If it works it isn’t an alternative:

Even though I’m not an advocate of alternatives or supplements they need and have to be consider. If it works for one person then it has to be viewed as viable.

The question, however is this: Which products work, and how do we know they work?

Fortunately, thanks to James Lind, we can figure it out.

When Lind climbed aboard the HMS Salisbury intent on testing whether citrus was a cure for scurvy in 1740, he moved medicine from a faith-based system to an evidence-based system. No longer do we believe in treatments. We can test them to see whether they work.

Although the size and cost of clinical studies have increased dramatically since the days of Lind, the claims made about alternative remedies are testable, eminently testable.

In that sense, there’s no such thing as alternative medicine. If clinical trials show that a therapy works, it’s good medicine. And if a therapy doesn’t work then it’s not an alternative.

But the monies for research and grants from the government go to the pharmaceutical companies not on natural remedies. It isn’t about finding a solution to the problem or improving health, it is all about money.

If people want to manage Parkinson’s disease (PD), reduce stress, extend their lives, enliven sex, eliminate pain, boost energy all they have to do is walk in to a vitamin store and look around. The shelves will be lined with ginkgo or rose and orange oils touted as aids for memory; guarana and cordyceps for energy; chicory root for constipation; lemon balm oil, ashwgandha, eleuthero, Siberian ginseng and holy basil for stress; sage and black cohosh for menstrual pain; coconut oil and curry powder for Alzheimer’s disease; saw palmetto for prostate health.

My view is of the opinion that if it works than use it! If it works though, who cares what method you choose; but if it does work, than doesn’t that mean that it really isn’t an alternative after all?

If it works it isn’t an alternative:

Even though I’m not an advocate of alternatives or supplements they need and have to be consider. If it works for one person then it has to be viewed as viable.

The question, however is this: Which products work, and how do we know they work?

Fortunately, thanks to James Lind, we can figure it out.

When Lind climbed aboard the HMS Salisbury intent on testing whether citrus was a cure for scurvy in 1740, he moved medicine from a faith-based system to an evidence-based system. No longer do we believe in treatments. We can test them to see whether they work.

Although the size and cost of clinical studies have increased dramatically since the days of Lind, the claims made about alternative remedies are testable, eminently testable.

In that sense, there’s no such thing as alternative medicine. If clinical trials show that a therapy works, it’s good medicine. And if a therapy doesn’t work then it’s not an alternative.

But the monies for research and grants from the government go to the pharmaceutical companies not on natural remedies. It isn’t about finding a solution to the problem or improving health, it is all about money.

If people want to manage Parkinson’s disease (PD), reduce stress, extend their lives, enliven sex, eliminate pain, boost energy all they have to do is walk in to a vitamin store and look around. The shelves will be lined with ginkgo or rose and orange oils touted as aids for memory; guarana and cordyceps for energy; chicory root for constipation; lemon balm oil, ashwgandha, eleuthero, Siberian ginseng and holy basil for stress; sage and black cohosh for menstrual pain; coconut oil and curry powder for Alzheimer’s disease; saw palmetto for prostate health.

My view is of the opinion that if it works than use it! If it works though, who cares what method you choose; but if it does work, than doesn’t that mean that it really isn’t an alternative after all?

If it works it isn’t an alternative:

Even though I’m not an advocate of alternatives or supplements they need and have to be consider. If it works for one person then it has to be viewed as viable.

The question, however is this: Which products work, and how do we know they work?

Fortunately, thanks to James Lind, we can figure it out.

When Lind climbed aboard the HMS Salisbury intent on testing whether citrus was a cure for scurvy in 1740, he moved medicine from a faith-based system to an evidence-based system. No longer do we believe in treatments. We can test them to see whether they work.

Although the size and cost of clinical studies have increased dramatically since the days of Lind, the claims made about alternative remedies are testable, eminently testable.

In that sense, there’s no such thing as alternative medicine. If clinical trials show that a therapy works, it’s good medicine. And if a therapy doesn’t work then it’s not an alternative.

But the monies for research and grants from the government go to the pharmaceutical companies not on natural remedies. It isn’t about finding a solution to the problem or improving health, it is all about money.

If people want to manage Parkinson’s disease (PD), reduce stress, extend their lives, enliven sex, eliminate pain, boost energy all they have to do is walk in to a vitamin store and look around. The shelves will be lined with ginkgo or rose and orange oils touted as aids for memory; guarana and cordyceps for energy; chicory root for constipation; lemon balm oil, ashwgandha, eleuthero, Siberian ginseng and holy basil for stress; sage and black cohosh for menstrual pain; coconut oil and curry powder for Alzheimer’s disease; saw palmetto for prostate health.

My view is of the opinion that if it works than use it! If it works though, who cares what method you choose; but if it does work, than doesn’t that mean that it really isn’t an alternative after all?