Western Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine

Western Medicine is organized around the Theory of Diseases, which believes that a person becomes sick because he or she contracts a disease. In this model, each disease is seen as an independent entity which can be fully understood without regard to the person it afflicts or the environment in which it occurs.

Western Medicine utilizes treatments of diseases, not of people. and offers 2 primary options: (1) drugs, and (2) surgery.

Most of the drugs employed in Western medicine are designed to act as chemical strait jackets, preventing the cells of the body from performing some function that has become hyperactive. Most of the surgeries are designed to try to fix a biochemical problem with a physical tool set.

The side effects of these drugs and surgeries are a direct extension of their actions and may be fatal. A Harvard research team concluded that more than 180,000 Americans are killed in hospitals by their doctors every year. Most of these deaths occur because doctors prescribe drugs without paying attention to the special characteristics of the person for whom the drugs are prescribed.

Alternative Medical Systems, Ancient and Modern 
Alternative systems of healing supply a perspective that can help to reverse the "one size fits all" philosophy of conventional medical practice.

All alternative systems of healing, ancient or modern, share one common characteristic which separates them from conventional Western medicine. They all approach sickness as a dynamic event in the life of an individual, a problem of balance and relationship, the result of disharmony between the sick person and his or her environment. This approach to understanding illness is called biographical. 

In the biographical concept of illness, the "disease" itself has no independent reality. The healer's job is not to identify and treat the disease entity, but to characterize the disharmony of each particular case, so that they can be corrected. These disharmonies are described differently in different cultures. 

The language which describes them may be magical or naturalistic, but the diagnostic and therapeutic focus is always on the person who is ill and the context in which the illness occurs, rather than on the disease itself. 

Note: In general, a naturopathic physician will look at you from a holistic perspective, seeking the underlying causes of your illness, rather than elimination of symptoms. Likely you will spend more time with the naturopathic physician, exploring issues of lifestyle, history, diet, etc. A naturopathic physician will search first for the least intrusive methods of treatment with the lowest risk of side effects. You'll be encouraged to become a partner in your health care, actively making decisions with the guidance of your physician.

Integrated Medicine (or Integrative Medicine) uses the best from both Western Medicine and Alternative Medicine. Integrated Medicine perceives illness biographically and at the same time uses the powerful database of modern biological and behavioral science to help describe the varied disharmonies which undermine the health of each individual. 

These disturbances originate, almost entirely, with dietary, environmental or social conditions. Although the media are full of stories about "cancer genes", for example, the scientific evidence is that greater than 90% of cancers are environmentally induced.

When identical twins are reared in separate environments, the rate at which each twin develops cancer is comparable to the cancer rate in the adoptive family, not the biological family. The publicity accorded to "cancer genes" serves to cripple individual initiatives at cancer prevention and to displace scrutiny from cancer's environmental and dietary triggers.

Integrated Medicine exists to empower you to improve your health by improving your four pillars of healing: interpersonal relationships, diet, environment, and your innate system of detoxification and repair. 

Integrated Medicine couples the latest scientific advances with the most profound insights of ancient healing systems, giving you the best ways to preserve health, increase longevity and speed recovery from illness.

Integrated Medicine recognizes that the outcome of all health care is strongly dependent upon four powerful influences in the lives of each person. These four pillars of healing are:

1. Relationship. The social support network: family, friends, involvement in community, and a strong-patient alliance.
2. Diet and lifestyle.  Nutrition, habits, and the daily pattern of rest and exercise.
3. A healthy environment.  Protection from chemical and biological toxins.
4. Detoxification. The body’s ability to self-purify and protect itself from internal toxicity.

Integrated Medicine allows you to find optimal health by understanding your individual needs for achieving balance and harmony. 

Note: The Death to Diabetes program utilizes all four of these pillars, including how to strengthen the immune system to defend your body against most diseases.

Key Point: Don't assume that just because a healthcare professional is involved in alternative medicine that they can help you with your diabetes! Most of the following alternative healthcare professionals are ill-equipped to help you with your diabetes: dietitians, nutritionists, diabetes educators, chiropractors, herbalists, wellness consultants, holistic practitioners,  acupuncturists, naturopathic doctors, etc. Ensure that the person has the science background in diabetes pathology and nutrition by interviewing the person before you give up any of your money! Be wary if they offer a guarantee but require full payment!

