Excuse me while I vent, just a little.
Natural medicine is a business, like any other business; and right now, it's a big, big business. A booming business. An "how-can-I-jump-on-this-bandwagon?" kind of business. There is a daily proliferation of impossible claims and rumored legends of miraculous cures. I try not to apologize too much for this; I know that I am no more responsible for the charlatans who fall under this over-large umbrella of "complementary and alternative medicine" than your hard-working family MD is for the current debacle at the Veteran's Administration. And yet...
In my mail yesterday, I received a large packet of ads for various supplements. (To be fair, this is from the distribution company I work with, and they do not bug me very often--I only get such a packet 4-6 times a year, and many of the things advertised in it are products I recommend and/or use). The star of this particular packet was a product claiming to "produce feelings of fullness and satiety" in my patients--in other words, an appetite suppressant. All-natural, of course, if one puts aside qualms about laboratory manipulation to produce such marvels of nature as "Patented potato protein extract". Yep, it was an appetite suppressant made of potatoes and seaweed. Feel free to laugh.
Now, I know as well as the next person that the "obesity epidemic" is this year's favorite health crisis, and I know that conventional wisdom is that we all eat too much and could all stand to be thinner. (Do I agree with either of these statements? No, I do not). But come on--I spend my days trying to convince people to eat, to eat well, and to eat REAL FOOD. REAL FOOD, not something created on someone's lab bench. In my mind, this does *not* qualify as natural medicine.
Today's mail contained a brochure (sent by a cold-calling salesman) touting a product which claims to foster the growth of stem cells in the adult. Now, leaving aside the question of whether this is even a *good* thing, the lovely brochure never mentioned the ingredients in this miracle supplement OR its price. Hey, salespeople? It's really rather important that you share a detailed ingredient list with those of us who you expect to vouch for your product. This is my reputation that you're putting on the line.
BTW, here's a note for all cold callers: I might be semi-polite with you on the phone (while removing you from the line as swiftly as possible) but I will NOT purchase product from you. I despise cold calls. If you want to show me a new product, send me something that I can read. I like to read, and I can do it at a time convenient for me. And don't worry, I'll recycle your propaganda when I'm through with it.
And here, for your benefit, is the piece of advice I wish I could have plastered on my office wall, or recorded on my office voice mail, for all the times patients want to know about the latest miracle cure: IF IT CURES EVERYTHING, IT'S A LIE. If you see it hyped on the internet, don't waste your money. If someone spends millions of dollars to broadcast an infomercial touting this stuff, don't send them more money. Turn off the infomercial, and get some sleep. We'll talk about realistic solutions in the morning.
And no, I can't cure your cancer. I'm really very sorry about that, I wish I could.
