Welcome to the land of odd

by Dr. Kenneth Muhich — 

Let us not forget about needless surgeries that cost our society billions in lost wages, productivity and absenteeism.

In a recent U.C. Berkeley Wellness Letter (Volume 28, Issue 2, November 2011), the chair of the Editorial Board, John Swartzberg, M.D., went off on anyone and everyone in complementary and alternative medicine, including one of their own, Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Suzanne Somers, a spokesperson against many of the unsafe practices of the American Medical Association (AMA) and its pharmaceutical brothers, was especially attacked for her criticism of indiscriminate vaccines and promotion of natural cures. Dr. Swartzberg decried those who waste their money and miss out on “proper” allopathic drugs and cures.

Oprah Winfrey was chastised for allowing many “snake-oil peddlers” on her show, including Dr. Oz who, although a well-regarded cardiac surgeon and professor at Columbia University, is (according to Swartzberg) leading people astray by introducing them to dubious complementary and alternative medicine practices and questionable unproven supplements.

Swartzberg strongly suggests that Oz stick to cardiology and forget the rest. Heaven forbid that a doctor introduce his patients to any other treatment regimen than what is accepted by the mainstream. Many areas of health and treatment endorsed by Oz are, in fact, thousands of years older than the modern medicine practiced by Swartzberg, which is a mere 200 years old.

Our society should be thankful to Somers, Winfrey, Oz and others who stand up to those who try to close the door on knowledge of self-health and instead attempt to keep our society medicated for symptoms, rather than finding answers to conditions.

The best thing that Swartzberg suggested is to get on the Web and research treatments, medicine, supplements and protocol for your condition. This is especially true when pharmaceuticals are involved. When was the last time AMA doctors, like Swartzberg, questioned the integrity of the pharmaceutical companies and their haphazard introduction of potentially dangerous drugs onto the market?

Let us not forget about needless surgeries that cost our society billions in lost wages, productivity and absenteeism.

Dr. Swartzberg is correct when he states, “Do not assume that the advice is good just because he has a medical degree and seems trustworthy.” Good advice, especially if that doctor is associated with the AMA.

Dr. Kenneth Muhich is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of painful conditions such as fibromyalgia at Stetson Chiropractic Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz. 480-948-4955 or www.stetsonchiropractic.com.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 31, Number 1, Feb/Mar 2012.