Alternative Medicine

[GrnBay007]

With so many different people on this forum, wondering if anyone here practices any forms of Alternative Medicine? I'm not so much talking about the really radical stuff, but more so the natural methods for healing/health care.

A guy I have worked with for many years is always trying new stuff when he hears about it. He's completely into the organic foods. There are a couple things he's tried...alternative medicine preventative care that I thought were really off the wall, but the majority of the stuff he tells me about makes sense health-wise. He's 62 years old and doesn't look a day over 50. Actually, if he hadn't gotten gray hair early he'd look late 40's. He's never out of the office sick and I seriously can't even remember the last time he even had a cold. I can't help but think some of this stuff must be helping.

His latest thing is "oil pulling".

The practice of oil pulling apparently is a time-honoured tradition in parts of the world (I think originated in India). Oil pulling therapy simply consists in thoroughly sloshing certain types of commonly found oil in the mouth for up to 20 minutes. This practice is said to draw toxins & destroy natural mouth germs while stimulating the body's eliminatory system and increasing metabolism, thus leading to improved health and the conquering of disease.

Anyone practice this or even heard of it? The benefits listed go from gums/teeth to things like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and some forms of cancer in respect to preventative care as well as healing.

Just curious.

[mraynrand]

I used this to 'get rid of toxic heavy metals' I was in the hospital recovering from magnesium wasting for six weeks.

[digitaldean]

With so many different people on this forum, wondering if anyone here practices any forms of Alternative Medicine? I'm not so much talking about the really radical stuff, but more so the natural methods for healing/health care.

A guy I have worked with for many years is always trying new stuff when he hears about it. He's completely into the organic foods. There are a couple things he's tried...alternative medicine preventative care that I thought were really off the wall, but the majority of the stuff he tells me about makes sense health-wise. He's 62 years old and doesn't look a day over 50. Actually, if he hadn't gotten gray hair early he'd look late 40's. He's never out of the office sick and I seriously can't even remember the last time he even had a cold. I can't help but think some of this stuff must be helping.

His latest thing is "oil pulling".

The practice of oil pulling apparently is a time-honoured tradition in parts of the world (I think originated in India). Oil pulling therapy simply consists in thoroughly sloshing certain types of commonly found oil in the mouth for up to 20 minutes. This practice is said to draw toxins & destroy natural mouth germs while stimulating the body's eliminatory system and increasing metabolism, thus leading to improved health and the conquering of disease.

Anyone practice this or even heard of it? The benefits listed go from gums/teeth to things like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and some forms of cancer in respect to preventative care as well as healing.

Just curious.

My wife has MS and you'd be surprised the different types of alternative medicine people try to reduce or eliminate the problems with MS. Her docs actually encourage different types of natural supplements to enhance stamina, memory, etc. That and the conventional Rx's she's been getting have helped immensely.

The toxin foot patches I've also seen at a cancer clinic in Bristol, WI, near Madison. My late godmother had cancer and had some help alleviating the side effects of her chemo/radiation because of it.

Some things (like bee sting therapy for MS patients) appear downright quackery. Best thing to do is get informed on it and network with others who have the same type of disease.

[GrnBay007]

My wife has MS and you'd be surprised the different types of alternative medicine people try to reduce or eliminate the problems with MS. Her docs actually encourage different types of natural supplements to enhance stamina, memory, etc. That and the conventional Rx's she's been getting have helped immensely.

The toxin foot patches I've also seen at a cancer clinic in Bristol, WI, near Madison. My late godmother had cancer and had some help alleviating the side effects of her chemo/radiation because of it.

Some things (like bee sting therapy for MS patients) appear downright quackery. Best thing to do is get informed on it and network with others who have the same type of disease.

Dean, I wish the best for your wife.

I can't help but think some of this stuff must help. Like I originally said, I'm not talking about the really radical or maybe called quackery stuff. Modern medicine is wonderful, no doubt. But I just can't help wonder about some of the alternative medicine concerning preventative measures. Plus, there's no doubt the pharmaceutical companies are making millions and millions on treating people after the fact.

