Guest guest Posted May 2, 2004 Report Share Posted May 2, 2004 http://www.cancer-coverup.com/newsletter/05-2004/default.htm?linkref=nl_0504 THE ALTERNATIVE ANSWER BY KATHLEEN B. DEOUL America's health care system isn't working. As we noted last month, in 2003 Americans spent $1.6 TRILLION on health care -14% of our Gross National Product - delivered by a system that kills 200,000 people a year through adverse drug reactions and medical errors! But is there a better way? It seems that increasingly, Americans believe there is and that belief has Big Medicine running scared. EMBRACING ALTERNATIVES The alarm was raised among conventional practitioners in a November 11, 1998 JAMA article comparing the results of a two surveys conducted in 1990 and 1997. The surveys found that the total number of office visits to alternative medical practitioners increased by 47% over the eight-year period the surveys covered. It also found that fully 42% of the U.S. population - 83 million people - had visited an alternative practitioner at least once in the previous twelve months. To put these figures in perspective, in 1997, Americans made 629 million visits to alternative practitioners vs. 386 million to conventional physicians. Moreover, unlike the visits to conventional physicians which were generally reimbursed by health insurance, visits to alternative practitioners were paid out-of-pocket. The study concluded: " Alternative medicine use and expenditures increased substantially between 1990 and 1997, attributable primarily to an increase in the proportion of the population seeking alternative therapies, rather than increased visits per patient. " Nor is the phenomenon limited to the United States. A similar survey conducted by the University of Adelaide in 2000 found that 60% of all Australian women and 44% of all Australian men use alternative medicine routinely, and that 73% had used alternative therapies at least once in their lives. Canadians, too, are jumping on the alternative medicine bandwagon, spending $3.8 billion in 1997. Moreover, if the results of a 2001 survey whose results were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine are to be believed, the trend can only increase. According to that survey, the younger an individual is, the more likely they are to use some form of alternative or complementary medicine. The survey divided its results into three age groups: those over the age of 54, (Pre-Baby Boomers) those between 34 years of age and 54 years of age (Baby Boomers) and those under 34 years of age (Post-Baby Boomers). The results were remarkable. Among the " Pre-Baby Boomers " 30% had used alternative therapies of some sort. Among the " Baby Boomers " 50% had used alternative therapies. Among the " Post Baby-Boomers, " the people under 34 years of age, an amazing 70% had used alternatives. What these figures show is that the acceptance of alternative and complementary medicine can only increase as younger people who are more accepting of it come to comprise an increasing proportion of the population. But that's not all the survey discovered. At least as important was the finding that once people try alternative therapies they tend to stick with them. Among those who had first tried alternatives within a one to four year period, 60.2% continued to use them. For those whose first experience was within a five to ten year period, 47% continued their use. For those whose first use was as long as twenty years previously, 48.8% were still using alternatives. A second study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2001 may explain this remarkable loyalty. The survey was limited to individuals who used BOTH alternative and conventional therapies. Almost eight out of ten respondents (79%) said that using both was better than using one or the other by itself. Almost a third said they believed that alternative therapies were superior to conventional ones - and remember, this survey was limited to individuals who used both! But is their confidence justified? SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT Big Medicine and Big Pharma are quick to criticize alternative medicine as " unproven, " contending that there are few credible studies to support alternative practitioner's claims. As a result, over the past several years, there has been an increasing effort to document the benefits of alternative therapies. Some of this research has yielded startling results. For example, Dr. Francesco Cardini, an Italian obstetrician, recently conducted a study of an ancient Chinese therapy called " moxibustion. " The purpose of this therapy is to help move babies out of the dangerous breech position to ease childbirth. To say that the practice would appear unorthodox by Western medical standards would be a monumental understatement. In moxibustion, a traditional Chinese herb called Artemisia is rolled into a cigar shape and set afire. It is then held close to the little toe of a pregnant woman whose baby is in breech position. According to practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, the heat and smoke from the burning herb stimulates an acupuncture point on that toe which, in turn, increases fetal movement. This helps the baby move into the appropriate position for birth. Dr. Cardini divided 130 women who had babies in breech position in two Chinese hospitals into two groups. At each hospital, one group was treated with the traditional Chinese practice and the other was not. To his amazement, the women who were treated with the traditional therapy had 30% more of their babies move out of breech position. Clearly the treatment helped! Another traditional Chinese therapy holds promise for the millions of people - up to 20% of the U.S. population who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Conventional