Alternative Therapy, Alright
Alternative to therapies that work. The AP reports that the government set out 10 years ago to test herbal remedies and the like -- spending $2.5 billion -- and found that few of them actually do what they're said to:
Echinacea for colds. Ginkgo biloba for memory. Glucosamine and chondroitin for arthritis. Black cohosh for menopausal hot flashes. Saw palmetto for prostate problems. Shark cartilage for cancer. All proved no better than dummy pills in big studies funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The lone exception: ginger capsules may help chemotherapy nausea.
To me, the dimmest people are those who buy into "Chinese medicine." Time and time again, you hear reports of lead in the eye of newt or whatever is in those jars. Here's an idea: instead of paying Dr. Aging Hippie Chick or Dr. Insert Chinese Name Here so you can ingest lead and who knows what else, why not go find an old, lead-painted wall and lick the damn thing?
Oh, and the second dumbest people are those who load up on a bunch of "alternative therapies" based on the advice of some gray-skinned girl in the health food store. Of course, those people are sure to insist that they're much better off than with "big pharma." (Like the vitamin industry isn't a multi-billion dollar one, and like there's not a soul in it determined to get you to believe all sorts of stuff there's no evidence for in order to separate you and your money.)
More on contamination here.
An epidemiologist friend of mine suggests avoiding all vitamins manufactured in China -- and many, many are, he says. And a guy named Peter Kovacs wrote in the WaPo:
Earlier this spring, Europe narrowly averted disaster when a batch of vitamin A from China was found to be contaminated with Enterobacter sakazakii, which has been proved to cause infant deaths. Thankfully, the defective vitamin A had not yet been incorporated into infant formula. Next time we may not be so fortunate.Currently, most of the world's vitamins are manufactured in China. Unable to compete, the last U.S. plant making vitamin C closed a year ago. One of Europe's largest citric acid plants shut last winter, and only one vitamin C manufacturer operates in the West.
Given China's cheap labor, artificially low prices and the unfair competitive climate it has foisted on the industry, few Western producers of food ingredients can survive much longer.
Western companies have had to invest heavily in Chinese facilities. These Western-owned plants follow strict standards and are generally better managed than their locally owned counterparts.
Nevertheless, 80 percent of the world's vitamin C is now manufactured in China - much of it unregulated and some of it of questionable quality.
Kovacs is "a management consultant to many large food companies," but what he writes is in tune with a great deal of stuff I've read and and what I've heard from my epi-friend.
Well, yeah, sure... Everything you're saying is true! But....
Crid [CommentCrid@gmail.com] at June 11, 2009 3:00 AM
Nothing wrong with putting the placebo effect to good use, Crid. But. The placebo effect is also known to work with science-based medicine, which has a real effect on your body on top of placebo. OTOH, "alternatives" to real science have nothing but the placebo effect going for them. I know no exceptions to that. (Except maybe for Chuck Norris.)
Rainer at June 11, 2009 6:15 AM
Persoanlly I think it would be grreat for a few thousand infants to die of chineese negligence.
Sure it would suck for them indidvdually and their famillies, but a large disaster is what it will take to force them to adhere to our quality standars. Catching conatmiated batches before they kill doesnt register with most of the unthinking masses.
24 hoour coverage of thousand of abay coffins would
lujlp at June 11, 2009 6:30 AM
Eat an orange-china hasn't contaminated them yet. I am doing my best to not buy chinese. Didn't help any with the peanut issue, but it's a start.
momof4 at June 11, 2009 7:12 AM
They already killed a bunch of pets with contaminated pet food.
Maybe our political class could mandate that the country of origin be labeled on all food products. I'd pay extra to avoid the Chinese stuff. I'm no xenophobe, just cautious.
MarkD at June 11, 2009 7:13 AM
"Maybe our political class could mandate that the country of origin be labeled on all food products." It's already the case with meat products; or maybe it's just a state of Texas thing. (People are concerned about Mexican beef, justifiably, I think.)
I try not to buy chinese, when I think about it. I recall shopping for a baby shower a year or so ago, and having an incredibly hard time finding anything to purchase. (I didn't want to pick up a toy or whatever that had bunch of lead in it.)
ahw at June 11, 2009 7:51 AM
On the flip side, sometimes Western medicine doesn't do a damn thing, either. My mother stopped taking Vioxx long before it was pulled from shelves because it didn't help at all.
That said, Chuck Norris doesn't get arthritis. Chuck Norris DISMANTLES arthritis.