Note: For more information about alternative medicine, refer to theComplementary and Alternative Medicine web page.

Western, Alternative Medicine: The Business Side

Western Medicine generates billions of dollars of revenue, driven by millions of prescription and OTC drugs and thousands of medical surgeries.

Although more people are turning to Alternative Medicine therapies, their revenue is in the millions of dollars -- far less than Western medicine.

The practice and use of Alternative Medicine is more prevalent in Asian and African countries than in the western world. For instance, in some African and Asian nations about 80 percent of the population gets its primary health care via Alternative medicines. 

In many developed countries, 70% to 80% of the population has used some form of alternative or complementary medicine (e.g. acupuncture).

Herbal treatments are the most popular form of traditional medicine, and are highly lucrative in the international marketplace. Annual revenues in Western Europe reached $5 billion in 2003-2004. In China sales of products totaled $14 billion in 2005. Herbal medicine revenue in Brazil was $160 million in 2007.

People in more developed nations have been increasingly making use of complementary and alternative medicines, in conjunction with conventional health care treatments. Estimates reveal that in some developed nations, close to 70 – 80 percent of the populace has received some form of alternative medicine therapy.

Alternative Medicine in the U.S. 

In the United States, Western Medicine (drugs and surgeries) is a multi-billion dollar business that will eventually reach more than a trillion dollars annually within a few years.  That's right -- a trillion dollars for drugs and surgeries!

However, the use of alternative medicines in the US is widespread and growing. Based on a national governmental survey released in December 2008, about 38 percent of U.S. adults (18 and over) and close to 12 percent of children use some type ofcomplementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Moreover, the use of alternative medicine treatments varies with the annual income. The use of CAM increases with an annual income of $100,000 and over, and is also common among those who have a post graduate education .

Some insurance companies provide partial coverage for alternative treatments, but because of their business connection to the pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies  limit alternative medicine coverage to discourage patients from opting out of Western Medicine's solution of drugs and surgeries. 

In general, the most common reason cited for using alternative medicines is to promote general health. Musculoskeletal problems such as back, neck, or joint pain are among the commonest of medical problems for which these therapies are used. Diseases such diabetes, heart disease, some cancer,s chronic fatigue, arthritis, osteoporosis, and obesity have faired well using alternative medicine therapies.  However, most doctors discourage their patients from using alternative therapies, even though they are more effective and a lot less expensive.  Unfortunately, medical doctors make their money pushing drugs and surgery -- they don't make any money encouraging people to eat vegetables.

About 12 percent children use CAM in the US such as homeopathic medicines,  herbs and yoga for addressing a number ailments. Further, the children whose parents use CAM therapies are five times more likely to use them. Some experts also believe, that in part, higher costs associated with mainstream medication are a reason for people choosing alternative treatments.

Back in 1990, just one-third of the U.S. population made use of alternative treatments, today just the adults account for about 40 percent use. Complementary and alternative medicine and therapies are indeed one of the fastest growing sectors within health care.

Homepathic Medicine

Homeopathic Medicine, or homeopathy, is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient.Because of the inconsistency of these diluted preparations, the collective weight of scientific evidence has found homeopathy to be no more effective than a placebo. For type 2 diabetics, they are able to temporarily lower their blood glucose levels, but their bodies are still biochemically and hormonally diabetic -- so the diabetes continues to progress, unless the patient implements a superior nutritional program such as theDeath to Diabetes Nutritional Program.

The basic principle of homeopathy, known as the "law of similars", is "let like be cured by like." It was first stated by German physician Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. His "law of similars" is taken on his word as an unproven assertion, and is not a true law of nature based on the scientific method. Homeopathic remedies are prepared by serial dilution with shaking by forceful striking on an elastic body, which homeopaths term succussion. Each dilution followed by succussion is assumed to increase the effectiveness. Homeopaths call this process potentization. Dilution often continues until none of the original substance remains. Apart from the symptoms, homeopaths examine aspects of the patient's physical and psychological state, then homeopathic reference books known as repertories are consulted, and a remedy is selected based on the totality of symptoms.