medicine has had little to offer to patients suffering from this debilitating condition. One drug to treat IBS, Lotronex, had to be withdrawn after reports of several deaths were linked to its use. Although it was reintroduced with severe restrictions in June of 2002, it remains a highly dangerous product. Another commonly prescribed drug, Propulsid has been linked to heart attacks. Indeed, virtually every " cure " Big Pharma has come up with is potentially worse than the disease, which is why the recent study of a Chinese herbal remedy is so important. Conducted in Australia, the study included some 116 IBS patients. They were given five capsules of a traditional Chinese herbal remedy three times a day, and the results were compared with a group given a placebo. Those on the herbal remedy showed a 50% to 60% improvement - with no noticeable side effects! Another traditional Chinese practice that has long been questioned by Big Medicine, acupuncture, is increasingly validated by research. According to the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, their research has confirmed that acupuncture is effective in treating the nausea and vomiting that occurs in the post-operative period and in association with chemotherapy. The agency also says there is evidence that it is beneficial for relieving post-operative dental pain and may also be of benefit in treating pain from menstrual cramps, tennis elbow and fibromyalgia. A study at the University of Pennsylvania confirmed that Yoga exercises are better than wrist braces in helping carpal tunnel syndrome. But traditional Chinese medicine is just one form of alternative that is gaining a following. An even larger number of Americans have become enthusiasts of vitamins and herbal remedies, and with good cause. The results of a Phase II clinical trial conducted by the Cancer Research Institute were published in the February 1, 2003 edition of the Journal " The Prostate. " The trial involved patients who had been treated for Prostate Cancer through one of three methods in an attempt to eliminate the disease: a radical prostatectomy, radiation or cryosurgery but still demonstrated PSA failure following the primary treatment. In other words, the treatment was not wholly successful and the cancer was still present. The patients were given a substance called " modified citrus pectin, " a carbohydrate derived from citrus peel. In every case, the growth of the cancer was significantly slowed. More important, this was the second human trial using modified citrus pectin for this purpose. Further, there were no significant side effects from the pectin. In another study, researchers found that drinking three glasses of cranberry juice daily significantly increased the level of high density lipoproteins, or HDL, the so-called " good cholesterol. " The research was conducted by Dr. Joe Vinson of the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. After maintaining regimen of drinking the three glasses per day of cranberry juice for several weeks, the level of HDL in the participant's blood increased by around 10%. This corresponds to a 40% reduction in the likelihood that they would suffer a heart attack. But that wasn't all. The cranberry juice regimen also increased the antioxidant level in the participant's blood by as much as 121%, further reducing the danger of heart disease. A third study conducted at Johns Hopkins Medical Center entailed giving surgical patients large doses of vitamins E and C. Among the 600 participants, the researchers found that those patients given the vitamin supplements fared much better than those who did not receive supplementation. Specifically, those who got the vitamins were less likely to experience organ failure than those who did not, had shorter stays in intensive care units and spent less time on a ventilator. Moreover, this was not the only recent peer-reviewed clinical study to demonstrate the value of antioxidant vitamins. One important trend is the growing body of evidence that demonstrates the value of alternative therapies such as vitamin supplementation used in conjunction with conventional treatments. VITAMINS AND HEALTH One example of this is found in the results of a clinical trial recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the bible of conventional cancer treatment. The randomized, clinical trial involved 47 chemotherapy patients who were being given Cisplantin. Used to treat bladder, testicular, lung and ovarian cancer, one of its major side effects is neurotoxicity. In the trial, some of the patients had their Cisplantin augmented with 300 mg/day of vitamin E. The results were dramatic. Those receiving the augmented Cisplantin had a 30.7% incidence of neurotoxicity, whereas the incidence among the patients who did not get the vitamin supplement was 85.7%! Further, among the patients who got the vitamin supplement the severity of the neurotoxicity was far less severe. In short, the antioxidant action of the vitamin E reduced both the incidence of this terrible side effect by two-thirds! But that's not all. Studies demonstrating the benefits of antioxidants as a supplement to conventional cancer therapies are not limited to chemotherapy. An article in the April, 2001 American Journal of Gastroenterology reviewed the findings of a study concerning the value of vitamins E and C in relieving one of the most common side effects of radiation therapy for prostate, cervix and endometrial cancers: chronic proctitis. The symptoms of this side effect include diarrhea, pain, bleeding and incontinence. Although for most patients the symptoms clear up after a few weeks, in from 10% to 20% of patients they are persistent. Attempts to treat the condition with conventional anti-inflammatory drugs have proven unsuccessful. In