Combining the old and the new
from Bangkok Post
Published: 24/05/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Life
The duty of a doctor has always been the same - to cure diseases. Good doctors are those who can cure diseases quickly and effectively. How good a doctor is depends on whether he can treat the diseases, whether he can save lives and whether the diseases recur.
In reality, there are only a few diseases that can be healed permanently without a chance of recurring. Many diseases will go away in exchange with other symptoms, such as side effects from the medication. There are diseases that modern medicine cannot cure but traditional medicine can, such as non-herpetic cold sores.
In treating patients, doctors know there are limits and decades of research still have not cured all diseases in the world. Even specialists cannot heal every patient. Sometimes the patients seek alternative medicine, which is not completely accepted by modern conventional doctors, so the patients have to sneak around behind the doctor's back.
A patient of mine had narrowed arteries for a long time. One day, she said her shoulders hurt, but I checked and it was not related to her heart disease - it could have been, but in this case it was not. I prescribed some medication to treat her shoulder problem, but months later she came back without any progress. Due to her heart condition, diabetes and high blood pressure, the amount of tablets prescribed had to be limited. I had no other option so I sent her to see a Chinese acupuncturist. Soon, she returned with a happy smile, saying her shoulders were fine and her blood pressure was back to normal.
Although this option is not recognised by all doctors, alternative medicine has become increasingly popular. Traditional medicine is only a part of this. Alternative medicine includes massage, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, breathing techniques, and even future medicine (that's what I call it - it's not the formal name) such as electro-magnetic fields and many forms of energy medicine. Some people do not treat the illness but use certain foods to battle the disease. It can be regarded as a treatment, such as the Mediterranean diet, which is full of olive oil, nuts and vegetables.
In Thailand, there is also food therapy. We've been taught that we should eat mangosteen after we eat durian. It has been proven that mangosteens contain antioxidants, which would be good for people who eat durian, which is high in calories and fat. Spices such as garlic and chilli, which are widely used in most Thai recipes, can help reduce inflammation - one of the causes of many chronic diseases and even artery disease. It was believed that the latter was caused by fat clogging the blood vessel, but it was later found that it could be due to artery wall inflammation, which triggers the clogging in the first place.
Modern medicine does not fully recognise these alternatives, partly because modern doctors have been taught to think rationally based on statistics and medical research. For a medicine to be used, it has to be tested to prove that it works on most patients (not all, unfortunately) and has an acceptable level of side effects (meaning there will be some side effects). The medicine has to be tested on a large group of people and the effectiveness has to be satisfactory and clear. This is the way how modern conventional medicine is controlled by statistics!
Alternative medicine usually has no scientific proof or research to back it up as reliable. It has been passed on from generation to generation, through observation and apprenticeship. Scientific research and data accumulation might not be suitable for alternative medicine because traditional medicine is more of an art than a science.
The purpose is not to treat the symptoms based on numerical data (statistics), but to make the patient feel better and relieve the symptoms. In other words, modern medicine is about the physical aspect while alternative medicine targets emotional and physical aspects together.
For example, the benefits of ginger and garlic, scientifically, might be difficult to surmise. Some research claims they can reduce blood pressure, while other studies say they can't. It could be due to the difference in the ginger and garlic places of origin, how they are stored, prepared and used. Since they are natural, their effects will gradually appear, not dramatically, so the studies might not be able to detect their effects. Plus, emotional effects cannot be measured by any modern statistics.
Both traditional and modern medicines have pros and cons, so it is better to approach both in the right way. This is called integrative medicine. However, the doctor has to know how to use both approaches in order to obtain best benefits for the patients.
A patient of mine felt pain in his chest because of cardiac syndrome X, which is harder to treat than narrowed arteries. I had tried all the medicines available, but it was not until EECP (Enhanced External Counterpulsation) treatment that he felt better.
The effect was, however, only temporary and soon the pain came back. As some reports say it could work, I tried acupuncture and miraculously the patient felt better. By better, I mean the symptoms went away and there was no need to use medication or EECP. That was years ago, and recently, I checked his heart and it was perfectly normal.
