Posted on 07/03/2013 12:49:19 PM PDT by EveningStar
When Dr. Paul A. Offit published “Autism’s False Prophets” in 2008, he elected to skip the usual round of book signings. His defense of childhood vaccinations so enraged some people who consider them a cause of autism that he was getting credible death threats.
Others might have chosen to flee the public arena after that, but not Dr. Offit, the chief of infectious diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, whose appetite for the good fight seems only to have grown. Over the last decade he has become a leading debunker of mass misconceptions surrounding infections and vaccines, and now he is taking on the entire field of alternative medicine, from acupuncture to vitamins.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
We’ve taken our kids to the chiropractor since they were born. We literally stopped at the office on the way home with each, and just yesterday he reminded me to call him if baby number three and I get released on a weekend because he would stop by the hospital for us. No extra charge by the way, he just wants the peace of mind knowing that we are okay. I had my second accupuncture treatment today for lower back pain due to pregnancy. The first session pretty much took care of the pain, but I don’t want to skip a session and have it return. Maybe it’s all in my head. If it is I’m okay with that because I’m pretty much pain free right now as compared to being almost unable to walk last week. Our insurance pays for the chiro but not the acupuncture. I’ll gladly pay cash as long as it keeps helping.
My parents were born at home on the ranch, and no one thought anything of it, even though there was a hospital 50-60 miles away.
Some of my cousins have had home births,too-it has enjoyed a resurgence with people in remote areas-a nurse practitioner who is a midwife is cheaper-and safer-than a hospital if there are no complications anticipated. I had my kid at a military hospital, Lamaze method-I went home 12 hours later to rest where it was nice and quiet...
Alternative medicine is better at preventing the cancer in the first place.
My cousin is a young MD doing her residency at Cornell. She said the new thing is Just Say No to Drug Reps. The reps come in with their free ink pens, notepads, etc., then literally wine and dine the docs while telling them about the new meds. She said she was very surprised how these reps go for the hard sell.
Is that why the urologist’s office is wallpapered in Viagra ads?
I knew a man that died long before fluoride was even talked about. He died at 72 without a single cavity in his mouth.
Apparently he had some sort of immunity to the cavity causing bacteria, because that era was not known for dental hygiene, or any other kind of hygiene, for that matter.
BookMark
A neighbor was a drug company rep, and he said they the docs used to enter contests where the one who prescribed the most of the company’s drugs and handed out the most samples (read: got the most people hooked) before the rep’s next sales call to them would win a weekend to a Sandals resort or something like that. That neighbor sells prosthetic equipment now-no hard sell...
“Agree and the short list changes from person to person so its validity is always is question.”
And yet so few people in history have health threats from alternative therapies. Virtually none die.
Compare that to FDA approved drugs, that have serious side effects in many and often cause death after
being approved and passing studies... and don’t work for all.
Good point.
yes. We should only listen to mainstream medical advice. Such as margarine is good for you. Vegetable oil is good for you. All fat is bad. Yes. Mainsteam medical advice is always correct.
“He considers vitamins to be a hoax too?”
Why do you need vitamins if you aren’t eating just junk food? Not to mention those substances need to be in the presence of other substances to be absorbed by the body so most people just have expensive poop and pee.
“So we’ve learned more in the last 200 years than was learned in the previous 5000?”
Yes. Yes, we have. We also have far more people that can read and write, have educations, and contribute more per capita than at any other time.
context is everything
“Modern medicine works! “
Yes, it does. People that try to claim otherwise have never had such things as cancer. They have minor problems that need little modern medicine and then claim major victory over modern medicine.
Did I say I needed vitamins?
I’ll settle for eating progressively less and less stuff my body shouldn’t ingest. I’m not sure I understand your reasoning behind pure foods. To me, the benefits seem to be that, calorie for calorie, they’re far more nutrient rich relative to manufactured foods. They typically have a lower glycemic index, meaning they convert to sugar in your body more slowly. And They have no chemical junk in them. There are many benefits - too many to list.
I think a big factor in limiting over eating when trying to improve one’s diet is to get enough healthy fats. My current favorite breakfast (2nd b’fast a actually) is a cup of Cabot’s 10% milk fat Greek yogurt, a handful of raspberries from my yard, and several tablespoons of local honey.
Off to go biking. Happy 4th!
Sounds like a great healer, your chiropractor. You’re so very smart to start your babies out with him too. I think some insurance pays for acupuncture. But it’s getting so complex, you have to study everybody’s policies every single year.
The auto insurance companies here pay for acupuncture for pain relief. In the state of WA, “Group Health” will pay for a dozen visits/year for other things, with their doc’s approval, of course. Friend who was driving me to acupuncturist was so impressed with the difference it made for me that he asked Group Health to pay for it for his stomach problems. They did.
When I lived in SF, I found a terrific Chinese acupuncturist/herbalist. I could write pages on the wonderful things they did for me. Dr. Ng was my “primary care” guy. I’d make appointments at the beginning of the day so we’d have time to talk about how it worked. He was, of course delighted that a westerner was so curious and spent a lot of time educating me. I’d come away from his office feeling like I was walking through a forest of tall trees and the air seemed fresh and clear, tho in reality I was in dusty noisy Chinatown. A body in harmony with itself.
I really don’t think pain is “all in your head.” And I really wish you the very very best for another healthy happy baby.
Maybe so. But I just don't like the stuff, not even on my skin.
Perhaps influenced by reports that jungles have been mowed under to plant palm oil trees. Coconut palms, I think but am not sure.
I would rather have jungles remain homes to God's creatures that are under siege and threatened with extinction.
Recently discovered Argan oil for my skin...it's super.
Yes, exactly. No one in the world should enjoy higher nutritional standards than those living in huts in 3rd world countries.
Did you know that Bayer (proud producer of GMOs,) funded Codex? I found that about ten years ago in the dark recesses of UN pages online when we first got word of Codex. I'm sure it's been scrubbed by now.
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