So this comes up as a terrible cold has hit me and my head wants to explode. I'll share my thoughts on alternative medicine and if others disagree or want to elaborate where i fall short (which i certainly will) it'll make for an interesting topic.

The more we learn about the human body and how the immune and integumentary systems work, the more we realize how much we dont know. The level of different interactions are too complex to be fully understood for now. With different drugs, chemicals, active ingrediants our bodies produce naturally and we suppliment and some that we dont produce that we ingest, we arent even fully sure the longterm effects. This goes especially for treating an individual instead of an average.

Western medicine is a baby compared to eastern. So maybe they had something there in terms of the spiritual needing to work for the physical too. We now know how intricatly the chemical balance is produced by the brain and how it can affect one physically.

Herbal remedies are what medicine began with. Where do you think when drugs were first manufactured (before they could produce the compounds in a test tube) from or extracted from? plants and herbs. The same vitamin C that is produced in a lab is the EXACT same molecule that one gets from peppers and oranges. The thing we dont know is how the other chemicals acti within our system to perhaps have a synegistic effect or even cancellation effect.

The trouble is, since these aren't nearly as tested in a laboratory setting, we're even less sure at what happens chemically. Some herbal teas have natural antibiotics in them. Ginko b. has benefits as well but can actually be detrimental to someone with heart problems.

Also with prescribed drugs there's the thesis of the drug companies dont want to solve anything they just want to dish out the goods and keep getting richer

So, are there any homeopathic remedies you swear by and have worked in your family? (if you've got any that just make you feel better, not treat a cold, when your sinuses are crazy from one, i'll do a flip once i feel up to it lol)

What do you trust more, drug companies or untested drugs?

I'm well-versed enough to say neither really. I like to do things more holistically than not. If I think of anything different, though, Stygian, I'll share it regarding your cold.

How did you become well versed in medicines G?

Damn, i figured there'd be some nutjob (we're all nutjob's its okay) who comes in talking about how those damn hippies and foreigners dont know medicien and then some crazy (it's okay we're all crazy) would come in talking about how the medical industry is nothing but a consipiracy to get money and make sure to actually cure nothing. Because, you know that's exactly where those arguements are based. Yep, and until someone comes in with fun stuff to debate that's where each and every person who sees this is going to think of the other side. uh huh, yep.

I would normally treat colds by drinking lots of water, eating citrus fruits, and taking a rest.

yeah, so it goes. It just doesnt sound as neat as some folk rememedies though. gotta love the roots and blood. mmm blood. I wonder if that would soothe a sore throat. hehe, i said nothing.

I agree. Some of the things make sense and are true, though I found it particularly "interesting" how he would say that you could get more information by logging into his website, though to log into his website requires a paid subscription.

my mother is on this insane salt kick. she thinks that natural sea salt has curative properities and that people in high places are keeping the secret of salt from the common people because it would take their business away.
she also believes that all diseases are caused by "parasites" and that by using a "zapper" tuned to the "frequency" of the parasites and drinking copious amounts of saltwater, she can kill the parasites and rid herself of lyme disease.
i know she only believes this tripe because she's hopeless and knows it. alternative medicine is for hopeless people who need to delude themselves into living another pointless day.

I don't like to take medication because for a long time I was on daily medication for my kidneys. I also don't trust the stuff. Every medication has like 12 possible side effects and I'm sure somehow they are no good for you. Anytime I take a painkiller for a headache or a cold people are always commenting on how it must be bad because I'm taking something.
Now I avoid taking any pill I can but my immune system is shot so I try and take good care of myself. Lots of water, green tea, orange juice, oranges, garlic, milk, apples, and grapefruit for me.

Not surprised...his book works the same way. This guy is a waste of skin and bones. His only intentions in life is to make it big and he doesn't care how he gets there.

I'm curious to know what her resources are.

Plus, I think you're just being another melodramatic kid, who doesn't know how to cope with life.

That or your mother is plotting to kill you, your father, and herself with a cardiovascular disease with the high sodium intake.

If you research that guy a little more, you'll find he's done other scam/money type things before. I forget what though, its been a while since i've looked into it.

She could be closer to the truth than you think.
Manufactured salt has additives that sea salt doesn't (Iodine and the like).

As for tuning a zapper to the frequency of the parasites, the theory is sound.
If you set up a destructive resonance in cells, they die.
The application however, is a little out of our technological reach at the moment.

for colds, vitamin C is useless to you unless you have enough zinc in your system to process it. Lots of minty stuff should do the trick.

The problem with modern medicine is that science still hasn't come up with a way to replicate basic amino acids. We can find a plant that cures headaches, analyse it, replicate all of the proteins, but that's as far as we can go.
We're not advanced enough yet.