One Last Time: Alternative Medicine

There are certain subjects that have come up time and again over the last 9 years. The main benefit of a behavioral approach is that so many seemingly diverse behaviors can be grouped into categories or dimensions to make sense of the consequences that arise from the resulting choices. 

About five weeks ago, in August, I wrapped up the subject of unfounded fears over GMOs with a One Last Time entry. Today the subject is the very broad area of alternative medicine, which I have described as magic pills and miracle cures. Just typing “magic pill” in the search box at the top left corner of the screen will reveal about 20 entries on this subject from vitamins to caffeinated underwear. In these and several other cases I pointed out the fallacies in their advertising and directed attention to the legally required disclaimer: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."

Recently, I found this informative site with an excellent summary.

First they list the various aliases used instead of alternative including: esoteric, complementary, holistic, integrative or natural medicine. It includes such a variety of treatments that “generally accepted definitions do not exist.” 

An incomplete list includes: acupuncture, anthroposophical medicine, applied kinesiology, aromatherapy, autologous blood therapy, Ayurvedic medicine, Bach flower remedies, bioresonance, chelation therapy, chiropractic, colonic irrigation, detox therapies, dietary supplements, energy healing, herbal medicine, homeopathy, iridology, Kampo medicine, macrobiotic, magnet therapy, mind-body therapies, music therapy, neural therapy, ozone therapy, reflexology, Reiki, shiatsu and Traditional Chinese Medicine. I have discussed many of these elsewhere, here and here, for example, but some I’ve never heard of. 

Since they have no scientific backing, how do they lure in customers? “The realm of EM (Esoteric Medicine) is riddled with fallacies which confuse patients and consumers and are used regularly to undermine critical thinking.” In other words, they trick people. The most prevalent and important of these fallacies from the site are summarized below.

The “appeal to popularity” or “appeal to authority” tries to substitute popularity or the opinion of respected people for scientific evidence. But “medicine is no popularity contest” and “even people of high standing make mistakes.”

The post hoc fallacy wrongly assumes “an event ‘X’ that is preceded by another event ‘Y’ must be caused by ‘Y’. If the rooster didn’t crow, the sun would not come up. If the child skipped vaccinations, he would not have autism. (No and no.) It is not true for individuals or for groups.

Many of these interventions rely on the placebo effect. Scientists are just beginning to understand the power of the mind to heal the body. This effect is present whether the medicine is real or not. Likewise, sometimes people just get better on their own. These alternative treatments take advantage of these facts to gather supporters and celebrity endorsements without bothering with scientific evidence.

Using an appeal to tradition, citing a long history is another fallacy, assuming that if it has passed the test of time, it must be effective and safe. This may be good reason to conduct research, and if the argument is valid, the results will be favorable. But long history is no substitute for evidence. Many treatments were applied in the past that would be unconscionable today. Contrary to some popular opinion, ancient Chinese is not a code for safe and effective.

The article gives a long explanation of why EM is unethical by medical standards. “Informed consent is rarely possible in the realm of EM.” Often there is not a professional diagnosis.

“Another fallacy holds that EM defies science or extends beyond the boundaries of science as it is currently understood. Therefore, proponents claim, it cannot be tested in the same way as one would test conventional treatments.” 

Finally, because it is natural, it is assumed to be harmless. “Nature is pictured as benign and natural remedies are therefore not just intrinsically superior but also safer.” This shows a limited viewpoint and a basic misunderstanding of nature. Hurricanes, tornados and blizzards are natural. No one would argue that tobacco is safe because it is natural. To be enamored with words like “natural” and “non-chemical” or the phrase “available without a prescription” is to succumb to deceptive advertising.

These tools are used to “mislead the public such that even the most extravagant absurdities of EM might appear more plausible. Collectively they help foster and perpetuate a culture of unreason that is essential for EM to thrive.”

Ads for a vast number of bogus alternative medical products and services have cropped up since the advent of the COVID-19, faster than the authorities can alert the public or warn the purveyors about their illegal activity. The best defense is: Don’t be a sucker!

The truth is there is no such thing as alternative medicine (no matter what name it goes by); there is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t work. All these tricks, alluring words and excuses do not change that fact. Lack of critical thinking in this area can lead to a waste of money, but worse, real harm to you or your family.