Paul Theriault
Sorry I haven’t been blogging as often as I had hoped. I’ve been very very busy with my book lately!
But anyway I recently came across a piece of research which I found to be fascinating: http://omicsgroup.org/journals/internal-medicine-abstract.php?abstract_id=51723
This paper is fascinating on several levels. Firstly it is stated many times by a number of people that Naturopathic Medicine “lacks evidence”. This statement is now able to be shown to be categorically untrue. Naturopathic medicine has evidence for efficacy in a wide variety of illnesses, such as Cardiovascular disease, Low Back pain, Anxiety, Menopause, and many other conditions.
Secondly this paper emphasizes that in some areas Naturopathic interventions appear to be superior to the standard treatments. Some of the research pieces highlighted (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19644905 , http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17878954 , http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19718255 ) show this clearly in Lower back pain, Rotator Cuff Tendonitis and Anxiety. Knowing several of the researchers who do this kind of work, I am also aware that there are several other similar trials ongoing which are likely to enlarge this list even further.
Thirdly, in addition to being a superior interventions, many time Naturopathic interventions were also more cost effective as well, even when used in addition to the standard of care. In the following study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24451612 ) Naturopathic medicine reduced cardiovascular risk strongly, reducing the potential medical expenses later on to the extent that the cost of Naturopathic Care was offset. The average cost savings were $1138 in medical expenses and $1187 in employer expenses per year. In another study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18383988) Naturopathic Medicine in the care of lower back pain resulted in average savings of $1096 per patient in medical and employment expenses.
With this evidence in mind, we need to examine the structure of Canada’s healthcare system. There is no justification for the provinces of Canada to spend increasingly large amounts of money on treatments created from a paradigm that focuses on disease, rather than preserving and increasing health. The evidence available suggests that Naturopathic methods, both on their own and adjunctively, can do a better and more cost effective job in managing and preventing an increasing number of illnesses.
Why then is Naturopathic Medicine so heavily excluded from the public health infrastructure and from research funding? With such potential for cost savings, why would research funding bodies not be pouring money into Naturopathic research? With such potential for cost savings, why has access to Naturopathic medicine not become a priority of public health bodies?.
Due to the extremely small numbers of sponges that have been homeopathically proven, any sponge provings would be very useful to the homeopathic world.
Due to the fact that two Desmosponges have been proven, more extensive provings of both Hexactinellid and Calcareous sponges are strongly recommended. One remedy, Clathrina clathrus has already been made into a remedy by Remedia, and so would be an excellent candidate for provings.
In terms of sponges which may be particularily fascinating to prove, I would like to suggest both the Carnivorous Sponges and Photosynthetic sponges.
Carniverous sponges are desmosponges of the family Cladorhizidae which passively capture small organisms and actively digest them extracellularily. I cannot even speculate on the homeopathic themes this sponge would have, but would be fascinated to see the results.
A second group of sponges that would be fascinating to prove are the photosynthetic sponges. A diverse group of sponges have evolved symbiotic relationships with photosynthetic algae or cyanobacteria (precursors of photosynthetic organelles of plants) bringing them very close to plants in their life modes[i]. This crossover, in the context of a layer one remedy family would be fascinating to observe. These sponges are particularly abundant in Australia, so I do hope my Australian colleagues will take up a proving of these magnificent animals. One genus suggested would be the blue sponges Collospongia.
Lastly, while not strictly a sponge, another remedy which would be most illuminating is the choanoflagellates. This group of organisms represents the boundary between cells that live as individuals, and cells that begin to work together in organisms. They lie at a crucial point in evolutionary history, and thus would have great significance within homeopathy. A proving of a pure culture of any choanoflagellate species would be most enlightening.
[i] Lemloh, M. et al. Diversity and abundance of photosynthetic sponges in temperate Western Australia. MC Ecology 2009, 9:4.
Mollusks have a number of well proven remedies, including several polycrests amoung them. Three classess of mollusk, the Bivalves, the Gastropods, and the Cephalopods are extensively proven, each posessing a number of well known remedies. However the other classes of Mollusk such as the Aplacopohra, Scaphopods and Serialia have almost no porivngs whatsoever. Future provers should focus on expanding the materia medica into these catagories.
However, a number of members of the well proven classes do still appear fascinating and would merit further Homeopathic exploration.
