alternative and complementary medicine

[Guest guest]

An interesting article from Health Sciences Institute - www.hsibaltimore.com.

(If you haven't signed the petition against the McCain bill, then you should do

so at once! http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?page_id=184)

deb

Dear Reader,

You'll never guess what complementary and alternative medicine is.

Mainstream.

Seriously.

A new " state-of-the-art paper " from Mayo Clinic researchers drops this amazing

little stat from a 2002 review: " The total number of visits to complementary and

alternative medicine (CAM) providers far exceeds those to primary physicians. "

FAR exceeds?

Absolutely. In 1997, the number of CAM office visits exceeded primary physician

office visits by 243 million! And that trend was on an upward swing.

Yeah, I'd say that qualifies as a major prevailing trend (which is how Webster's

defines " mainstream " ).

So does the Mayo team stand back and give respect where respect is due?

Please. Do you even have to ask?

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Products to avoid

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The purpose of the Mayo paper is to highlight potential adverse reactions when

cardiovascular patients combine herbal treatments with drug treatments.

So far, I'm with them all the way. Millions of patients are combining CAM

treatments with drugs, so the more that patients and doctors know about

interactions the better.

But the Mayo team isn't content with just performing a service and giving the

medical field a useful tool. No. They jam anti-CAM editorial content throughout

their paper.

In fact, they drag out virtually every old warhorse argument against CAM †" the

therapies aren't properly tested in clinical trials, supplements aren't

regulated strictly enough, consumers assume " natural " herbs are completely free

of side effects, and blah, blah, blah.

And the bias is glaring. For instance, here's the title of Table 1: " Herbal

Products to Avoid in Patients With Cardiovascular Diseases. "

And why avoid these herbal products? Because they interfere with cardio drugs.

According to the table, cardio patients should avoid green tea because it

decreases the effects of warfarin (a blood- thinning drug).

HEY, Mayo! Don't forget who's mainstream here!

Do you drink green tea for the antioxidants or the anticancer agents? Then maybe

you should avoid warfarin use.

Or let's say you've had success improving circulation with ginkgo biloba. Well,

bleeding risk is higher when that herb is taken with warfarin or aspirin, so

those drugs probably aren't right for you.

In a New York Times article about the Mayo paper, one of the authors singles out

garlic, noting that patients are very surprised that garlic can potentially

increase risk of bleeding. Which is hilarious because warfarin increases the

same risk!

The subtle-as-a-brick message of the paper is clear: Trust drugs, not herbs, not

CAM.

But that tired old message doesn't fly anymore. Time for respect.