[packinpatland]

I wouldn't discount the bee sting therapy. I have bee hives. There are about a dozen people who come to 'borrow' bees. These are folks with RA, they swear it helps. Who knows.....

[packinpatland]

But I just can't help wonder about some of the alternative medicine concerning preventative measures. Plus, there's no doubt the pharmaceutical companies are making millions and millions on treating people after the fact.

I agree. But until our medical system becomes more proactive, and we, the populace begins to take our good health more seriously, the pharmas will do what they have to do.

[GrnBay007]

Yep, they are in it to make money....like everyone else. Can't fault them for that in America. Some stuff is just ridiculous though. I don't know how people that don't have insurance can handle it.

[red]

i need weight loss pills

i just need something to kill my appetite so i'm not eating all the time. i'd like to lose 20-30 pounds, and god knows i don't want to gain anymore

do green tea pills work?

[packinpatland]

Yep, they are in it to make money....like everyone else. Can't fault them for that in America. Some stuff is just ridiculous though. I don't know how people that don't have insurance can handle it.

The probem is...pharmas will spend millions bringing a drug to market.
http://csdd.tufts.edu/NewsEvents/Rec...s.asp?newsid=6
And then they only a 7 year patent to recoup, before that same drug is made generic.
It just seems like there should be a better way to do it.

[digitaldean]

Yep, they are in it to make money....like everyone else. Can't fault them for that in America. Some stuff is just ridiculous though. I don't know how people that don't have insurance can handle it.

The probem is...pharmas will spend millions bringing a drug to market.
http://csdd.tufts.edu/NewsEvents/Rec...s.asp?newsid=6
And then they only a 7 year patent to recoup, before that same drug is made generic.
It just seems like there should be a better way to do it.

Wow, that's staggering. I can say first hand if there weren't drugs like Avonex, Betaseron, etc. a lot of MS patients like my wife would have gotten much worse.

That being said, there are a lot of drug companies that provide kickbacks to docs for prescribing specific drugs. My sister works for a pharmacy and sees all sorts of shenanigans like that going on.

Over $800 million just to get a drug to market? Between that and the lawsuits when a drug fails, it's a wonder any drug makes it out to the public.

[MadtownPacker]

i need weight loss pills

i just need something to kill my appetite so i'm not eating all the time. i'd like to lose 20-30 pounds, and god knows i don't want to gain anymore

do green tea pills work?

Start smoking crank. You will be skinny then a MFer in no time.

[GrnBay007]

That being said, there are a lot of drug companies that provide kickbacks to docs for prescribing specific drugs.

My bet would be one of the top ones being those that prescribe mental health medications. Through my experiences at work, they hand out the most free samples by far.

[GrnBay007]

Anyway, back to alternative medicine, or that type of stuff. Anyone here use Flax Seed?

[GrnBay007]

HAA...just finshed reading an article on Mood Boosters...how to banish a bad mood. Sunflower seeds were mentioned. No wonder they sell sunflower seeds at all baseball games! :P

[SkinBasket]

The toxin foot patches I've also seen at a cancer clinic in Bristol, WI, near Madison.

Bristol Club?

We've recently heard of this place where you go hold onto a metal bar hooked up to a computer for four hours, then the computer tells you what's wrong with you, such as: pancreatic cancer, upside down stomach, enlarged pituitary gland, etc. The woman then sells you illegal "medicine" labeled with such names as "Cancer" and "Mood." People go there and spend their money believing this. Not people with real problems with real pain, or real brains apparently, but the place is in business because there are enough people out there that want something to be wrong with them that they can "cure" with a pill made in China named "Mood."

[LL2]

I think there is some truth in alternative medicine. More people die from doctors than from guns. One of the things we do not do is get our kids vaccinated. My kids never get sick. The only symptoms they have had in the past couple years, and my kids are young, are the runny noses and slight fevers from when there teeth were growing in. That is normal. It may seem wrong not to vaccinate your kids, because every doctor pushes it, but there is a small but growing group that do not do it. We know several families that do not do it, and some that wish they had not done it. America is the most drugged up country in the world. I don't have the statistics in front of me, and wish I did. We produce more than 2/3rds of the drugs in the world, and consume the vast majority of that. I could go on and on, but yeah...I think alternative medicine is not a bad thing. Be smart and go to a doctor when necessary, but also be smart about the care and treatment you get.

