Good to see that medical groups are responsible somewhere in the world.
Australian GPs blast homeopathy
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has issued a position statement which concludes:
The RACGP supports the use of evidence-based medicine, in which current research information is used as the basis for clinical decision-making. In light of strong evidence to confirm that homeopathy has no effect beyond that of placebo as a treatment for various clinical conditions. . .
Medical practitioners should not practice homeopathy, refer patients to homeopathic practitioners, or recommend homeopathic products to their patients.
Pharmacists should not sell, recommend, or support the use of homeopathic products.
Homeopathic alternatives should not be used in place of conventional immunization.
Private health insurers should not supply rebates for or otherwise support homeopathic services or product.
The statement was a response to the National Health and Medical Research Council’s recently released review which concluded that there are no health conditions for which there is reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective as a treatment.
Quoted from Quackwatch.com
http://www.homeowatch.org/research/nhmrc_2015.pdf
Thanks for the post Lois. I wish we could get a similar statement here.
Thanks for the post Lois. I wish we could get a similar statement here.Can you suggest a similar statement to the medical organizations you are a member of? Lois
I was part of an effort to get the American Veterinary Medical Association to make a similar statement. Several other veterinary groups have such position statements (The Australian Veterinary Association, The New Zealand Veterinary Association, and the British Veterinary Association). However, the measure was defeated by a huge margin due to the political influence of pro-alternative medicine groups and the general reluctance of the association to ever tell doctors what to do. You can read about the effort and arguments here: 1],2],3],4],5],6],7],8]
I was part of an effort to get the American Veterinary Medical Association to make a similar statement. Several other veterinary groups have such position statements (The Australian Veterinary Association, The New Zealand Veterinary Association, and the British Veterinary Association). However, the measure was defeated by a huge margin due to the political influence of pro-alternative medicine groups and the general reluctance of the association to ever tell doctors what to do. You can read about the effort and arguments here: 1],2],3],4],5],6],7],8]Thanks, it's not surprising. You may like this article from the New York Times. You might have to sign up for free access to read it. I think you can read 10 articles a month. nytimes.com/2015/08/11/upshot/labels-like-alternative-medicine-dont-matter-the-science-does.html Lois
The American medical community has an even more difficult task than the one that Mackenzie and the veterinarian societies face. Like the veterinarians, the medical community has its share of physicians who have a vested interest in promoting quack treatments either because they are misguided and believe in them or because they see the profit in it and are willing to play along. In addition there is no such thing a a medical professional organization per see because the whole idea of the doctor as a single profession is inaccurate.
Physicians are actualy many different professions. A plastic surgeon can easily make a million dollars a year, rarely has to deal with insurance company nonsense, and basically treats well individuals. A primary care doctor (internist, family practitioner, pediatrician) makes about $150K, is struggling to pay off $350K in med school loans and is often buried in insurance company nonsense (generating referrals, fighting to get meds or diagnostic tests authorized, wrestling with and agent to get a $30 office visit paid for) and spends a good part of their day taking care of patients with multiple complex medical, social, and psychological issues. As you can imagine physicians along the spectrum often have very different goals and priorities so getting them to all join one organization and agree on anything of substance is not easy. Its all been made worse now that our lives are controlled by hospitals and insurance companies and we are fighting for control of an ever shrinking pie under the yoke of increasing regulation and documentation demands.
With all of this going on the AMA has become increasingly weaker and irrelevant over the past few decades so my guess is they are unlikely to take a position that offends even a few of their shrinking number of dues paying members.
This is only tangently related to homeopathy, but may be more important than appears at first glance.
There are Blue Zones in the world where people on average live 10 years longer than the mean.
Apparently this is a result of a combination of diet and natural exercise.
