Oh, I have plenty of skepticism for empirical 'data' as well, especially anything related to nutrition science or the so-called obesity epidemic.
I agree with you that people should be free to choose the care they want, but you can bet your ass if it was my mother or a close friend who had a serious condition and who was choosing an unproven alternative treatment, I would gently but relentless hound them to examine the data and research proven treatment methods.
And yes, I think that naturopaths and other alternative practitioners are often alluring because they spend more than 6 minutes with a patient and actually LISTEN and treat them as a whole person, talking about exercise, stress, and so on. Western doctors are capable of that, too, and should be spending more time listening and looking at the holistic health picture, but they have a lot of pressure from managed care to get in-and-out quickly.
no subject
I agree with you that people should be free to choose the care they want, but you can bet your ass if it was my mother or a close friend who had a serious condition and who was choosing an unproven alternative treatment, I would gently but relentless hound them to examine the data and research proven treatment methods.
And yes, I think that naturopaths and other alternative practitioners are often alluring because they spend more than 6 minutes with a patient and actually LISTEN and treat them as a whole person, talking about exercise, stress, and so on. Western doctors are capable of that, too, and should be spending more time listening and looking at the holistic health picture, but they have a lot of pressure from managed care to get in-and-out quickly.