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Savannah Kaplan
Professor Padgett
ENGL 102
10 April 2016
The Value of Complementary and Alternative Medicine:
A Solution to the U.S. Healthcare System
While healthcare has made significant strides in the last century, increasing the average
human life span by over forty years, there have been much smaller strides made in the last couple
decades. Furthermore, there have been numerous recent reports about an increasing number of
expensive medical approaches or medicines that are not only ineffective, but lower the long-term
health of the patient. This is of particular concern because the regulatory agency responsible for
protecting the American people from such abuses, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has
increased their surveillance and regulatory requirements for medical approval. At the same time
that medical gains are slowing down, the health care industry has become aware of limitations of
their approach to resolving certain health problems, such as those associated with pain and
psychiatric management. This awareness has resulted in the medical industry looking at
alternative approaches to address these problems. Due to widespread corruption in these medical
and pharmaceutical industries, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has announced a whole
new field of medicine called Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM): CAM is
formally defined as a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products
that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine (Barnes). Subsequently,
some of the new healthcare advances were rediscovered in these existing alternative and
complementary medical approaches, such as acupuncture, chiropractic medicine, and herbal
supplements. There is potential corruption and greed involved in conventional treatment, therefore it is

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important for patients to recognize and become familiar with complementary and alternative
approaches as well as traditional medicine so one can choose a medical path that suits their needs
and lifestyle best.
There is a growing concern among professionals in the medical field that as much as onethird of medical expenses are unnecessary: being spent on ineffective medicines, unnecessary
tests, and ineffective procedures. The root cause for this inefficiency can be attributed primarily
to corporate and individual greed; greed by large pharmaceutical companies to report profits,
clinical researchers to accept money to inaccurately report results, and by the prescribing
doctors, whom benefit financially by prescribing ineffective remedies. This greed has a number
of direct and indirect ramifications on ones health, ranging from health care costs to availability
of non-traditional alternative approaches to health care. Several of these alternative approaches
are highly effective for specific ailments; however, the alternatives lack the support of medical
and pharmaceutical companies because the companies cannot make a sufficient profit from these
alternative remedies. Without the industries support, research, and advertising funding,
complementary and alternative medicines are less likely to become mainstream treatment
options.
Every day billions of people consume prescription medicines produced by
pharmaceutical companies. These companies are treated by society with great respect due to the
companies carefully crafted corporate image for creating jobs, helping citizens, and investing in
research dedicated to saving lives. When in reality, their incentives are likely much less
honorable:
The big pharmaceutical companies are, in fact, the most sophisticated marketing
machines in history, selling billions of dollars in products that often do not work to tens

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of millions of people who do not need them, leading to millions of hospitalizations in

North America every year and is the fourth leading cause of death in North America
(MP Challenges Corrupt).
People are not as much aware of the corruption and greed going on throughout the medical and
pharmaceutical industries. The astonishing growth of pharmaceutical advertising and its impact
on consumers is quickly becoming a serious consumer issue. Due to the industries incentive of
making as much profit as possible, it has lead to various forms of corruption, for example,
Corruption in the pharmaceutical sector occurs throughout all stages of medicines chain, from
research and development to dispensing and promotion (Medicines). Alternatively, these
pharmaceutical companies should be spending their money on more important areas such as
testing the safety of their drugs or curing some of their side effects.
Not only do pharmaceutical companies occasionally violate research, development, and
promotion, but the dispensing and labeling of their product is also frequently compromised.
Warning labels, which are intended to be the most important method of informing the consumer
of whether the medicine is appropriate for them, are often misrepresented by big pharmaceutical
companies (MP Challenges Corrupt). The companies create the prescriptions safety labels
to do the exact opposite, making sure neither the doctors nor patients have a clear idea whether
the drugs are safe or not. Examples of the ways these companies manipulate the safety labels are
that most unwanted results are not published, the companies will hire people to make their drug
sounds favorable and they will morph negative into positive results, such that the safety labels
promote a greater acceptance of the product.
The FDA is constantly in court with pharmaceutical companies to ensure that they do not
use wrongful or over-inflated language to promote their drug. A good example of

