Quote Originally Posted by denuseri View Post
Sometimes eastrn medical procedures qi gong, acupunture etc...work where the west's prefered treaments ALL failed.
From here: "The evidence from both personal testimony and from scientific studies clearly shows that acupuncture works and is an effective medical treatment for many ailments. The evidence from the scientific studies also shows clearly that sham acupuncture is just as effective as true acupuncture. What is not so clear to some people, but is easily ferreted out from the evidence, is that acupuncture most likely works by classical conditioning and other factors that are often lumped together and referred to as "the placebo effect." Furthermore, in some cases sham acupuncture works better than other placebos."

Some of the "traditional" medicines really do work. Pharmaceutical companies investigated them, determined WHY they worked, then made easily accessible substitutes for them. When you have a headache you can always go out to find a willow tree, strip off the bark and boil up a nice tea to make the headache go away. Or you can take a couple of aspirin, which has the same active ingredient. Perhaps the first method will be cheaper, but the second is far more convenient.

Many more treatments and medicines have been shown to have little or no therapeutic value beyond the placebo effect. It's similar to treatments for the common cold. You can do nothing, and the cold will go away in 14 days, or you can take all kinds of medications and get rid of it in only 2 weeks. Our bodies have built in healing mechanisms which can be far more powerful than many medications. Placebo medicines rely on this natural ability. Snake oil salesmen rely on human nature to fall for the sales pitch and buy such placebos.

So you can pay the scientists, or you can pay the witch doctors. Take your pick, and hopefully it won't kill you.