Natural remedies "seldom effective"

Natural remedies "seldom effective"

www.stuff.co.nz

Colloidal silver, deer velvet, arnica and rescue remedy are a "waste of time and money" and sometimes harmful, doctors say.

In the latest New Zealand Medical Journal Digest, doctors Shaun Holt and Sarah Jeffries and health psychologist Andrew Gilbey have slammed some of New Zealanders' favourite natural health products as ineffective.

Holt told The Press that of the "hundreds" of therapies and products, about 95 per cent were either not biologically plausible or not supported by research evidence.

(visit the link for the full news article)


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www.vifab.dk

No great surprise for anyone with a critical mind - and I suspect "believers" won't believe anything said by doectors or scientists anyway ......but none-the-less I think it is important to note that all the real studies of such "remedies" keep coming up with the same sort of conclusions.

Of course there is a well established conspiracy here -

Gilbey said people were paying big money for products and therapies that did nothing.

but because it is a real conspiracy of course it's no fun at all to investigate - there's no reason to speculate or theorise about it

As for those small number of alternative remedies that ARE effective - the article notes that

"The difficulty for people is, which are the 5 per cent of products and therapies worth trying? Use the ones with evidence behind them.

"The problem is people go on the internet, which is not reliable."

People often assumed a product or therapy worked because reputable people endorsed it in advertisements, he said.

and it is actually difficult to find any rational evidence for effective natural remedies - I've been loking for a bit before writing this, and the 'net is simply overflowing with anecdotal accounts, advertising, etc - I haven't actually been able to find any such documentation at all outside of the Cochrane Review pages linked to - and for herbal medicine that concluded:

Less that half the Cochrane reviews on vitamins and minerals conclude that there is a possibly positive effect or promising results in connection with the tested products.

The majority of the reviews call for more and better research in their field. This is due to the fact that often there is insufficient evidence on which to draw conclusions about the effect of the vitamins and minerals in question.

There are seldom reports of any severe adverse effects.

www.stuff.co.nz
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


Well, from a user of natural remedies and ex chemical medication user, I testify that they work, and work well. Just because they don't work "fast" doesn't mean they don't work well. And after that, they go right to work as a preventative. Humans are a "now" species, and it just don't work that way. Come to my home, and you won't even find an advil anywhere in the building.

Patience is a virtue

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


One word. Wormwood. Do some research on parasitic worms and you will #e yourself...no pun intended. There is a reason why animals go in for annual "deworming"..

reply to post by xacto


Ah...wormwood....Absinthe.....

Bee Pollen is probably the best natural remedy.
I have been taking it for thirty years, for allergies. Side affect? No more flu.
If you need an immune system boost, and you are not allergic to bee pollen, take it. You won't regret it.

What is the frequency of 'seldom' specific to the definition of 'effective'?

Here is some data that says chemo is 2% effective for example. That seems seldom.

Or is the REAL conspiracy in the fact that these studies are carried out by the very same people that gain by selling what Big Pharma has to push?

Let's not forget that many of these remedies have been around for 1,000's of years and work together with out natural bodies as nature should and often does.

Why should we believe that a natural body is better off with unnatural chemicals pushed into it?

That is what really doesn't make any sense at all.

I will not say that 100% of the man made treatments and medicines are in this category as I will also not say that ALL natural approaches are effective. I will say that we should be able to have the option to at least weigh out both and decide for ourselves which suits us better.

To have Big Pharma and Govt. tell us what we can and cannot put into our own body is in itself the biggest conspiracy of all.

Peace

Originally posted by jude11
Or is the REAL conspiracy in the fact that these studies are carried out by the very same people that have a gain by selling what Big Pharma has to push?

Let's not forget that many of these remedies have been around for 1,000's of years and work together with out natural bodies as nature should and often does.

Why should we believe that a natural body is better off with unnatural chemicals pushed into it?

That is what really doesn't make any sense at all.

Peace

Right.. I was diagnosed with anxiety and a "serotonin deficiency" 3 years back and they put me on Paxil. 2 months after being on Paxil I slit my wrists and attempted to bleed out, happily. I wasn't suicidal before Paxil, and then 8 weeks later I slit my wrists. Two doctors at the hospital sat there while I was recovering debating about keeping me on Paxil or moving me to another antidepressant, and how I was gonna deal with the withdrawal. When I got out the hospital, I risked "death, stomach ulcer, and blood clot" by quitting the meds, and started taking Apple Cider Vinegar, and discontinued processed foods. I then went vegetarian, and continued ACV. After 3 months, I felt great. I feel great. I'm doing great. I'm thinking great, and I HATE big pharma....