With the right lifestyle, experts say, chances are that you may live up to a decade longer. What’s the prescription for success? National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner has traveled the globe to uncover the best strategies for longevity found in the Blue Zones: places in the world where higher percentages of people enjoy remarkably long, full lives. In this dynamic book he discloses the recipe, blending this unique lifestyle formula with the latest scientific findings to inspire easy, lasting change that may add years to your life.https://www.bluezones.com/live-longer/
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This is only tangently related to homeopathy, but may be more important than appears at first glance. There are Blue Zones in the world where people on average live 10 years longer than the mean. Apparently this is a result of a combination of diet and natural exercise.This is a bunch of hype. Not particularly science based advice. Looking at a population and then making claims that specific characteristics of that population (ie. Long life) is attributable to specific habits or diets is problematic at best.With the right lifestyle, experts say, chances are that you may live up to a decade longer. What’s the prescription for success? National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner has traveled the globe to uncover the best strategies for longevity found in the Blue Zones: places in the world where higher percentages of people enjoy remarkably long, full lives. In this dynamic book he discloses the recipe, blending this unique lifestyle formula with the latest scientific findings to inspire easy, lasting change that may add years to your life.https://www.bluezones.com/live-longer/
The American medical community has an even more difficult task than the one that Mackenzie and the veterinarian societies face. Like the veterinarians, the medical community has its share of physicians who have a vested interest in promoting quack treatments either because they are misguided and believe in them or because they see the profit in it and are willing to play along. In addition there is no such thing a a medical professional organization per see because the whole idea of the doctor as a single profession is inaccurate. Physicians are actualy many different professions. A plastic surgeon can easily make a million dollars a year, rarely has to deal with insurance company nonsense, and basically treats well individuals. A primary care doctor (internist, family practitioner, pediatrician) makes about $150K, is struggling to pay off $350K in med school loans and is often buried in insurance company nonsense (generating referrals, fighting to get meds or diagnostic tests authorized, wrestling with and agent to get a $30 office visit paid for) and spends a good part of their day taking care of patients with multiple complex medical, social, and psychological issues. As you can imagine physicians along the spectrum often have very different goals and priorities so getting them to all join one organization and agree on anything of substance is not easy. Its all been made worse now that our lives are controlled by hospitals and insurance companies and we are fighting for control of an ever shrinking pie under the yoke of increasing regulation and documentation demands. With all of this going on the AMA has become increasingly weaker and irrelevant over the past few decades so my guess is they are unlikely to take a position that offends even a few of their shrinking number of dues paying members.I'm afraid you're right. Lois
I wonder. If the alternative medicine loonies win, and people inevitably start dying in droves, would people wake up and realize it’s bull and they screwed themselves? Probably not. They probably just wave around a different crystal, swill down some more wheat grass and amygdalin and die an agonizing death waiting for the planets align and their chakras to open. Morons.
‘People’ rarely hold themselves responsible for much. I think they’d be looking for who they could sue.
Take care,
Derek
I don’t think that homeopathy is useless. I know many people that medical treatments didn’t help them but home remedies solved their health problems.
I don't think that homeopathy is useless. I know many people that medical treatments didn't help them but home remedies solved their health problems.Yeah, and I know lots of people that homeopathy didn't work them but actual medicine did. So, not much of an argument there. How do you determine what works?
I don't think that homeopathy is useless. I know many people that medical treatments didn't help them but home remedies solved their health problems.Yeah, and I know lots of people that homeopathy didn't work them but actual medicine did. So, not much of an argument there. How do you determine what works? It's quite hard to say. I mean homeopathy actually does not work all the time but still have some possitive effects on the body. Just use homeopathy as the last choice. For example, cranberry juice can help to deal with UTIs, esepcially kidney infection. umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/cranberry authorityremediescom/home-remedies-for-kidney-infection ps: How can I post a link here?
Apparently this is a result of a combination of diet and natural exercise.Amazing. Good diet, exercise. Who'da thut it. I bet they even lived fulfilling lives. Imagine it.With the right lifestyle, experts say, chances are that you may live up to a decade longer. What’s the prescription for success? National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner has traveled the globe to uncover the best strategies for longevity found in the Blue Zones: places in the world where higher percentages of people enjoy remarkably long, full lives. In this dynamic book he discloses the recipe, blending this unique lifestyle formula with the latest scientific findings to inspire easy, lasting change that may add years to your life.https://www.bluezones.com/live-longer/
For example, cranberry juice can help to deal with UTIs, esepcially kidney infection.One spoon of juice mixed with a gallon of water ? ;-P Sorry, couldn't resist a little snark.
I don't think that homeopathy is useless. I know many people that medical treatments didn't help them but home remedies solved their health problems.Yeah, and I know lots of people that homeopathy didn't work them but actual medicine did. So, not much of an argument there. How do you determine what works? It's quite hard to say. I mean homeopathy actually does not work all the time but still have some possitive effects on the body. Just use homeopathy as the last choice. For example, cranberry juice can help to deal with UTIs, esepcially kidney infection. umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/cranberry authorityremediescom/home-remedies-for-kidney-infection ps: How can I post a link here? If you can't tell why something works, or how well it works, then really, why not just take some snake oil? Cranberry juice has a demonstrable effect, it's not homeopathy, it's food. There are good and bad foods. Links can be made with "url" tag. Not sure how many of these work here, but here's a reference. ] The spam filter is strong on this site, sometimes you just have to post it like you did.
I don't think that homeopathy is useless. I know many people that medical treatments didn't help them but home remedies solved their health problems.Yeah, and I know lots of people that homeopathy didn't work them but actual medicine did. So, not much of an argument there. How do you determine what works? It's quite hard to say. I mean homeopathy actually does not work all the time but still have some possitive effects on the body. Just use homeopathy as the last choice. For example, cranberry juice can help to deal with UTIs, esepcially kidney infection. umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/cranberry authorityremediescom/home-remedies-for-kidney-infection ps: How can I post a link here? If you can't tell why something works, or how well it works, then really, why not just take some snake oil? Cranberry juice has a demonstrable effect, it's not homeopathy, it's food. There are good and bad foods. Links can be made with "url" tag. Not sure how many of these work here, but here's a reference. ] The spam filter is strong on this site, sometimes you just have to post it like you did. Try taking outbthe http and WWW. Thatnusually works for me. Worth a try, anyway.
For example, cranberry juice can help to deal with UTIs, esepcially kidney infection.NO. Cranberry juice does not prevent urinary tract infections. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23076891