MonicaP at June 11, 2009 7:53 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/06/11/alternative_the_1.html#comment-1653105">comment from ahwI recall shopping for a baby shower a year or so ago, and having an incredibly hard time finding anything to purchase. (I didn't want to pick up a toy or whatever that had bunch of lead in it.)
Well, unfortunately, the CPSIA, which is comprehensively covered over at http://www.overlawyered.com, mandates $4K in testing per toy for people like my neighbor, one of those "green" moms who makes hand-sewn, silk-screened board games out of organic cotton and with little pieces of wood for game pieces. That's organic cotton from the cotton plant, not the lead mine.
Amy Alkon at June 11, 2009 8:46 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/06/11/alternative_the_1.html#comment-1653106">comment from Amy AlkonOh, and regarding pharmaceuticals, I take Ritalin for ADHD to help me stay focused in my writing. Changed my life. Fantastic stuff.
Amy Alkon at June 11, 2009 8:47 AM
Thank you for posting about CPSIA, Amy. It's a disheartening piece of legislation for all American small-business crafters. There's so much unique stuff to be had -- unless we're all forced to buy mass-produced crap.
MonicaP at June 11, 2009 8:53 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/06/11/alternative_the_1.html#comment-1653108">comment from MonicaPIt's really disgusting. Overlawyered's Walter Olson has really done a masterful job covering this.
Latest on it is here:
http://overlawyered.com/2009/06/cpsia-blowback-on-capitol-hill/
Amy Alkon at June 11, 2009 9:01 AM
What I've always found suspicious about much of the advocacy you'll encounter for 'alternative' medicine is that it often proceeds from a critique of 'western' medicine. But the efficacy and moral standing of western medicine obviously doesn't affect the efficacy of alternatives.
For instance, friends of mine had a child recently and he was born with plagiocephaly ( skull deformation ). After a few months, this became conspicuous, to the point that his face was deformed, with one eye noticeably higher than the other. But rather than take him to a pediatric orthopedist, the mother insisted that they take him to her chiropractor. What's even more amazing is that the chiropractor chose to treat him and proceeded in attempting to realign the infant's skull plates.
When I'd inquired on why they'd chosen to use a chiropractor for such a severe problem, their only answer was some BS about how corrupt 'western medicine' is and that chiropracty was more 'holistic'.
So I called the child's grandmother. I don't usually interfere in other peoples' lives, but the potential for harm was so severe in this situation that I had to do something. The grandmother forced them to go to a specialist at a pediatric hospital. And apparently the staff there was so taken aback by what had occurred, and the mother's behavior, that they notified child protective services.
I don't think that it was just the fact that they'd gone to a chiropractor that motivated this. Apparently there were concerns that the child's mother was going to interfere with his therapy. She's not the most rational person, and can be a little unstable when she's upset.
Jack at June 11, 2009 9:37 AM
It's not just vitamins. A hundred people died in Panama 2 years ago after taking cough syrup that Chinese crooks had adulterated with diethylene glycol:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19611858/
Making sure that nothing "made in China" comes anywhere near your mouth will do more for your health than all the alternative therapy in the world.
Martin at June 11, 2009 9:55 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/06/11/alternative_the_1.html#comment-1653118">comment from JackThere's plenty wrong with the pharm business as well. The epidemiologist I mention here is a fierce critic of those who bury research when it doesn't support what they're selling, etc. But, I am for evidence-based behavior, especially when it comes to what we put in our bodies. Wanting to believe something works isn't the same as it actually working.
Amy Alkon at June 11, 2009 9:57 AM
OK, if there's no vitamin C being made in the US, why does the bottle from GNC in my bedroom say "Made in the USA" on it?
Someone's wrong here.
Also, if Glucosamine/Chondroitin do nothing, explain how they work for my dog? She's not likely to be susceptible to placebo effect.
brian at June 11, 2009 10:17 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/06/11/alternative_the_1.html#comment-1653126">comment from brianBrian, the ingredients may come from China.
Amy Alkon at June 11, 2009 10:33 AM
Aspirin and many other cures came from herbal tradition.
And stevia and other naturally-occuring substances are proving to be low-calorie sweeteners with few side effects.
All major drug companies have botanical researchers on their staffs.
The problem is that promising herbal remedies don't get tested and improved/approved - because they are in the public domain.
So in this case I like seeing government or some other agency stepping in and doing the testing.
Ben-David at June 11, 2009 10:36 AM
Unless those ingredients are less than (what was it, 50%) of the content, then it would have to say either "foreign and domestic content" or "Made in China" to comply with labeling laws.
brian at June 11, 2009 11:03 AM
Yeah, Jack, My ex- started out that way with the first kid, though not with something so obvious. Fortunately or unfortunately her hunches have been correct, about the kids hyper-allergies. Fortunate in the way that the kid didn't die from exposure to certain allergens, unfortunate in that it took a long time to get her off the alternative kick, because she was right so much...
