There's No Money in Alternative Medicine....

One of the sticks used to beat "conventional" medicine with is the cost of medicines and treatment and the fact that there are people obviously getting rich on the backs of this.

Quite often the argument will be that in alternative "medicine" natural therapies are used and the implication made that since they're natural they can't be patented so no-one makes money out of it.

So I was quite surprised (or was I...) to read the following article which presents a very different perspective...
Alternative Medicine Industry: Market Research Reports, Statistics and Analysis

"The global alternative medicine sector is expected to reach close to $115 billion by 2015, according to Global Industry Analysts. Market growth is fuelled by a trend toward herbal and nature-based products,...."

If you click on the link then click "more" it projects that the herbal market alone is projected to reach $107 BILLION in 4 years.

That's not bad for a mostly unregulated industry with little or no evidence to support it is it?



One of the other arguments is the amount of lobbying big pharma et al do to push their medicines.
Alternative "medicine" don't do anything like that do they?
Do they???
www.forbes.com...

www.theguardian.com...

www.swans.com...


So, next time people wish to bash medicine with the greedy stick please remember that the alternative is making a hell of a lot too.
And they don't have to prove they even work to anyone at all.

Yep, and the charlatans go across the board. Personally, I like alternative medicine, (because it wasn't "alternative" for many years). I still boil down herbs, take various natural products that are used to make drugs, but I also appreciate western medicine.

It is no secret that greed exists in both worlds, except maybe to the flunkies at natural news.

You know what worries me? I can't take antibiotics. Penicillin, Floxins, Zithromax, Cephelasporins, Biaxin, etc. When I do, I either get really bad heart racing, rashes, or throat closes. I don't know what they are going to do with me if I ever really needed these medicines. All I can do for infection is take garlic, oregano, vit c, etc. I can't even handle colloidal silver, because it causes me bad stomach trouble.

I'm in the process of trying to study how to handle infections naturally, and use therapeutic grade essential oils.

reply to post by boncho


I use Chinese medicine and also kinesiology... I went off my meds (Avanza) because I was feeling heaps better with the Chinese herbal drops and then *cough had to go back on them... lol

so the herbal or natural medicines do help but if your a diabetic, you have to have your insulin etc. If the limbic area of your brain is smaller because of trauma... you need specific meds for that. damn!

I also like natural medicine, but I call it FOOD. However, if some people would rather buy dried up herbs in a jar with who knows what also added to it, for a ridiculous amount of money...... well, that's their choice. An industry like that is bound to attract some nasty companies ready to take advantage. BTW, I'm not going to bash an industry for being financially successful though, that's not a good enough reason. Now slipping some dangerous ingredients in there while downplaying or even lying about the side effects, that's different. Prescription pills are doing more damage than all other "street" drugs out there, including natural herbs in a jar.

With that said.........I'll stick to using food as my medicine.

You need to remember that Big Pharma is involved is some of the companies that sell these herbal remedies. Most medicines are designed off of things in nature, things we are deterred from eating sometimes because they found and highlighted some of the bad qualities in them. The good qualities in foods are sometimes dwarfed by the bad qualities. I see this all over in what we are told is good for us by the ones controlling health in this and other countries. You cannot take one chemical property of something, capitalize on it, and then neglect the other properties or side effects it has. There is a motive for them telling us what food is good for us and this motive is often not to benefit us.

Taking herbal remidies of some kinds can have negative effects if you do not need them. It is like taking a pharmacutical if not sick. There could be unwanted side effects. There are ways to neutralize the medical effects of foods and herbs/spices to make them suitable for consumption as a food. Knowing about these things is very research intensive and even then the research may not include some side effects. The recipes of some of our ancestors contained this knowledge, not all of it was right though. Remember, they also did not realize that the good feeling you get from a repair by eating too much can cause side effects within the body that we do not realize until it is too late.

The applications of herbs as medicines is documented in a lot of places on the web. The side effects are findable also. Much of this knowledge is real but of course some exploit it for personal gain and sell things for profit neglecting to tell people that unrealized side effects can happen.

My studies of this are far from complete, it is not like you can read a book on it that is accurate. A person writing a book may know a lot about a quarter of the pages but needs to fill the book so parrots what others have said without researching it totally or testing how it effects personality or if it has side effects. Most people in this field today do not test things on themselves to truly understand how it effects oneself. Unless you experience it there is no way to properly judge what is happening. Pharma companies employees rarely test this stuff on themselves, it would not be good to screw up their own employees that make them money.

