Alternative medicine–waste of money
As I’ve discussed before, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) are so-called treatments that lack any scientific or medical support. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), which was funded by the US Congress to be a part of the National Institutes of Health, continues to discover that these treatments do not work. And it wasted $2.5 billion to discover that they don’t work. I would have done it for $1.5 billion. In fact, given that most of the CAM therapies rely upon ideas that have no foundation in physics, chemistry, biology, physiology or any other science, most of the studies shouldn’t have been done at all.
Marilynn Marchione, an Associated Press Medical Writer, has written an article entitled, $2.5B spent, no alternative medicine cures. You can’t get any clearer than that, and it’s really clear:
I could go on, but it would be ridiculous. The government (I really mean we taxpaying US citizens) are funding studies for energy fields (they don’t exist), distant healing (by what plausible physical process can that happen?), and other so-called therapies that lack any basis in science. They are investigating nonsense. Pure nonsense.
The United States should be investing in science and medical research since that provides real value to Americans whether it be jobs in research and manufacturing or making us healthier. But spending it on research that is irrational and foolish, like seeing if homeopathy works, is a poor use of monetary resources, your tax dollars.
Write your Congressman to stop this waste of money. Unless, it’s Senator Tom Harkin. He thinks that we’re not spending enough.
By Michael W Simpson
Marilynn Marchione, an Associated Press Medical Writer, has written an article entitled, $2.5B spent, no alternative medicine cures. You can’t get any clearer than that, and it’s really clear:
- Echinacea for colds–doesn’t work
- Ginkgo biloba for memory–no
- Glucosamine and chondroitin for arthritis–no way
- Saw palmetto for prostate–don’t waste your money
- Acupuncture–no better than a placebo, if that.
I could go on, but it would be ridiculous. The government (I really mean we taxpaying US citizens) are funding studies for energy fields (they don’t exist), distant healing (by what plausible physical process can that happen?), and other so-called therapies that lack any basis in science. They are investigating nonsense. Pure nonsense.
The United States should be investing in science and medical research since that provides real value to Americans whether it be jobs in research and manufacturing or making us healthier. But spending it on research that is irrational and foolish, like seeing if homeopathy works, is a poor use of monetary resources, your tax dollars.
Write your Congressman to stop this waste of money. Unless, it’s Senator Tom Harkin. He thinks that we’re not spending enough.
By Michael W Simpson