Saturday, December 27, 2003

The Problem with the Allopathic Mindset Allopathic doctors (Western MDs, in other words) have a big problem in trying to adapt to the holistic mindset. They can relate best to herbal medicine, the energy work and homeopathic tend to go right by them. (There are exceptions, of course.) But even with herbs, they have big problems. Here is a quote from an otherwise excellent book, Outsmarting Managed Care, about the herb St. John's Wort: Consider the herbal extract St. John's Wort, which is being taken by many individuals for the treatment of depression. Available in health food and vitamin stores. the extract contains many pharmacologically active substances. The key ingredient is thought to be hypericin. The concentration of this substance in the commercially available preparations of St. John's Wort is very, very variable. He goes on to say that we should really be sticking to pharmaceutical drugs, because we can be more sure of the exact concentrations of stuff in them. Here is the problem. The good doctor writing this knows enough to hedge on his statement "key ingredient is thought to be hypericin."  This is a good thing, because since he wrote this book in 1999, medical science has changed its mind and thinks that there is a different ingredient that is the KEY to St. John's Wort's efficacy. But any herbalist would tell you that this is the product of stinkin' thinkin'. By trying to figure out the ONE THING that makes St. John's Wort, you will always be fighting a losing battle. It's the whole herb. You cannot find a single silver bullet in its ingredients, because it is the exact natural combination that works. Further, St. John's Wort plants with greater or lesser levels of hypericin (or any other ingredient) work equally well. In fact, a Traditional Chinese medical doctor will tell you that it is the percentage of the ingredients relative to each other that is the key. And nature always gets that right. Sometimes I think that Western medical doctors will help lead us into the new world of holistic health. But other times (like right now), I think that they will continue to trail behind the rest of us, catcalling and jeering further and further behind us until we cannot hear their calls anymore. 3:41:29 PM

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