Pardon?
And they don't have to prove they even work to anyone at all.

Well of course.
because if it was actually proven to work, with long term blind trials and so forth, then by definition it would be regarded as "science"... and no longer wooish "alternative medicine".
As some parts of it have already become. The history of aspirin being a perfect example.

Alternative medicine, by definition, must be something not proven to work.

reply to post by Thurisaz


I used Chinese herbs for a very bad gallbladder. The surgeon wanted to take it out, but it was not bad enough yet, only paining me once in a while. I was too afraid to do a liver flush so I went to a Chinese herbalist and she saved my gallbladder with specific herbs and diet. I still have my gb too. I am a huge believer in herbs.

reply to post by rickymouse


I'm very worried for the day they try to regulate or take away Oil of Oregano. That stuff is a very potent antibiotic that has saved me many times over. I have read somewhere (sorry it's early and I can't recall) that the FDA wanted to regulate it and by doing so the carvacrol in it would be much lower than 75% to 80%. Well, if that happens, it will be ruined because the higher the carvacrol, the more potent it is.

reply to post by Taissa



a friend of mine recommended me to chew on some 'sage', fresh sage, not dried. I had had dental work done and my mouth was so inflamed and painful... the sage worked very quickly, so there are definitely some good natural alternatives.

reply to post by Taissa


We also use oil of oregano here at home. And a few months ago, we discovered golden seal ( hydraste in French ) to be as much effective, without the impression of drinking some paint remover. lol

Apparently, Amerindians used it to fight off infections, cancer, etc. Sadly, the plant to make this is considered an endangered specie...

reply to post by Taissa


You may want to look into honey . I picked up a type the other day and used it in place of a cream the doctor had prescribed ..The cream worked in that it eliminated the effects of the rash but the rash wouldnt go away ..I tried the honey and after 2 days the rash is going away .and it takes care of the effects that the cream was doing ..I do have a adverse reaction to penicillin as well ..I think the last time I took it I broke out in hives and it felt like bugs were coming through my skin ...

reply to post by Taissa


I have to get some of that oil of oregano for my medicine cabinet. I have read many good things about it as a medicine. We have marjoram plants taking over around the deck and by the oak tree. There are thousands of them, they spread like wildfire. I don't know if the oil can be made from Marjoram though.

Taissa
... Oil of Oregano. That stuff is a very potent antibiotic ...

Almost anything you can think of, is an antibiotic.

Its probably the number one claim made of alternative medicines, how wonderful they are as an antibiotic, but the truth is that basically ALL plants have antibiotics built in, so almost any plant extract you can get anywhere will be an antibiotic.
Bleach, strong hydrochloric acid, sodium hypochlorite, ammonia...etc.. They're all good antibiotics as well. But there's a reason you dont want to take them.
Specificity is also helpful... but never mentioned.

Yes, both industries can and will make money. But here is the dilemma.
Whereas big pharma has their labs, to create their pills and meds, the normal everyday person cannot do that.
But we can, go out to our woods, or garden, and pick what we need for alternative medicines.

So, when more money is to be made by big pharma on alternative medicines, how much longer do you think we have, before they start pushing for more regulation and laws on what we, the home grower, can grow?

They aren't big fans of competition.

Quite a few herbal remedies have their benefits, but just as many don't. Frankly most of these alternative medicine peddlers are just modern day snake oil salesman.

Ever taken Echinacea? people continue to spread the word about it's healing effects even though it's been proven to be ineffective.

Echinacea, the herbal supplement made from purple coneflower and used by millions of Americans to prevent or treat colds, neither prevented colds nor eased cold symptoms in a large and rigorous study.

"This paper says it will not pre-empt a common cold, and it stands on top of prior studies saying it doesn't treat an established cold,"

"We've got to stop attributing any efficacy to echinacea."

But as I stated, SOME alternative medicine does have it's uses, and considering the unnatural pharmaceuticals that the doctors are willing to prescribe it seems the safer and healthier option.

Do some research into these herbs and if there is no evidence of their benefits, don't buy them and keep the con artists out of business.

