Posted on 06/10/2009 3:10:16 PM PDT by Steelfish
$2.5 billion spent, no alternative cures found
Big, government-funded studies show most work no better than placebos
[Pic] Elizabeth Karkosky uses a Tapas acupressure technique during a therapy session in Portland, Ore. A $2 million government study will test whether this acupressure technique can prevent dieters from regaining weight.
June 10, 2009
BETHESDA, Md. - Ten years ago the government set out to test herbal and other alternative health remedies to find the ones that work. After spending $2.5 billion, the disappointing answer seems to be that almost none of them do.
Echinacea for colds. Ginkgo biloba for memory.
Glucosamine and chondroitin for arthritis. Black cohosh for menopausal hot flashes. Saw palmetto for prostate problems. Shark cartilage for cancer.
All proved no better than dummy pills in big studies funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The lone exception: ginger capsules may help chemotherapy nausea.
As for therapies, acupuncture has been shown to help certain conditions, and yoga, massage, meditation and other relaxation methods may relieve symptoms like pain, anxiety and fatigue.
However, the government also is funding studies of purported energy fields, distance healing and other approaches that have little if any biological plausibility or scientific evidence.
Taxpayers are bankrolling studies of whether pressing various spots on your head can help with weight loss, whether brain waves emitted from a special "master" can help break cocaine addiction, and whether wearing magnets can help the painful wrist problem, carpal tunnel syndrome.
The acupressure weight-loss technique won a $2 million grant even though a small trial of it on 60 people found no statistically significant benefit — only an encouraging trend that could have occurred by chance. The researcher says the pilot study was just to see if the technique was feasible.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
I wonder HOW these so called researchers vote? I am sure the grants follow party lines!
Aha! Liberal New Age “research” studies masquerading as science is the domain of those who support the DNC.
“I wonder HOW these so called researchers vote? I am sure the grants follow party lines!”
Do you really wonder?
I think herbs work in some circumstances.
Slippery Elm cured the spastic colon issues I had years ago, echinacea golden seal was good for swollen lymph nodes and I sleep much better with valarin. Sounds like high tech medicine is protecting itself.
I have just conducted my own study on acupuncture and weight loss:
a. Stick tongue out as far as possible.
b. Lance through with a 9 inch long needle
c. Leave it there
e. no eating = weight loss.
$2 million, please!
“Sounds like high tech medicine is protecting itself.”
Bingo!
I also find ginger keeps the side-effects of protonix at bay pretty well also.
“I have just conducted my own study on acupuncture and weight loss:
a. Stick tongue out as far as possible.
b. Lance through with a 9 inch long needle
c. Leave it there
e. no eating = weight loss.
$2 million, please!”
Ha Ha Ha Good one!
“Do you really wonder?”
You are right it was a stupid question.
algore fits right in there with this bunch.
a. Stick tongue out as far as possible.
b. Lance through with a 9 inch long needle
c. Leave it there
e. no eating = weight loss.
Probably, but it is a great way to eat sushi. Just use the needle instead of chop sticks.
Hi tech medicine protecting itself? Please! The people doing these studies are the flakiest flakes in the medical world. They would like nothing better than to show some kind of worthless witch doctor quackery to actually be effective medicine. If these nut jobs can’t find any use for alternative mumbo jumbo, you can be sure it’s an expensive fraud.
I KNOW that glucosamine and chondroitin work.
Let’s look at the study design and data before concluding that none of the herbals work.
Many of our modern meds are analogs of herbal remedies. Example: most statins look a lot like the active molecule in red rice yeast which is used in China to treat heart disease.
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