerging field.

Most alternative medicine actually predates modern medicine. Thus it is fading, not emerging.

I think that that is true for some, but not for all. Some drugs are accidentally found to be effective for some other illness out of the medicine's known and basic focus. Such drugs can be taken as emerging alternative medicine.

I believe "most" is more accurate than "some". Name the first 5 forms of alternative medicine that come to your mind and we'll see.

Here are some that came to my mind as alternative medicine.

1. Aloe vera: a plant that is often used to soothe skin irritations and burns, and may also help to relieve digestive issues such as constipation and acid reflux.

2. Garlic: a natural antimicrobial that may help to boost the immune system and fight off infections, as well as lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

3. Peppermint: an herb that may help to relieve digestive issues such as indigestion, gas, and bloating.

4. Turmeric: a spice that contains a powerful anti-inflammatory compound called curcumin, which may help to reduce inflammation and pain associated with conditions such as arthritis and digestive issues.

5. Honey: a natural sweetener that also has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, and is often used to soothe sore throats and coughs.

[LuckyR]

Most alternative medicine actually predates modern medicine. Thus it is fading, not emerging.

I think that that is true for some, but not for all. Some drugs are accidentally found to be effective for some other illness out of the medicine's known and basic focus. Such drugs can be taken as emerging alternative medicine.

I believe "most" is more accurate than "some". Name the first 5 forms of alternative medicine that come to your mind and we'll see.

Here are some that came to my mind as alternative medicine.

1. Aloe vera: a plant that is often used to soothe skin irritations and burns, and may also help to relieve digestive issues such as constipation and acid reflux.

2. Garlic: a natural antimicrobial that may help to boost the immune system and fight off infections, as well as lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

3. Peppermint: an herb that may help to relieve digestive issues such as indigestion, gas, and bloating.

4. Turmeric: a spice that contains a powerful anti-inflammatory compound called curcumin, which may help to reduce inflammation and pain associated with conditions such as arthritis and digestive issues.

5. Honey: a natural sweetener that also has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, and is often used to soothe sore throats and coughs.

Exactly my point. 5 out of 5 predate Modern medicine.

[Moreno]

Treehugger,
alternative medicine is a temporal thing, if it proves to be effective it is soon brought into contemporary medicine.

If they can patent it in some way. Otherwise it is not worth the pharmacological company's time to got through expensive research and testing. They do that and then anyone can sell the substance or treatment. So, it gets marginalized. There has also be a wave of legislation to make it harder to get alternative medicine.

[LuckyR]

Treehugger,
alternative medicine is a temporal thing, if it proves to be effective it is soon brought into contemporary medicine.

If they can patent it in some way. Otherwise it is not worth the pharmacological company's time to got through expensive research and testing. They do that and then anyone can sell the substance or treatment. So, it gets marginalized. There has also be a wave of legislation to make it harder to get alternative medicine.

Well "marginalized" in the sense that it is ignored. If you can successfully treat your sore muscles with turmeric, why would you go to a doctor? Why should he be an expert in something that you can get at the grocery store? Doctors can write prescriptions for medications that you can't otherwise obtain. So if you can solve your problem with meditation, or yoga, or herbs, or acupuncture that's fantastic. I've never met a Western medicine practitioner who seeks to fill their appointment slots with people whose symptoms can be controlled in the absence of surgery or prescription drugs.

I'm not familiar with the legislation that you're referring to. Please provide more details about it.

[Moreno]

Well "marginalized" in the sense that it is ignored. If you can successfully treat your sore muscles with turmeric, why would you go to a doctor?

You're preaching to the choir.

Why should he be an expert in something that you can get at the grocery store? Doctors can write prescriptions for medications that you can't otherwise obtain. So if you can solve your problem with meditation, or yoga, or herbs, or acupuncture that's fantastic. I've never met a Western medicine practitioner who seeks to fill their appointment slots with people whose symptoms can be controlled in the absence of surgery or prescription drugs.

Ah, it's pharma not doctors. The pressure they put on WHO and the FDA. It's their anti-alternative propaganda which they send to different media to highlight problems or hallucinate them related to alternative approaches and they of course use their money to downplay the problems with their approaches.

I'm not familiar with the legislation that you're referring to. Please provide more details about it.

The Codex Alimentarius
In Europe they passed legislation it must be 10 years ago and it was part of driving most of the independent alternative health stores out of the city I live in. So many products could no longer be sold. I could still buy cigarrettes - which are partially an herb, in a nice deadly mixture - alcohol, McDonalds food, products with palm oil, smoked meat and so on, but a number of herbs and other products just could not be purchased anymore, despite no evidence they were as dangerous as any of those other products.

Big Pharma has control of the FDA via funding it and revolving door hiring with it and via lobbying.