My take on this whole "alternative medicine" deal

[derby378]

2000 B.C. - Here, eat this root.
1000 B.C. - That root is useless. Here, use this ointment.
500 A.D. - That ointment is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1500 A.D. - That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
1900 A.D. - That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1970 A.D. - That pill is too dangerous. Here, take this antibiotic.
2000 A.D. - That antibiotic doesn't work anymore. Here, eat this root.

I work at a medical school, and part of my experience here has been to learn a little more about the history of medicine in America. And what I've learned so far has been rather enlightening.

The first national medical association in America was not the AMA, but the American Institute of Homeopathy. These homeopaths found themselves competing with Thomsonians, eclectics, phrenologists, and assorted travelling medicine shows throughout the 19th century as they all competed in turn with "regular" medical practitioners to treat ailing Americans. During the next century, chiropractors, osteopaths, and then acupuncturists would join in the melee.

The problem with many of these "alternative" medical practitioners, as with some who opposed any form of progress in medicine, is that they believe that medicine is subject to some external dogma. Acupuncturists, homeopaths, and Therapeutic Touch practitioners all believe that an underlying energy force governs health and vitality. Naturopaths teach that there is a healing power inherent in nature itself that should not be interfered with by means of synthetic pharmaceuticals. Opponents of the use of anesthesia during labor and delivery taught that women were supposed to suffer during childbirth due to divine edict.

From my perspective, however, the physical world around us does not bend to any creed. When people get sick or injured, they need care. And when they do, there are treatments that work and treatments that are just wishful thinking. We confess that we still have much to learn; there are too many ailments and disorders that continue to bear the dreaded label of "incurable." This is only because, for the moment, we have not discovered their Achilles' heel.

That's why we must press on with education and basic medical research - not to bend nature to our will, but to understand nature a little better so that we can use that knowledge to enable more of us to enjoy life more fully.