Healthy Soul

Has the tide turned in the direction of complementary medicine?

2010-08-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

There was a time earlier this year when it looked as if all the progress made towards a more integrated health approach was going to be dashed. Vitamins, minerals and herbal medicine have been under attack from new EU laws, while homeopathy was all but pronounced dead and was definitely going to be made unavailable on the NHS.

And then along came Andrew Lansley, whose decisions up until now have not been altogether brilliant. As the coalition government's health secretary it was up to him to decide on the future of the NHS provision of homeopathy which would decide the future of homeopathic hospitals - one of which has already closed and of which there are four more including the eminent Royal London Homeopathic Hospital.

I was one of the people who wrote to him (see a previous blog) about preventing illness with complementary medicine and saving money for the health service. Then a report on the findings of the parliamentary Science & Technology Committee's findings on homeopathy, written by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley was surprisingly balanced and fair and made the point that any observer could see, that the panels were unfairly balanced against homeopathy and included the most prominent people in the homeopathy-bashing camp, who were never going to change their minds whatever evidence was produced.

The net result was that in the interests of patient choice we are to be allowed more access to homeopathy. This has upset some of the scientists and journalists with loud voices who cannot bear anything that isn't mainstream medicine. They would declare the earth was flat in another age. I was appalled to see the media comparing homeopathy to 'witch doctors' and 'voodoo' the other day. It only shows their ignorance really.

Plenty of people benefit from complementary medicine by paying for it, so why not allow access to everyone on the NHS instead of making it an elitist luxury? The College of Integrated Medicine has now been set up by four of the fellows of the former Prince's Foundation of Integrated Health which was discredited when one of its directors stole some of the funds.

What they fail to acknowledge is that many pharmaceutical medicines have caused serious illness and death and continue to do so. If they were so well proven, why does this happen? There are numerous cases of people suing drugs companies because of the side-effects of very commonly prescribed medication for arthritis and diabetes, to name just two.

The press, as usual, have gone fairly berserk about this but I feel that they cannot overly criticise the four founders - Michael Dixon, formerly medical director of the Foundation; David Peters, chairman of the British Holistic Medical Association; George Lewith, head of a complementary medicine department at Southampton University; and Christine Glover, a holistic health consultant. These people are reputable doctors and practitioners and not a bunch of nutters.

Their aim is to ensure integration of complementary medicine with conventional medicine, which is laudable and could be the model for a far more effective health service than the 'sick' service we currently have.

Letter to Secretary of State for Health re homeopathy

2010-03-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

I am seriously concerned about the concerted campaign against homeopathy, herbal medicine, vitamins and mineral supplements. The recent Committee of Science and Technology looked at the evidence for homeopathy and completely missed the point.

Not everything in life can be defined in a scientific way. If I become more healthy because I go to live by the sea, is there any scientific proof. What I really think the government should do before closing down homeopathic hospitals is speak to patients, speak to people who have found that homeopathy has helped them, their children, their partners.

Complementary medicine is not instantly measurable, but it has two very significant advantages – it helps with the entire wellbeing of a person, not just a physical problem; and it can prevent people getting worse, thus saving the NHS huge amounts of money.

I honestly believe that the scientists, doctors, and MPs who are so incredibly against homeopathy and other disciplines have no understanding of it. They haven’t really looked into homeopathy or herbal medicine to see why the public is so in favour of them. They need to have more understanding, to experience it, instead of continually knocking it.

I am also seriously concerned that the panels put forward to the Science & Technology Committee were heavily biased (3 to 2) against homeopathy, with the most avid detractors being put on each panel. Those who are so opposed have their minds made up and nothing short of a miracle would persuade them. One member of the committee asked if there was perhaps something that we didn’t understand yet, but we would in future. Two of the panellists said that this was definitely not true. I have to ask how could they possibly know? People used to believe that the earth was flat, and they were wrong.

