Your Holistics are Making Me Ballistic.

Holistic medicine is generally defined as an approach to overall health and wellness that concentrates on all aspects of a person’s life: physical, emotional, spiritual, and social. Generally, believers in holistic medicine subscribe to a school of thought where pharmaceuticals and surgery are a last resort and as long as there are alternatives, they remain the last resort. The idea is to give the patient a sense of personal responsibility for their becoming a healthy person and to encourage natural substances and practices (massage, acupuncture, etc.) rather than pharmaceutical ones. Sounds great, right?

I think, for the most part, it is hogwash. I think it can also be dangerous hogwash if used to dissuade a sick person from seeking conventional medical attention. There are certain herbs, teas, and minerals I think are great. For example, I take fish oil capsules every day for my heart and skin health. I do not in any way deny that natural supplements are helpful to a certain extent. Am I going to stop taking my beta-blocker because I was told by a naturopath that flaxseed meal is effective for treating hypertension? No. There have been a number of other supplements I have tried with an open (and hopeful) mind which did not do any of the things they led me to believe they would do.

• Grapefruit Seed Extract- I was told by a nurse I worked with to try this for a bladder infection. I was still feeling the burn after 3 days and went for some good, old-fashioned amoxicillin. I felt better in one day.
• Valerian Root- I have been an insomniac most of my life. Valerian root was, in essence, worthless. Back to the Benadryl. ZZZzzzz….
• St. John’s Wort- Tried this for a time I was mildly, yet persistently depressed. After a month, I gave up and went on to Celexa, I felt a lot better in three weeks.
• Stevia- A close friend of mine suggested I try this natural sweetener. I tried it and it tastes like crap. I will stick with aspartame, thank you.
• Hoodia- This herb is supposed to be the weight-loss miracle pill. Took it as directed for two weeks. Still as hungry as ever.

Where I have reservations about homeopathy, specifically, as a holistic approach to wellness is its lack of scientific proof. If you go to see a naturopath and explain your symptoms, there are going to be a million and one supplements you can take to help battle your problem. A common occurrence is to be told you have a compromised immune system and should take x, y, and z to resolve the problem. But, the difficulty with that is that a naturopath cannot test for immune system problems and so, even if you take the supplements recommended, you have no way of knowing two important facts:

1. Whether or not your immune system was, in fact, compromised in the first place.
2. If your immune system has improved because of the supplements prescribed.

I have a good friend who believes whole-heartedly in holistic approaches. I was complaining one day during a conversation we were having that I was having difficulty losing weight. She said my thyroid may be functioning improperly and “I am sure there is an herb that can stimulate the thyroid.” OK. The problem there is that I have had my thyroid checked many times and it is functioning normally. Upon telling her this, she continued to insist that the only reason I am having trouble shedding pounds is my thyroid because it controls metabolism. There seems to be an herb for everything, but no data to back it up. Then, when studies are performed that do not support the naturopath’s purported cure, traditional medicine (the very same that is paying for these extensive studies) is attacked for trying to debunk homeopathy and drive them out of business.

The Food and Drug Administration now requires homeopathic medicine labels to be clearly marked as “dietary supplements,” and for good reason. So many people look to herbal remedies without first consulting a doctor. Imagine walking through the grocery store and seeing a bottle that claims to cure hypothyroidism. If a person with the ailment didn’t know any better, they might jump to the logical conclusion that this is an acceptable replacement for their Cytomel.

It is mind-boggling to visit the various herbal remedy sites on the internet and to learn that in case of dysentery, all one needs to do is take some chestnut bud or crab apple. Yet, each site has a convenient disclaimer stating that dysentery is serious and requires medical attention. The site will then go one to list many different herbs that will “cure” dysentery. Use of the word “cure” is what I take issue with. The traditional treatment for dysentery is antibiotics which kills the parasites causing infection. The idea that eating a wild apple will cure a parasitic, dangerous infection is absurd. For every herb, fruit, root, and mineral out there, there is a list a mile long of all the various diseases it can cure. . . from tuberculosis to sore throat to sprain.

So, I recommend a person be wary of alternative treatments as a cure for anything and think of these supplements as either complimentary treatments to go along with traditional medical treatments, or to be prepared to be disappointed. If you are not disappointed, that is great, but I would be willing the bet the placebo effect has a lot to do with it.

© 2007 LBB

~ by tex on September 20, 2007.