One family of Bivalves the Sphaeriidae, such as Sphaerium corneum have the ability to climb op plants to find more suitable locations for feeding. One very large and long lived species is the Geoduck Panopea generosa. Another interesting species is the Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) which has invaded many lakes throughout North America. Tridacna gigas is also known as the giant clam, and is the largest bivalve species. One other potential remedy would be a recently detected cancer which is in and of itself conagious among eastern soft shell clams on the east coast of North America[i].
Among the gastropods, many species present tempting targets for proving. One species I have always wanted to prove is Elysia chlorotica a sea slug which extracts chloroplasts for the algae it feeds on and internalises them, photosynthesising itself. It in fact contains a number of algal genes within its genome which can immensely prolong the life of the cholorplasts (which normally die outside plant cells). Another would be Glaucus atlanticus, the Blue Angel, a species which feeds on cnidarians such as Physalia physalis and acquires their stings. Another species Hinea brasiliana glows when it is disturbed[ii]. One deep sea vent species Crysomallon squamiferum, incorporates heavy metals from the local environment into it’s shell[iii]. One fascinating species is Conus geographus, which in addition to having potent toxins, injects a form of insulin into it’s prey, causing hypoglycemic shock. This species has already been potentised, and merely awaits proving, potentially providing an immense remedy for blood sugar issues. A final suggestion could be the Sea Butterfly, (Limacina helicina in the Arctic and Limacina Antarctica in the Antarctic) which split their foot into two winglike structures and fly through the water, and which are a keynote species, providing food for many other species.
Cephalopods are relatively well represented, but several interesting species are still available[iv]. Idiosepius notoides is the smallest cephalopod species, living amounst sea grass. The flapjack optopus Opisthoteuthis is flattened like a pancake, and lives like many other Octopi in Cirrina family, as free floating oceanic organisms, none of which are proven. Metasepia pfefferi is a poisinous species of cuttlefish. A fascinating species is Vampyroteuthis infernalis, literally the “vampire squid from hell” a species living deep in the abyss and the only Cephalopod to subsist off of decomposing detritus. The largest recorded species of Octopus, the Pacific Giant Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) would also make an excellent remedy.
[i] Dennis, Brady. Researchers trace Origin of Cancer in East Coast soft-shell clam. Portland Press Herald. April 9th 2015.
[ii] Nightingale, K. Clusterwinks Bask in the Afterglow. 2010. Online Document Accessed April 7th 2015. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/12/15/3093673.htm
[iii] Barley, S. Deep Sea Snail could inspire Next’Gen Armour. 2010. Online Document Accepssed April 7th , 2015. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18404-deepsea-snail-shell-could-inspire-nextgen-armour.html#.VSSIZBfIfRC
[iv] Gratitude to Wojcik, J. 10 Incredibly Strange Cepahlopods. 2013. Online Document accessed April 7th 2015. http://listverse.com/2013/06/05/10-incredibly-strange-cephalopods.
Due to the very few annelid species currently proven, any Annelid proving is strongly encouraged. It is however particularly encouraged to be sure about species identification, and annelid species can be difficult to determine without biological expertise.
Potentially interesting species of Clitelatta could be members of the Enchytraeidae, the ice worms, which live in glaciers and die at higher temperatures and the Americobdellidae, an order of leeches which hunt earthworms. The worlds largest known leech, Haementeria ghilianii can be upto 18 inches long, live 20 years and can inject its proboscis upto 15 cm into the hosts skin[i]. Another leech, Coratobranchus mestrovi, is a cave dwelling, transparent and has several appendages, appearing to be predatory.
Some interesting polychaete species for proving could be[ii] Alvinella pomojana, the hydrothermal vent worms, some of the most heat tolerant organisms in the world and one which lives off of sulphur fixing bacteria , Osedax species, or the bone worms which decompose whale bones in the deep ocean, Hesiocaca methanicola, which derives energy from methane deposits and Lamelibrachia luymesi, a cold water worm which may live to be over 250 years old. Hesiocaeca methanicola is a species of iceworm that inhabit methan hydrate deposits and feed off of bacteria that metabolise those hydrates[iii]. One family, the Amphinomidae are called the fireworms and cause itching and pain when handled due to a secretion of complanine from the worm chaetae[iv]. Another species, Eunice aphroditois is a voracious predator, often slicing its prey in half due to the fury of its attack.
