Complementary and alternative medicine is the new mainstream.

Show a Little Respect!

You’ll never guess what complementary and alternative medicine is.

Mainstream.

Seriously.

A new “state-of-the-art paper” from Mayo Clinic researchers drops this amazing little stat from a 2002 review: “The total number of visits to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers far exceeds those to primary physicians.”

FAR exceeds?

Absolutely. In 1997, the number of CAM office visits exceeded primary physician office visits by 243 million! And that trend was on an upward swing.

Yeah, I’d say that qualifies as a major prevailing trend (which is how Webster’s defines “mainstream”).

So does the Mayo team stand back and give respect where respect is due?

Please. Do you even have to ask?

Products to avoid

The purpose of the Mayo paper is to highlight potential adverse reactions when cardiovascular patients combine herbal treatments with drug treatments.

So far, I’m with them all the way. Millions of patients are combining CAM treatments with drugs, so the more that patients and doctors know about interactions the better.

But the Mayo team isn’t content with just performing a service and giving the medical field a useful tool. No. They jam anti-CAM editorial content throughout their paper.

In fact, they drag out virtually every old warhorse argument against CAM – the therapies aren’t properly tested in clinical trials, supplements aren’t regulated strictly enough, consumers assume “natural” herbs are completely free of side effects, and blah, blah, blah.

And the bias is glaring. For instance, here’s the title of Table 1: “Herbal Products to Avoid in Patients With Cardiovascular Diseases.”

And why avoid these herbal products? Because they interfere with cardio drugs.

According to the table, cardio patients should avoid green tea because it decreases the effects of warfarin (a blood- thinning drug).

HEY, Mayo! Don’t forget who’s mainstream here!

Do you drink green tea for the antioxidants or the anticancer agents? Then maybe you should avoid warfarin use.

Or let’s say you’ve had success improving circulation with ginkgo biloba. Well, bleeding risk is higher when that herb is taken with warfarin or aspirin, so those drugs probably aren’t right for you.

In a New York Times article about the Mayo paper, one of the authors singles out garlic, noting that patients are very surprised that garlic can potentially increase risk of bleeding. Which is hilarious because warfarin increases the same risk!

The subtle-as-a-brick message of the paper is clear: Trust drugs, not herbs, not CAM.

But that tired old message doesn’t fly anymore. Time for respect.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson

Sources:
“Use of Herbal Products and Potential Interactions in Patients With Cardiovascular Diseases” The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Vol. 55, No. 6, 2/9/10, content.onlinejacc.org
“Hazards: A Warning on Mixing Herbs and Medicine” Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 2/9/10, nytimes.com