WHY THE DOUBT AGAINST ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 12-12-17

**WHY THE DOUBT AGAINST ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE.**

It is not enough for modern science that something works. One must be able to explain definitively how it works, and why, and be able to postulate a theory to predict its future effects.

IN THE OLD DAYS OF MEDICINE, something was tried and if it worked without any harmful results, it was tried again, and if it 'mostly worked' was considered to be a valid treatment or remedy. No more.

Now evidence must be irrefutable or 'empirical', not anecdotal or testimonial.. there is a reason and here is why.

A person says "I had the Flu but I touched some Red Rocks and I got better, so touching red rocks cures the Flu". :D Or "My mother was diagnosed with cancer and she drank mineral water and now her cancer is in remission, so mineral water is a cure for cancer!" testimonials and anecdotal evidence generates many 'false claims' unintentionally.

Many bogus cancer, aids or other cures are based on such anecdotal evidence. Sometime a good result keeps provoking wilder and wilder claims.

I am investigating Turmeric which has a HUGE online discussion with lots of anecdotal evidence about the benefits of 'curcimin'. I have heard about almost everything now, so that it is about to be labeled a "Cure All" which nothing ever is.. and I expect to read claims it regrows hair any day now :D Although long used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat various diseases, there is little high-quality clinical evidence for use of turmeric or its main constituent, curcumin, as a therapy. I HAVE HAD SOME ENCOURAGING RESULTS using Turmeric to treat memory loss in a few patients who cannot take Ginkgo Biloba.

Most alternative medicine modalities are based on a belief in "Vitalism" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitalism ) a belief that the body is more than just a biological machine that when it breaks down and quits that is the end of it. Science says if something cannot be proven through the 5 senses, mathematics or the laws of physics it is unproven.

Much of Alternative medicine is based somehow on energy either in the body or affecting the body through movement, like a "spark of life" or "Chi" in Acupuncture, or "Prana" in Ayurvedic medicine or Subluxations in Chiropractic interfering with the flow of energy. These have not been proven to satisfy the requirements of scientific method.

Alternative medicine is further complicated and hindered by those who introduce the 'outright spiritual' into the healing process with "shamanism", "spirit guides", "dowsing", "angels, demons, and voodoo cures and you name it" :O Those things really belong under the heading of Religion and Faith healing, which people should be entitled to according to their conscience, but not within the mechanics of the healing arts.

Presently even the Licensed types of Alternative Medicine. like Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Naturopathy, Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, are under attack in North America; and it is scientific not "Big Phara" that is to blame. Believe me, the Pharmaceutical companies would like nothing better than to trademark and make money off of natural remedies the FDA now simply labels as "Food Substances".

We are on the verge of new discoveries. Just recently there has been amazing results indicating that water can be structured and that is has a memory; something Homeopathy has believed for a couple hundred years or more.

We already know through science that energy covers a humongous span of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes heat (infrared),radio waves, visible light, Ultraviolet and even X-Rays, all of which help or harm the body or in some way affect us. I expect discoveries soon that will show how energy flows are at work within our body beyond electrical impulses of the nervous system.

Being Eclectic I believe in 'cherry picking' the best of all the types of natural healing to use so that we can all live a more natural and healthier lifestyle. Remembering Hippocrates saying "First Do No Harm".

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