Any species of Echiurians or Sipunculata would be excellent candidates for proving due to the near complete lack of representatives from this phyla in the material medica. One Echiuran, Bonella viridis has already been potentised and would be quite easy to effectively prove. One group of Echiurians, the Thalassematidae can alter their body shape incredibly, and rarely maintains the same shape for long[v].
[i] Anonymous. Online Document Accessed March 12th 2015. http://invertebrates.si.edu/Features/stories/haementeria.html
[ii] I would like to thank the Wikipedia page on Polychaetes for these suggestions. Accessed March 3rd 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polychaete
[iii] Fisher et al. Methane Ice Worms: Hesiocaeca methanicola Colonizing Fossil Fuel Reserves. Naturwissenschaften. April 2000, Volume 87(4) Pp 184-187.
[iv] Nakamura et al. Complanine, an inflammation-inducing substance isolated from the marine fireworm Eurythoe complanata. Org. Biomol. Chem. 6 (12): 2058–2060.
[v] Online Document. Accessed March 12th 2015. http://mucholderthen.tumblr.com/post/65748522495/a-morphing-marine-worm-a-truly-weird-animal.
I was reading the New York Times the other day, when I came across this article (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/opinion/understanding-chronic-fatigue.html).
I read through it, and found it fascinating. Without really intending to, this article illustrates a great deal of what is wrong with conventional medicine.
The article goes into some detail about the condition Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). This condition is characterized by a profound weariness that is resistant to rest, and tends to aggravate on extended stress and physical activity.
This condition is something that I and almost all other Naturopathic doctors treat regularly. Rather than being due to a single etiology, we have, in general, found this condition to be the end result of a number of conditions. Things such as chronic infections, massive long term emotional stress, very poor digestive functioning, Lyme, and adrenal insufficiency all have been found to be present, and successfully treated in individuals with CFS.
What I found remarkable about this article was the length to which one had to go to convince many conventional doctors that this condition existed. The pain, suffering and life consequences of sufferers of this disease weren’t enough, and so too apparently was the pronouncement from the Institute of Medicine.
The comments on the Medscape version of the text indicated, despite strong biochemical and epidemiological evidence that CFS is a real condition, many of the comments disparaged those with the condition, suggesting they were faking it for disability benefits, or had other psychological problems. One of the most telling comments suggested that the lack of objective physical
Diagnostic evaluation for CFS has also been developed to “objectively” verify the diagnosis. It involves physiological measurement of ones performance at strenuous physical activity for two consecutive days. A physiologically healthy person will rebound on the second day, while a person with CFS will not. The problem is that this test can worsen the condition, sending a CFS sufferer into increased fatigue and pain for months.
The interesting aspect of this phenomenon of CFS’s marginalization within conventional medicine is this dynamic. CFS, because of its lack of clearly visible tissue changes (pathology in medical terms), is looked down upon as a condition that isn’t real, or even as malingering. In the effort to obtain “objective” data, diagnostic procedures are resorted to which in fact worsen the condition.
Underneath all of this are some of the basic, often unstated, assumptions of conventional medicine, and much of the materialist mindset that goes behind it:
- Patients cannot know their own bodies enough to report them accurately
- Laboratory measures and other “objective” data are the best way to diagnose
- Subjective reports of phenomenon not closely matching accepted disease presentations are usually psychosomatic
- If a condition is not recognized by orthodox medicine, it does not exist
Of course, not all MDs practice medicine will hold these views, but they do seem to be quite widespread.
In cultural anthropology, this kind of phenomenon was investigated by Mary Douglas in her famed work “Purity and Danger” (see the introduction to the book here). In it she postulates that cultures create symbolic systems to help them organize reality. When something does not fit within a system, one of four responses occurs:
- It is ignored
- It is explained as a special case of an accepted category within the system
- It is made sacred
- It is hated, despised and made evil and wrong
In this case we see a condition, which exists outside the medical system (with no “objective” pathology) simply being ignored, or explained away as a psychosomatic illness, a category into which many patients are thrown who clinical facts do not jive with conventional biomedical ideas.
Because of this classification, many many patients are left without any kind of support. This is all the more tragic because conventional medicine has ignored many of the treatments and assessment methods of Naturopathic Medicine, again because they lie outside the conceptual system of conventional medicine.
This in and of itself would not be such an issue, without the stranglehold conventional medicine holds on public health. It is the only publicly subsidized healthcare system in Canada (if not everywhere). If patients had an equally available choice of healthcare models they chose to follow, this issue would be solved permanently.
