My Dad has so much faith in Conventional Medicine that he doesn't take me seriously

[Vision]

On 5/28/2021 at 7:30 PM, Vision said:

This is what he thinks:

• The medicines that exist within conventional medicine, exist because they work. If these herbal treatments and supplements work, why aren't they accepted by mainstream medicine? Why aren't they brought into mainstream medicine?
• If these are real health conditions, why aren't they known in mainstream medicine? 
• Most of the medicines in the pharmaceutical industry are funded by the government (at least in my country), because they work, so the price is reduced. These herbal treatments and supplements are much more expensive, so this must be a scam. 

I don't know how to answer these questions, because I don't know why. But what I do know, is that where the pharmaceutical industry has failed, functional medicine and naturopathy has cured people of their problems. Conventional doctors told me that my conditions were chronic and that I'd have to live with them.  It wasn't until I tried to take supplements recommended by people who practice functional medicine that I started to notice some improvement which I had never experienced with pharmaceutical drugs.

Is there any thing I could say to him when he mentions what's bullet pointed in my post? 

[Michael569]

7 hours ago, Vision said:

Is there any thing I could say to him when he mentions what's bullet pointed in my post? 

Don't forget that for thousands of years there was no "mainstream medicine" and that herbal and natural medicine was what we had for generations and generations. A lot of the current pharmaceuticals are just herbal extracts. A lot of the mainstream medicine knowledge comes from generations of experimentation and using of herbal therapies. Also worth mentioning 

• painkillers - in the past, many were just opioid extracts (e.g. poppy seeds). Research is now showing that things like turmeric or ginger can be as effective as Ibuprofen or Paracetamol. We have some good randomized trials to show for this 
• Aspirin - Salicylic Acid the main ingredient is an extract from White Willow Bark 
• digestive relief medication are often herbal extracts such as peppermint, senna, psyllium husk or ginger 
• other anti-acid medications are really just magnesium and calcium carbonate, common minerals. 
• Psyllium Husk is used as fibre replacement, another common herb 
• St John's Wort is commonly prescribed as an antidepressant to people who cannot tolerate or do not want SSRIs
• Hawthorn berry has well-documented benefits for Heart function even when compared to things like Digoxin
• Echinacea is a powerful immunostimulant with well-researched benefits for flu, infections and even Covid 19 symptoms 
• Medicinal mushrooms have been trialed in cancer studies and some of them show very promising results 
• there are many other such examples of herbal remedies being as powerful as pharmaceuticals with less side effects, lower cost and less patient discomfort. 

Also mention to your dad that medical errors are one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the non-developing courtries. This is very well documented. 

I don't know what he means by "real conditions" but SIBO is very well recognised in research and medicine now. The "leaky gut" is not a real thing because it is a set of symptoms but a condition called "increased Intestinal permeability" is a real thing and it is now well documented in the research. The two are being used interchangeably but they are not, "leaky gut" is an inaccurate interpretation of intestinal permeability. 

The last bit is true, medicines are funded by the government through YOUR salary deduction and contribution. They are cheap to produce because of economies of scale and the cost compared to cost of production is tiny where herbs have to be grown, cultivated, harvested properly and ten stored properly. Herbs are not appropriate for acute conditions such as kidney infection similar. For treatment of chronic disease, pharmaceuticals do not improve these conditions. They block variety of pathways, enzymes and molecules that trigger certain process. They do not heal anything. You stop the medication, the disease comes back pretty much straight away. If a person on proton pump inhibitors quits the drug, they'll get the worst acid reflux of their life. 