Integrative medicine is now widely recognised. Some universities in the US offer this field of study. Other than medical treatments, it also includes meditation, hypnosis, detoxification, acupuncture and food therapy. However, the focus is not only on physical wellness but also emotional wellness. This definitely has no statistical proof as it can't be measured.
It sounds like the past is the future. However, it is up to your consideration. My suggestion is no method can cure every patient. If it claims to do so, it's a lie. Don't believe the hype!
MY THOUGHTS
Whatever works, go for it!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Alternative Medicine and Your Family
Alternative Medicine and Your Family
Do you rely on alternative therapies when treating illness in your family?
By Cindy Drabick | Email the author | May 4, 2011
Modern medicine is a wonderful thing. Dating back from the discovery that antibiotics could save a life, we have grown to rely on the wonders of modern medicine. We still don’t clearly know how aspirin works, or do we know how to cure to the common cold but technology and research continue to make great strides in medicine.
Sometimes, doctors don’t have all of the answers to our medical problems and some look to alternative therapies to find relief. While drugs are beneficial, sometimes the side effects can outweigh the benefits. People then turn to alternative ways of dealing with their illness. These would include acupuncture, herbal remedies, massage therapy, and even aromatherapy.
“Acupuncture can be very helpful in helping treat a variety of things such as anxiety, depression, PMS, and other physical conditions,” shared Kathy Koch, Master Acupuncturist.
She adds, “It is my hope that insurance companies will realize how beneficial alternative therapies can be and continue to move in the direction of accepting these therapies for overall wellness.”
So, what do you think? Are you quick to find a prescription to ease your symptoms or do you look for alternative therapies when your family gets sick? Tell us in the comments.
MY COMMENTS
I'm a believer. I go for alternative cures when they are available.
Do you rely on alternative therapies when treating illness in your family?
By Cindy Drabick | Email the author | May 4, 2011
Modern medicine is a wonderful thing. Dating back from the discovery that antibiotics could save a life, we have grown to rely on the wonders of modern medicine. We still don’t clearly know how aspirin works, or do we know how to cure to the common cold but technology and research continue to make great strides in medicine.
Sometimes, doctors don’t have all of the answers to our medical problems and some look to alternative therapies to find relief. While drugs are beneficial, sometimes the side effects can outweigh the benefits. People then turn to alternative ways of dealing with their illness. These would include acupuncture, herbal remedies, massage therapy, and even aromatherapy.
“Acupuncture can be very helpful in helping treat a variety of things such as anxiety, depression, PMS, and other physical conditions,” shared Kathy Koch, Master Acupuncturist.
She adds, “It is my hope that insurance companies will realize how beneficial alternative therapies can be and continue to move in the direction of accepting these therapies for overall wellness.”
So, what do you think? Are you quick to find a prescription to ease your symptoms or do you look for alternative therapies when your family gets sick? Tell us in the comments.
MY COMMENTS
I'm a believer. I go for alternative cures when they are available.
Monday, May 9, 2011
HERBAL MEDS FOR INFANTS?
Infants getting herbal remedies, despite questions
Published May 03, 2011
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents commonly give infants teas or herbal supplements said to soothe "fussiness," even though there's no good evidence that the products work, a U.S. government study finds.
There are a number of teas and botanical products with ingredients like chamomile, ginger and fennel that are marketed for easing infants' tummy troubles, fussiness and sleep issues.
The problem is there is little evidence that they work, or that they are completely safe.
In the new study published Monday, Dr. Yuanting Zhang and colleagues at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wanted to find out how common it is for parents to give infants tea or herbal products.
Surveying more than 2,600 U.S. mothers, they found that 9 percent had given their baby at least one of those products in the first year of life.
The products included teas with chamomile or other herbs said to soothe; gripe water, a botanical marketed for easing colic that includes ingredients like ginger and fennel; and "teething tablets," which may contain ingredients like calcium and chamomile.
Mothers most often said they used the products to help with their babies' fussiness, colic, digestion or teething, the FDA team reports in the journal Pediatrics.
But whether the products actually work as advertised is another matter.
A recent review of 15 studies, also published in Pediatrics, found scant support for using herbal extracts, sugar water or digestion-aiding "probiotics" for colic.
Infants are considered "colicky" if they are healthy but cry excessively -- for more than about 3 hours per day. Colic is very common, and usually disappears after the first few months of life.
