The Debate About Benefits of Traditional Medicine Over Modern

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The health care industry today has become disproportionately profitable that it is now in the business of disease and illness rather than curing health. Doctors are given rewards based of the amount illnesses they diagnose rather than the illnesses they treat or cure. Medical schools nowadays don't implement teachings on exercise or healthy dieting as a part of disease prevention; instead they teach how to treat only your symptoms and prescribe you the “perfect” pharmaceutical pill or injection. In this paper, I will be addressing why natural medicine plus a healthy lifestyle is more beneficial than conventional medications.

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My relation to this topic is that my entire life has been immersed in and out of hospitals due to surgeries and early on birth complications and the main supplements that are credited to my healing and recovery were the natural remedies. Prior to this research, I knew about natural medications and how benefitting they are because my parents are health and wellness enthusiast and I also use essential oils daily.

Using natural medicine is more benefitting because not only does it cure illnesses it also prevents them in the long term. Unlike natural medicine conventional medicine just covers upside effects rather than treating the underlying disease. In this research paper I argue against conventional medicine because it causes more death, doesn't cure the source of any disease, and is turning the healthcare industry into a business rather than healthcare.

Natural Medicine dates back thousands of years. In ancient times people understood the importance of having a healthy body.

Traditional Asian Medicine first emerged over 4,000 years ago and today it has evolved to practices that are still commonly used today of how effective and beneficial its healing benefits are. In today's world the earth and our food are filled with many toxins and pollutants. Lots of people in our society struggle with mental illnesses and because of this many consumers are concerned and are moving towards natural medicine approaches.

Most people who opt for alternative medicine are choosing these treatments because they are seeking a more natural approach to healing their chronic conditions. (“Pros & Cons of Alternative Medicine, Modern Medicine, & Traditional Medicine”, 2018). Many people in today’s world have learned the risk of man-made medicine that isn't organic. The Essential oil community has grown tremendously within the last five years. The reason for this is that many medicines cause negative and health diminishing side effects

Our healthcare system has failed to keep to this gold standard of clinical practice for the most important goal of improving patient health outcomes. (“Why modern medicine is a major threat to public health”,2018). The healthcare system in America has now developed into a business rather than healthcare. Doctors are granted their paychecks based off the amount of people they diagnose and amount of prescriptions they write rather than the amount of people they cure.

While taking a pill may be easier than making lifestyle changes, however, it comes with risks. (“Have we become too dependent on medication”, 2015). Today People have become too busy and distracted to implement a lifestyle change. Society has made laziness a normalized trait. Many people fail to realize that a healthy diet and drinking water alongside exercise is just as beneficial of not more than prescription medicine.

Around 230,000 Australians are admitted to hospital every year because of problems with their prescribed medicines, including side effects. While most side effects can be managed, some can be very serious and may even cause death. (“Medicines and side effects”, 2018). Medicine researchers have discovered that some vaccines have negative side effects that can lead to death or birth defects.

Human beings and plants have co-evolved for millions of years, so it makes perfect sense that our complex bodies would be adapted to absorb needed, beneficial compounds from complex plants and ignore the rest. This is an established fact in nutrition, but the West’s sharp distinction between food and medicine somehow blinds us to these properties when it comes to botanicals. The most successful medical philosophies make no such division — Okinawans, the world’s longest-lived people, believe that the food they eat is “nuchi gusui” which roughly translates as “medicine for life.” (“Why Plants are (usually) better than drugs”, 2011). Natural health remedies and the use of herbal health products have seen a dramatic growth in popularity over the past decade, perhaps due to the fact that modern medicine has been seen to place more importance on prescribing drugs instead of focusing on disease prevention and healthy diets (“The Benefits and Risk of herbal medicine”, 2018).

In the written record, the study of herbs dates back over 5000 years to the Sumerians, who created clay tablets with lists of hundreds of medicinal plants such as myrrh and opium Ancient Chinese and Egyptian papyrus writings describe medicinal uses of plants as early as 3000 BC. Ancient Egyptians wrote the Ebbers Papyrus which contains information on over 850 plan medicines, including garlic,juniper,cannabis,castor bean, aloe, and mandrake. (“Health Benefits and possible risk of herbal medicine”.2016). The Ancient Egyptians used many herbs as their form of medicine. Many early civilizations had healthy people but unfortunately couldn’t survive diseases they had no immunity to due to the lack of exposure.

Prescription medicines and advances in medical treatment have helped people avoid disability and death caused by disease, lowered overall treatment costs, and has lowered death rates for heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other deadly diseases for several decades. (“Modern Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine: Different Levels of Evidence”, 2018). Modern medicine has helped healthcare understand how the body works and since we have a greater understanding then doctors and research can develop greater ways to treat diseases.

The herbs used in TCM can be unsafe in certain individuals. In addition, there is less regulations in place for the safety of herbs (“Pros & Cons of Alternative Medicine, Modern Medicine, & Traditional Medicine”, 2018) - Some plants and animals can provide humans with excellent nutrition but some parts of plants or animals can turn out to be very toxic to the body if used the wrong way. Ex: The puffer Fish has a great source of vitamins, but the liver is lethal and toxic if consumed by any human or predator.

Just because something is “natural” does not always mean it is safe. A prime example is the herb kava kava; this herb is often used to treat anxiety, but it can also cause liver damage. (“Pros & Cons of Alternative Medicine, Modern Medicine, & Traditional Medicine”, 2018). This is very true because kava is often used as a depressant and relaxes you by lowering the body’s cortisol level; this is beneficial, but it also damages your liver worse than alcohol. Few people use alternative medicine, and experts recommend against it. (“complementary medicine vs alternative medicine”,2013). Natural medicine in today's world because the delivery of the drug is usually slower than a pill or shot that is delivered into your body instantly.

Critics of modern medicine are quick to point out that there is a pill for everything. (“Pros & Cons of Alternative Medicine, Modern Medicine, & Traditional Medicine”, 2018) This is very true because natural medicine has its limits on how effective they are at treating diseases quickly. Echinacea more than 20 different types of reactions have been reported. Some include asthma attacks, hives, swelling, aching muscles and gastrointestinal upsets. (“Medicines and side effects”, 2018). Echinacea is a natural herb that many people use for treating the flu, reduce the risk of breast cancer, reduce inflammation, and management of anxiety. Few people use alternative medicine, and experts recommend against it. (“complementary medicine vs alternative medicine”,2013). Natural medicine in today's world isn't as effective because the delivery of the drug is usually slower than a pill or shot that is delivered into your body instantly. Critics of modern medicine are quick to point out that there is a pill for everything. (“Pros & Cons of Alternative Medicine, Modern Medicine, & Traditional Medicine”, 2018) This is very true because natural medicine has its limits on how effective they are at treating diseases quickly.

Sweeping Generalization is the fallacy that I have identified for my paper. The quote that I have representing my logical fallacy is: Few people use alternative medicine, and experts recommend against it. (“complementary medicine vs alternative medicine”,2013). Natural medicine in today's world isn't as effective because the delivery of the drug is usually slower than a pill or shot that is delivered into your body instantly. This quote is an example of the Sweeping Generalization fallacy because it states that “few people use alternative medicine”, but, hundreds if not thousands of people still use alternative medicine to this day because they know the benefits it has. The reason critics don’t recommend using just natural medicine is because some natural herbs if not used correctly can cause negative side effects and also not be equipped enough to fight off diseases.