There are far too many unexplained things in the universe that cannot be proven scientifically. For instance, how do you quantify emotions such as being in love? Homeopathy is about the whole person, taking into account their emotional constitution as well as their personality and their symptoms.

I honestly believe that a health system that encompassed all these progressive therapies would be far more successful in preventing illness. Look at Germany and France – often referred to in the homeopathy trial. Both those countries incorporate homeopathy and herbal medicine into their health service, with doctors prescribing them alongside prescription drugs.

I am seriously concerned that this argument has more to do with big business than the health of our nation. Homeopathy accounts for 0.004 per cent of the NHS budget – is it really worth derailing it, when so many people benefit?

To read more about complementary medicine go to Frances' website: www.healthysoul.co.uk

FREEDOM OF CHOICE

2010-02-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

There seem to be two types of healthcare running in the UK – the free conventional healthcare that comes from the NHS and a completely alternative system for anyone who chooses to go to complementary therapists and pay for nutrition, herbal medicine, homeopathy, aromatherapy, etc. Back pain clinics may offer acupuncture, Pilates or yoga on the NHS, and cancer patients are often given access to massage, healing and other therapies, but the majority of people pay, which is their choice.

Even though complementary medicine has become huge business in the UK, there are still plenty of people (or companies) trying to knock it out. EU legislation plans to limit the herbal remedies and vitamins we can buy, and the media and professors often warn against the so-called ‘charlatans’ practising these therapies. There may be the odd charlatan here and there, but most of these therapists are very professional and help a lot of people.

Surely I and anyone else has the right to choose what we do with our bodies. Complementary medicine is rarely unsafe and no-one has ever died from taking homeopathic remedies, so if we believe they work, why not let us buy them?

There seems to be a battle going on between opponents and supports of homeopathy at the moment. Last week protesters demonstrated outside Boots claiming that the store should be ‘responsible’ and not sell homeopathic remedies that don’t work. In protest they swallowed whole bottles of remedies to prove their point.

If I want to go to Boots and buy homeopathic remedies because I believe they work – why shouldn’t I be able to? I believe we live in a free country. On the other hand there are many many people who believe that homeopathy does work so why should one group of protesters take away their right to buy remedies?

The website HMC21 gives information about lobbying parliament on 24th February for people who found that ‘homeopathy worked for me’. Healthy Soul’s homeopathy expert, Vinciane Ollington, has many satisfied customers, three of whom have been quoted in Popular Therapies when their hot flushes, allergies, high blood pressure and hay fever all improved through visiting Vinciane.

Visit Healthy Soul: www.healthysoul.co.uk

AYURVEDIC AUTUMN

2009-11-03T07:22:00.000-08:00

In an excellent article, extracts of which are published on Healthy Soul, Sebastian Pole, ayurvedic and Chinese herbal medicine practitioner, and co-founder of Pukka Herbs explains how following your intuition enables you to take control of your health. He advocates no withholding of natural urges such as thirst, hunger, sneezing, urinating, sleeping, burping and so it goes on! He says, ‘A teacher once taught me “graze like a cow and let your spirit soar”, meaning live simply according to the needs of your body and let your consciousness flourish.’

His advice for autumn eating includes:

• avoiding cold drinks, raw salads, ice, beans, fermented foods and yeast at this time of year because they cause gas and can destabilise digestion
• sweet, mildly spicy, sour and salty flavours and warm porridge for breakfast made from oats, rice or quinoa and flavoured with maple syrup or cinnamon
• the Ayurvedic remedy Ashwaganda for calming, strengthening, giving energy, and settling the nervous system.
• Sebastian recommends an autumn cleanse to prepare for the approaching winter. Triphala is a combination of three fruits and is excellent for detoxifying the body and rejuvenating the digestive system.

Read more of Sebastian’s autumn tips on:
http://www.healthysoul.co.uk/features/displayfeaturemaster.php?id=00127

SUCCESS FOR ASPERGER'S SYNDROME BOY

2009-11-03T07:09:00.000-08:00

Parents know when something is wrong with their children. That’s why the debate about MMR is so contentious sometimes as it’s unfair to tell them that they are wrong when they know that their child changed after the vaccination.

