“XXX May Offer Health Benefits, But Evidence Still Limited” was the headline about a natural cancer therapy. This was in sharp contrast to an overblown television report about a new cancer drug which was reported to be the hope of all cancer sufferers for the decade.
When we hear about research results from the media we need to become aware of the types of language that is being used to describe the findings of the studies. In medical reports findings tend to be cautious unless it has been written by one of the pharmaceutical company ghost writers.
When the media reports on a positive finding about a natural product doctors are wheeled out and asked to provide a “balanced” report, discussing why it isn’t as great as it seems and everything that could go wrong by way of possible negative side effects. The doctors are very obliging.
However when the report is about a new drug that patients have trialled, the drug company provides the television reporter with a number of very happy patients who did well on the drug. In these cases I do not remember ever seeing a cautious doctor being paraded in front of the camera to provide warnings, nor to decode the company statistics which if done would show that the results are nowhere near as good as the drug company marketing would suggest. Cautions are only provided for a product that drug companies cannot make a huge amount of money from.
Not all natural products are worth taking, of course. There are a lot of natural plants and derivatives of plants which are poisonous, and a common sense approach is always needed.
However any plant which has been in our diet for generations and any mineral which is scientifically shown to be essential to the health of humans can be safely taken by most of us without concern. Where research has shown that an item like tea (black, white, or green) is likely to be beneficial to health then there is no need to be concerned. If you like it, drink it. Whether it is has been proven to medical standards to work for a particular inflammatory condition is irrelevant. One positive research finding can be sufficient to reasonably add it to your diet.
The same can be said about selenium and cancer. Selenium is an essential mineral and has been shown in a range of studies to be beneficial both in the prevention and treatment of a range of cancers, despite many cancer societies saying the evidence is not yet in to say so. As each person requires selenium anyway then taking the small amounts in a supplement is likely to do more good than harm.
I get very irritated about those professionals who gravely inform the public about the supposed dangers of supplements and the problems they can cause. I understand that there has only been one possible death in the last years that might have been attributable to an overdose of a supplement. Please note these qualifications as it wasn’t actually proven.
However properly prescribed drugs are the third highest cause of deaths in the US. That is, drugs prescribed in hospitals kill more people than all accidents and respiratory diseases. Only cardiovascular diseases and cancer cause more deaths than legal drugs prescribed in hospital. Note the “in hospital” component of the statement. Deaths from properly prescribed drugs taken outside hospital are additional, as are medical mistakes and patient mistakes.
There is a strong media bias both in medical journals and in the mainstream media against natural health products. It is time for us all to become educated to interpret what is being said.
Any drug which is not identical with what the body needs (i.e. as a food or natural supplement) is treated by the body as a toxin, a poison. This is not sensationalism. It is just a fact. When a toxin is given the immune system swings into action to remove it from the body.
There are occasions when it is useful to have drugs, such as painkillers after a car crash, or antibiotics for bacterial meningitis and in cases such as these, plus many lesser conditions, we may well decide to take the drugs on offer. However it is important to know that even these drugs are toxins and require to be removed from the body thus putting pressure on the immune system. Some drugs have the potential to really improve a person’s quality of life. All drugs have the potential for nasty side effects. It is drugs that we have to be very careful of, not natural products.
Dr Harriet Denz-Penhey is an internationally recognized health researcher who has done groundbreaking research into patient self care in serious illness. The web site discusses aspects of natural cancer treatment and remedies for good general health. Article Source:
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