[packinpatland]

HAA...just finshed reading an article on Mood Boosters...how to banish a bad mood. Sunflower seeds were mentioned. No wonder they sell sunflower seeds at all baseball games! :P

Just think about sunflower seeds.....and where they come from. I've never seen a VanGogh, or driven by a sunflower field, and not smiled.

I think the medical community (ours) does not want to accept remedies that aren't dispensed over a pharmacy counter. My older daughter has Lupus/RA. When she asked her rheumatologist about nutrition, he just shrugged it off...................and wrote another prescription.

My daughter's mother-in-law just went thru a horrendous year+ of treatment for stage 4 breast cancer (she's cancer free today)...........her Dr's at Sloan-Kettering, did believe in nutruion, with some very aggressive drugs. They advised her to eat foods in their most natural state, organic if possible. Avoid alot of meat. I don't remember the reason why, but flax seed was in alot of what she made.

[texaspackerbacker]

I don't practice any of this silly shit, and I'm 62 years old also (3 months away) and look like I'm 40.

I practice tennis, golf, swimming, jogging (I had given it up because of boredom, but having an IPOD has brought me a resurgence of jogging), and lots and lots of sex.

I eat whatever I damn well please--greasy hamburger, tons of ice cream, lots of non-diet pop, no vegetables, nothing whatsoever that's "lite", fat-free, sugar-free, etc., and I'm healthy as a horse.

There's a lot of bogus propaganda going around about what is and isn't good for you. Much of it results in sacrificing enjoyment of life--which is something far more important than "eating right" or taking or doing weird stuff just because it's the latest fad.

I'm not denying that there are certain medical conditions that really do benefit from real medication, but it is after-the-fact stuff like blood pressure drugs--the only thing I do take, not all this off-the-wall usually phony preventative stuff.

[hoosier]

I think there is some truth in alternative medicine. More people die from doctors than from guns. One of the things we do not do is get our kids vaccinated. My kids never get sick. The only symptoms they have had in the past couple years, and my kids are young, are the runny noses and slight fevers from when there teeth were growing in. That is normal. It may seem wrong not to vaccinate your kids, because every doctor pushes it, but there is a small but growing group that do not do it. We know several families that do not do it, and some that wish they had not done it. America is the most drugged up country in the world. I don't have the statistics in front of me, and wish I did. We produce more than 2/3rds of the drugs in the world, and consume the vast majority of that. I could go on and on, but yeah...I think alternative medicine is not a bad thing. Be smart and go to a doctor when necessary, but also be smart about the care and treatment you get.

Are you talking about optional vaccinations like flu shots, or the mandatory stuff like measels, mumps, rubella? If it's the mandatory stuff you're avoiding, what do you plan on doing for your kids' schooling? That's probably a silly question, since someone who refuses mandatory vaccines for their kid would be likely to reject public schools as well.

[mraynrand]

I don't practice any of this silly shit, and I'm 62 years old also (3 months away) and look like I'm 40.

I practice tennis, golf, swimming, jogging (I had given it up because of boredom, but having an IPOD has brought me a resurgence of jogging), and lots and lots of sex.

I eat whatever I damn well please--greasy hamburger, tons of ice cream, lots of non-diet pop, no vegetables, nothing whatsoever that's "lite", fat-free, sugar-free, etc., and I'm healthy as a horse.

There's a lot of bogus propaganda going around about what is and isn't good for you. Much of it results in sacrificing enjoyment of life--which is something far more important than "eating right" or taking or doing weird stuff just because it's the latest fad.

I'm not denying that there are certain medical conditions that really do benefit from real medication, but it is after-the-fact stuff like blood pressure drugs--the only thing I do take, not all this off-the-wall usually phony preventative stuff.

It sounds like you are enjoying life. We plan to replace all your delicious fats with those lacking trans fats. You will hate everything you eat, but you will live two months longer, if you don't kill yourself first.