Re: [gall______] Aluckower OFFLIST

July 3, 2003

At 06:57 AM 03-07-03 -0700, you stated:

> Finally someone has actually given information on

> what cured their problem-not that I agree 100% and

> thats not important only the fact that someone has

> found their way of curing their problem. Would be

> nice to hear from others who have taken control of

> their health problems. The cure zone is about cures

> not selling supplements - theories or treating a

> symtom of the illness,such as stones parasites or

> any other side affects! Excellent aluckower!!!!!

>

I was wondering what you think of this analysis?

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NCAHF Fact Sheet on Naturopathy

T. Jarvis, Ph.D.

The term " naturopathy " was coined by H. Scheel in 1895 in New York.

Naturopath is an Anglicized version of the term physician coined by

Hippocrates from the root word physikos -- the Greek word for " nature. "

This was to denote that " every practitioner of medicine was to be skilled

in Nature and must strive to know what man is in relation to food, drink,

occupation and which effect each of these has upon the other. " [1]

Hippocrates meant to displace the idea that disease and healing were

dispensed by the gods (i.e., supernatural forces). [2]

Naturopaths claim to be the " true inheritors of the Hippocratic tradition

in medicine, " [3] but no link exists that would connect naturopathy to

Hippocrates. Naturopathy has its roots in the Central European health spas

such as that of Father Sebastian Kneipp's " water cure. " Kneipp's program

was separate from the earlier American hydrotherapy practices based upon

the ideas of Priessnitz. Priessnitz hydropaths rejected drugs,

bleeding, blistering, cupping, etc., and emphasized prevention through

healthy habits and self-care. Encouraging self-reliance worked against the

establishment of a guild of practitioners, and these ideas were eventually

incorporated into regular preventive medicine [4]. Kneipp water societies

were established after the heyday of American hydrotherapy, but did draw

upon the ideas of Priessnitz. They were also influenced by the popular

ideas of Sylvester Graham, Harvey Kellogg, MD, and others. A committee

of Kneipp practitioners met in 1900 to broaden their practices to include

all natural methods of healing. In 1902, German " Dr. " Benedict Lust

(1872-1945) purchased the term " naturopath " from Scheel, formed the

Naturopathic Society of America, and disbanded the Kneipp Societies. He

also founded the American School of Naturopathy in New York [5]. Lust

listed ND, DO, DC, and MD after his name. His MD was alleged to be from a

homeopathic and eclectic medical college, but on the witness stand he was

apparently unable to prove that he had graduated. He claimed to have

osteopathic licensure in New Jersey. He was convicted of practicing

medicine without a license in New York [6]. Naturopathy is also considered

by some to be an heir of the Thomsonian, eclectic, and homeopathic

movements -- all of which opposed medical doctors and science-based medicine.

In 1903, the Supreme Court of North Carolina was first to legally recognize

naturopathy as a separate and distinct healing profession. Ten states (AK,

AZ, CT, FL, HI, MT, NH, NV, OR, WA) and the District of Columbia license

naturopaths. Florida does not issue new licenses but grandfathered existing

NDs in 1985. Based upon a controversial court ruling, Idaho permits NDs to

practice as long as they don't prescribe drugs or engage in procedures

specifically assigned by law to medical doctors. Utah issues no new

licenses but allowed those who were in the process of obtaining licenses in

1981 (when the practice act expired) to obtain and practice with Oregon

licenses.

Beliefs and Practices

Naturopathy's attention to prevention by lifestyle, self-care, and

conservative healing methods appears on the surface to be much like

Preventive Medicine, an established medical specialty. However, its jabs at

the " allopathic " straw man is typical of anti-science practice guilds.

