traditional meds vs. natural remedies

[mbeachbum]

A post on another thread has made me wonder what the overall consensus would be here about traditional medicines (prescribed by doctors) versus natural remedies.

For years, I've heard some people strongly support the all-natural things but I wonder how many people really go this route.

I also wonder how many of us dabble in both.

What are your thoughts and experiences?

[Ransom v. Unman]

I'll say this much: there are dozens, if not hundreds of natural remedies that work as well, if not better than, medicines developed and proliferated by pharmacuetical corporations. Indeed, many scientists are now speculating that the dependency on chemical agents for our health and well being is actually weakening our natural immune systems, while producing stronger and more able-bodied pathogens that are set to attack us. Unless I truly see no possible way to do otherwise, I avoid taking manufactured medicine of any kind, and instead try to live a healthy lifestyle that would strengthen my body natural through antioxidants, healthy fats like omega-3s and monounsaturated fats, and avoiding foods and habits that break down my bodies processes.

On the other hand, there are points where pharmaceuticals have their place and should be employed. Vaccines, treatments for advanced, rare and dangerous diseases, and treatments for chronic conditions are all places where I am convinced pharmaceuticals have done a great deal of good, and those are the areas that I wish big pharma would concentrate on serving.

[Xenia]

I have a regular GP, a natural doctor, a chiropractor and a dentist. I go to the chiropractor about 6 times a year to keep all aligned and happy. I do the dentist 2 times a year unless something goes awry. I go to my GP once a year for a check up. I will always seek the natural doctor out first if a problem arises that I have not been able to cure with home remedy. I am a vegan. I exercise. I don't eat chemicals or preservatives. I do cleanses. I want to die healthy!
I ditto everything Ransom said...

[ProfessorAlan]

I think there is a difference between positive general health (with supplements and natural remedies can aid) and cures (which need actual medicine).

Keep in mind that supplements and related remedies do not fall under the same legal scenarios (in the US) that medicines do, so these can be sold without ANY scientfic evidence about their efficacy and with NO disclosure of their side-effects.

Big pharma is greedy and all that, but there are procedures they have to go through to get things approved -- marketers

I am also totally creeped out by the huge number of TV evangelists who spend time selling natural remedies as some kind of god-given elixir and cure-all. These seem to me to be near-total scam situations.

And post-Eden, why is "natural" inherently any better that "man-made?" That sounds vaguely New-Agey, which is where the attraction towards these products began. Both man and nature are fallen. The mental and scientific acuity to study, discover, and manufacture medicines can testify to me of God's greatness.

Thank you, Big Pharma, for my daily blood pressure pill and my wife's anti-clotting meds. You have made our lives both longer and better.

[Ransom v. Unman]

I think there is a difference between positive general health (with supplements and natural remedies can aid) and cures (which need actual medicine).

Keep in mind that supplements and related remedies do not fall under the same legal scenarios (in the US) that medicines do, so these can be sold without ANY scientfic evidence about their efficacy and with NO disclosure of their side-effects.

Right, and it's stupid for people to just blindly accept a lot of these "natural" remedies. I don't think natural remedies, just as a class, are good. However, there are many scientific studies showing the health benefits of different plants, extracts, etc., etc. that do not necessarily get FDA endorsement, though the effects have been scienfically measured, nonetheless.

Granted, many studies have also shown many "traditional" remedies to be detrimental, too! Research is always a key. This goes just as much for big pharma meds though – and as I have researched them (and the industry behind them) I've come to conclude that I would like to avoid that stuff if at all possible. :D

Big pharma is greedy and all that, but there are procedures they have to go through to get things approved -- marketers
FDA approved does not necessarily mean that new drugs and perscriptions are any better than older ones or traditional ones though, mind... It just means that by the FDA's standards, the possible side-effects do not override the possible benefits, and the company can market and produce this drug.

With the number of FDA recalls in recent years, I hope all of us would still proceed with caution even after the FDA has approved something.


I am also totally creeped out by the huge number of TV evangelists who spend time selling natural remedies as some kind of god-given elixir and cure-all. These seem to me to be near-total scam situations.
Most of what TV evangelists do seem like near-total scam situations. :rolleyes:

And post-Eden, why is "natural" inherently any better that "man-made?"

