Key Messages
Exploring Alternative Medicine: Miracle Cures, Controversial Connections, And More
When it comes to health, everyone wants the best care possible.
However, sometimes rational people make irrational health choices; they opt for alternative medicine instead of conventional medicine and rely solely on testimonials and “magical” treatments with little or no scientific evidence to support them.
Unfortunately, these types of decisions can have serious consequences.
Americans are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with modern medicine.
The impersonal nature of the system, along with terrifying stories about “Big Pharma” have led many to seek out alternate forms of healing like Reiki, acupuncture or herbal supplements.
While these treatments may provide some benefit, there’s a lack of evidence to conclusively demonstrate their efficacy.
Furthermore, even natural remedies can be dangerous; between 1983 and 2004 there were over 1 million reports of adverse reactions to vitamins, minerals and dietary supplements alone!
If you’re looking for a deeper understanding of why people make irrational decisions when it comes to their health, then this chapter is for you.
We explore the stories behind some extraordinary “miracle cures”, the tragic connection between Playboy Playmates and vulnerable babies, plus what nurses in World War Two did when morphine was scarce.
Ultimately, “Do You Believe in Magic?” seeks to uncover why otherwise rational people make irrational decisions about their health.
Don’T Fall For It: Vitamin Supplements Have No Health Benefits
Don’t be fooled by claims of dietary supplement providers that suggest vitamins and natural remedies are all-encompassing miracle cures.
The truth is that they may have the opposite effect – they can actually do more harm than good.
This is evidenced in a 2004 study conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, which looked into whether taking vitamins A, C, E, and beta-carotene would prevent intestinal cancer.
After reviewing 170,000 people, it tragically showed that death rates for those taking these vitamins were six percent higher than those who weren’t.
Even distinguished scientist and two-time Nobel laureate Linus Pauling was wrong when he claimed that daily doses of 3,000 milligrams of Vitamin C can cure common colds and even cancer; further research has proven this to be largely false.
In fact, studies involving dietary supplements emphatically indicate that vitamin pills don’t improve health at all.
So before spending a fortune on multi-vitamin supplements or alternative medicines found in nature – always think twice!
Be sure to consult with a medical professional before risking your own well-being in search of short term fixes lauded to be something they most definitely are not: panaceas for every ailment imaginable.
Celebrities: Beware The Dangers Of Broadcasting Misleading Health Advice
Celebrities have been instrumental in promoting a range of dubious miracle cures that endangers people’s health.
Take Suzanne Somers, for instance.
She underwent a regimen of “bioidentical” hormones and dietary supplements after recovering from breast cancer and then went on to promote the same treatment to other menopausal women, claiming it would protect them from aging.
However, these supposedly natural hormones were in fact conventional chemicals produced in a German factory and came with side effects including heart disease, blood clots and cancer.
Similarly, Jenny McCarthy endorsed a controversial autism treatment known as Defeat Autism Now (DAN!), which blamed vaccines for causing autism.
While DAN!
sparked fear among parents about immunization, fewer people are being vaccinated today meaning the rate of deaths from diseases such as whooping cough has increased in recent years – something to consider next time you take a celebrity’s advice on health solutions.
Quacks And Charlatans Have Been Selling False Cures For Centuries
For the past 150 years, alternative medicine has been filled with outrageous and bizarre claims and therapies.
In 1905, a journalist by the name of Hopkins Adams investigated common herbal medications which turned out to contain large quantities of alcohol, opium and cocaine.
Likewise, rogue doctors like Albert Abrams tried to make a fortune out of an invention called the Dynamizer – claiming it could detect cancer and other ailments with electricity.
Max Gerson was another doctor that caught attention in the 1930s with his suggestion of heavy juice diets, vitamin supplements and enemas as part of his cancer treatment plan (despite none his patients being cured).
Today, sham medical treatments continue to be peddled by unethical practitioners who take advantage of vulnerable individuals.
For instance Rashid Buttar promotes anti-autism creams along with unapproved anti-aging drugs such as Trans-D Tropin; and even controversial intravenous hydrogen peroxide treatments for cancer patients – all with dubious results .
All these examples prove that for the past 150 years, alternative medicine has been filled with outrageous claims and bizarre therapies that bear no proven benefits whatsoever.
The Power Of Rituals: Harnessing The Placebo Effect To Emerge From Pain And Stress
We’ve all heard of the placebo effect – it’s a real phenomenon, and some alternative treatments are based on this.
Take acupuncture, for instance; many people have experienced relief from chronic pain after an acupuncture treatment.
But what we don’t often realize is that even if the needles aren’t placed correctly or not at all, sometimes these treatments still work!
That’s because part of the treatment is actually in the rituals involved – whether it’s lying down while a practitioner sticks needles through your skin in a very serious way, OR being able to take some time during a session where another person is paying attention to you and trying to make you feel better.
This can trigger psychological effects which can activate your body’s own healing powers.
This could include releasing natural opioid-like substances like endorphins, which help reduce stress and relieve pain.
In fact, during World War II when military hospitals ran out of morphine they injected wounded soldiers with saltwater but they still experienced pain relief thanks to a powerful belief in the treatment!
Clearly, our minds play an important role in achieving physical health benefits – so much so that believing in a certain treatment can be enough to make us feel better even without any drugs or invasive procedures.
Albert Schweitzer put it best when he said: “We all carry our own doctor inside.” With this in mind, it’s important to remember that some alternative treatments do work, just not necessarily as expected.
Wrap Up
Do You Believe in Magic? is a book that helps you understand the truth about vitamins and supplements, as well as alternative medicines.
The key message in this book is that vitamins, supplements and alternative medicines may not be your miracle cure – instead, they could even be dangerous to your health.
The final summary of this book is quite clear: if you want to be healthy, it’s best to get your vitamins through a balanced diet.
Instead of relying on concentrated pill forms of vitamins or potions from natural medicines, focus on creating balanced meals with foods from different food groups.
That way, you can make sure that your body gets all the nutrients it needs for optimal health and safety.
