Episode 3- Quackery
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Tess: [00:00:00] Hey there and welcome back to Sick of Sick Care, the Wellness Reframe, the podcast where we toss the outdated script and explore a more empowered whole body approach to health. I'm your host Tess, a nurse who believes science and soul aren't mutually exclusive, and that you deserve better than "your labs are normal" while you are still feeling like garbage.
Today, we're tackling a spicy one. Is holistic and alternative medicine, just quackery? Short answer. Nope, not even close, but let's break it down. So why has holistic healing gotten such a bad rap, and I'd like to start with some context here. The term quackery came from quack salver, meaning someone who sold salves and potions, often fraudulently and history has, you know, its snake oil salesmen for [00:01:00] sure. Every field does, I believe, but somewhere along the line, anything that wasn't prescribed in a white coat or dispensed in a pharmacy really got lumped into the fraud category, right. It just got dismissed entirely. Even practices that have been around for thousands of years, like herbalism, acupuncture, Ayurveda, and energy medicine, they were all labeled woowoo or pseudoscience or placebo.
So why, why did this happen? You know, it's because they didn't always fit neatly into double-blinded trials and testing, which were really designed for drugs, not people. And because they often emphasized individualized care over standardized protocols. So you couldn't place them in a box.
And frankly, because the medical industry complex isn't always friendly to things, it can't patent [00:02:00] or profit from. There, I said it, let's call it what it is, money plus bias, plus lack of understanding. So what does science actually say about it? You know, here's the plot twist. We now do have research on things like the gut-brain connection, the role of chronic inflammation in chronic disease, uh, the power of food as medicine.
The clinical benefits of acupuncture, adaptogens, mindfulness, plant medicine, and so much more. Those are just some examples, but functional and integrative medicine uses evidence informed practices. That means that we pair research with clinical experience, biochemistry, and that it [00:03:00] works in real humans, not just in lab rats and narrow trials.
So is it different from traditional medicine? Yep. It sure is. But different doesn't mean bad or dangerous, it just happens to be more personalized. So let's kind of talk about and dive into the damage or the real harm that this stigma causes because, you know, people are shamed many times for wanting natural options.
I've heard it firsthand when working in standard clinical practice. And what makes it even more, um, you know, kind of scary is that people stop telling their clinicians that they're taking herbs or maybe a supplement that really helps them and it's working, and that's just dangerous because they don't feel comfortable enough to share you know, the therapies that they [00:04:00] might be using. And so it becomes dangerous when you're prescribing it with, let's say, a, a drug or medication that, um, in, in synergy with or in, in, uh, combination rather with that, you know, supplement or herb or whatever is gonna cause now, um, maybe some serious complications, right?
So they're afraid to, um, tell their clinicians, and clinicians, you know, don't have a lot of knowledge, uh, about certain supplements or what have you. And so they're just gonna say no. You know, that's not gonna work. Um, so people are dismissed when they ask about even nutrition or herbs, and some of the dismissal comes from medical doctors and practitioners who frankly have very little background or knowledge of either one.
And, uh, I, I don't know if you know this, but nutrition is such [00:05:00] a small portion, if any, inside of the educational process of medical providers. Yet it's essential for optimal health. Uh, we know this, so individuals are made to feel like their symptoms are all in their head many times or, you know, maybe they're told, uh, give it some time. You know, when meds don't work or these side effects are really, uh, impairing their daily life. Um, so people are scared to speak up for fear of sounding, perhaps unscientific or crunchy. Where are my crunchy mamas out there, I see you and you know, this silencing really leads people to suffer in silence or feel forced to choose between two systems that really should be working together.
So here's the truth. Wanting to understand your body and support it naturally doesn't make you a conspiracy theorist. It makes you an empowered human. [00:06:00] So how do we navigate this as a health seeker? Um, how do we reclaim holistic healing without falling into extremes or ungrounded claims?
First of all, ask questions. Lots of them. You know, look for practitioners who are honest about what they know and what they don't know. Next, you can follow the evidence, but don't ignore your lived experience because I believe that you can listen to your body when you really get to know it and find the middle ground, integrative care that honors both science and wisdom.
And my mission is to guide just that. And don't be afraid to challenge old narratives. Whether it's a pharmaceutical or a plant-based protocol, the goal should be your healing Full stop. So my final thoughts on this is really, let's be real. Calling [00:07:00] everything outside the mainstream quackery is lazy, it's narrow and it's outdated.
This isn't about rejecting conventional medicine. It's about expanding what we actually call medicine. Healing can look like an IV infusion, or it could look like a steaming cup of chamomile tea. It can be labs. Or it can be leafy greens, a prescription or a parasite cleanse. You get to decide what works for you because you are the expert of your body.
So thank you everyone for hanging with me today. I'll leave you with the words of Thomas Edison. He quoted "The Doctor of the Future will give no medication but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet, and the cause and prevention of disease". So if you've ever been side eyed for seeing a naturopath or bringing your [00:08:00] magnesium to a checkup, just know this. You are not the problem. You are the future of medicine.
In our next episode, we'll be digging into functional medicine. What is it, how it works, and whether it's the right fit for you. If this episode helped bust some myths or made you feel seen, do me a favor, share it and subscribe. Leave a comment or shout it out on social.
Let's normalize informed, empowered Integrative care one episode at a time. And if there's a topic that you would really like to hear more about on the Sick of Sick Care podcast, please reach out, be well, stay curious, and don't let anyone call you a quack for taking care of yourself in a way that feels right.
See you next time.
