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The Healing Power of Nature:
Natural Medicine As An Effective Alternative to Conventional Medicine
As we progress into the twenty-first century, we have made many inroads and advances in medicine due to new discoveries in chemistry, biology, and physics. Conventional medicine, our generally accepted system of medical knowledge, is practiced almost exclusively in the United States and abroad. Using this system, medical doctors and other health professionals treat diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery (Tabor 61). Conventional medicine is also known as allopathic, mainstream, modern or Western medicine. These terms will be used interchangeably.
As a technically advanced society, we have become proud of our achievements in science but modern medicine has yet to solve our health problems. There are several diseases such as cancer, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and a wide variety of serious as well as chronic diseases where a cure has been pending for many, many years. Those who are suffering with incurable illnesses, are questioning the true advancement of modern medicine, and wondering, considering the modern innovations in science, if it has really made so much progress at all. We do have everyday experience of the wonders of medical science in the areas of nuclear and emergency medicine, immunology, surgery and medical testing, and certainly these systems are extremely important, but actual disease prevention and treatment for many chronic diseases is still eluding the modern medical establishment.
Due to the widespread interest in natural medicine along with the disappointment and disenchantment with Western medicine, many people, especially in the United States and Europe, where conventional medicine has taken a dominant foothold, are seeking the advice and treatment from naturopathic physicians. These practitioners include herbalists, acupuncturists, naturopaths, chiropractors, and others, who advocate preventative health measures as well as recommend wholesome foods and nutritional supplements for their patients and clients. Considering the growing popularity and effectiveness of alternative health treatments and products, certified and licensed professional practitioners of such medical practices should be given their rightful and respectful place in medical society. Natural medicine has been proven not only to be safe, but more effective than Western medicine in treating many chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and many other diseases as well (Stark 46).
Natural or alternative medicine is a system that uses a variety of therapeutic or preventive health care practices such as homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, and herbal medicine (Stanway Intro.). Alternative medicine is also known as traditional, naturopathic, natural or holistic medicine. Proponents of alternative medicine are not refuting the validity of discoveries in and the practical uses of conventional medicine, but are merely trying to put some things into perspective, and that is the intention of this paper.
Alternative medicine, as the designation implies, is not really alternative at all. Its history and roots can be traced back thousands of years to ancient cultures such as India and China. Ayurvedic (E. Indian) and Chinese medicine, along with their diagnostic and herbal systems, are still used in these countries extensively, as well as in the United States, especially in Europe, where alternative medicine is well respected. Chinese herbal medicine has a documented history of over 2500 years in China, and is now widely used by practitioners all over the world. It has been legally practiced in the United States. since the mid seventies by licensed acupunturists (Beinfield 13).
Homeopathy is also a well-known form of alternative medicine discovered in the 18th century by German physician Samuel Hahnemann, but was practically stamped out in the U.S. in the late nineteenth century by the American Medical Association. In 1938, though, the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act finally recognized homeopathic pharmacopoeia as the legal equivalent of allopathic medicine (Stanway 141).
Another more contemporary and popular form of herbal medicine, called Western herbalism, can be traced back about two hundred years in America. Samuel Thomson, born in 1769, is considered the father of Western herbalism. He discovered over sixty different medically effective native plants by clinical testing, and on the basis of these findings, devised a theory of disease and botanical drug action (Whorton 28). Randy Kidu, D.V.M., Ph.D., writes in his articled entitled A Brief History of Alternative Medicine:
The history of herbal medicine is interesting because herbs have been a part of our diet and
pharmacy since man began roaming the earth. Coprophytic evidence (seeds and other plant part
(found in preserved fecal pellets) points to herbal use by cavemen. Early herbalists practiced their
trade since before recorded history in all parts of the world including China, Egypt, Greece, Rome,
Africa, England, the Americas, and Europe. Many herbs are also mentioned in the Bible. Today,
based on sheer numbers of folks who use one form of herbal medicine or another, it remains the
most-used medicine worldwide. (par. 2)
Twenty-five hundred years after the advent of allopathic medicine, modern medicine is still grappling with the idea that herbal medicine could be an effective treatment, and not just quackery, although thousands of years of recorded history has proved its efficacy.
It is interesting to note that despite dominantly prescribed pharmaceuticals by allopathic physicians, the Western herbal reference, known as the PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) for Herbal Medicine is referenced, if not used, by medical doctors worldwide. This PDR has literally hundreds of herbs listed including information on their therapeutic use on many types of ailments. It’s publisher, the Medical Economics Company, also distributes the famous Physicians Desk Reference (PDR) Manual, the de facto standard for allopathic pharmaceutical information. Non-medical doctors, who practice as herbalists, consult with the herbal Materia Medica, which practically contains the same type of information as the conventional herbal PDR. Conventional medical practitioners usually veil the effectiveness of herbal preparations, and even discredit their use, so that leads one to question why a standard medical book like the herbal PDR is published. It could be more than just a passing fancy by the conventional medical establishment.