Experts often recommend that parents try tactics like giving their colicky infants smaller, more frequent feedings, or more touch and attention. But there are no products known to ease colic.
Because dietary supplements are not regulated in the same way drugs are, they do not have to be proven safe and effective before they go on store shelves.
They may also contain contaminants, like heavy metals, that could be particularly unsafe for infants, according to the FDA researchers.
There have been cases, they note, in which infants and adults have been poisoned by contaminants in alternative-medicine products, including traditional Indian Ayurvedic remedies tainted with lead.
And even if the products are safe, Zhang's team writes, experts generally recommend that babies receive only breast milk or infant formula for the first 4 to 6 months of life. Giving babies tea or other liquids may dampen their desire for the nutrient-rich milk that they need.
In general, experts recommend against giving infants any medications or supplements without talking with your pediatrician first.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/jsN8aW Pediatrics, online May 2, 2011.
SOURCE: Pediatrics 2011;
MY THOUGHTS
Better safe than sorry!
Published May 03, 2011
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents commonly give infants teas or herbal supplements said to soothe "fussiness," even though there's no good evidence that the products work, a U.S. government study finds.
There are a number of teas and botanical products with ingredients like chamomile, ginger and fennel that are marketed for easing infants' tummy troubles, fussiness and sleep issues.
The problem is there is little evidence that they work, or that they are completely safe.
In the new study published Monday, Dr. Yuanting Zhang and colleagues at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wanted to find out how common it is for parents to give infants tea or herbal products.
Surveying more than 2,600 U.S. mothers, they found that 9 percent had given their baby at least one of those products in the first year of life.
The products included teas with chamomile or other herbs said to soothe; gripe water, a botanical marketed for easing colic that includes ingredients like ginger and fennel; and "teething tablets," which may contain ingredients like calcium and chamomile.
Mothers most often said they used the products to help with their babies' fussiness, colic, digestion or teething, the FDA team reports in the journal Pediatrics.
But whether the products actually work as advertised is another matter.
A recent review of 15 studies, also published in Pediatrics, found scant support for using herbal extracts, sugar water or digestion-aiding "probiotics" for colic.
Infants are considered "colicky" if they are healthy but cry excessively -- for more than about 3 hours per day. Colic is very common, and usually disappears after the first few months of life.
Experts often recommend that parents try tactics like giving their colicky infants smaller, more frequent feedings, or more touch and attention. But there are no products known to ease colic.
Because dietary supplements are not regulated in the same way drugs are, they do not have to be proven safe and effective before they go on store shelves.
They may also contain contaminants, like heavy metals, that could be particularly unsafe for infants, according to the FDA researchers.
There have been cases, they note, in which infants and adults have been poisoned by contaminants in alternative-medicine products, including traditional Indian Ayurvedic remedies tainted with lead.
And even if the products are safe, Zhang's team writes, experts generally recommend that babies receive only breast milk or infant formula for the first 4 to 6 months of life. Giving babies tea or other liquids may dampen their desire for the nutrient-rich milk that they need.
In general, experts recommend against giving infants any medications or supplements without talking with your pediatrician first.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/jsN8aW Pediatrics, online May 2, 2011.
SOURCE: Pediatrics 2011;
MY THOUGHTS
Better safe than sorry!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Honey as Alternative Medicine
Healing with Honey
By EatingWell Editors, March/April 2009
The ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans all considered honey a basic component of any first-aid kit and today, we’re hearing more and more about honey’s healing power. We sort through the claims and the science.
A Diet Helper?
In a 2008 study in the Journal of Food Science, scientists reported that rats that were fed a honey-sweetened diet gained 23 percent less weight than those that ate food spiked with refined sugar over one year. (One rat year equals about 20 human ones.) “The honey we used was high in antioxidants so it is possible that this led to greater fat burning,” says Lynne Chepulis, Ph.D., lead researcher and author of the book Healing Honey (Brown Walker Press, 2008). Chepulis points to research linking other antioxidant-rich foods (e.g., green tea) with speeding up your metabolism. But not all honeys are rich in antioxidants. Another study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that the most common type of honey—clover—doesn’t have many more antioxidants than refined sugar.
