Natural Remedies Vs Healthcare Industry Business

As much as modern medicine is a science, modern healthcare is a business. Personally, I trust science and… history. Business is a different story altogether.

I take issue with the ethics and motives of modern healthcare. Let’s be very clear: medicine and healthcare are not the same things. The following statements are in regard to modern healthcare, NOT modern medicine.

Modern healthcare tends to be aggressive

Many health problems can be approached conservatively or radically. Now, don’t confuse the words conservative and radical with politics. In this case, “conservative” means gentle, and “radical” means invasive and irreversible.

Here is an example. Gallstones are a common problem today and the healthcare-recommended treatment for gallstones today is the removal of the gallbladder. (The surgery is called a cholecystectomy.) After the surgery, the patient’s digestive system is irreversibly changed, and so is the patient’s digestion of fats.

Is there something inherently wrong with the surgical removal of the gallbladder? No. But is it the best treatment for all? Gallbladder removal at 50 or 60 years old might be prudent, at 16 not so much. Still, the vast majority of patients undergo cholecystectomy because they are not aware of any other options. (There is a safe and effective natural remedy for gallstones that doesn’t involve gallbladder removal!)

The focus of modern healthcare is treatment, not a cure

Not all, but many health conditions and diseases are curable. They need to be treated and then the patient recovers fully. In many cases, today’s healthcare is focused on treating, not curing. The treatments tend to be long-term and often have to be repeated. Even though a cure for a given condition is known and available, modern healthcare-recommended treatments don’t lead to a cure. Why? Curing a patient would terminate an ongoing revenue stream.

The healthcare-preferred diagnoses favor chronic diseases, and long-term treatments, over a cure. To patients and their families, it often appears as if the goal of treatment is to advance the patient in a sales funnel toward more and more lucrative to the healthcare industry therapies, not toward curing the patient.

Why am I making such “revolting” statements?

Modern healthcare has a relatively short history. The history of healing however is ancient. Even today – in some cases – traditional, natural medicine has answers to questions modern healthcare can’t answer at all or can answer with invasive procedures, only.

No, I’m not talking about “black magic”. There are herbal remedies used to treat various conditions and diseases successfully for thousands of years. There are nutraceuticals. Nutraceuticals are foods and substances derived from food. No magic here, no cooked spiders or frogs: FOOD. Food that we all eat. To be precise: specific food items with therapeutic properties.

The main difference between synthetic drugs and natural remedies is the length of their safety and effectiveness record. Natural remedies served humanity well for thousands of years. Many pharmaceutical drugs get recalled. (Some unsafe pharmaceuticals don’t get recalled early enough, or at all, opening the door to lawsuits by seriously harmed patients against manufacturers of unsafe drugs.)

Time-tested, safe and effective natural remedies don’t get devalued over time for causing harm. Natural remedies are the predecessors of synthetic pharmaceutical drugs and are in many cases a natural alternative to pharmaceutical drugs. Natural remedies are a valid treatment option for many modern diseases.

Here is the “problem” with natural remedies in general: they can’t be patented, overpriced, or profitable to the healthcare industry. They are safe, effective, and very affordable. It makes them a great option for patients and a bad option for modern healthcare.

Some parts of traditional medicine are called “complementary medicine” now and some treatments (like acupuncture, for instance) are recommended to patients to “complement” modern treatments.

Most of the traditional medicine and natural remedies however are relegated to the trash heap. One has to wonder why. I happen to believe that in specific cases when a natural remedy is the safer and more effective treatment option than a modern one, it should not only be recommended to the patient but described correctly: as the best treatment.

You may have found my reasoning offensive. I urge you to reconsider. Science is deeply committed to preserving the ancient wisdom. We cherish architectural monuments of the distant past. We preserve ancient art and writings. We honor the creators of the mathematical symbol pi and credit nations who developed our current numeric system. Today’s healers take the Hippocratic oath. Why this selective disrespect for traditional medicine? Because ancient healing arts were worthless? Give it a thought.

If modern healthcare was focused on the patient’s health, not profits, it would present the patient – at the time of diagnosis – with ALL the best treatment options available, not just the most profitable ones to the healthcare industry. (For some conditions, that’s a common practice in Germany already.) The list of recommendations would include condition-appropriate modern treatment options as well as traditional medicine’s treatment options. Both would be explained to the patient in an objective and truthful way. The patient should have the right to know and choose his or her treatment based on risks, benefits, and costs.

We each have only one life. Health is our most precious possession, should it be treated as a business opportunity by any “industry”?

Correct me if I’m wrong (I welcome comments!), but I believe that good healthcare should be balanced, unbiased, and focused on the patient’s well-being achieved by the least harmful and most beneficial means. As it is, modern healthcare recommends and dispenses the most lucrative to the healthcare industry treatments while ignoring natural, safe and beneficial remedies, entirely.

Today’s patient is at a mercy of a monopoly concerned with its profits more than the patient’s health.

Put your health, FIRST! Listen to your doctor. Remember that modern healthcare isn’t your only option: incorporate natural remedies in your health management.

Neither Hippocrates – who is officially recognized as the Father of Modern Medicine – nor other ancient healers were idiots. Natural remedies-based traditional medicine isn’t a hoax. Need proof? You are here, aren’t you? Your predecessors survived for generations thanks to natural remedies.

You have access to both, the best in modern medicine and the best in traditional medicine. While making treatment decisions consider the risks, benefits, effectiveness, side effects, and anticipated long-term outcome of each approach. Your health isn’t a commodity. Explore the options and trust your common sense!

 

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