Allopathy (allos " opposite " pathos " suffering " ) was devised by

Hahnemann (1755-1843), a German physician who created homeopathy. Hahnemann

rejected the harsh medical practices of the era which included bleeding,

purging, vomiting and the administration of highly toxic drugs. These

practices were based on the ancient Greek humoral theory which attributed

disease to an imbalance of four humors (i.e., blood, phlegm, and black and

yellow bile) and four bodily conditions (i.e, hot, cold, wet and dry) that

corresponded to four elements (earth, air, fire, and water). Physicians

attempted to balance the humors by treating symptoms with " opposites. " For

instance, fever (hot) was believed due to excess blood because patients

were flush; therefore, balance was sought by blood-letting in order to

" cool " the patient.

Although medicine never accepted the label of allopathy, antimedical groups

continue to misrepresent physicians as allopaths who merely suppress the

symptoms of disease rather than treat their true causes. This apparently is

to make differences between standard and " alternative " medicine appear

based upon conflicting ideologies rather than scientific pragmatism.

Medical writers often refer to medical doctors as " allopaths " but their use

of the term reflects an alternate definition of allopathy: " a system of

medical practice making use of all measures proved of value in treatment of

disease. " [7] This definition is inconsistent with the root words " allos "

and " pathos. " The duplicity of the term aids those who wish to misrepresent

medicine as ideologically allopathic, i.e., interested only in symptom

suppression. The absurdity of this idea can be seen in the use of

antibiotics, immunization, and other medical procedures that deal with the

causal factors of disease. Nonmedical practitioners, including many NDs

reject the idea that germs per se cause disease. They believe that

vitalistic forces are ultimately responsible.

Vitalism is " a doctrine that the functions of a living organism are due to

a vital principle distinct from physicochemical forces " [8] -- which

denotes a paranormal " Life Force. " Vitalists are generally not only

nonscientific, but antiscientific because they abhor the reductionism (v.

holism), materialism (v. etherealism) and mechanistic (v. mystical) causal

processes of science. Its belief in Vitalism (Vis Medicatrix Naturae) can

be seen in its over-riding tendency to overstate the body's self-healing

power, and the beneficence of " natural " remedies (eg, whole herbs alleged

to be superior to drugs extracted from them).

Orthodox medicine assumes that the world is chaotic, mechanistic. We

believe in the Vital Force which has inherent organization, is intelligent

and intelligible. Chiropractors have adjustments, Acupuncturists have

needles, we have Vis Medicatrix Naturae. Our way is to research the mystery

and beauty of the life force, in which we have faith. Our power and our

responsibility is to bring the life force into the light [9].

Naturopathy is an ideologic, not a scientific, system. Science is a

community characterized by competence, openmindedness, critical analysis,

objectivity, reproducible results, and social responsibility. Ideological

systems fall short in all of these important areas. Competence is the most

important attribute of a health care provider. The practice of medicine is

not a right but a privilege that should be granted only to highly competent

and trustworthy individuals. Like airline pilots, licensed health care

providers can hold the lives of strangers in their hands. In real life,

things sometimes go wrong. When they do, people have a right to look for

blame. Reasonable, responsible health care providers need to be protected

from undeserved retribution. NDs lack medical competence. No ND school or

practitioner has contributed to the body of scientific knowledge that

guides health care worldwide. Among ideologists, an ability to verbalize

the ideology and engage in " conversational medicine " generally substitutes

for competence.

Although they are fond of accusing their detractors of being closedminded,

it is the minds of ideologists that are open only to evidence and ideas

which support their views of reality. Ideologists do not engage in critical

analysis, but seek to affirm their faiths by accentuating positive

experiences and rationalizing negative outcomes. Subjective experience is

deemed the ultimate proof and scientific objectivity is denigrated as

insensitive. Established research methodology is often scorned. The use of

control groups is considered immoral because control subjects are denied

the experimental treatment. Double-blinding of observers is ignored in

spite of the historical lessons scientists have learned from the pitfalls

of non-blinded clinical observations. Ideologists rarely conduct studies

with published protocols clear enough to enable replication. Even when the

research methods are specified, replication is seldom, if ever, done.