A wonderful success story recently appeared in the Weekly News. Dylan was four when he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. His mother, Denise Hubble, knew that there was something different about him compared to her other older sons. He didn’t interact with other children at nursery and completely ignored people who weren’t in his family.

Denise was in a health food store in south-east London and was told to try Viridian’s Viridkid Omega 3 oil. ‘Frankly I was so desperate I would have tried anything,’ she was reported as saying. ‘I couldn’t believe how quickly I saw a change – within a matter of days. Dylan seemed calmer and more relaxed.’

Omega 3 oils are long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs) which are key structural components of the brain and are essential for concentration and learning ability.

Read more in: Omega 3s Have So Many Health Benefits on www.healthysoul.co.uk

HOW TO ACCESS COUNSELLING

2009-07-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

In a world of increasing stress and worries, working through your problems is hugely important. Bottling things up and trying to ignore issues will ultimately only lead to more problems.

Counselling, whilst once the subject of much scepticism and criticism, is now recognised as a hugely beneficial form of therapy.

The act of discussing problems out loud, without fear of judgement, is in itself a healing and cathartic process. However, with the help of a trained professional, the issues at the heart of the problems can be addressed and dealt with, giving a positive outcome allowing the person to move on with their life, free of what was previously holding them back.

Counselling Directory (www.counselling-directory.org.uk) was set up to provide a simple, easy, and most importantly un-daunting way of connecting people that need help with the people that provide it. A comprehensive searching tool, the site allows postcode, town and country searches, and produces a list of counsellors registered in this area. Each counsellor has a profile, listing a bit about themselves, their approaches, what areas they deal with, and all their training, qualification and experience and fees.

The site shows which counsellors are registered/accredited with a professional body, and full profiles are only displayed after insurance and qualification documents are checked or membership with a professional body has been verified.

Counselling Directory is there to put people who need help in contact with the people provide it, and reduce the amount of stress and worrying that can contribute to an already difficult enough process.

www.counselling-directory.org.uk

ERNST ATTACKS PRINCE CHARLES AGAIN

2009-03-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

There are certain figures in the world of medicine who seem to take a delight in knocking anything complementary. One of these is Edzard Ernst, Professor of complementary medicine at University of Exeter.

His latest attack is on Prince Charles’ Duchy Herbals’ Detox Tincture which is a dandelion and artichoke complex. Recently I contacted him to find out why he was head of complementary medicine at an eminent university but spent much of his time knocking it.

His response to this question was that he was a Professor of Complementary Medicine, as if that answered the question. He said that he had been involved in writing the Oxford Dictionary of Complementary Medicine so he was not against complementary medicine.

He said that there was no scientific evidence that the detox tincture worked and that it gave the impression that people could live unhealthily by drinking too much and taking drugs and then take a detox tincture to make it all right again.

I suggested that most people who drank too much alcohol and took drugs were not interested in herbal medicine. ‘What evidence do you have for that?’ he asked. ‘Only anecdotal,’ I replied. To which he scoffed that anecdotal evidence did not count. Only scientific evidence counted.

I asked, ‘But do you think that this tincture is harmful?’ He replied that it is harmful in several ways, ‘One way it is harmful is to the pocket’. He claims people are wasting their money on remedies that are not scientifically proven. At £10 it is a bit pricey, but when compared with the cost of pharmaceutical drugs it’s a snip.

His premise that it is exploiting people at a time when they are less well off is ridiculous. Who on the breadline would buy a detox tincture in favour of feeding their family?

It is not the first time that Ernst has accused Prince Charles of ‘quackery’ and claimed that there is no scientific evidence to support the detox properties of artichoke and dandelion despite the fact that herbalists have used them for thousands of years.

