Alternative medicine is mainstream

Unsympathetic reader: I was referring to acupuncture in the context of fertility. I am unaware of any double blind studies of acupuncture outside of IVF in this area. I got pregnant naturally after acupuncture and herbal therapy, but as I have said repeatedly, my experience is only anecdotal until studies are done (and those studies are unlikely to be funded).

Mary Russell: You don't think someone can practice alternative medicine and be empirical? I want studies done--that has been my point all along. My distaste for Western medicine is that philosophically it doesn't begin from a standpoint of honoring natural processes. That's why it made the mistakes re: breastfeeding, HRT, and sunlight. Self correction is great, but it is better not to make mistakes in the first place. No practioner from Traditional Chinese Medicine or Ayurveda would have advised infant formula, HRT, and avoidance of almost all sunlight.

Although there is much in alternative medicine that makes sense philosophically and scientifically, it does not seem to me that "honoring natural processes" is *always* an absolute good. After all, it may be my patient's natural predilection to be hypertensive, or develop colon cancer at the age of 50. "Natural" medications (case in point, digitalis: which is an herb now commonly used in patients with heart disease) may or may not work to fight these predilections.
"It is better not to make mistakes in the first place"- obviously not, which is why Western medicine is constantly undergoing the process of self-correction and looking at whether practices which are good in theory may or may not be so good in practice.

From Obama's speech on health care:

Mr. Obama says, ”This nation is facing a true epidemic of chronic disease. An increasing number of Americans are suffering and dying needlessly from diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and HIV/AIDS, all of which can be delayed in onset if not prevented entirely. The latest scientific studies show that our bodies have a remarkable capacity to heal, and much more quickly than we had once realized. We have to address how we deal with stress. Stress is shown to cause these aforementioned chronic diseases.
Studies also show that with the current rate of stress that this country is facing, we are heading towards a health crisis of unparalleled proportion in the next 10 years!

"Many people tend to think of breakthroughs in medicine like new drugs or laser surgery is the answer. People have a hard time believing that the simple choices make the most significant differences. Things like: What we eat, how we respond to stress, whether or not we smoke cigarettes, how much exercise we get, and the quality of our relationships and social support. This is proving to be more powerful than powerful drugs and surgery.”

In cardiology, 2006, according to the American Heart Association, 1.3 million coronary angioplasty procedures were performed for more than $60 billion; 448,000 coronary bypass operations were performed at a cost of more than $44 billion.

In other words, Americans spent more than $100 billion in 2006 for these two procedures alone.

Despite these costs, a randomized controlled trial published in April 2007 in The New England Journal of Medicine found that 95% of the angioplasties and stents do not prolong life or even prevent heart attacks

Another study followed 30,000 men and women on six continents and found that changing lifestyle could prevent at least 90% of all heart disease.

Hmmmmm. Maybe changin lifestyles can be viewed as alternative medicine, for my money, stop arguing, use what works for YOU. The audacity of saying, "I know you and this magic bullet will work for you," is a joke!

Our "health-care system" is primarily a “disease-care system” understand this concept and deal with it before you die.