Nature has always provided mankind with the things he needs. We were dumb enough to turn our backs on natural cures. None of this is new. Screw the FDA and all other "health" agencies. They stand for nothing more than profits. There are many different treatments for cancer. Yet there still "looking" for a cure. Its all a big money generator on the backs of people hopes.

I hope people understand this thread for what it's supposed to be.

I'm not knocking natural remedies per se as there are some that really do work, I'm pointing out the hypocrisy from many people who promote alternative medicine primarily because of their stance on pharma and or corporatism.

One person in particular, a Dr Mercola springs to mind immediately and in his own words, he's more interested in the marketing aspects of alt health than any health benefits...

www.chicagomag.com...

"If there were any doubt about the importance of marketing to the operation, it was dispelled when I was given a quick tour of Mercola’s sprawling headquarters. The lobby of Dr. Mercola’s Natural Health Center looks like the kind of well-appointed suburban office where you’d expect vanity procedures such as face-lifts to be offered. As it turns out, only one short hallway is dedicated to patient services. “Marketing and customer service take up most of the rest,” a new-patient coordinator told me."

Seriously, what's the difference between Mercola and Pfizer other than a few zeroes?

Use diet as your medicine, its proven to be effective. You can support your local farms and community gardens whilst curing yourself of many ailments.

Thecakeisalie
Quite a few herbal remedies have their benefits, but just as many don't. Frankly most of these alternative medicine peddlers are just modern day snake oil salesman.

Ever taken Echinacea? people continue to spread the word about it's healing effects even though it's been proven to be ineffective.

Echinacea, the herbal supplement made from purple coneflower and used by millions of Americans to prevent or treat colds, neither prevented colds nor eased cold symptoms in a large and rigorous study.

"This paper says it will not pre-empt a common cold, and it stands on top of prior studies saying it doesn't treat an established cold,"

"We've got to stop attributing any efficacy to echinacea."

But as I stated, SOME alternative medicine does have it's uses, and considering the unnatural pharmaceuticals that the doctors are willing to prescribe it seems the safer and healthier option.

Do some research into these herbs and if there is no evidence of their benefits, don't buy them and keep the con artists out of business.

There are three different types of Echinacea, Echinacea Purpurea is the most commonly used and also the least medicinal of the three. Each one has varied and specific uses, as well as specific parts of the plant that must be used.

alfa1

Pardon?
And they don't have to prove they even work to anyone at all.

Well of course.
because if it was actually proven to work, with long term blind trials and so forth, then by definition it would be regarded as "science"... and no longer wooish "alternative medicine".
As some parts of it have already become. The history of aspirin being a perfect example.

Alternative medicine, by definition, must be something not proven to work.

There are now guidelines in certain places for "alternative medicine" or Natural Health Products (as they called) And many NHPs are undergoing regulatory certifications.

Legally, they can't "cure" anything, but they can "alleviate the symptoms or aid in 'general health'".

I am all for western medicine, you will find threads where I vehemently argue against quack and crank medicine… but at the same time I will not omit the fact that the majority of large drug corps have been repeatedly convicted on criminal and civil charges and their lobbying efforts in the past has tried to target natural therapies.

At the same time, the cancer that runs through the drug industry (no pun intended) is also rampant in the "natural" medicine world. (Greed.)

It is hard to do studies when there is no financial incentives, which are needed by patents, discretion on drug sales, etc.

In Canada, they used to have an office of government with a lab to do these studies, they have since canned it, then put in regulatory controls, limiting how much actually gets tested. I am a firm supporter of science in medicine, which is why I think all traditional medicines should be tested with public funds with no motive of monetary gain behind the suppression or proliferation of.

It is no secret that nearly all drug discovery is done off the back of traditional medicine. They didn't just go out wondering fields, picking plants, then perform chemical analysis. They took their information from traditional medicine, from shamans, from old texts, found the herbs, plants, bark, then isolated components and experimented with analogues.

Nearly all of medicine is traced back to wives tale medicine. So… given that, I think we owe a great debt to it and shouldn't mock it.

Take the ritual in South America where they have two fundamentally different components in two fundamentally different plants, and by themselves do much of nothing, but because the one is an MAOI inhibitor, and the other is destroyed without it, combined it works. This was known thousands of years ago.

But, it would be classified as "alternative". And most scientific institutions wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.