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pharmaceutical misrepresentation recently occurred when Allergan, released a prescription

eyelash thickening agent called Latisse. The FDA concluded that the pharmaceutical company
misrepresented their product to the public by claiming that it may only cause allergic reactions
like itching and redness, when in reality, the drug was causing cornea infraction, hair growth
outside of the treatment area, and permanent darkening of eye color (Mapes).
To assign a single motive behind all these various forms of dishonesty, it would have to
be to increase a companys profits. The pharmaceutical industries want to market blockbuster
drugs, sell billions of dollars in products, and gain enormous profits. Based on their track record,
it appears that many of these companies will do almost anything to achieve this goal, The
bottom line is the drug companies arent going to protect you (Mercola). Unfortunately, until
the testing, permitting, advertising and motivation for high profit margins is corrected in the
pharmaceutical industries, it is important for one to question reported results in medical journals
and on safety labels before assuming any drug is safe.
Companies have no interest in telling customers about cheaper alternatives that dont
require prescriptions if the options do not result in profit for them. This is why it is important for
people to become educated on the new field of medicine called Complementary and Alternative
Medicine (CAM). The practices are not profit-based and are proven to be just as beneficial, if not
more than conventional medicine. Complementary medicine is used together with conventional
medicine; for example, of the use of aroma therapy to reduce discomfort after surgery.
Alternative medicine is used instead of conventional medicine; examples include the use of
special diets to treat diabetes, or acupuncture to treat migraines. One very important task that the
NIH is attempting to do in establishing this new field of medicine by formalizing and carefully
defining the terms and the different types of treatment included in CAM.

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The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has
organized CAM into five major categories. One such category is the Alternative Medical
Systems: Approaches to medicine built upon complete systems of theory and practice (Get
the Facts). Some alternative medicines include homeopathic medicine, aromatherapy, and
traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture is an example of a traditional Chinese technique, and
is an extraordinarily effective alternative where trained practitioners use small, thin needles to
manipulate the bodys natural energy flow (Turner). By inserting these needles into a subset of
hundreds of specific points on the body, the acupuncturist can redirect energy and blood flow to
cure or prevent certain medical conditions. Many people are becoming more aware of the
positive affects acupuncture has to offer: Today, more than 3 million people in the U.S. use
acupuncture which treats more than 28 medical conditions, including pain, respiratory and
digestive disorders (Turner). Acupuncture is one of the many, very successful treatments
included as an alternative medical system.
The second category of CAM is Mind-Body Interventions. This form of CAM uses
vastly different techniques to enhance the minds capacity to affect bodily functions and
symptoms (Get the Facts). The central principle to this system is that the body and mind
are connected and can lead to faster healing if the two are working together for the patient.
Underlying this approach to treatment are such ideas as the power of positive thinking and
mind over matter. Other less-common techniques used in this category of CAM are
meditation, prayer, and mental healing.
The third CAM category is referred to as Biologically Based Therapies which use
substances found in nature such as herbs, foods, and vitamins (Get the Facts). For example,
because many vitamins become deficient under certain conditions they are needed at elevated

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concentrations when the body is stressed. For example, there is a great deal of scientific evidence
documenting the essential health roles of Vitamin D, showing that ill health corresponds to low
levels of Vitamin D: Medical scientists and researchers have found that serum Vitamin D levels
are low in 90% of people with degenerative disease such as heart disease, cancer and
autoimmune disease (Healthy Living). Vitamin D supplements should not be the sole path
to take when fighting cancer. Vitamin D is an example of complementary medicine, where one
should use alternative medicine, Vitamin D, along with conventional medicine. The Vitamin D
example also shows how doctors will avoid recommending options if there is no profit, and
Vitamin D is inexpensive, if not free, and promotes maximal health in biologically based
therapies.
The last two categories in CAM are Manipulative Body-Based methods and Energy
Therapies. As the name implies in the Body-Based Methods, this form of therapy is based on
manipulating or moving parts of the body. Some examples include massage and chiropractic
manipulations. Energy Therapies involve the manipulation of energy fields. These energy
therapies involve biofield therapies, which affect energy fields surrounding and penetrating the
human body, and bioelectormagnetic-based therapies, which use electromagnetic fields, such as
pulsed or magnetic fields (Get the Facts). The Manipulative Body-Based Methods and the
Energy Therapies are the least common alternatives used, but still can be very effective and
beneficial toward ones health.
There have been road blocks in the development of CAM. The key road blocks all stem
from the desire for pharmaceutical and medical industries to maximize their profits and limit
options that may come in the way of maximizing profits. One of the greatest health concerns in
the U.S. is cancer, and one of the most effective over-the counter preventative supplements to

