There’s no doubt the alternative health sector is growing rapidly and, like the Medical Industrial Complex, is mighty profitable. Not as profitable as Big Pharma perhaps, but nevertheless highly commercial and very lucrative… And naturally, excuse the pun, with that profitability comes problems.
We, my co-author and I, address this in Medical Industrial Complex: The $ickness Industry, Big Pharma and Suppressed Cures – book three in our contentious Underground Knowledge Series.
Disclaimer: We are both keen advocates for alternative health and integrative medicine.
Upfront, we acknowledge that the inference that doctors are not supportive of alternative health is very much a generalization; we are aware there’s a growing number of physicians and other health providers in mainstream medicine who are very knowledgeable about nutrition and alternative health, and who incorporate this knowledge into their everyday practice. Unfortunately, they are very much in the minority.
In a chapter titled ‘The alternative health sector – warts and all’, we write as follows:
The alternative health sector is far-reaching. It encompasses dietary supplements, natural and alternative (or complementary) medicines, plus therapies and treatments ranging from well-known modalities like massage therapy, acupuncture, homeopathy and naturopathy to more exotic and lesser-known ones such as chelation therapy, ear candling and moxibustion.
It’s very evident as more and more people embrace alternative health, globally this equates to huge financial losses for the Medical Industrial Establishment. Doctors are quick to point out the dangers of some dietary supplements and alternative medicines – and with some justification. Any Joe/Jo Citizen can call him or herself an alternative health practitioner and/or open a health shop dispensing supplements to an unwary and unsuspecting public.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) addresses this very point, advising that the FDA requires zero proof that dietary supplements have been tested before they are sold even though those dispensing the supplements are allowed to make certain health claims.
Scan back issues of any metropolitan newspaper or conduct a quick search online and you’ll find numerous accounts of bogus health supplements, fake natural cures and the likes…
…There are many more examples and case studies we could cite – enough to fill this book in fact. However, the message should be clear by now. The message is that, globally, there are big profits to be made in alternative health and, as is the case in any lucrative field, where big bucks are on offer corruption and shady practices are never far away.
Equally, in the healthcare sector generally, it’s clear that corruption isn’t the sole domain of Big Pharma.
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‘Medical Industrial Complex’ is available via Amazon as a paperback and Kindle ebook.
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