There is more to say but I doubt your dad cares, from what you described he ain't changing his mind so it is you who needs to take the next step 

[Vision]

19 hours ago, Michael569 said:

Don't forget that for thousands of years there was no "mainstream medicine" and that herbal and natural medicine was what we had for generations and generations. A lot of the current pharmaceuticals are just herbal extracts. A lot of the mainstream medicine knowledge comes from generations of experimentation and using of herbal therapies. Also worth mentioning 

• painkillers - in the past, many were just opioid extracts (e.g. poppy seeds). Research is now showing that things like turmeric or ginger can be as effective as Ibuprofen or Paracetamol. We have some good randomized trials to show for this 
• Aspirin - Salicylic Acid the main ingredient is an extract from White Willow Bark 
• digestive relief medication are often herbal extracts such as peppermint, senna, psyllium husk or ginger 
• other anti-acid medications are really just magnesium and calcium carbonate, common minerals. 
• Psyllium Husk is used as fibre replacement, another common herb 
• St John's Wort is commonly prescribed as an antidepressant to people who cannot tolerate or do not want SSRIs
• Hawthorn berry has well-documented benefits for Heart function even when compared to things like Digoxin
• Echinacea is a powerful immunostimulant with well-researched benefits for flu, infections and even Covid 19 symptoms 
• Medicinal mushrooms have been trialed in cancer studies and some of them show very promising results 
• there are many other such examples of herbal remedies being as powerful as pharmaceuticals with less side effects, lower cost and less patient discomfort. 

Also mention to your dad that medical errors are one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the non-developing courtries. This is very well documented. 

I don't know what he means by "real conditions" but SIBO is very well recognised in research and medicine now. The "leaky gut" is not a real thing because it is a set of symptoms but a condition called "increased Intestinal permeability" is a real thing and it is now well documented in the research. The two are being used interchangeably but they are not, "leaky gut" is an inaccurate interpretation of intestinal permeability. 

The last bit is true, medicines are funded by the government through YOUR salary deduction and contribution. They are cheap to produce because of economies of scale and the cost compared to cost of production is tiny where herbs have to be grown, cultivated, harvested properly and ten stored properly. Herbs are not appropriate for acute conditions such as kidney infection similar. For treatment of chronic disease, pharmaceuticals do not improve these conditions. They block variety of pathways, enzymes and molecules that trigger certain process. They do not heal anything. You stop the medication, the disease comes back pretty much straight away. If a person on proton pump inhibitors quits the drug, they'll get the worst acid reflux of their life. 

There is more to say but I doubt your dad cares, from what you described he ain't changing his mind so it is you who needs to take the next step 

@Michael569 Thanks for the detailed response!

 

Maybe mainstream medicine has a criteria for what medicine is accepted. In this case it’d be that it needs to be able to treat acute problems. Could it also be that “herbal treatments” aren’t taken into mainstream medicine because they don’t fit that criteria (treating acute illnesses) as effectively as pharmaceutical drugs? Despite them being much better in the long term?

[Michael569]

3 hours ago, Vision said:

Could it also be that “herbal treatments” aren’t taken into mainstream medicine because they don’t fit that criteria (treating acute illnesses) as effectively as pharmaceutical drugs

yeah, pretty much. Drugs are easy to standardise, you have certain amount of milligrams of effective substance per drug and you can produce billion of those pills that will be 100% identical.

Herbs cannot be standardised. Depending on how and where they were grown, you can have more or less of the substance and then herbs do not work in isolation, they address a variety of body systems which is what makes them hard to study and basically medicine does not like to use something that cannot be boxed and labelled. Herbs should never be studied same way as drugs by extracting one molecule, such as taking curcumin out of turmeric and feeding it to rats. You need the whole thing and they need to be combined for a more potent effect. Any skilled herbalist will tell you that all research on herbs is pretty much silly because they are just looking at isolated substances. 

There are many benefits to evidence-based practice but it has many blindspots that it is not acknowledging such as being blind to its own limited view and limited scope of what is "acceptable" and that what is not "scientific" has to be nonsense. 

[Vision]

@Michael569

That makes sense. Thanks for your help ? 

[King Merk]

@Vision that’s a tough one man. My best advice would be to focus entirely on you and your healing process. Forget trying to convince and change your dad in any way.

Besides, paradoxically the best way for you to convince your Dad of these things is to simply embody the changes you’re wishing to make. The results will speak for themselves and once he sees those changes in you THEN he may be open to learning some of these alternative methods of health/healing that you are presenting.

Focus, with your keen “vision” on your and your healing