The BBC website reported that the head of Duchy Originals, Andrew Baker, said that the tincture ‘is not – and has never been described as – a medicine, remedy or cure for any disease. In response to Ernst's accusations he said, 'There is no "quackery", no "make believe" and no "superstition" in any of the Duchy Originals herbal tinctures. We find it unfortunate that Professor Ernst should chase sensationalist headlines in this way rather than concentrating on accuracy and objectivity.’

What people like Ernst fail to notice is that many of the drugs prescribed to an unsuspecting public are not fully proven either, and doctors often do not know which drugs interact badly with others. Hence prescription drugs are the 4th leading cause of death in the world.

What I find worrying is that people like Ernst are connected to a group called Sense about Science who are hell bent on quashing the public’s love of complementary medicine. So why would they do that? Do they have vested interests?

The fortunate thing is that the majority of users of herbal remedies are not interested in what they say - at least until herbal medicine becomes (like drugs) one of the main causes of death in the world and there is no certainly no evidence that this is the case!

Read more about complementary medicine on www.healthysoul.co.uk

Trials on complementary therapies prove successful

2009-02-24T06:27:00.000-08:00

People who try complementary therapies usually wish that they were available on the NHS. There is a strong argument for advocating therapies because they can nip health problems in the bud, preventing more serious conditions developing. This could save the NHS a lot of money.

A trial by Get Well UK in Northern Ireland involved 713 patients from a variety of backgrounds and all ages with musculo-skeletal and mental health problems. They were given a variety of therapies including acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathy, homeopathy, reflexology and aromatherapy.

Following the treatments over a year 81 per cent of them claimed that their physical health had improved, 79 per cent reported improvement in mental health, 64 per cent took less time off work and 55 per cent reduced their use of painkillers.

Although their GPs were somewhat sceptical at the start of the project they were pleased with results, particularly as nearly a quarter of the participants (24 per cent) used health services less after the treatment. Some 65 per cent of GPs reported seeing less of their patients afterwards and half of them said that they were prescribing less medication for them. Half of the GPs even reported a reduction in workloads.

The project was developed after a fund was announced by Paul Goggins, MP, former Health Minister for Northern Ireland, to pilot the integration of complementary medicine into the NHS. A new approach was needed to cope with the overload of patients with musculoskeletal and mental health problems.

It takes so long to make changes in the NHS. There are more therapies available than most people realise – for instance, cancer patients are often given free treatments in centres allied to hospitals. But even where it is recognised that some therapies would be helpful it is still a slow process.

Not only does it require management will to change, but often doctors are very averse to anything that they find threatening to their profession. It is a pity that a percentage of them still view anything that is not orthodox as ‘mumbo jumbo’. As they all claim to be overworked, it is surprising that more don’t endorse complementary therapies as both prevention and cure.

Read more like this on Frances' website: www.healthysoul.co.uk

The GP practice of the future?

2008-12-31T08:17:00.001-08:00

Three quarters of the British public would like to see complementary therapies available on the NHS according to a poll commissioned by the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health in 2006. It also claimed that 50 per cent of GP’s practices provide access to complementary medicine, although in truth this is more than likely to be osteopathy, chiropractic and acupuncture. The chances of getting massage or reflexology on the NHS are still slim.

Not for patients of the GP practice in Cullompton where Dr Michael Dixon has introduced over 20 complementary therapists alongside the normal GP services that would be expected anywhere. Patients have to pay for therapies such as healing, massage, acupuncture, or herbal medicine but at a reduced fee. The practice has its own organic and herb gardens and is next to a Boots store that stocks many of the remedies.

Dr Dixon wrote recently that the current approach to medicine is not patient-centred and takes little account to the patient’s background, culture and health belief. He says, ‘The integrated vision of general practice: a vision that is perceptive enough to acknowledge that health and wellbeing (i.e. the harmonisation of the body, mind and soul) transcends provenance by randomised control trial methodologies only.’

