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From: tjs@cbdkc1.UUCP ( Tom Stanions)
Newsgroups: net.nlang.africa,net.med
Subject: Re: Is there any benifit in African Medicine
Message-ID: <958@cbdkc1.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 8-May-85 10:47:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbdkc1.958
Posted: Wed May  8 10:47:05 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 9-May-85 03:42:35 EDT
Reply-To: tjs@cbdkc1.UUCP ( Tom Stanions)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus
Lines: 72
Xref: watmath net.nlang.africa:18 net.med:1517

<<<<<<>>>>>>

Let me try and explain one or two differences between African (and other
natural) medicines and conventional medicine.

Rich Goldschmidt expressed the following opinion about the
African/Natural/Western forms of medicine:
>I was not convinced of the difference between "African medicine" and
>"Western medicine" by the example Wale gave here.  A common class of drugs
                                                                      ^^^^^
>used in chemotherapy (which block cell division) are related to either
>colchicine or vinblastine both of which are derived from plants.  The
                                         ^^^^^^^^^^^
>herbal treatments provided may have had a similar mechanism.  You'll
>have to find a better example ...


However in his article he in included references to the following text from
Carter Bullard:
>Actually, modern medicine is extremely interested in African traditionalist
>medical techniques.  The NSF(  the national science foundation ) has made
>research money available to investigating African medical techniques in the
>form of direct and indirect grants to African medical schools.  Also
>most if not all of the large pharmaceutical firms have ongoing investigations
>into African and South American herbal therapies.
>
>The reason is very simple.  Less than 15% of the plants on this planet have
>been characterized for their pharmaceutical properties.  Everybody knows that
                                                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>there are going to be new drugs to come out of traditionalist's therapy,  and
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>its just a matter of time before the compounds are researched and made
>available.
>
>The problem that I have with  the statement of Mr. Stanions above, is that he
>thinks that traditionalist African medicine is "natural healing" whereas
>western medical practice is some sort of black magic.  
>
>There really isn't any difference between the two.

I hope you will notice that Carter pointed out one of the major differences.
Whatever nature created us, created our medicine in a natural form using rules
that are far beyond our ability to understand.  Natural medicine accepts this
lack of knowledge on our part and works with nature.  Conventional medicine
feels a need to find "The primary active agent" in the natural cure, and then
creates a DRUG.

Also natural medicine goes beyond the use of herbs and other forms of ingested
help and embraces such methods of help as reflexology and
iridology which are both scoffed at by the medical profession.

Wale Akinpelu gave one example of someone cured by natural methods (note that I
can use the word "cure" here, in conventional medicine the word "suppress" is
usually more fitting).  One of the herbs that helps in fighting cancer is Pau
D' Arco (also called Taheebo or Ipe Roxo).  Also eating raw seeds and nuts has
been showed to help (perhaps because of the laetrile content?).  Bowel cleansing
is important and abstention from all unnatural (drugs) foodstuffs is
important.  Many people have been cured following a way that uses no drugs or
radiation or operations or other forms of unnatural medicine.  And most of
these after being told by their doctor that there is nothing that can be done
to help them.

I guess the simplest way to express a difference is that a "Drug" is not
natural, if you use drugs then you are not a naturalpathic doctor.

I hope I satisfied Carter's request for facts, if not then lets remember that
to a naturalpath someone being "cured" is a fact, to a conventional doctor
there has to be some form of laboratory test performed to find a percentage of
factuallity with probable error factors, double blind testing, etc. (sorry, but
a smiley seems inappropriate at the end of such a sad statement).

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