abc drum. war against natural medicine

[loubert]

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3840682.html

Left a bit speechless after reading this article...what to say.

[Loki]

I can, only just, hear the whoosh as that article entirely misses any semblance of the point.

[Xeno]

Originally Posted by Schwager

Yet natural medicine has been utilised across Asia and Europe for thousands of years.

Brought to you by the school of Greater Ignorance Is Good For You.

[Voltairine]

In ancient times, research into TCM (which was really only used for the emperor) involved the "royal doctors" concocting a special mix of herbs and spices, well plants and animal parts, and feeding them to some poor peasant. If the peasant died, they went back to the mixing table. If the peasant lived, the concoction was given to the emperor.

Not having a handy supply of peasants, modern researchers are actually looking at TCM in a scientific way, although they still refer to the history of empirical "data". Now TCM is being researched for efficacy and therapeutically active compounds, which could lead to new drug compounds that have been properly evaluated and tested.

Sure, many concoctions will be shown to be a pile of useless crap (some of them smell like it too) but that will be a good thing as some mixtures still DO kill. All medicines start from somewhere, so while TCM's history can be used as an blurry starting point, the counter is really back to '0' till the research can be done. It, of course, won't stop people from using them in the meantime.

I should add that I have been treated with TCM for a problem for which modern medicine didn't have pill to pop. Damn stuff worked - visibly worked. Well for a short time. You can't take it for a long time, days only. So the 'doctor' reworked the formula. The second formula, only a few tweaks different, made me sick. So I gave up. Proponents of TCM say it's good for chronic conditions but you can't use what seems to work for a long time.

I want research to be conducted into TCM so they weed out the crap and find those active compounds and put them in a pill.

All those others - chiropractic, osteopathy, naturopathy, iridology, kinesiology, reflexology, homeopathy and aromatherapy - crap, crap, crap. Sorry, dangerous crap, dangerous crap, dangerous crap... Although aromatherapy smells pretty.

[Aldaron]

Although aromatherapy smells pretty.

Yup. I don't practise "aromatherapy" so much as "light an oil-burner with something in it that smells nice."

[senectus]

I had to stop half way through. It was beginning to sound like a twightlight fan was having a whine.

FFS, I didn't even know that the BS hocus pocus of kinesiology and reflexology
WERE being taught in uni's.
I didn't even know what iridology was. Now I wish I didn't.


I really wish we could send these idiots back to the dark ages they revere so much. see how much they like the shortened life spans and torturous medical practices then.

[Xeno]

I read in an SBS news item today of a Swedish scientist commenting on the advantages from science in reducing mortality and especially infant mortality. He said something like:

People in the rainforest do not live in harmony with nature. They die in harmony with nature.