He favours ‘one that offers a wider choice of safe and effective therapies, while ensuring that patients do not turn their back on proven conventional medicine’.

What particularly pleases Dr Dixon is that he can provide solutions for patients that conventional medicine has little answers for. ‘I got into the integrated approach for purely selfish reasons. I used to dread appointments with patients with conditions from back pain to allergies, where modern medicine has little to offer. Now I’m able to steer people towards approaches that help them to get better.’

Anyone who pays for complementary therapies would love to see an integrated approach such as this which takes account of them as a person, rather than the doctor using a computer program to match your symptoms up to drugs. Dr Dixon hopes that his model of an integrated practice will ‘be of use to GPs and patients struggling towards a wider vision of what is possible when the soul is returned to medicine’.

Frances Ive is editor of www.healthysoul.co.uk
a comprehensive website for people who want to take responsibility for their wellbeing

Survey shows people are turning to natural remedies

2008-06-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

According to a survey carried out by honey makers, Rowse, 61 per cent of British people questioned said they'd prefer to use natural products for common ailments than prescription drugs. For instance 72 per cent of them said that they would use honey and lemon to ease cold symptoms, 58 per cent chose garlic for lowering blood pressure and boosting the immune system and just under half chose to drink pomegranate juice for a healthy heart.

Even I consider that these are very high figures. Apparently over 2,000 adults were questioned in the YouGov survey. It seems that despite massive profits of pharmaceutical companies and doctors' seeming willingness to keep prescribing drugs for everything, the public is voting with its feet.

Many people feel that it's enough being bombarded with environmental pollution and pesticides on our food, without having to take chemical drugs as well.

All that's going on is that people are realising that there are simple remedies for many common ailments, such as honey and lemon for colds, manuka honey for digestive problems and ulcers, and St John's Wort for depression. And if you've got the ingredients in the house then it seems cheaper and simpler than going to the doctor for a prescription.

So while on the one hand complementary medicine is being squeezed by some medical professionals, on the other it is becoming increasingly popular. It is even widely used in the NHS. Every other year the Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health runs an award for the best example of integrated health in the NHS.

The excellent examples of integrated approaches to healthcare include the 2007 winner, Midlothian Sure Start, where support for families with young children included lessons on cooking healthy food. Among those chosen last year and previously have been mental health services using complementary therapies including aromatherapy, and an addiction clinic that used acupuncture and hypnotherapy to rid people of their habits.

This is not whacky medicine, but caring and supportive healthcare going on all over the country. Visit Frances Ive's website: www.healthysoul.co.uk

Stop beating up complementary medicine

2008-06-10T04:21:00.000-07:00

Perhaps it's too strong to call it a war, but there is definitely a lot of battering of complementary medicine going on. There is a group of doctors and professors (some of whom have retired) who really have it in for homeopathy. They have written to the Chief Executive of the NHS complaining that homeopathy should not be available on the NHS at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital and the four other homeopathic hospitals around the country.

They also wrote to Primary Care Trusts who in many cases have withdrawn their funding so that patients who were getting the benefits of complementary medicine on the NHS have had their treatments stopped.

1. They make the point that the NHS cannot afford these treatments, but homeopathy, herbal medicine, acupuncture, and other therapies actually save money by preventing chronic illness.
2. The cost of running these hospitals is tiny (£6 million a year) compared with the entire budget for the NHS (£100 billion).
3. The homeopathic hospitals specialise in other therapies too, not just homeopathy - nutrition, herbal medicine, reflexology, acupuncture etc.
4. The doctors say that homeopathy doesn't work - try telling that to the thousands of people who use it and have great benefits.
5. Because a treatment is not scientifically proven doesn't mean it doesn't work. Homeopathy works for animals and they can't tell you how they feel or recognise a placebo.
6. The public want freedom of choice and do not always want to be matched up to drugs on a doctor's computer program.

Read more about complementary therapies, nutrition and preventative health on Frances Ive's website: www.healthysoul.co.uk