A Pure Source of Natural Energy

 A yoga instructor was attending a convention of like-minded devotees when one vendor gave him a sample of a natural energy pill. Within half an hour, he became certain that his blood pressure was out of control.

Patients who believe they know when their blood pressure is high are wrong because high blood pressure causes no symptoms. But he was certainly jittery.

In fact, his pressure was higher than I’d like in a 43 year-old man, but he admitted that his family doctor had also found this. He had been trying to control it through yoga.

I read the label on the bottle. Each pill contained a mixture of herbals and vitamins and a large dose of caffeine. I never drank coffee, and my first experience with caffeine – in a wake-up pill in college – was dramatic. I loved feeling super-alert, but I understand why a more mellow personality might not.

The effect was already wearing off, and he had no objection to my explanation. When I suggested that it was time to treat his hypertension, he promised to ramp up his yoga. 

The Miracle Game

A guest’s ankle injury didn’t seem serious, so I told her we’d wait a day before deciding on an x-ray. At her request, I wrapped the ankle in an elastic bandage while explaining that orthopedists believe that elastic bandages accomplish little. 

As I wrapped, I mused on the superiority of western medicine. I have little respect for alternative, complementary, holistic, herbal, or natural healing systems, but I admit that all popular and media doctors disagree, and they enjoy a far larger audience than this obscure blog.

My reasons have something to do with the fact that we genuinely help patients, but I prefer to stress how often we don’t. Alternative healers never say: “This treatment could be better…” or “We thought we understood this disease, but we were wrong…” or “We screwed up…” Scientific training hasn’t prevented me from making mistakes, but I hope I learn from them. 

When I’m feeling particularly hostile, I challenge alternative medicine fans to play the miracle game. I’ll name one of our miracles; then it's your turn. No fair using a secret cure. It has to be something we all agree on.   

My first western medicine miracle: the appendectomy. Appendicitis victims once died after weeks of agony. Then we discovered that snipping off the appendix (something any bright high school student can do) cured it. We take this for granted, but it’s a miracle that's saved millions of lives. Now let’s hear yours….

Why Americans Don't Eat Horse Meat

Doctors grumble at the popularity of alternative medicine, but the truth is that we still have a monopoly. This is not so in other civilized nations. In France and Germany, for example, herbal medicine is mainstream - i.e. health insurance pays for it.

When Americans get sick, almost all head straight for a medical doctor. From a doctor’s view, that’s the right decision. Scientific medicine works. But that’s not the reason. The idea that scientific explanations are the best has always been a minority view, and recent nutty events haven’t changed matters. In a free election, ghosts would win and evolution lose -- by a landslide.       

Americans mostly prefer medical doctors just as we prefer baseball and big cars. It’s an American thing. We don’t eat horse meat because…well, we don’t.