I was wondering what peoples views are on alternative medicine. I work in a health shop and sell many herbal remedies, which half the customers taking it say they work, and half say they dont. We are told to say that some herbs work for some people, and not for others, as we are all different. I cant help but feel thats a cop out, and just a ploy to get people to buy more products.
There are tests done on herbal remedies,but for one trial it worked, and for another it didnt, how do we know if the remedy we are taking is working? Is it the placebo affect?, our willingness to believe in non pharmaceutical medication? or part of our religious/spiritual beliefs that lead us down this route to alternative medication?

Come on, you guys! you could at least humour me and write a small response, im new here!!! Im sure someone out there has a view on this subject! ah,come on!!!!

Hmm. Somehow my deep, insightful, and wonderfully glib post was lost. Impossible to replicate, sad to say.

But, my first point was that I'm sorry you felt ignored. I, too, was looking forward to some informed posting on the topic. I, however, know very little about the subject, but that has never stopped me from posting on such things before.

I have been relatively healthy all my life (so far), although I am overweight and down with a herniated disk right now. But, I have been taken 'pharmacy grade' supplements for some time, and although i can't prove a negative, I do feel better than how I percieve most others. Proof? No, of course not. Is it simply in my mind? Maybe. But it makes sense.

One can't ignore the fact that most 'modern' medicines are nature based, and not surprisingly, based on 'traditional' natural based remedies. The biggest problem I have with 'alternative medicines' is that they are relatively unregulated. However, one of the best things about 'alternative medicines' is that they are relatively unregulated.

It is a rare occasion that i go into a Natural Food store, I guess simply because it's out of the way and I am unconvinced somehow that the quality is somehow better. It seems to be pricier, anyway.

So, that's my two cents worth. I look forward to seeing more informed posts on this thread to teach me a thing or two. Thanks for the thread, BB.

[By the way, if my first post somehow shows up, I will edit it out to avoid the redundancy. Well, I'll at least edit out the less brilliant elements of each.
--Steve--

__________________
That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 255)

Thankyou for your reply. sorry to hear about your back, have you tried devils claw?! One of the many natural anti inflamatories we sell were i work! actually, after doing more training today, i realised that near every product we sell has anti inflamatory action, how can this be?? I think they just say this when they run out of ideas of what the herb does!!
I must say that i have seen the spiritual aspect of why people buy this stuff, especially the ayurvedic stuff, which is from hindu teachings, so many people are well into it, they will go around the shop and buy anything with ayurvedic written on it, even if they dont need it, im sure!! You may have guessed that i am not into new age stuff and i am looking for another job, as selling this stuff isnt appealing to me. Im more of a paracetamol kinda girl!

Ya gotta love what you do. Makes it easier to be who you are. Thanks for the hint, but Tylenol won't touch the pain I'm having. Hoping for surgery next week. Thanks for the hints, and good luck with the job hunt. --Steve--

__________________
That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 255)

I'll be praying that the surgery goes well. Dont think anything natural would help that kind of pain! I dont think im gonna get much response on this thread. Thankyou for taking pity on me though, nice chatting with you, bahai9. im sure we shall meet again in the religious debate or poetry section.
Im off to go sell some herbs and stuff,thank goodness its friday! B.B.

Having seen it work dozens of times, including on people who didn't think that it would, I'd have to say it does work. In fact, many over the counter products come from or contain products that are used in alternative medicine (for example, aspirin - from willow bark, and cough medicine - which usually includes choke cherry bark). I use it quite regularly on various people, and when it comes to herbal medicine, the thing I like about it personally is that there are seldom side effects like with nearly all man made medicines.

I will agree that the best thing about the alternative medicine are the lack of side affects. I get frustrated with the companies that sell them though, when one herb isnt working for someone, they ply them with another with some excuse as to why it didnt work, then when that dont work the customer gets the same excuses and gets more herbs, and spends a fortune on nothing that helps. And the homeopathic stuff and bach remedies are just aload of ingredients shoke up for a very long time, that were picked off a plant or squesed from bark. And ear candles, i mean, why??????

Well, I was in an automobile accident last December, and my lawyer sent me to a chiropractor. I went for just over 3 months. At the end of my treatments, I felt much better.

Now, how much of that was due to the treatments and how much was due to the normal healing that happens with the passage of time, I couldn't tell you.

I used to find a couple of aspirin washed down with a glass of hot water to which has been added an ounce each of lemon juice and whisky to be a far better alternative to commercial over-the-counter cough syrup.

__________________
Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control;
these three alone lead one to sovereign power.
Tennyson

I agree. That is one reason that I will explain up front that different people will react differently to different herbs, and that what will work for one person may not work for another. I then give a list of herbs that may help, or give the person one herb and tell them that if it doesn't work, come back and they can try one of the others. Of course, I also don't charge like a doctor or the like would charge. A shaman should leave it up to the patient what the patient can afford and how much the service is worth to the patient. I have often been paid in goods or services rather than money, which is perfectly okay with me. That is the way the doctors in the old west used to do it, and it is a pity that we moved away from this sort of open barter compensation.