My Take: Some "Natural" Remedies Aren’t Natural
"Natural" in terms of medical therapy is largely an "artificial" construct. Water and oxygen are natural but in some cases can be lethal. Arsenic, lead and mercury are natural. Laetrile, which releases cyanide, derived from pitted fruits and touted as an alternative ant-cancer agent that some Americans flocked to Mexico for in the early 1970’s is natural. On the other hand, I am a big proponent of the responsible use of alternative medicine techniques and nutraceuticals (especially when used in combination with "western medicine." Whether by reducing stress or providing benefit either directly or through the placebo effect, alternative therapies can be salubrious and be used with minimal risk. I support getting vitamins, minerals, etc. from fresh food rather than having to take a pill. As long as the complications, if any, of the procedures re known and the ingredients, quantities and side effects of natural medicines are known, I do not object to their use. On the other hand, because there is little oversight regarding the composition, manufacturing, marketing and utilization of these compounds and the advent of the internet and lax safety standards in many countries allows easy and immediate access to these "magic bullets", it is easy for desperate patients to acquire dangerous and potentially ineffective compounds, at best, or fall victim to frank charlatans at worst. A host of life enhancing and life saving drugs have been discovered in nature; some of the most well known examples being aspirin (Willow Bark), digitalis (Foxglove) and quinine (Cinchona plant). In fact approximately 50% of our pharmaceuticals are derived from “natural” sources (Nature’s Medicine Cabinet, Scientific American, April, 2001) I would guarantee that there is a YouTube Video documenting dramatic cure of widespread cancer using shark cartilage alone. There is no doubt, that although the FDA’s process for drug approvals is rigorous and time consuming. With little exception, though, it is necessary. If a patient’s oncologist, after considering or administering appropriate chemotherapy to a patient, and is unable to help, I have less of a problem with the "Hail Mary", as long as the patient is aware!
In my 20-odd years in the ICU I have encountered many significant and preventable complications from natural therapies. I have seen carotid artery dissections and massive strokes from Chiropractic manipulation, punctured lungs form acupuncture needles, severe blood acidosis leading to a negative bowel surgery from a patient who took a diabetes drug, Phenformin, acquired from Canada, which was removed form the US market in 1976 for the same reason. I have seen innumerable gastrointestinal hemorrhages contributed to by the myriad of herbal medications that interfere with blood clotting, severe hypothyroidism due to a diet consisting of huge amounts of raw bok choy, and multiple cardiac events related to cardio-active medications which were found in significant quantity as components found as components of over-the-counter pills bought outside the US for various unrelated purposes.
The bottom line - poisons and elixirs can be synthesized in the lab or discovered on a walk in the jungle. MDs and chiropractors are both subject to unintended error. Modern doctors would be foolish to "throw the baby out with the bathwater" when it comes to alternative medicine but for health care practitioners and consumers using the most proven, least harmful intervention is far more prudent than being "starstruck" by the word "NATURAL" on the label.