Part of Holistic approach, I am very interested in alternative medicine especially " ENERGY HEALING" ..I took 2seminars of Dr Eric Pearl...While studying Chinese, I tired various remedies and read a lot....And while in India I have visited " Ayurvedic Pharmacies" and I used remedies which worked perfectly..
I would like to exchange ideas/experience of Community...I am from Turkey, a Tour guide&educator...
Written by
imrenaloba
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Welcome to the forum. I am also interested in alternative medicine, and my question always is - what's the evidence? Unfortunately what makes such `medicine' alternative is simply that it lacks robust evidence. What do I mean by `evidence'? The problem is that as observers we are always biassed. Our personal impressions of a treatment are influenced by very many unrelated factors, such as our expectations, our pre-existing beliefs, and simply by people lying to us. Anyone who says that there are invisible energies involved in health and disease is lying to you. But don't accept my word (I might be lying), ask for the evidence yourself. Robust evidence would be well designed and conducted scientific studies, published in high quality scientific journals. Personal anecdotes, and even your own experience, will be highly misleading. Here is a discussion about energy healing:
I wonder about your line "anyone who says there are invisible energies involved in health and disease are lying". Are you saying that the human body does not produce measurable electrical and magnetic fields?
Of course not. The clue is in the word `invisible'. Healing practitioners claim to be able to detect and manipulate subtle energies, without touching the patient. No evidence has emerged to support such claims, eg:
No, he isn't. Electromagnetic fields are well-known and understood - and measurable. Nonsense like aura, vitalistic energy, meridians and qi are not measurable and , well, nonsense.
As is typical of persons with your attitude you overstate your case. This is what makes a medical treatment "alternative":
*Not being accepted by the medical community*
Here is a case of a Chinese herbal combination that *performed almost as well as prednisone to relieve asthma*, but without the adverse effects. Evidence is from a randomized controlled double blinded study published in a leading peer-reviewed journal: jacionline.org/article/S009...
Also, your disingenuity duly noted:
" I am also interested in alternative medicine"
"Anyone who says that there are invisible energies involved in health and disease is lying "
You have every right to ask for politeness in a conversation that you have originated. It is also up to your personal judgment as to what you regard as polite, or not.
That said, I regard the following as worse than impolite: "Anyone who says that there are invisible energies involved in health and disease is lying to you", and that this kind of defamation - of you and people like yourself - calls for a very direct response.
A personal attack does you no credit. My `attitude' is immaterial, only evidence matters. Of course herbs may contain compounds active against certain diseases. For example St John's Wort is mildly effective for depression (but has problems with drug and food interactions). The study you reference is however not a very good design for showing effectiveness of herbal treatment. There was actually no significant difference between the herb and prednisone, so both might be ineffective in this setting. The full text does not say anything about how the sample size was calculated, and indeed the study was too small to derive any concrete conclusions about safety.
I am interested in alternative medicine for various reasons. There just might be something it, in which case it ceases to be alternative and becomes evidence based, as with some herbs. But with the latter there is a plausible mechanism which has been shown to exist, ie chemical compounds in the plant. With energy healing there is no plausible mechanism, and no evidence that it exists. I am also interested in why some people refuse to accept evidence, or even to know what it is.
You are right, the medical community is reluctant to accept alternative medicine, but because of the lack of evidence, not because of prejudice.
Again, I am happy to debate with anyone in an intelligent manner, but not to exchange personal attacks.
You take exception to what you regard as a personal attack yet you arrogate unto yourself the right to label an entire class of people as liars? A bit of a double standard.
Now you say you to want to debate in an intelligent manner. Then there is no excuse for spouting an absurdly ignorant and ridiculous falsehood regarding the treatment of asthma. Apparently you are unaware that prednisone and related corticosteroids are the lifesavers given to patients having serious asthma attacks. Long term use of oral corticosteroids such as prednisone is avoided if at all possible, due to its adverse effects. Its superior effectiveness is without doubt.
These facts are readily ascertained. You are skilled at cloaking your ignorance in high sounding language but it is ignorance just the same. Call it a personal attack if you like, but that is a fact, unlike the accusations you bandy about regarding people you don't even know.
I'm sorry you find anger so hard to control. Of course I know that prednisone is effective. I was saying that, in the setting of this trial, both treatments might have been ineffective. It was not designed as a non-inferiority or equivalence trial. But I am perfectly happy to accept that some herbal treatments are effective, which makes them evidence based not alternative. However they are not free of side effects. If treatments have wanted effects they must also have unwanted effects.
Submitting one trial only supports the hypothesis that was tested by that trial. It does not validate the whole of alternative medicine.
I have not personally attacked anyone. The evidence says that it is not possible to detect or manipulate subtle `energies' without touching the patient. This is very clear, so anyone claiming they can do this is not telling the truth. I accept that they might be deluded or misguided, but they can hardly be unaware of the body of scientific literature on this matter. If you can refer me to robust evidence to the contrary I will be extremely interested.
It is ironic that is it you who are now bandying about the term "delusional". Perhaps you could kindly explain what it is about my prior post that indicates uncontrolled anger.
"Of course I know that prednisone is effective. I was saying that, in the setting of this trial, both treatments might have been ineffective"
Your skill in medicine is sadly matched by your skill with logic.
"I have not personally attacked anyone."
"Anyone who says that there are invisible energies involved in health and disease is lying "
Riiiight. You have only impersonally attacked an entire class of people. So it's ok then, and now it's doubly ok because they might only be deluded.
I am suffering with gastritis ie acid & gas in tummy due to indigestion/bloating . I too like to try Ayurveda remedies . Did you come across any remedy for acid?. You said they worked well but you didn't say for which ailment & which remedy. I tried AJWAIN seeds from India (powdered & put in Boiling water) for indigestion. Its good. admin worker living in UK
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