The being said, if you actually NEED some kind of vitamin supplement, rather than getting it in food... Look into a company called Pure Encapsulations. Their stuff is reagent grade and rigorus QC. It is also expensive, and you have to go to a licensed healtcare person to get it... A lot of hyper allergic people use them, because fillers and such in vitamins often have allergens in them. :shrug: I just try and eat tons of vitamin leaden fresh foods, and to cook in a way that all the vits aren't cooked out.
SwissArmyD at June 11, 2009 11:28 AM
I had a great aunt who would go to the doctor for an ailment, get a prescription, fill it, never take the pills, and then complain that the pills didn't work and her doctor didn't know what he was doing.
Start a conversation on the medical profession and, invariably, someone will pipe up with a tale of a relative who was told he had only a year to live...and lived another ten years. As if such a tale obviates the experience and medical training of every doctor in America.
Remember the "Dr. Mom" commericials? Who needs a male doctor when they've got a housewife with cough syrup?
People belittle what they fear and don't understand. Holistic medicine "empowers" people to fight their fears - while doing little or nothing to actually eliminate the very real threats behind those fears.
Until some Congressman steps in to prevent the closure of a plant in his district or to help a campaign contributor.
The new government-controlled GM was going to close a parts plant in Massachusetts in order to get more control over costs. Barney Frank called up the CEO and, now, the plant is safe from closure.
I'm not saying the current system isn't rife with fraud and corruption. But I don't want Barney Frank or Chris Dodd or Michelle Bachman deciding which drugs are safe.
Conan the Grammarian at June 11, 2009 11:54 AM
I'm amazed that they spent so little.
Pseudonym at June 11, 2009 11:54 AM
Not to be pendantic, but vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and citric acid are not at all the same molecule, regardless of what was implied by the WaPo article.
While formulations of ascorbic acid are indeed sold as nutritional suppliments, I am not aware of any such use of citric acid. Considering that our body produces it as part of normal cellular respiration, I don't see a big market out there.
liz at June 11, 2009 11:59 AM
Aha! It was actually $2.5 billion.
Pseudonym at June 11, 2009 12:10 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/06/11/alternative_the_1.html#comment-1653148">comment from PseudonymThanks - corrected that. (Sigh...gotta stop posting at 2 a.m.!)
Amy Alkon at June 11, 2009 12:36 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/06/11/alternative_the_1.html#comment-1653149">comment from Conan the GrammarianBut I don't want Barney Frank or Chris Dodd or Michelle Bachman deciding which drugs are safe.
You also don't want them making it impossible for doctors to earn a really good living. My old boyfriend does liver transplants in New York. I'm pretty sure he makes buttloads of money. He's also at one of the finest hospitals in the country and works mad hours, and spent years training, and piles of money paying for his training. If doctors aren't going to be seriously well compensated, why go through all of that?
Amy Alkon at June 11, 2009 12:39 PM
Amy - a little off topic but health related none the less: I'm not going to the gym today so I decided to have a no-carb day. It's 4 PM and I'm not hungry at all!
Eggs and bacon for breakfast. I had some salami and mozzarella for a snack then when lunch rolled around I just had some chicken. Might have some low-fat yogurt with berries for a snack (kinda carbish) in a little while. Seems like a little too much fatty pork...but it was so yummy!
Last night I just made some orangey chicken and had a glass of wine. I need more veggies but the lack of carbs isn't so bad.
I feel great. Keep spreadin' the word.
Gretchen at June 11, 2009 1:06 PM
...I decided to have a no-carb day. I feel great. Keep spreadin' the word.
I've cut out my carbs as well. If it weren't for this pesky heart problem (seriously, chest pain...EKG yesterday, cardiologist next week) I would be feeling great!
-Julie
Julie at June 11, 2009 1:16 PM
Ben-David wrote "Aspirin and many other cures came from herbal tradition.
And stevia and other naturally-occuring substances are proving to be low-calorie sweeteners with few side effects.
All major drug companies have botanical researchers on their staffs.
The problem is that promising herbal remedies don't get tested and improved/approved - because they are in the public domain.
So in this case I like seeing government or some other agency stepping in and doing the testing."
Ben-David, You mean like this kind of testing?
