We Are Turning To Alternative Medicine Despite
The Government and Medical Community. By Elisabeth Lawrence
Despite widespread media coverage of the
health care crisis in America and helpless hand wringing among
Washington power brokers, a health care revolution is taking place.
Millions of Americans – 36 percent of adults, according to the
National Institutes of Health – are turning to alternative and
complementary medicine to make up for the real or perceived deficits
in the American health care delivery system.
Dr. Conrad Maulfair, director of the
Maulfair Medical Center (www.drmaulfair.com) in Topton, Pa., suggests
that the reason Americans are turning to other forms of healing is
twofold. “In general, Americans are becoming more distrustful of the
medical establishment and are taking increasing responsibility for
their own health. Specifically, they’re becoming less interested in
treating symptoms of disease and more interested in treating the
underlying causes.”
Although slightly more than half
of those who use complementary and alternative medicine do so in conjunction
with conventional medical treatments, a surprising 26 percent seek alternative
treatments at the suggestion of conventional medical professionals. The
government estimates that Americans spend between $36 billion and $47 billion
each year on complementary medicine.
As an example, Dr. Maulfair
points to the nature of symptoms and treatment of heart disease, saying that
most people don’t understand that heart disease develops long before the first
symptoms appear. “While the symptoms of atherosclerosis, commonly referred to as
hardening of the arteries, may appear suddenly as chest pain or a stroke, the
disease may have begun 20, 30, or even 40 years earlier.”
“Even those who understand that atherosclerosis develops slowly over long
periods of time may have misconceptions about the factors that contribute to the
disease and draw the wrong conclusions about its prognosis,” says Dr. Maulfair,
“I doubt there is a person in the United States over 40 who does not believe,
with certainty, that cholesterol is bad and that it causes blocked arteries.
Most people regard high levels of cholesterol in the diet and in blood akin to a
death sentence from atherosclerotic disease,” he notes.
On the contrary, Dr. Maulfair says that only a certain type of cholesterol makes
up a significant part of the plaque that blocks arteries. “Damaged LDL
cholesterol is the main ingredient in plaque, not undamaged, normal
cholesterol.”
According to Dr. Maulfair, free radicals –
reactive molecules that rob cells and tissues of electrons – damage LDL
cholesterol, which is then more likely to adhere to the arterial wall.
“Damage from free radicals left unchecked day after day, week after
week, year after year results in the inability of cells and tissues to
function normally, and can lead to the destruction, decreased function,
and death of those cells.”
This information has profound implications for the way atherosclerosis
is perceived and treated. “When a diagnosis is made,” explains Dr.
Maulfair, “it has traditionally been accepted by both the patient and
the health care professional that the disease will be present for the
rest of the patient’s life.” As more patients are turning to
complementary and alternative medicine, though, their understanding has
shifted. “As people move away from simply treating symptoms of disease,
then the underlying causes of the condition – in this case, free radical
damage – are treated, and the disease process can often be slowed or
reversed.”
The most promising candidate for the eradication of free radicals is
intravenous chelation therapy. Chelation works by binding to the toxic
metals and excessive iron and copper in the body that cause free radical
damage, allowing those toxins to be excreted through the urine.
Likewise, chelation lowers the body’s level of metastic calcium, which
is a form of calcium that deposits itself in the walls of the arteries
prior to the formation of arterial plaque.
Dr. Maulfair explains there are three components of a chelation therapy
program. “First, intravenous chelation treatment removes the metastic
calcium and the iron and copper that accelerate free radical damage. It
also removes toxic metals, such as lead and cadmium. Second, specific
mineral nutrients and antioxidants essential for healthy cell function
are taken orally. Third, a comprehensive diet and exercise program
supports the progress toward wellness.”
The efficacy of alternative treatments is making its way into the
scientific literature. According to a 2005 study published in the
journal Evidence Based Integrative Medicine, people with vascular
disease who underwent non-invasive intravenous chelation therapy
experienced fewer cardiac events in the subsequent three years than
those treated with bypass surgery, angioplasty, or other conventional
medical therapy.
Dr. Maulfair stresses that knowledge enables Americans to understand and
reduce their risk for disease, as well as the treatment options
available to them. Summing up, Dr. Maulfair says, “It’s important to
note that many conditions considered chronic, degenerative diseases with
no hope for improvement can be treated and, in fact, reversed.”
