By Paul A. Offit
Dr.
Offit has received a great deal of attention for his books, especially those
concerned with vaccines and their potential link to autism. He certainly has an excellent pedigree (Professor of Vaccinology, Pediatrics,
Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Director of the Vaccine Education
Center, member of the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) to name a few) and has shared his vast knowledge in this
book. This book examines all forms of
alternative medicine from chiropractic care, traditional Chinese medicine and
acupuncture, to homeopathic treatment.
One of the first points that Offit makes is that
there really is no such thing as alternative medicine. Webster’s dictionary defines “medicine” as a
substance that is used in treating disease or relieving pain. Simply put, a substance either does or does
not achieve this goal. Offit shares
several stories of people who opted for alternative treatments, when
traditional medicine would have offered a greater chance of survival. At seven years of age, Joey Hofbauer was
diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, a cancer of the lymph glands. Instead of opting for traditional treatment
involving chemotherapy, Joey’s parents opted to treat his cancer with Laetrile,
and a specialized diet consisting of raw milk, coffee enemas, an “autogenous
vaccine” (made from bacteria in his own urine), and massive doses of
vitamins. This controversial treatment
almost immediately cast Joey’s family into the spotlight scrutinizing how Joey
should be treated. Initially, Joey had
one swollen lymph gland. After 6 months
of unconventional treatment, he had 17 and liver damage from overdosing on
vitamin A. In July of 1980, with lungs
riddled with tumors, Joey succumbed to the cancer. During this three year legal battle, these
controversial treatments were studied for efficacy, not a one proved to be an
effective treatment for cancer.
Question:
Are vitamins good for you? What
about antioxidants? Unfortunately the
answer might not be as simple as we’d like it to be. The “antioxidant paradox” is a term coined by
researchers who have theorized that massive doses of antioxidants can shift the
balance between free radical production and destruction, resulting in an
unnatural state which causes the immune system to be deficient in killing harmful
invaders. He also cites several studies
which have examined the effect of vitamins on health. A study of 29,000 long-term smoking Finnish
men who took vitamin E, and/or beta-carotene (or the control group with no
supplementation) indicated that those taking the supplements were MORE likely
to die from lung cancer or heart disease than those who did not. Men who take a multivitamin were twice as
likely to die from advanced prostate cancer, according to a study of 11,000 men
by the National Cancer Institute. More
examples are cited, but I think the point is clear.
Overall,
this book identifies some crucial questions that must be examined as we think
about how we treat diseases, and more importantly how we treat the people. The placebo effect works, as indicated by
numerous studies, but when is it appropriate?
Endorphins released due to acupuncture can help with pain, but
acupuncture will do nothing for cancer. In
fact, Chinese medicine was developed by “physicians” who were not allowed to
dissect the human body. Their foundation
for healing is based on an application of observable outside events to the
human body. The twelve meridians of the
body were chosen for the 12 great rivers in China, and the number of
acupuncture points (~360) was determined by the number of days in the
year. The key really is that we need to
test “alternative medicine” in the same way that we test traditional
medicine. “There is no such thing as
alternative medicine, but rather medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t.” Alternative medicine has dodged testing thus
far by painting the FDA and pharmaceutical companies as the bad guy. This has nothing to do with cutting into a
pharmaceutical company’s profits, and more to do with the safety of
product. Drugs require rigorous testing
to assure there are no potentially dangerous degradation products, solvents, or
dangerous metals and adulterants present.
These natural treatments should not only require testing to prove
efficacy, but also to assure they meet the rigorous standards that are required
in the pharmaceutical industry.
Beware of the celebrity endorsements, just
because they have the spotlight doesn’t mean that they know what’s best for us. Jenny McCarthy doesn’t know shit about
vaccines, Steve Jobs might still be alive if he treated his cancer with surgery
instead of acupuncture and herbal remedies, Suzanne Somers was a ditzy
television star – not a medical doctor.
She understands little about medicine, encouraging growth hormone and
estrogen therapy for her followers. Apparently
because she is supplementing with “natural bioidentical hormones” from plants,
we don’t need to be concerned about the numerous studies the NIH has conducted
linking estrogen therapy with an increase in breast cancer. Certainly plants (often used in
herbal/holistic remedies) contain chemicals which can be used to treat
diseases. There is a whole branch of
chemistry based on the synthesis of compounds found in plants (I used to be
involved in natural product synthesis).
Yet, after synthesizing, these compounds require years of testing by the
FDA, which can cost millions of dollars.
So why should we assume that plants containing chemicals in holistic
treatments should be excluded from testing?
There’s a reason we test therapies like we do, to assure that they work.
We can’t deny the comfort that many find in the
world of alternative medicine. Modern
medicine is in a state of flux because of increased information, which can be
unnerving. Nobody wants to hear that
their disease is so new, that we have no sure way of treating it and must make
our best guess. Alternative medicine offers
a degree of comfort that modern medicine cannot; this therapy has been the same
for 5,000 years. The placebo effect can
be powerful in cases where treatment is not crucial. I can’t offer a better summary than the
author did, so I will include it here:
The problem comes when mainstream healers dismiss
the placebo response as trivial or when alternative healers offer placebos
instead of lifesaving medicines or charge an exorbitant price for their
remedies or promote therapies as harmless when they’re not or encourage magical
thinking and scientific denialism at a time when we can least afford it.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Bunsen Burners
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