Ideological guilds lobby for laws which protect them from legal

accountability. Such so-called " medical freedom laws " protect the

practitioners of non-standard medicine, not consumers. NDs do not want to

have to prove that their procedures are safe and effective. Instead, they

substitute rhetoric for evidence. " Natural " is equated with proof of

safety, and testimonials and unsubstantiated claims that " it works " are

substituted for proof of efficacy.

Naturopathy is eclectic (practitioners select whatever he/she personally

likes from a cacophony of philosophically-based procedures), and empirical

(practiced by subjective clinical experience). Due to the lack of

scientific effort on the part of naturopaths, it is difficult to assess

their value. Naturopaths present testimonials while opponents supply

reports of harm-- unfortunately, both are anecdotal and provide only a

partial view. This leaves only the philosophy of naturopathy and the

validity of the methods they employ for an evaluation of the guild.

Appeal

Naturopathy's appeal lies in its claim to be " natural, preventive and

holistic. " These are fine accolades, but have no substantive meaning in

operational terms. No matter how appealing its rhetoric, naturopathy must

ultimately be judged by what it does and its results. A review of the

curricula of accredited naturopathic schools shows that their courses of

study include a mixture of medical discards (eg, colonics, water therapies,

herbalism), pseudosciences (eg, acutherapy, homeopathy, gravity guidance,

hair analysis for nutritional assessment, cleansing--at least one college

offers preceptorships at Mexico border clinics which traffic in cancer

quackery), and modalities expropriated from biomedicine (eg, nutritional

counseling, hypnosis, natural childbirth, psychological counseling). An

important difference is that at medical schools these topics are likely

taught by more a qualified faculty, and applied with greater restraint by

better trained and more rational practitioners. Much financial support for

naturopathic education comes from the health foods industry, herbal trade

associations, homeopathic suppliers, and other's who disdain consumer

protection law and science.

Risks to Patients

Because patients must rely upon clinical interpretations by their doctors

for explanations of their health status, such judgments should be based

upon sound science, not ideology. Naturopathic practices result in

needless, avoidable harm. Risks naturopathy poses to patients include:

Failure to act prudently in the presence of adverse reactions to their

procedures due to a misguided belief in the " healing crisis "

Complications of natural childbirth

Discouragement of childhood immunizations

Delay in, or diversion from, proper medical care for patients afflicted

with life-threatening conditions for which there are effective medical

interventions available.

Questionable uses of herbs, drugs, and/or megavitamin therapy. Many

naturopaths advance unfounded claims for herbal remedies. Included are such

false ideas as:

Herbs can't harm, only help

Natural herbs are superior to standardized medications which have been

approved by the FDA

The Doctrine of Signatures is meaningful as a guide to selecting the

" correct " herbal remedy.

The basis for nature cure is found in the notion that the body innately

knows what is best for it. Disease symptoms should not be suppressed

because they represent the body's natural healing processes. Although

selective examples may be cited to support the idea, it cannot be applied

as universally as naturopaths believe. More dangerous is the corollary

belief in the so-called healing crisis which holds that adverse reactions

associated with their practices (herbal remedies, fasting, colonics, etc.)

are due to " toxins " being expelled; and, that the worse such adverse

symptoms are, the worse would have been the future disease(s) being

prevented. This false belief allows a naturopath to assert that the patient

is " getting better " if they feel good, bad, or indifferent. Such advice led

to the death of a 35-year-old Herbalife salesman, Bivian Lee.

Lee had recently retired from the New Orleans Saints NFL team. He was in

good health according to a life insurance physical six-months before his

death. Lee read advice by Stanley Bass, ND, DC, PhC (Philosopher of

Chiropractic) that adverse symptoms should be expected and welcomed.