Health is something that everyone should enjoy. Limiting choices to one medical system with very clear blind spots limits the ability of many people to enjoy a fully healthy life..
Echinoderms are extremely poorly represented in the materia medica. Very few provings have been conducted, and even those still have very limited pictures available. Multiple categories of echinoderms such as the stalked crinoids, the brittle stars and sand dollars have not even been potentised. Others, such as feather stars, sea cucumbers and sea stars all have either one or two species potentised. So far, sea urchins are the only class of echinoderms with many potentised species, however only one proving has been conducted so far.
In short, provings or triturations of any echinoderms are sorely needed. Several interesting species and groups exist, which may give interesting provings[i]. Elasmopodida, sea cucumbers which actively swim, and resemble jellyfish, leading a floating lifestyle. Of this order, one species Pelagothuria natatrix has a fascinating umbrella like swimming structure, remebling cephalopods or Medusal Cnidarians. The sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) is the largest species of sea star. The Pincushion starfish (Culcita novaeguineae) create a habitat for multiple organisms, such as shrimp and small fish. The Blue Sea Star (Linckia laevigata) is a fascinating sea star, living on carrion. Another sea cucumber known as the Sea Pig (Scotoplanes globosa) is an common deep sea scavenger. The Giant Sea Cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) is a very large sea cucumber native to the pacific coast of North America.
A final suggestion for proving relates to the recent die offs of sea stars on the pacific coast in recent years. While originally speculated to have been due to radiation from the Fukushima disaster, it has been largely accepted that the cause is a virus, specifically a densovirus[ii]. This virus causes sea stars to lose structural integrity, and literally to fall apart. This disease seems closely linked to the Homeopathic themes of Echinoderms, and so a proving of this nosode seems warranted, and even urgent. The mass use of this nosode could potentially avert or reduce the toll of this disease. This nosode could also prove useful for many of the immune collapse disorders with which we are presented today.
[i] Thanks to the following websites for the following suggestions:
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/19-bizarre-and-beautiful-starfish-species
[ii] Hewson et al. Densovirus associated with sea star wasting disease and mass mortality. PNAS 111 (48): 17278-83..
So, I saw this article in the news today: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/02/06/5-key-points-about-the-supreme-court-ruling-on-doctor-assisted-suicide.html
I must admit to some very mixed feelings on this. My own father died of Stomach Cancer in 2009, and his last few weeks on earth were extremely painful. I am quite certain that dad, if he had the option, would have selected a deliberate exit from life earlier than he ended up leaving. It likely would have been far less painful for him, and far easier for us his family. In our discussions of this, I have discovered that all the members of my family are in favor of euthanasia being a legally accessible option.
In some discussions with friends on the topic I see an interesting trend. Many people without the experience of a slow and painful death in their life are often against euthanasia, citing arguments about slippery slopes, forced euthanasia, and other issues. Health professionals and those who have experienced this on the other hand tend to favor legalized euthanasia.
However as a Naturopathic Doctor, I have a unique perspective on this issue. Much of the debate surrounding euthanasia and assisted suicide relates to the idea of suffering being intolerable and unrelievable, many diseases being incurable, and many of the misconceptions of Conventional medicine surrounding death.
A little background is perhaps appropriate. Conventional (or Allopathic) Medicine generally looks at the body as a biomechanical machine. Disease symptoms are signs of malfunction of the machine and are usually suppressed, returning the machine to the parameters we have statistically determined to be normal. Death is the result of the machine ceasing function altogether. It is assumed that due to evolutionary selection, the body will attempt to continue functioning at all costs, even through incredible pain and suffering. While generally not explicitly mentioned, it is assumed that consciousness is a byproduct of brain functioning, and which ceases completely after death, ignoring a great deal of research that refutes this assumption (see here and here).
Naturopathic Medicine views the body as a whole functioning towards a given purpose, which is life experience. Diseases are usually methods the body has towards restoring itself towards its own internal steady state. Death itself is viewed as a gradual shutdown of systems, a deliberate process of physiological shutdown allowing for the consciousness of the individual, which is usually perceived as a thing somewhat independent from the brain, to leave life peacefully and happily with a minimum of pain and trauma. Death in this viewpoint is viewed as a deliberate process of life termination, which can be interfered with by suppressive medications and chronic illness. (see a previous post of mine on the subject here)
In Conventional terms, the problem with the death process is the bodies’ tendency to fight to maintain life despite a great deal of pain and suffering. With this idea in mind, the only two options are heavy narcotics to relieve pain, such as opiate drugs like morphine and heroin, or deliberate termination of life.