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reduce the chance of cancer is Vitamin D. Again, Vitamin D should be used along with
treatments of conventional medicine. The use of Vitamin D is not primarily advertised by
doctors though due to the lack of profit it brings into their big pharmaceutical companies.
Adams, a health editor for Natural News illustrates and explains this problem: New research
published that vitamin D supplementation produces an astonished 77 percent reduction in all
cancers in women, making it the single most effective medicine for preventing cancer discovered
by modern medical science (Adams). If this is true, then why is vitamin D not offered more
often? As usual, it has nothing to do with the science, but everything to do with the politics and
profits. If vitamin D were a cancer drug made by Pfizer, the American Cancer Society would
likely be pushing it as the next miracle drug and calling for everyone to be put on the drug
(Adams). If there was ever a cancer prevention strategy to get behind, vitamin D is it.
Another roadblock to the widespread use of vitamin D, or for that matter, any of the other
effective dietary supplements, is that these substances cannot be patented. Large pharmaceutical
companies are not interested in testing these products used by biologically based therapies
because no patent is needed and there is little profit to be made. Once a dietary supplement is
found to be effective, any company could sell it without paying the company that funded the
original research since all these alternatives are simple and easy to perform for very little cost.
Furthermore, the process of getting a medicine approved by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) commonly costs millions of dollars, money the pharmaceutical company will not be able
to completely recover. To date, vitamin D is not FDA approved for cancer treatment primarily
because no company or government agency has funded the multiple million dollar approval
process.

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The discussion on the patenting dietary supplements highlights two important problems
with present day medicine: only those treatments that will yield a profit for the
medical/pharmaceutical industry will be tested in sufficient detail to pass the rigorous FDA
approval process, and there is little motivation to develop potentially highly effective medicines
and treatments that cannot be patented and may compete with a profitable, albeit less effective,
patented medicine. It is surprisingly common for large medical-based companies to limit health
options if it is not in their financial interest. These medical and pharmaceutical companies are
simply profit-based companies that are not looking for the cheapest, most efficient ways to help
an individual, but the way that maximizes the profits for their companies.
Modern medicine does not have all the answers yet; indeed, scientists have been working
on some of the side effect troubles for half a century. Most alternative health care options have
had more success, at less cost, and less side effects. People should consider alternative health
care options because the medical industry, like any other free-market industry in the U.S., is
primarily motivated by profits when these industries main priority should be improving health.
By considering complementary or alternative health care, it is possible to obtain effective and
inexpensive care that the health care industry has chosen not to support.
Americas present healthcare is unsustainable in its present form because of increasing
costs, over-prescription of medicines, over-use of medical exams, negative side effects of drugs,
and greater incentive for industries to make profits than improving health care. The next
generation is already overweight, and being raised on junk foods, high doses of different
medications and vaccine injections, which will only lead to an even worsening in health. With
the newfound research on complementary and alternative drugs, Americans have the potential to
have improved health. Good health does not have to be complicated; it just takes the informed

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realization that the patients have choices and they are not limited to traditional medical
approaches.

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Works Cited
Adams, Mike. "Canadian Cancer Society Announces National Program to Prevent Cancer Using
Vitamin D." NaturalNews. Truth Publishing International, LTD., 11 June 2007. Web. 10
Sept. 2013.
Barnes, Patricia M., Barbra Bloom, Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for
Health Statistics, Richard L. Nahin, National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine, and National Institutes of Health. "National Center for Health Statistics."
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults and Children:United State
43.12 (2008): n. pag. DHHS, 10 Dec. 2008. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.
Get the Facts National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: What Is
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)?" ucdavis.edu. National Institutes of
Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Healthy Living - Integris Products and Online Health Forum Where Lives Are Changed
Powerfully for the Better." Healthy Living - Integris Products and Online Health Forum
Where Lives Are Changed Powerfully for the Better. Healthy-Living.org, n.d. Web. 13
Nov. 2013.
Mapes, Diane. "In Lust for Lashes, Few Bat an Eye at Odd Risks." Msnbc.com. NBCNews.com,
01 Oct. 2009. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.
Medicines: Corruption and Pharmaceuticals." WHO.com. WHO 2013, Dec. 2009. Web. 10
Sept. 2013.

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Mercola, Joseph. How Corrupted Drug Companies Deceive and Manipulate Your Doctor."
mercola.com. Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola, 18 May 2010. Web. 10 Sept.
2013.
MP Challenges Corrupt Practices of Pharmaceutical Companies. fairwhistleblower.ca. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2013.
Turner, Bambi. "DISCOVERY TRENDS." Discovery Channel. N.p., 26 August 2013. Web. 13
Nov. 2013.