According to Bass, ill-feelings were due to the body's " re-tracing " and

The toxins being discarded are saving you from more serious disease which

will result if you keep them in your body too much longer--possibly

hepatitis, kidney disorders, blood disease, heart disease, arthritis, nerve

degenerations or even cancer--depending upon your hereditary or structural

weaknesses. Be happy you're paying your bills now in an easy payment plan.

With some, colds which haven't appeared for a long time may occur, or even

fevers. THIS IS NATURE'S WAY OF HOUSECLEANING. DON'T--but DON'T try to stop

these symptoms ...These symptoms are part of a curing process, and don't

try to cure a cure.

Those who have lived worse lives and poisoned themselves more will

experience more severe symptoms... Headaches may occur at the beginning;

fever and/or colds may appear; the skin may break out; there may be a short

interval of bowel sluggishness, occasional diarrhea, feelings of tiredness

and weakness, disinclination to exercise, nervousness, irritability,

negativity or mental depression, frequent urination, etc....

REALIZE DEEPLY that your body is becoming younger and healthier every day

because you are throwing off more and more wastes which would eventually

have brought pain, disease and suffering. Those who have the worst symptom

-- reactions and follow through to their successful termination are thus

avoiding some of the worst diseases which would eventually have developed

had they continued their careless eating habits [10].

The notion that adverse symptoms should be disregarded or rejoiced about

most likely caused Lee to ignore serious symptoms of cardiac myopathy. When

Lee blacked-out, his wife discovered his condition and made an appointment

for him to see a physician. Sadly, Lee died in front of his seven-year-old

daughter before the appointment could be kept. The Herbalife company paid

his widow a substantial (undisclosed) out-of-court settlement rather than

defend its failure to control such misinformation.

Factions

Naturopathy has at least two major factions. The most politically active is

the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), which is made

up primarily of graduates of Bastyr University (Seattle) and the National

College of Naturopathic Medicine (Portland, OR). A naturopathic degree

program at the Southwest College (sdale, AZ) may now also be included.

Graduates of these schools control the Council on Naturopathic Medical

Education, an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Office of

Education. Another group is the American Naturopathic Medical Association

(ANMA), founded in 1982 in Portland, Oregon [11]. The ANMA is composed of

practitioners from a variety of nonaccredited programs including

correspondence schools. A third organization, the American Naturopathic

Association (ANA) has recently appeared on the scene. It is located in

Washington, DC and claims to have been founded by Benedict Lust in 1896,

and incorporated in 1919 [12].

Reform Efforts

In NCAHF's view, current efforts to reform naturopathy are misguided for

the most part, although there are individuals who envision an acceptable

model. The misguided reform effort has focused upon eliminating diploma

mill degree holders from licensure and practice. To help accomplish this,

the Council of Naturopathic Medical Education was formed and eventually

recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the official

accreditation agency for naturopathic training. On the surface, such an

effort seems legitimate. The problem is that the accredited naturopathic

schools teach invalid medical practices.

NCAHF has been in contact with reformer naturopaths (RNDs) who are leaders

in a reform movement. They understand that NCAHF's objection to the

recognition of naturopathy is based upon its traditional antiscience

orientation. RNDs say that they hope to remove this objection and make

naturopathy into an acceptable health care system. Their view of an ideal

ND would be sufficiently trained in diagnosis and screening to serve as a

primary entry health care provider practicing general medicine with an

emphasis upon teaching healthful lifestyles, managing minor illnesses,

natural childbirth, personal counseling, and so forth. Rather than

automatically opposing drugs and surgery, they say, naturopathy would

simply have a different emphasis. RNDs would teach appropriate lifestyle

changes that are safe and effective alternatives to drugs. For instance,

weight-loss and exercise would be used as an alternative to medication for

high blood pressure. If it were found not to be working for an individual

patient, he or she would be referred to a regular physician. RNDs believe

that there is a selective patient population of people willing to make the

extra effort required who would utilize naturopathic services. Naturopathic

training would emphasize patient screening and practitioners would

collaborate with MDs to whom more serious problems would be referred.