the study ten men and ten women suffering from proctitis took one 400 IU vitamin E tablet and one 500 mg vitamin C tablet three times a day. The patients symptoms were assessed when they began the vitamin supplementation and then after they had been taking the supplements for a period of one year. The results were impressive. Fully 65% of the patients experienced a marked improvement in their symptoms, and 35% had eliminated them entirely. What makes this outcome even more remarkable is the fact that conventional medicines were entirely ineffective! Vitamins are not the only form of supplement that can claim to have valid scientific evidence to support their value. Increasing numbers of clinical trials and studies of herbal products are yielding credible scientific evidence of their value as well. SUPPORT FOR HERBAL REMEDIES Recent studies show that the herb Ginkgo Biloba may produce some improvements in Alzheimer's patients. A study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has confirmed that the herb Saw Palmetto can help relieve the symptoms of benign prostate hyperplasia - a condition that afflicts millions of older men. These two examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Other examples include: " Garlic has been shown to be beneficial in lowering cholesterol and may help lower high blood pressure. " There are more than 120 studies that show Milk Thistle to be beneficial in treating liver disease. In fact, prior to the development of pharmacological alternatives, Milk Thistle was routinely prescribed by conventional practitioners to treat liver problems. " Echinacea, too, has a large number of clinical studies that confirm its value as an immune booster. Studies of Echinacea conducted in Germany show that it helps healthy cells resist viral infections and also helps prevent tissue inflammation. " Hawthorne has been shown in several clinical trials to have a beneficial action in patients suffering from congestive heart failure. " The benefit of Valerian as a sleep aid has been confirmed in dozens of clinical trials, some of which also found it had fewer potential side effects than the pharmacological alternative. " Studies have also confirmed that the herbal remedy St. John's Wort is effective in treating mild to moderate depression. Despite its demonstrated efficacy and benefits, St. John's Wort, however, also provides an interesting example of how Big Medicine and Big Pharma try to undercut public confidence in alternatives. UNDERCUTTING HERBS In April of 2002, widespread publicity was given to a study that found St John's Wort was ineffective in the treatment of severe depression. Early reports, however, omitted three very important facts. First was the fact that St. John's Wort has never been advocated as a treatment of severe depression, only for mild to moderate depression. Second, was the fact that the drug Zoloft, which was also included in the study proved no more effective as a treatment. But third, and most important, was that the study was funded by Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant. But why would Pfizer fund a study that was critical of its own product? The answer is simple. Doctors already are familiar with Zoloft, and as Pfizer's critique of the study indicated, the amount of the drug given to a particular patient is normally adjusted to their specific need, while in this study a set dose was administered. This allowed Pfizer to simultaneously dismiss the negative results for its product while at the same time trumpeting the negative results concerning St. John's Wort. And why would Pfizer be so intent on undermining confidence in St. John's Wort? In many European countries, the herb is the treatment of choice for mild to moderate depression. Indeed, in Germany, roughly 90% of the prescriptions written for this malady - and that comes to around 66 million a year - are for, you guessed it St. John's Wort! It should come as no surprise that Big Pharma doesn't want the competition. St John's Wort is not the only instance in which Big Pharma set out to sabotage its competition. Another study found that acupuncture was ineffective in treating the incurable and debilitating pain caused by HIV-related neuropathy. While these results were widely circulated, the study's other conclusion, that the drug Elavil, was also ineffective was given little attention. Big Pharma also went after a Red Rice Yeast product, Cholestin demanding that the FDA go to court to require that it be treated as a drug. Why? Cholestin was as effective as prescription products like Lipitor and Zocor in lowering cholesterol levels, but only cost a tenth as much. What Big Pharma did not expect, however, was that Cholestin's manufacturer would prevail! Unfortunately, many companies have neither the resources nor the will to resist the pressure from Big Pharma. In the final analysis, the simple fact is that the claim that no scientific evidence exists to support the value of alternative medicine is flatly untrue. There is a wealth of scientific evidence confirming the benefits of many alternatives and more are being conducted every day. Moreover, the resistance from Big Medicine and Big Pharma has less to do with the benefits to patients than it does with their desire to line their pockets and retain control over the health care system. This is why it is so important for the public to speak out and let decision makers know that they want the right to choose the type of health care they believe best meets their individual needs. Otherwise, the option of choosing alternatives to conventional treatments might be foreclosed permanently. Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at HotJobs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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