How Valid Are Medical Treatments
I’ll sometimes receive feedback from readers about the lack of research on some of the things that I recommend. These same people will trust that what the medical profession is saying is a recommended treatment MUST be valid. Well, get ready to have that bubble popped.
Only 15% of current medical treatments have been proven by a controlled clinical trial. This fact has been validated by the US Government’s Office of Technology Assessment and Duke University Research Sciences.
Let’s examine the treatment for glaucoma, for example. Dr. David Eddy, a cardiologist, attempted to discover where the current treatment for glaucoma originated. He searched back to 1906 and could not find a single controlled study conducted that validated the recommended treatment. Rather, the entire treatment was just handed down from generation to generation. Dr. Eddy found the same problem, that there were no controlled studies, for treatment of blocked femoral and popliteal arteries. He even found that standard practices often do not match whatever research that does exist.
Dr. Cindy Romero reports that if one were to look at the Physician’s Desk Reference, which is the bible for drug information, one would find a significant number of drugs for which the mechanism of action is “unknown.” While there will be speculation as to how the drug is working, there will also be a list of known side effects from using the drug.
My approach is to give you as much research as I can and to make recommendations that will either do no harm or point out the known warnings. When you compare my healthy living recommendations to the numbers of drugs in the marketplace that have been withdrawn due to dangerous side effects, I think you’ll better understand the wisdom of my approach.