In Naturopathic terms, the problem with the death process is that many people nowadays cannot complete it in a healthy way. Death is seen as a physiological process of shutdown which is impaired by chronic illness and much of the suppressive medication which is commonly used in modern society. Proper Naturopathic care allows the body to complete this death process, and allows the consciousness to make peace with it’s experience on earth before moving on to it’s next experience.
I do accept the Naturopathic Death perspective as the correct one. I have had the privilege of helping people make their transition to the next life, without drugs. Placing people on a good homeopathic remedies, and other Naturopathic methods helps this physiological process progress quickly, and will often speed up the dying process, without the ethical problem of euthanasia and assisted suicide.
My concern with the legalization of allopathic assisted suicide is simply that it presupposes that allopathic medical practices are the only possible options for a patient. A patient who could easily be treated by a Naturopathic Doctor, have their pain and suffering relieved, and have their death process complete in a timely manner without needing in the vast majority of cases to take active steps hastening death. One merely can create the conditions in which the bodies natural death process can occur, and a comfortable and peaceful transition occurs at a fair timeframe, minimizing pain and suffering.
Allowing assisted suicide is a good thing. It will allow for pain relief for many people who either have no access to Naturopathic methods, do not wish to use them, or for whom they are ineffective. However I am concerned that assisted suicide will simply serve to conceal the shortcomings of allopathic medicine even further. Why work to improve the dismal performance of allopathic medicine in pain management and palliation if one can simply use assisted suicide. Why examine the failures of allopathic ideas about health and the body if patients can simply be eased into death when those ideas meet their long term outcome?.
Hi Everyone. I just finished editing my talk from November 2014. It is on Womens Health and Hormones. I hope you all enjoy it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1_ojDFtHgk.
I really dont like this piece.
One of the basic ideas of historical allopathic medicine is that the human body is poorly built, subject to disease at random, and thus must be controlled and regulated to prevent disease from forming. This article stems from that viewpoint. “If were not dying at 35 from infectious disease, then inevitably cancer will occur.”
This viewpoint ignores the major role immunity plays in Cancer development, nor the multitude of ways our own immune systems shift over time, in many cases making cancers more or less likely to develop. Those immunological changes are able to be altered in a more favorable direction by lifestyle, and good naturopathic management of acute and chronic disease.
Your body is designed to be healthy and functional until a ripe old age, when death comes easily and peacefully. All you need to do is simply remove the factors which are obstructing that natural process from occuring.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11320497/Most-cancers-are-caused-by-bad-luck-not-genes-or-lifestyle-say-scientists.html.
Unusually for one of the less prominent phyla, most cnidarian subphyla have at least one proven representative. The exception being the recently delineated Staurozoa subphyla which so far lacks any proved or unproved remedies.
However, the cubozoa, scyphozoa and hydrozoa sofar have each only single representatives within the materia medica. The anthozoa as well have only a few species proved. Only two species of coral have any information whatsoever relating to their homeopathic uses.
As such provings of all Cnidarian remedies are strongly recommended, with a particular emphasis any of the hyrdrozoa, scyphozoa, and cubozoa as well as any corals. Staurozoa are also strongly encouraged, due to a complete lack of these organisms within the material medica.
Some particularily interesting Cnidarians to prove[i] would be parasitic species, such as Polypodium hydriforme the only known Cnidarian intracellular parasite, Actinoscyphia Aurelia, an anemone which actively engulfs prey and releases bioluminesct jelly, Edwardsiella lineata a jellyfish with parasitic larvae which can implant in humans and cause an itching called Seabather’s Eruption, or Cassiopeia, a photosynthetic jellyfish which spends most of its life upside down, exposing the commensal algae in their tentacles to the sunlight. Another potentially interesting proving would be Turritopsis nutricula and “immortal” Hydroid Hydrozoa which does not age, but instead reverts to its larval phase, rematures, and begins life again, regenerated.
[i] Thank you to the following website for these suggestions:
Wojcik, J. The Coolest and Strangest Jellies. Online Document last accessed Dec 17th 2014. http://bogleech.com/bio-jelly2.html.