Bottom line: Research linking honey with weight-loss benefits is preliminary at best. Adding any sweetener to your diet without subtracting another can lead to weight gain.
A Cough syrup?
Researchers at Penn State University tested honey against dextromethorphan—the active ingredient in most cough medicines—as a cough suppressant in children and found honey to be more effective. Sweetness may be honey’s “active ingredient.” The brain part that registers sweet tastes and the part that causes coughing are located near each other so sensing sweetness may affect coughing, says author Ian M. Paul, M.D., who published the study in 2007 in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
Bottom line: If you’re trying to soothe a child’s cough, or yours, try honey. Don’t give it to a baby younger than one: honey may contain spores of a bacteria that causes botulism, which an infant’s immature immune system can’t handle.
Relief from Allergies?
The theory is this: Honeybees gather pollen from the very plants that cause your itchy eyes, so consuming a small daily dose of the local honey—and subsequently these pollens—may stimulate your immune system and reduce allergies, explains Miguel P. Wolbert, an allergist and immunologist at the Allergy & Asthma Care Center in Evansville, Indiana. But the pollens that cause sneezing and congestion—such as ragweed—are windborne, while the pollens bees collect are too heavy to fly in the breeze. Windborne pollens can fall onto flowers, get picked up by bees and end up in honey, says Wolbert, “but it’s likely to be a very, very small amount.” Not enough to make a difference. And, so far, no clinical evidence shows that honey alleviates allergy symptoms.
Bottom line: It’s not likely that honey will help your allergies, says Wolbert, but, “I don’t tell my patients not to eat it.”
MY THOUGHTS
Awww! My confidence in honey as an alternative medicine just got shot to pieces.
By EatingWell Editors, March/April 2009
The ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans all considered honey a basic component of any first-aid kit and today, we’re hearing more and more about honey’s healing power. We sort through the claims and the science.
A Diet Helper?
In a 2008 study in the Journal of Food Science, scientists reported that rats that were fed a honey-sweetened diet gained 23 percent less weight than those that ate food spiked with refined sugar over one year. (One rat year equals about 20 human ones.) “The honey we used was high in antioxidants so it is possible that this led to greater fat burning,” says Lynne Chepulis, Ph.D., lead researcher and author of the book Healing Honey (Brown Walker Press, 2008). Chepulis points to research linking other antioxidant-rich foods (e.g., green tea) with speeding up your metabolism. But not all honeys are rich in antioxidants. Another study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that the most common type of honey—clover—doesn’t have many more antioxidants than refined sugar.
Bottom line: Research linking honey with weight-loss benefits is preliminary at best. Adding any sweetener to your diet without subtracting another can lead to weight gain.
A Cough syrup?
Researchers at Penn State University tested honey against dextromethorphan—the active ingredient in most cough medicines—as a cough suppressant in children and found honey to be more effective. Sweetness may be honey’s “active ingredient.” The brain part that registers sweet tastes and the part that causes coughing are located near each other so sensing sweetness may affect coughing, says author Ian M. Paul, M.D., who published the study in 2007 in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
Bottom line: If you’re trying to soothe a child’s cough, or yours, try honey. Don’t give it to a baby younger than one: honey may contain spores of a bacteria that causes botulism, which an infant’s immature immune system can’t handle.
Relief from Allergies?
The theory is this: Honeybees gather pollen from the very plants that cause your itchy eyes, so consuming a small daily dose of the local honey—and subsequently these pollens—may stimulate your immune system and reduce allergies, explains Miguel P. Wolbert, an allergist and immunologist at the Allergy & Asthma Care Center in Evansville, Indiana. But the pollens that cause sneezing and congestion—such as ragweed—are windborne, while the pollens bees collect are too heavy to fly in the breeze. Windborne pollens can fall onto flowers, get picked up by bees and end up in honey, says Wolbert, “but it’s likely to be a very, very small amount.” Not enough to make a difference. And, so far, no clinical evidence shows that honey alleviates allergy symptoms.
Bottom line: It’s not likely that honey will help your allergies, says Wolbert, but, “I don’t tell my patients not to eat it.”
MY THOUGHTS
Awww! My confidence in honey as an alternative medicine just got shot to pieces.
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