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MED_UNPROVEN_REMEDIES_RESEARCH?SITE=TNKNN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Isabel1130 at June 11, 2009 1:53 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/06/11/alternative_the_1.html#comment-1653166">comment from Isabel1130"Aspirin and many other cures came from herbal tradition.
I couldn't care less where something comes from, simply whether it's been proven to work or not.
Amy Alkon at June 11, 2009 2:19 PM
You also don't want them making it impossible for doctors to earn a really good living.
I've often made this argument. If you want smart people to become doctors, you had better make sure they are properly remunerated. Otherwise, they'll all go off and become lawyers or something.
kishke at June 11, 2009 2:29 PM
Otherwise, they'll all go off and become lawyers or something.
Being a plumber would be a better choice. I know a lot of out-of-work lawyers.
MonicaP at June 11, 2009 2:30 PM
"So I called the child's grandmother"
Good work, Jack!
"Aspirin and many other cures came from herbal tradition."
A table has four legs. A cow has four legs. Therefore a cow is a table.
DavidJ at June 11, 2009 2:31 PM
Pharma's have their place and purpose, but if I can avoid contaminating my liver - call it placebo effect or hippy syndrome, I trying herbs first (so long as it is not a life threatening condition).
I was once placed on Paxil and nearly went suicidal. It was horrible. It really depends on your body chemistry because I have a friend that takes it and it works outstanding for her. I say more power to ya!. I happen to be more sensative to "man made" medicines than herbals. If that makes me dim-witted. Ohhh weelll!
Best "herbal" therapy I use at least a couple of times a month is Ginger Root boiled in water with honey - to make a nice tea ("it's so tastey too, tastes just like candy"). Helps tummy aches, PMS and sleepless nights.
The less prescrips (which is absolutely zero at the moment) i take the less allergies I have to pollen, foods, and molds. I don't know why that is, but after intensive journaling around certain health issues...once i weaned off all prescrips and started eating straight out of my garden (you know, veggies with actual vitamins still in them) just about every ailment I had went away. I also take liquid vitamin B Complex.
I don't need science to know my body just rejects most things - take pills - feel like shit - stop taking pills - feel better.
Doesn't mean I wouldnt use western medicine for cancer, or heart problems. But with *some* people, pharma's do more harm than good for simple, or non-life threatening ailments.
Feebie at June 11, 2009 9:22 PM
I tore up my leg in the army, nothing disfiguring just killed my career - pain got so bad I was using a cane at 25. 10 generations of alcoholics in the familly gave me a liver that filters anything short of opiates, which I avoid whenever posible for obvious reasons.
Anyway I tried a 'natural alternitive' fruit juice and within a week I could walk without the cane. Knee still hurts a bit, but I havent had to take stairs on at a time for the last four years.
Knocked out my allergies too which I wasnt expecting, and it wanst even mentioned when I started drinking the stuff - so that wasnt a placebo effect
lujlp at June 11, 2009 9:44 PM
Amy:
You also don't want them making it impossible for doctors to earn a really good living.
- - - - - - - - - -
The same is true for medical research and pharmaceuticals.
Bayer and other old-timers in the Pharma business made their first fortunes isolating and refining natural substances like aspirin.
The regulatory and tort-law landscape has changed since then. Which means that herbal remedies that may be effective, cheap, and safe are not going to be sponsored through the grueling drug-approval process.
Ben-David at June 12, 2009 3:28 AM
"The regulatory and tort-law landscape has changed since then. Which means that herbal remedies that may be effective, cheap, and safe are not going to be sponsored through the grueling drug-approval process"
True.
Feebie at June 12, 2009 7:43 AM
"Unless those ingredients are less than (what was it, 50%) of the content, then it would have to say either "foreign and domestic content" or "Made in China" to comply with labeling laws."
A fine theory.
But, in a world with HeadOn™ and Enzyte™, and even Airborne™, if it does nothing but take your money, it's going to be allowed over the counter.
Didja hear the one about the homeopath who forgot to take her pill and died of an overdose?
Radwaste at June 12, 2009 3:59 PM
But, in a world with HeadOn™ and Enzyte™, and even Airborne™, if it does nothing but take your money, it's going to be allowed over the counter.
With the exception of aspirin and NyQuil, I stopped taking OTCs because they don't do anything. Sudafed, cough syrup -- all worthless. And I take NyQuil only because it helps me sleep when I'm sick. I guess medicine that actually works might allow me to make meth. Or something.
MonicaP at June 12, 2009 4:46 PM
Sudafed works. Sudafed PE, not so much.
I say this as someone who has been relying upon Sudafed to be able to get through a day without using an entire box of kleenex for the past two months.
brian at June 13, 2009 8:09 AM
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