Homeopathy is a vitalist philosophy that interprets diseases and sickness as caused by disturbances in a hypothetical vital force or life force. It sees these disturbances as manifesting themselves as unique symptoms. Homeopathy maintains that the vital force has the ability to react and adapt to internal and external causes, which homeopaths refer to as the law of susceptibility. The law of susceptibility implies that a negative state of mind can attract hypothetical disease entities called miasms to invade the body and produce symptoms of diseases. 

However, Hahnemann rejected the notion of a disease as a separate thing or invading entity and insisted that it was always part of the "living whole". Hahnemann proposed homeopathy in reaction to the state of traditional Western Medicine at that time, which often was brutal and more harmful than helpful. Hahnemann coined the expression "allopathic medicine," which was used to pejoratively refer to traditional western medicine.

While some individual studies have positive results, systematic reviews of published trials fail to demonstrate efficacy. Furthermore, higher quality trials tend to report results that are less positive, and most positive studies have not been replicated or show methodological problems that prevent them from being considered unambiguous evidence of homeopathy's efficacy.

Depending on the dilution, homeopathic remedies may not contain any pharmacologically active molecules, and for such remedies to have pharmacological effect would violate fundamental principles of science. Modern homeopaths have proposed that water has a memory that allows homeopathic preparations to work without any of the original substance; however, there are no verified observations nor scientifically plausible physical mechanisms for such a phenomenon.

The lack of convincing scientific evidence to support homeopathy's efficacy and its use of remedies lacking active ingredients have caused homeopathy to be described as pseudoscience, quackery, and a "cruel deception". Homeopathic remedies are safe at high dilutions recommended by Hahnemann, since they likely contain no molecules of the original substance, but they may not be safe at lower dilutions. Homeopathy has been criticized for putting patients at risk due to advice against conventional medicine such as vaccinations, anti-malarial drugs, and antibiotics.

The regulation and prevalence of homeopathy is highly variable from country to country. There are no specific legal regulations concerning its use in some countries, while in others, licenses or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required. In several countries, homeopathy is covered by the national insurance to different extents, while in some it is fully integrated into the national healthcare system. In many countries, the laws that govern the regulation and testing of conventional drugs do not apply to homeopathic remedies.

Homeopathy offers remedies for the diabetics and shows several ways to normalize the blood sugar levels. In contrast to the allopathic system or modern medicine, the homeopathic approach is  very different. A homeopathic doctor determines the type of treatment that is appropriate for each patient.

Homeopathy offers some hope for the diabetic patients by providing an alternate way that effectively controls the blood sugar level. The system uses minimal quantities of medicine to reduce the blood sugar and in addition, improves the overall health of the diabetic patients.The branch of homeopathy is based on the principle that like cures like.

So instead of trying to find remedies for the illnesses, homeopathy boosts the body mechanisms involved in controlling the disease and promotes the healing capabilities of the body. Homeopathy believes that any disease is caused by a combination of the internal factors, external factors and the emotional state of the patient.

In homeopathy, the doctor specifically attends the individual and not the disease. This is because the symptoms of diabetes will be different for different individuals and moreover, the manner in which the blood sugar level varies is also individual specific. As a result, the medicines used to cure diabetes vary from person to person. But in general, phosphorous, phosphoric acid, lactic acid, etc are used in homeopathy to treat diabetes.

In homeopathy, the history taking plays a very important role in the treatment of diseases. The physical and emotional nature of the patient, the likings and dislikes, phobias and personality assessment comes under the purview of history taking. A detailed history permits the doctor to familiarize with the symptoms of the patients and choose the most appropriate medicine for each case.

The medicines used in homeopathy are obtained from plants, vegetables and fruits. These natural compounds are good antioxidants as well and some have the properties similar to insulin. It is true that homeopathy does not offer a cure for diabetes, but it may offer a long term cure that may take one to two years to find an observable change in the diabetic patients. But if the diabetic patients fail to change the way they eat, their bodies remain diabetic.

Consequently, homeopathic treatment cannot be considered as a substitute for dietary regulations. Just like any other form of treatment, diet control and proper exercise play a key role in controlling the blood glucose level. Maintaining an active life style is as important as the medicinal treatment and one should not underestimate the role of life style modification in controlling and possibly reversing the diabetes.

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