Charles S. Clark, senior editor at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, and staff writer at the CQ Researcher in his article, Alternative Medicine, attempts to enlighten us in the questionable efficacy of non-traditional medical methodologies. His opinions are based on examples of real life situations from those who have either experienced positive, negative or no results at all. The article also reveals a not-so-subtle warning to those neophytes considering trying holistic or natural therapies as compared to the tried and true scientifically based, double-blind-placebo tested conventional Western medical approach. Clark writes:
[A]lternative Medicine is not what the doctor ordered, but millions of Americans are exploring medical treatments that have not been approved by mainstream authorities. …..Organizations work to expose health fraud, warn against profiteers who prey on a gullible public. But that hasn't stopped enthusiasts of the alternative treatments from setting up networks to fight for respectability, which, in turn, might bring research funding, licensing and recognition from medical peers. (par. 1)
Although practitioners of alternative medicine and their patients are reporting effective results, there are some persons who propose that such medicine is fraudulent, and is being practiced by insufficient or under/uneducated persons. This certainly could be true is some cases, but has also been true regarding conventional medical doctors who have had their licenses revoked for negligence or incompetence. Clark recollects those who have seemingly been helped or healed by alternative modalities, but at the same time he casts a shadow, if not a blanket of suspicion, around those who have actually experienced such benefits, and the practitioners themselves. Clark goes on to say:
Clearly the driving force behind much of alternative medicine is the efforts of patients to increase the demands they make on doctors. Feminist health groups, for example, are now offering seminars to medical students on how to handle patients sensitively and communicate in a non-sexist manner during pelvic exams. (par. 16)
Clark clearly speculates on the diving force behind alternative medicine. There has existed a driving force behind alternative medicine for centuries, and the motivation has been to heal others. If doctors were not sexists, then there would be no need to offer seminars on how to sensitively handle a woman’s pelvic exam in a “non-sexist manner.”
This type of mentality is one of many reasons women especially, and men also, are turning away from their medical doctors and enlisting the help of alternative practitioners. It is a fact that mostly woman do see alternative practitioners and the numbers are increasing. The 2002 the National Women’s Health Report published the National Health Information Survey (NHIS), which concluded that the use of alternative medicine among women was greater than among men, with sixty nine percent of woman using Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) twelve months prior to the survey (par. 1).
According to a survey published in 2008 by National Women's Health Resource Center in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, it is true that more women, of all ages, than ever before, are turning to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for their health needs. Of 31,044 US adults surveyed, more than 17,000 were women (par. 5).
Michael P. Annavi, Ph.D., in his essay on allopathic authority, entitled Scraps from the Table of Allopathic Power, states that the allopathic medical industry has created a process of invalidation that promotes the ideology that knowledge is real only if it is established within this tautological framework of European thought (par. 5). The difficulty in establishing the practices and rights of non-traditional health professionals has been thwarted for the past two centuries from those who advocate the practice of scientifically validated medicine, from the traditional medical societies, and, of course, from the medical doctors themselves. This is nothing more than systematic prejudice and racism, especially in regard to the Chinese and E. Indian medical practitioners of acupuncture and Ayurvedic medicine.
Larry Altshuler, M.D., in his book Balanced Healing, states that many alternative healing methods are simply more effective than conventional treatments are for certain conditions, and many treatments have fewer side effects and potential dangers (28). Throughout his book, Dr. Altshuler discusses natural treatments he has used effectively on patients for many years. A proponent of preventative and natural medicine, Dr. Altshuler explains, for example, that there is a strong correlation between diabetes and obesity (188). As a truly alternative medical treatment, firstly he mentions that patients should completely avoid alcohol, which is very high in sugar content. Secondly he says to eat a balanced diet, low in refined sugars, fat, and animal products, and high in plant fiber. Thirdly he recommends the vitamins, nutrients and herbs necessary for supplementation. Lastly he recommends getting acupuncture treatments (189).
In the documentary film, The True Story of The Bridge on the River Kwai, Otto C. Schwarth, an American P.O.W., forced to work on the railway between Burma and Thailand during World War II, described how hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war, British and American, sick and dying of various diseases, were treated by a handful of physicians. In his interview, Mr. Schwarth, then in his eighties, recalled:
The Americans were forever grateful to Dutch medical doctor Henry Hecking. Dr. Hecking was born and raised in Indonesia by his grandmother who was an herbalist. He was our savior, actually, because he knew all the local herbs. Our group ended up having the lowest death rate on the line.
