“Homeopaths were considered empiricists and allopaths, rationalists. The difference is profound, and plays a role in how we ended up in the US amidst the debacle of national widespread illness and poor health” stated Carl Lanore host of the nationally popular talk show, Super Human Radio.
“Empiricists looked at symptoms as a sign that the body was overwhelmed by toxins or out of kilter with its natural healthy predisposition. They didn’t “treat” the symptoms. They used the symptoms as a guide as to whether or not the treatment was working. They believed that the symptoms were the body’s natural response, and a necessary response. To treat the symptoms alone eliminates the body’s cry for help” explained Carl.
They observed the patient, learned about the patient. Their habits, diet, activities, stresses, sleep, family, etc., all was taken into account. They looked at each person as just that, a person. Not one of a larger group. They then applied remedies that would balance the person. Those could be herbs, changes in diet, sleep, stress, etc. If the treatment was working the symptoms would begin to subside, giving sign that the treatment was on the right track. In short they looked for the root cause and eliminated it giving the body the opportunity to heal itself.
The rationalists took a different approach. The treated only the symptoms. They looked at the symptoms as the disease itself. They used drugs to eliminate the symptoms and thus the patient was “cured”. They also looked at groups. They found the common denominator in groups suffering from a particular disease. If all of “these” people who suffered from a particular disease also had this particular symptom, then that symptom was addressed and a drug that would eliminate that symptom would be the goal.
We see the rationalists approach today in modern medicine. Drugs are prescribed that solely address symptoms. Those exclusively lower blood pressure and cholesterol or increase bone mineral uptake to reduce osteoporosis without identifying and treating the root of the problem in the first place. The problem with these and many drugs like them is they carry side effects. And with some, the side effects are just marginally less then the negative effects of the diseases they treat. Practitioners and pharmaceutical companies will argue that the side effects are overstated or less life threatening than the actual disease itself – and in some instances this is true. But in most cases its not.
And more importantly, these drugs that carry negative side effects are doing harm. Regardless of the degree of harm, they are counter to the first edict of the Hippocratic Oath – “First do no harm”.
“Now don’t be mistaken to think the empiricists were nothing more than voo doo doctors. As a result of extensive research I can confidently share that they understood the science and substructures of the body as well, possible more as the rationalists. In my opinion, the rationalists were driven by greed in concert with better organizational skills – but not a better mouse trap. Quite the contrary. I’m also not suggesting that the empiricists had it all worked out and just got railroaded either. Each group had its faults. What I am suggesting is that had greed not taken a front seat and these two groups worked together, we would have a better medical system and a healthier population in the U.S. as a result. More emphasis would have been placed on nutrition and physical exercise and less on pills and potions.
Here’s an example to substantiate my position. Let’s look at Parkinson’s disease. We know people suffering with the disease have cretin similarities, blank facial expressions, depressive disorder, motor coordination issues and neuro-muscular degeneration. As the disease progresses untreated, deterioration in neuro-muscular factors causes freezing and severe tremor. The rationalists look at the symptoms and look for a common denominator in a group of individuals suffering with the disease. One of the commonalities is a degeneration of the dopamine transporter neurons in the Substantia Nigra – an area of the brain responsible for the initial motor commands that allows us to move our bodies.
The rationalists decide that treating the patient with an external source of dopamine, in pill form to replace the dopamine the brain is no longer making, is the answer. Initially the symptoms do subside. The patient can move with greater fluidity. Some of the depression lifts and all looks hopeful. As time passes the dose of dopamine must be increased as more of the neurons in the Substantia Nigra die off. But this produces a vicious cycle as the higher doses of dopamine seems to cause the disease to progress faster till the highest doses have no affect what so ever. In fact, today most practitioners now agree that it’s the prescribed dopamine that advances the disease faster.
So isn’t’ this in essence “doing harm”? If the “treatment”
A better alternative would be to look for a true cure for Parkinson’s Disease. The death of dopamine neurons in the brain is no less a symptom of the disease than is tremor. Learning why they die and looking at individuals as just that – individuals – to see what habits and traits they possess that predisposes them to these symptoms would be the answer. How do you patent and sell life style changes, modifications in sleep or nutrition? Pharmaceutical drugs, for the most part, cure nothing. They allow us to live broken. Now you may say “what’s wrong with that if the symptoms are gone and I can move on?” You wouldn’t treat you car that way, is what I would reply.
“Let’s say you went to a mechanic and said your engine is making this loud ominous knocking noise. It’s so loud that you’re sure the engine is sustaining additional damage with every day that you drive the car. The mechanic looks at the engine and after a brief time gives you the disposition. He hands you a pair of ear plugs and advises that you should wear them each time you drive the car. His position is that you won’t be bothered by the noise any longer because you won’t hear it! Did he fix the problem? Will the engine surely fail - eventually? Would you seriously take his advice and drive off, ear plugs in place and a smile on your face? Then why do you take similar advice from your physician when he or she hands you a pill?” enthused Lanore.
Ask yourself, what’s wrong with a medical community that doesn’t want to suggest a cure but rather, creates drug dependency that have side effects that can be categorized as “doing harm?” I challenge the medical community to live up to the Hippocratic Oath, and the insurance companies to support US citizens by paying for natural therapies targeting the root cause.”
My hope is that this will give you some food for thought, and like food, thought is powerful medicine as well.”
