October 7, 2022 general

We expect ducks to say “quack”. However, the one pictured above says “Aflac!” on TV because he works for that insurance company. As for the symbol he (based on his husky voice originally performed by comedian Gilbert Gottfried, I assume it is a “he”) is carrying, I added that. If it doesn’t look right for a medical symbol, see below.*

The word “quack” originated from a Dutch word. It became to mean fraud and was associated with doctors in Europe in the 1800’s. That was because there were so many characters going around during the cholera epidemic selling worthless remedies. (Today those products might be called “snake oil”. That is a whole other story because genuine snake oil is very high in omega-3 fats which, as we have discussed, have healing properties.)

Today, the term “quack” has been used to label doctors who misrepresent their qualifications (i.e. frauds…hard to argue with that) or who use practices that are not mainstream. That is where it gets dicey, because just like with censorship, who gets to decide what is legitimate or is not.

For a long time, there have been ruthless critics that label as a “quack” any practitioner who dares to venture from the often outdated pharmaceutical-backed official “cookbook” used by establishment medicine (it is known as the “Standard of Care”). The “quack busters” target what others more accurately call “alternative medicine” or “complementary medicine” or “integrative medicine” or functional medicine” or “naturopathic medicine”. I doubt that the critics even know enough about those practices to stand in judgement.

I created this detailed list of which practices I think are truely quackery and which are not.

The self-appointed quack busters ignore the fact that their targets often do wonderful work and in fact cure a higher percentage of patients than the mainstream approach and with fewer side effects. Even more amazingly, the alternative docs often save the lives of patients after conventional medicine has flat given up on them. I almost consider it a recommendation to be singled out as a quack. (I was flattered when I was once listed as a “quack” by the chief quack buster. My “crime” was helping a trade organization write educational manuals for natural food store clerks!) Perhaps it is these same folks (or drug companies) who give bad ratings to the websites representing those fine integrative health professionals. “Web of Trust” is an example of a biased and obviously clueless website rater. For a compelling story about what has happened to the science and practice of medicine, and about the demonization of a true covid-19 era hero as well as the suppression of the life-saving treatments he employed, read about the late Dr. Vladimir Zelenko.

Even if the alternative-blasting folks do not have evil intent, they are still dangerous! They block progress because they are zealous defenders of the old school of thinking in medicine. There is (1) medicine proven to work, (2) medicine proven to NOT work, and (3) that for which there is insufficient data to consider it “proven” (usually natural remedies) but that is usually safe and economical. Conventional doctors use #1 methods, but science has shown too often still rely on #2’s—proven to NOT work. The natural medicine pioneers (you can spot them because of the flaming arrows in their backs) typically practice an effective mix of #1 and #3.

It is clearly very difficult for methods and substances to graduate from #3 (investigative) to #1 (proven). That is because there is an institutional bias against them at the FDA (fostered in large part by the pharmaceutical industry) and because it is hard to find hundred of millions of dollars for exhaustive research into generic substances that cannot be patented and sold with exclusivity for very high prices.

Many naturopathic methods have been scientifically studied and showed positive results. Most others are validated by long history and wide usage. They are typically logical, non-invasive, safe and less expensive than mainstream care. Sometimes the resistance to new ideas is just dogmatic blind adherence to the old beliefs. Diabetes care is a good example. “For decades alternative practitioners have been reversing the disease by reducing consumption of refined carbohydrates and using nutrients to improve insulin sensitivity. Meanwhile, mainstream medicine and the nonprofit organizations (which are backed by giant food processors and drug companies) continued to manage the disease (and the health decline) with high carbs and medication.

Another good example of these blind spots is “leaky gut”. The whole idea was ridiculed for decades. For decades practitioners who saw the evidence and helped people by repairing the gut lining were laughed at and vilified. It is now an acknowledged fact that the intestinal membrane barrier can become too permeable and cause systemic health problems. Now, tagged with a fancier name, “intestinal permeability”, patients might be able to get help in mainstream medicine.

Doctors with unconventional practices are sometimes reported to medical boards but almost never by patients, but rather routinely by other doctors who are upset that the targeted doc dares to heal patients using methods that the complainant is not familiar with. The medical boards typically cannot find patients who were harmed, so after a witch hunt through the medical office, they censure the doc based on some trivial record keeping violation. I contend that there is probably not a single physician of any stripe who does not have a record keeping error somewhere in their files. Defending themselves from such an investigation can cost a practitioner a fortune in legal fees. It is all about competition. (That is also why naturopathic physicians can only obtain a license to practice in about 17 states so far.)

If truly concerned about public welfare, “Quack-busters” should take off the blinders and own up to the fact that mainstream medicine is itself the number one cause of premature death in the US (Death by Medicine article). They would then promptly fill in the gaps in their knowledge by studying at a good naturopathic medical school like Bastyr University which is fully-accredited just like a state university medical school.

*There is some confusion about whether the caduceus staff should have one snake or two…wings or not. You can read about the interesting history of the medical symbols at this link. (Once upon a time, Cornell Hopkins (my first husband) and I owned a sign company. The biggest order we ever got was for a hospital—a very large lighted sign upon a brick base. Keep in mind that our business was small and this episode took place during a recession. When I went to collect, I was devastated to learn that the very decorative caduceus I had molded into the plastic faces was one used by the Air Force, not general medicine. Thank goodness the administrator either didn’t think many people would notice the difference or just took pity on what was probably a very sad face.