Counter to their tradition as " drugless practitioners, " reformers say that

the idealized ND might even prescribe some medications. RNDs say that they

prefer to use herbal remedies, but acknowledge that these would have to

meet scientific standards of safety and effectiveness. RNDs would apply

contemporary medical standards to validate their practices and would open

themselves to peer review by MDs. RNDs would rely upon the standard

scientific medical literature for its knowledge base. RNDs would abandon

homeopathy, iridology, reflexology, and other sectarian or pseudomedical

practices. Recognizing the propensity for naturopathy to attract

sociopaths, the profession would work to set a higher standard for

self-discipline than is presently done with conventional medicine.

RNDs see the present dearth of family practitioners, its appeal to a

growing health promotion-minded public willing to work at lifestyle

changes, the high cost of high tech health care, and the high cost of

medical education as favorable to their marketing strategy. RNDs would

encourage immunization, pasteurization, fluoridation, and other proven

public health measures. What the reformers have in mind sounds something

like nurse practitioners, midwifery, barefoot doctor, and physician

assistants, all rolled into a single role. This vision presents

naturopathy, not as an " alternative " form of health care, but as filling a

gap that has been left by the evolution of highly specialized, high-tech

medicine. It would provide a low cost, low-technology brand of health care.

Whether this is a pipe-dream or a realistic model from which a useful

profession could emerge from the ranks of present-day naturopathy with its

unorthodox traditions remains to be seen. NCAHF is not aware of a visible

effort to make this dream a reality. If it were to become a reality, could

and would AMA-approved medical schools also offer to train these low-tech

medical generalists? Several RNDs say that it can be done. NCAHF's

president, Jarvis, has advised these reformers to demonstrate by

developing a model program in one or more of the states that presently

license NDs and approve Naturopathic Medical Education. It may take a

generation to accomplish, but once shown to be a responsible profession

working within mainstream health care, naturopathy would have arrived and

would grow rapidly. NCAHF has told RNDs that, just as it has done in the

case of affiliating with a chiropractic reform organization, it would be

willing to help build a bridge for RNDs to enter mainstream health care if

they approached their practices objectively, and were open to careful

scrutiny from the consumer protection perspective. As we have suggested to

chiropractic reformers, RND's may find it advantageous to change the name

of their profession to make it easier to purge itself of the incorrigible

quackery rampant within their profession.

References

Dubos R, Mirage of Health, Harper & Row, 1959.

Garrison F. The History of Medicine. Saunders, 1929.

Nat'l College of Naturopathic Medicine Catalog, 1984-85.

Cayleff S. Wash and Be Healed. Temple Univ. Press, 1987.

Baer H. " The potential rejuvenation of American naturopathy as a

consequence of the holistic health movement, " Medical Anthropology,

1992;13:369-83.

Fishbein M. Fads and Quackery in Healing. New York: Blue Ribbon Books, 1932.

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary.

Snider P, 1991 AANP Convention, Into the Light. Townsend Letter for

Doctors, April, 1992, p.261.

Bass S. What Symptoms To Expect When You Improve Your Diet. In: Herbalife

Distributor Product and Sales Information. Metairie, LA (Undated).

Hayhurst D. American Naturopathic Medical Association Submission to the

United States Department of Education in Opposition to the Council on

Naturopathic Medical Education. (undated, c.1989).

Pamphlet The American Naturopathic Association, Inc., 1377 K Street NW,

Suite 852, Wash., DC, 20005, 202-682-7352.

RESOURCES

Historical & Descriptive

(History) Potential rejuvenation as consequence of holistic (Baer) Med

Anthrop 1992;13:369+.

Quackery: a national scandal (Jarvis) Am J Clin Chem 1992;38:1574+.

