I recently came across the full text of an editorial which all the
science want-a-bees must be using for their operation manual?  I have
seen the same clearly bigoted comments made all over the Internet, that
are almost word for word the same.  Do all you bigots read the NEJM?

So, I have directly quoted a gaggle of these absurdities and attached
my response to them below.

Angell M, Kassirer JP. Alternative medicine-the risks of untested and
unregulated remedies. [Editorial] N Engl J Med.1998; 339:839 -41.

"What most sets alternative medicine apart, in our view, is that it has
not been scientifically tested and its advocates largely deny the need
for such testing." [Nobody in alternative is denying the need for
testing.  What we are objecting too is the constant harassment by
bigots who should be rotting in jail, right next to the racists, and
rapists for their bigotry. Alternative medicine is objecting to clearly
non-drug forms of treatment being blindly subjected to a drug testing
paradigm by a bunched of  bigots. News flash: alternative medicine has
been and continues to be tested.  Seems simply enough to me, what part
don't you understand?]

"Many advocates of alternative medicine, in contrast, believe the
scientific method is simply not applicable to their remedies. They rely
instead on anecdotes and theories." [Only in the warped sense of
perception of a science bigot.  Different forms of treatment, clearly
are more challenging to test for then the typical science bigot is able
to comprehend.  That is why bigots really suck at research methodology.
They are closed minded and just plain ignorant.]

"In 1992, Congress established within the National Institutes of Health
an Office of Alternative Medicine to evaluate alternative remedies. So
far, the results have been disappointing." [Only in the warped sense of
perception of a science bigot. I find the results so far to be quite
thrilling. Maybe the problem is that all bigots are fundamentally
negative, rotten people, with a major attitude problem?]

"In contrast, anecdotes about alternative remedies (usually published
in books and magazines for the public) have no such documentation and
are considered sufficient in themselves as support for therapeutic
claims. [Only in the warped sense of perception of a science bigot.
Yeah, right, sure:  the branch of medicine called Integrative medicine
and Andrew Weil, MD, don't exist if you are a bigot.]

"Accordingly, herbs or mixtures of herbs are considered superior to the
active compounds isolated in the laboratory." [Interestingly, the
editorial mentions digitalis toxicity.  According to Andrew Weil, MD:
Natural healers using herbalism preferred using whole herbs which are
slower acting. With whole herbs any adverse reactions to a herb are
likely to be noticed by signs of nausea, before they become a major
problem. For example, there are three stages to digitalis toxicity. The
symptoms of the first stage are supposed to be gastrointestinal,
usually nausea and vomiting. Administering digitalis as a whole herb
(i.e., a tea made with foxglove) offers a comfortable margin of safety
for catching any adverse drug reactions, at the first stage of
toxicity. But, when digitalis is administered as a prescription drug,
physicians are trained never to expect to see this first stage of
toxicity as the pure drug form is too fast acting. Andrew Weil, M.D.,
_Health and Healing_, Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, 1998, pages
102-104. So, maybe science bigots are just ignoramuses?]

"And healing methods ... lack ... the presence of a rationale that
violates fundamental scientific laws"  [If you are a science bigot the
presence of a rationale is always more important than whether or not a
treatment works.  Let the patient rot is their motto.  Acupuncture has
been proven to work over and over again.  Physicians exist for the
benefit of suffering patients.  Patients don't exist to edify academic
snobbery.  Just thought that you might want to know.]

"Of all forms of alternative treatment, the most common is herbal
medicine." [Simply not correct.  In 1993, Eisenberg documented that
Exercise was number one followed closely by prayer.  In 1997, Eisenberg
foolishly stopped testing for exercise and prayer was still in the
lead.  The 2002 NCCAM survey again shows prayer in the lead.  Herbalism
shows up as number 2.  And, of course, they are still ignoring exercise
as being the clear number one choice in alternative medicine.]

"In less than a century, life expectancy in the United States has
increased by three decades, in part because of better sanitation and
living standards, but in large part because of advances in medicine
realized through rigorous testing." [Simply not truth.  Who was it that
said that if you tell a big enough lie, long enough and often enough
the masses will actually be dumb enough to believe it? The improvements
in longevity came by way of a better diet due to the modern food
distribution system, clean drinking water, and sanitation in urban
areas. And, let us not forget plain old human greed that promoted the
draining of swamps as a natural bi-product of the land development
process.  Truth be known, surgical advances promoted by warfare has
done more for heart disease than all of your academic bullshit.]

"Now, with the increased interest in alternative medicine, we see a
reversion to irrational approaches to medical practice ..." [Only in
the warped sense of perception of a science bigot.  It is hard to
explain the irrational beliefs of a science  bigot.  Ha, ... Hah, Ha!]

"Most such people would probably seek out conventional doctors if ...
Still, uncertainty about whether symptoms are serious could result in a
harmful delay in getting treatment that has been proved effective. And
some people may embrace alternative medicine exclusively, putting
themselves in great danger." [What planet does NEJM live on?  The data
clearly shows most do seek out conventional treatment first.
Alternative therapies are used alongside conventional treatment by
most.  And, that people abandoned to their own suffering by
conventional medicine desperately seek out alternative medicine
exclusively.  Alternative medicine would not be here at all, if
physicians did not suck so bad in the attitude department. Incredibly
stupid individuals always manage to get themselves killed.  That is
what stupid people do according to the science of evolution.  Just
thought that you might want to know.]

"colleagues describe the puzzling clinical course of a patient in whom
lead poisoning developed after he took an Indian herbal remedy for his
diabetes.20 These are without doubt simply examples of what will be a
rapidly growing problem." [ So, the NEJM has never a heard of ADR, a
very common cause of death in conventional medicine?  Newsflash NEJM:
most prescription medication is toxic and will either kill you or
totally ruin the quality of your life if you take it long enough.]

"Herbal remedies may also be sold without any knowledge of their
mechanism of action."  [Again, if you are a science bigot knowledge of
the mechanism of action is always more important than helping the
patient standing before them.  Let the patient rot is their motto.
Truth is you don't know how many drugs work.  Physicians have
historically always been recklessness and heroic with their use of
toxic drugs.]

"Caveat emptor"  [Caveat emptor, especially applies to conventional
medicine such as with prostate and rectal cancer.  Some say that the
conventional cure is a living hell.]

"It is time for the scientific community to stop giving alternative
medicine a free ride." [Maybe it is time for alternative medicine to
ride the scientific community out of town on horse back, all tar and
feathered?  What are you clowns waiting for?  If the public is
rejecting your services, you should be gracious enough to know when you
are not wanted.  Ha, ... Hah, Ha!]

"There cannot be two kinds of medicine - conventional and
alternative. There is only medicine that has been adequately tested and
medicine that has not, medicine that works and medicine that may or may
not work." [Sorry NEJM, but the existence of science bigots makes it
all too easy.  People just plain don't like your attitude. Let me tell
you something about the marketplace, NEJM. Alternative medicine exists
because there is a demand for it.  There is a demand for it because you
guys just plain suck at what you do.  Just thought that you might want
to know.]

"Alternative treatments should be subjected to scientific testing no
less rigorous than that required for conventional treatments." [So, you
saying that 85% of alternative medical treatment should not have to be
proven before being used on patients just like in conventional
medicine?  And, did not this evidence-based medicine academic crap
really not start gaining any popularity at all until about 1995?  And,
doesn't the NEJM realize that we are talking about in all the history
of humanity the last decade of existence on Planet Earth?  I got an
idea NEJM, why don't you arrogant idiots get your own act together
before you start criticizing other people?]
--
john gohde
http://naturalhealthperspective.com/blog/