It depends on the remedy, I'd suppose... For one, I trust foods and supplements that have been utilised for thousands of years to no overt detriment much more than the latest FDA approved batch of chemical what-nots that could just as easily kill me without very proper and specific medical guidance.

Thank you, Big Pharma, for my daily blood pressure pill and my wife's anti-clotting meds. You have made our lives both longer and better.

Well, that's precisely what I think Big Pharma is good for – and it's precisely what Big Pharma is stepping out of. If they kept their research and their products targeted to serious and real conditions, weren't throwing kickbacks to doctors just so they'd get more people buying their drugs, and weren't pursuing massive marketing onslaught that I think is doing as much to distract and undermine real efforts to combat diseases, I'd have fewer qualms about the medical industry as it stands...

But like I said, unless it really comes down to a point where medication is unavoidable, I'd just as soon try to overcome whatever condition may be hitting me without the agency of industry-produced chemical compounds.

[srussell]

In my opinion, if you are taking one specific substance for a specific ailment, you are medicating yourself, whether you are taking a pill a physician prescribed, or drinking some mystery Brazilian tea leaf that only the ancients knew about and was recently discovered by a former janitor turned health guru.

Calling something "natural" doesn't make it natural or safe. There are mushrooms out in the wild that are 100% natural. Nothing man made in it, yet it will kill you as fast as cyanide.

There are a lot of potent and dangerous chemicals that occur naturally. I'd rather put something in my body that has been through rigorous testing.

Sam

[Tarin]

I'll say this much: there are dozens, if not hundreds of natural remedies that work as well, if not better than, medicines developed and proliferated by pharmacuetical corporations. Indeed, many scientists are now speculating that the dependency on chemical agents for our health and well being is actually weakening our natural immune systems, while producing stronger and more able-bodied pathogens that are set to attack us. Unless I truly see no possible way to do otherwise, I avoid taking manufactured medicine of any kind, and instead try to live a healthy lifestyle that would strengthen my body natural through antioxidants, healthy fats like omega-3s and monounsaturated fats, and avoiding foods and habits that break down my bodies processes.

This is basically my own stand. The AMA and the FDA as a whole are, I think, killing us. People would do so much better if they got back to nature, instead of relying on the artificial "cures" of drugs. That said, traditional medicine certainly has its place. When I broke my skull and my back a few years ago, I was plenty glad to have experts taking care of me.

[ProfessorAlan]

This is basically my own stand. The AMA and the FDA as a whole are, I think, killing us.

I share a knee-jerk suspicion of big organizations (big government, big media, big church, big entertainment ... ), but I have seen this turn too often into an anti-knowledge and anti-science stand, especially among Christians.

[ProfessorAlan]

This topic is an excellent example of the "paradigm/worldview" discussion from a month ago or so.

[mbeachbum]

My brother-in-law has an aggressive form of colon cancer. He has been to specialists in four different cities, has undergone the chemo, etc., and though there has been improvement, his cancer is still there. Tomorrow he will begin the long process of having a stem-cell transplant.

Interestingly to me, my very conservative brother-in-law listened to one specialist who recommended going to a naturalist. He was put on a series of supplements and vitamins. These were not intended to cure his cancer but were to help him to not be sick (or as sick), as the chemo treatments continued. Something worked! He has had very little nausea, etc. from the treatments.

Maybe the supplements did exactly as they were intended to do or. . . maybe God simply took away his potential bad reactions to the treatment. :)

[Ransom v. Unman]

Maybe the supplements did exactly as they were intended to do or. . . maybe God simply took away his potential bad reactions to the treatment. :)
/shrug

Could be both!

[Xenia]

I do Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT). None of it's ingredients are chemically based.. it's "all natural". I did lots of research on the subject. I do NOT want to take the chemical therapy commonly prescribed. Now because this option has become more appealing to many woman and it's cutting into the profits of the big Pharma company that doles out the chemical pill they are trying to have the government make my BHRT illegal! So far the government is siding with the pharmacy. A perfect example of government and the pharmacy industry working together against my choice to choose a natural compound over some chemical solely for profit!!! This I detest. Modern medicine has it's place. I'm glad for it. It's been a blessing to me on several occasions BUT it is the new kid on the block and wants to bully all other methodologies out of the neighborhood! It all boils down to money!