Includes a description of naturopathy and critical comments on its validity

as a health care system. Also explains why recognition of accreditation

agencies by the U.S. Department of Education for health care training is

meaningless from the point of scientific validity or justification.

Naturopathy () East-West Journal December, 1985. Although written by

a naturopathy fan, this article contained a great deal of accurate

information on naturopathic education, licensure, political problems, and

so forth.

Naturopathy. In Board of Science and Education. Alternative Therapy.

British Medical Association, 1986.

Risks and Harm

( " Healing crisis " is dangerous theory) What symptoms to expect when you

improve your diet (Bass) circa 1980

The Doctor is in -- jail (Ballentine) FDA Consumer 10/81. Case of Cyrus

Maxfield, ND who was sent to prison after killing a patient by excessive

colonic irrigations.

Naturopathy: an emerging consumer health concern (Redican) Health Education

November, 1980; pp.13-15.

Naturopaths and childhood immunizations: Heterodoxy among the unorthodox

(Halper) Pediatrics 1981;68:407-10.

NCAHF's opposition to recognition of an accreditation agency for

naturopathic education NCAHF Newsl 1988;#8.

NCAHF opposes accreditation of naturopathic education NCAHF Newsletter 1988 #4

American Assoc of Naturopathic Physicians position on childhood

immunizations J Naturop Med 1994;5(1):5.

Official position of the American Naturopathic Association covering many

" so-called " advances in " civilized " life, 1994. 17 statements of opposition

to immunization, vivisection, food processing, health care " monopoly " ,

medications, drugs & alcohol, tobacco, coffee-tea-cola drinks,

pasteurization of milk, insecticides, chemical fertilizers, etc.

State's naturopathy healers licensed but not doctors (Oliver) Orlando

Sentinel July, 1995

Describes the case of Dussalt who misread " ND " as " MD " because it was

written in cursive. He was over treated with prednisone by McKee, ND

resulting in destruction of tendons and ligaments disabling him at age 48.

Dussalt won a $250,000 malpractice judgment but hasn't been able to collect

a penny because, unlike nearly all other health Florida health care

providers, NDs are not required to carry malpractice insurance.

Recommended Books

Barrett, Jarvis, Kroger, London. Consumer Health: A Guide to Intelligent

Decisions. Brown & Benchmark, 1997. (A college textbook)

Zwicky, Hafner, Barrett, Jarvis. Reader's Guide to " Alternative " Health

Methods. Prometheus, 1993.

Raso. " Alternative " Healthcare: A Comprehensive Guide. Prometheus, 1994.

Cayleff S. Wash and Be Healed. The water-cure movement and women's health.

Temple University Press, 1987.

Copyright Notice

With proper citation, this article may be reproduced for noncommercial purposes

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This article was posted on January 30, 2001.

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July 3, 2003

Much of this is the usual medical establishment claptrap. One person dies

because he ignored his symptoms and this guy condemns the entire Natural health

movement. He conveniently fails to mention that doctors and hospitals and

prescription medicines now combine to form one of the most effective causes of

death in this country. I think doctors alone are the 3rd leading cause of death,

according to JAMA's own statistics. Statistics also show that people in large

numbers are now seeking alternative health treatment, and, I bet, are finding

relief and even CURES. These guys are probably starting to get a little panicky

as their credibility begins to sink lower and lower. The only thing left to them

is to begin desperately to irrationally attack the Natural Health movement to

dissuade people from utilizing its' resources.

The proof is in the pudding. I have previously posted a number of instances

where doctors were unable (or unwilling) to do anything for health problems in

our own family and with our friends. And yet we and they have found relief and

even cures through Natural Health techniques.

You can bet more of these attacks will be forthcoming. They will scream

" pseudoscience " and conveniently ignore the people who have experienced healing.

AMDG,

Colleen

----- Original Message -----

From: Fal Astin

gallstones

Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2003 9:44 AM

Subject: Re: [gall______] Aluckower OFFLIST