Michael Wayne, Ph.D., author of Quantum Integral Medicine, explains in his interview with Acupuncture Today:
This biomedicine (conventional medicine) has been based on a model on linear determination and reductionism – approaches that see the world in very black and white terms. This approach has gotten our selves into a lot of trouble, not only with its approach to the human body, but also with its approach to solving world problems. It is very cause-and-effect oriented and is always looking to find the one ultimate cause that created the dilemma (par. 3).
Modern medical science has denied the larger picture of health and healing, being induced by corporate influence and profiteering. We are presently seeing the outcomes of such corruption and greed - like war in the Mid East in an attempt to monopolize oil reserves, global warming along with the melting of the polar ice caps, and worldwide economic collapse.
It has also become an amusement of some medical doctors to criticize natural medicine and its practitioners. In an interview with Dr. Smith, an Orthopedic Surgeon in Fresno, (who preferred to keep his first name anonymous), revealed that chiropractors are referred to, in the conservative medical world, as “psuedo-doctors.” In the early twentieth century the medical establishment fought against the profession of Chiropractic, saying that due to public welfare and protection, these types of alternative medical practitioners should not be licensed. We find that it was actually due to economic self-interest and not public welfare, or as Chiropractors state “the ermine gloves of altruism frequently conceal the brass knuckles of greed” (Whorton 138). Plainly speaking, the medical profession does not want to share its economic benefits with other medicine men.
Hippocrates was also considered a heretic or “quack” of his time because the medical thinking of his day was that disease and recovery were caused or influenced by gods and demons (Whorton 3). Hippocrates (born 460 BC) is considered the father of Western allopathic medicine. He is credited with greatly advancing the systematic study of clinical medicine, summing up the medical knowledge of previous schools, and prescribing practices for physicians (Wikipedia, par. 2).
Twentieth-century medicine has made incredible inroads of discovery including nuclear technology for diagnosis and treatment. Although conventional medicine has made a great deal of scientific advancement, many people are still suffering from chronic debilitating diseases and incurable diseases. Allopathic medicine has hundred years of research and discovery, but does not seem to be making valuable and affordable solutions as we progress into the twenty-first century.
The cost of medical treatment is staggeringly high, especially for diagnostic testing and hospitals visits. Medical practitioners are concerned not only with there own economic progress, but keeping at bay those who are not deemed worthy of the title Medical Doctor or M.D. In ancient China, the doctor was not paid for their services if a person became ill (Denlinger 2). They were only compensated for keeping patrons healthy via advice on diet, nutrition and exercise. They prescribed herbal medicines, not only for illness but for preventative health as well, so it was the healthy who supported the Chinese practitioner and not the sick. Unfortunately, in our modern society, it is the sick that provide the practitioner with a healthy income.
A new model of understanding in medicine needs to be incorporated into the existing allopathic model. Because of the growing popularity and effectiveness of alternative medicine, practitioners may eventually be given their deserved place in medical society. The incorporation of alternative medical practices into the existing model of conventional Western medicine, including the training of new medical doctors, is now called Complimentary Medicine (Altshuler 50). In order to solve our health problems, this modern paradigm for treatment in medicine must be promoted. This can only truly emerge when bias, self-interest, greed and discrimination is discarded and diverse medical knowledge is promoted and shared, not only between university trained scientists and medical doctors, but amongst alternative practitioners, philosophers, metaphysicians, and other intelligentsia of society as well.
With the integration of alternative medicine with conventional medicine, we hope to see a model that focuses on health and healing, instead of illness and economic benefit. As more states license N.D.’s (naturopathic physicians), seeing them should be as commonplace as visiting your allopathic medical doctor. This could become the new ideal for medicine and health in the twenty-first century and beyond. We also look forward to the day when labels such as quack or pseudo-doctor will disappear along with other biased subjective judgments.
Up to a century ago, the common person thought it was impossible to fly, but after discovering the natural laws of aerodynamics, we can routinely fly into outer space. In his film, Galileo, Bertolt Brecht's historically depicts the life of Galileo Galilei. In the seventeenth century, Galileo, at the risk of persecution and death, proved through the study of cosmology and by using the foundation of mathematics, that the sun was the center of the heavens, and not the earth. In the same way, by using the natural ideals and foundations of medical knowledge, we will begin to make new and future discoveries in health and healing. As the 17th century Victorian poet Matthew Arnold wrote in his essay on God and the Bible,” "the free-thinking of one age is the common sense of the next."