I went from being over-drugged by prescription medications which did nothing but harm me, to an all-natural regimen of vitamins, minerals and herbs which I find to be not only highly effective, but have many healthful benefits.

Of COURSE these studies never find anything effective about natural remedies. They are done by colleges which are heavily funded by pharmaceutical companies. Quite a few of these quack science "studies" are coming out of New Zealand. We know nothing about the structure of these studies, such as how many subjects participated, what their physical complaints were, how long were they followed, what was the protocol for determining how they were doing, etc.

I call B.S. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 1999. Everything offered for me only made me either sicker, more prone to infections and disease, or horribly addicted. I realized that western allopathic medicine was useless when it came to chronic disease. I did my own research and went through quite a few natural items before I found things that worked for me and restored most of my health.

Most days, I can forget that I am sick. But I can never forget the many doctors, the many medical bills, and the many prescriptions which almost destroyed my life. There is no benefit for big pharma to publish any research results which are favorable for vitamins and herbs that they cannot patent.

Follow the money and learn the truth about why we are now more likely to die younger than our parents did, more likely to die of some horrible chronic disease, and why a few companies are suddenly making billions in yearly profits.

Originally posted by Aloysius the Gaul

Holt told The Press that of the "hundreds" of therapies and products, about 95 per cent were either not biologically plausible or not supported by research evidence.

Of course herbal or natural remedies are "not supported by research evidence" and they never will be. Only patentable products receive any research funding. Drug companies routinely pay for research to be done on their products and, not surprisingly, the (paid) researchers often find that the study drugs work. You can't patent a food product (unless it's a GMO). I see this circular reasoning by the pharmaceutical industry all the time. Herbs will never receive any research funding, therefore herbal remedies will never be "supported by research evidence." Kind of a catch-22, huh?

www.earthclinic.com


get with it people!

Keywords here being,

or not supported by research evidence.

I hear to get something researched and published especially against the upstream fight, it can be expensive.
Big pharma is the real evil.

How did our ancestors ever survive without big pharma?

AtG, you need to do your research for BOTH sides of the spectrum. I had a terrible skin infection. Doctors prescribed 9 different antibiotics, but none of them worked.

Then, I read about oil of oregano. Got some and I was cured within two weeks without side effects.

I was also on antidepressants for a few years. After doing some of my own research, I quit them cold turkey (don't do this -- it was horrible!) and started taking 5000 iu of D3. I haven't felt so good in years. Now, if I'm depressed, there's a reason for it. I don't have days of feeling sad and anxious for no reason.

reply to post by My.mind.is.mine


Thanks for the link!
I just added it to my favorites.

Not quite what the OP intended I don't think, but this thread is spreading awareness of alternative and natural remedies!
Thanks OP.

Originally posted by Afterthought
How did our ancestors ever survive without big pharma?

Not long, painfully, and with lots of problems

Some natural remedies seem to work, like honey. A lot do not. The basic thing, people should not rely strongly for natural medicines. People should not rely on singular thing not too much at all.

And, remember a placebo effect. Like what it is homeopathy. This can work too.

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


Sure they did and so do we. The only thing we have that they didn't have back then is great pain killers. They had a stick to bite down on.

Still, you can't say for certain that what big pharma is peddling is better than what nature has supplied.
In my opinion, the medical community would be more responsible if they administered natural medications first. If these don't help, then try big pharma's drugs. This would be much easier on the body and cause less problems when it comes to side effects.

Also, considering how our food is being engineered to have less nutrients and we're inside out of the sun most of the time, we're led to believe that we need their drugs. In reality, we're lacking in sunshine and nutrients that are causing us to become unstable psychologically and physically.

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


I've used colloidal silver to cure an ear infection and a lung infection. I've used topical arnica to prevent bruising (works like a champ). A family member relies on topical arnica for pain reduction of her arthritis because she can't take drugs. Rescue remedy works awesome for animals. I have a rescue cat who I have to give flower essences to before I take her to the vet because she's a beast otherwise. Animals seem to be more responsive to subtle remedies such as that.

Some of these remedies may not be as fast or powerful as some drugs but that doesn't mean they aren't effective at all.