Originally published September 30 2010
Part I: Evidence-Based Medicine is Not Exclusive of Alternative Medicine (Opinion)
by Aaron Turpen
(NaturalNews) There appears to be a disconnect between what is evidence-based medicine and alternative medical options. The problem is with mainstream medicine and its virtual control over what is considered to be "evidence-based." This is due to the corruption of science that has been perpetrated in the name of Big Pharma and her allies.
Because of this corruption, evidence- or science-based medicine has received a bad rap and is often looked down upon by proponents of alternative medicines and methods. So to begin with, let's see how the science has been corrupted and to what ends.
The Corruption of Science in Medicine
Most of the corruption we see in modern medicine centers on pharmaceuticals. NaturalNews readers will be very familiar with this, of course, but it's important to lay out how endemic the ties between Big Pharma and the government regulators have become.
The Food and Drug Administration itself has spelled out its unique relationship with Big Pharma and our health. The FDA's Dietary Supplement Task Force published a report in 1993 regarding nutritional supplements and said: "The Task Force considered various issues in its deliberations, including what steps are necessary to ensure that the existence of dietary supplements on the market does not act as a disincentive for drug development." (Emphasis added.)1
In other words.. their main concern was that nutritional supplements like vitamins don't become a problem for drug companies. Countless actions before and since that report was written have only further illustrated the FDA's true mission.3,4
The science of medicine is corrupted through the whole process of clinical trials. A trial consists of four basic steps: test a hypothesis/treatment through trial on animals or humans, use controls and placebos to ensure the data is clear, draw conclusions based on that data, and retest the hypothesis with more trials.2
Because medical science is unique from many other sciences, in that it is based on statistical outcomes rather than hard conclusions, it is malleable. If the scientific process is not held too rigorously, any of the first three steps listed can be manipulated to create the outcome desired. This makes the fourth step, having repetition of the trials, all the more important. Yet these repetitions rarely happen.
Why Science in Medicine Matters
Science is the search for truth and as one of the founders of the modern scientific method, Alhazen said, "Truth is sought for its own sake."
The scientific method allows us to find out the real truth of things. Using objective evidence and inquiry, it looks for the answers to nature's questions. The benefit to using science in medicine is that it makes our own health and care more efficient. Believing that something is healthy is one thing, but knowing it is requires that we have evidence of the fact.
Knowing the reasons behind why something does or doesn't work will result in better care, whether it is a pharmaceutical or a yoga technique.
In the second half of this series, we'll look at what does and doesn't qualify as scientific evidence and what needs to change for alternative medical options to become scientifically proven or disproven.
[Editor`s Note: NaturalNews is strongly against the use of all forms of animal testing. We fully support implementation of humane medical experimentation that promotes the health and wellbeing of all living creatures.]
Resources:
1 - Attack on alternative medicine: Is the clock ticking on alternative healthcare? by Dr. Galen O. Ballard, PhD, chiroeco.com
2 - How Science Works Pt1 5-part video series by Aaron Turpen on NaturalNews.tv
3 - Ignorance is Power by Mike Adams, NaturalNews.tv
4 - Burzynski meets the FDA part 1 NaturalNews.tv
About the author
Aaron Turpen is a professional writer living in Wyoming in the USA. His blogs cover organic/sustainable living and environmental considerations (AaronsEnvironMental.com) and the science debunking mainstream medical and proving alternatives (HiddenHealthScience.com).
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