A new scientific review has confirmed that high-quality evidence exists for naturopathic medicine approaches. The analysis, carried out at Southern Cross University in Australia, looked at 33 studies conducted in 7 different countries and found that naturopathic medicine is effective in treating cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal pain, polycystic ovarian syndrome, depression, anxiety, and other complex chronic conditions. Noting that the studies showed improved health and quality of life outcomes in patients, and citing approaches such as dietary and lifestyle interventions, nutritional supplements, and botanical medicines, the researchers say there is now a “vast array of clinical trial evidence supporting the tools of trade used in naturopathic medicine.”
The studies analyzed in the review were conducted in the United States, Canada, Germany, India, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Comprising a diverse range of trials, they looked at both short-term inpatient care and longer-term observational reports of outpatient treatment. The studies were carried out in private naturopathic practices, integrative hospitals, inpatient healthcare clinics, and research institutes.
Highlighting the breadth of scientific research that now exists in naturopathic medicine, the researchers looked at studies employing it across a range of serious health problems. In addition to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, other chronic diseases examined included cancer and hepatitis C. The effectiveness of naturopathic approaches was not only seen in physical diseases, but in mental health problems too. In bipolar disorder, a study from the United States showed that use of supplements and other natural therapies enabled the elimination of psychotropic medications. Significantly, no patients suffered psychotic episodes or hospitalization during the treatment period.
Contrasting the positive outcomes in these studies with those from treatments commonly used in conventional medicine, the Southern Cross University researchers cited a BMJ Clinical Evidence review from 2007 which found that, of around 2,500 conventional treatments analyzed, a mere 15 percent were rated as beneficial. A further 22 percent of treatments were rated as likely to be beneficial, 7 percent as partly beneficial but partly harmful, 5 percent as unlikely to be beneficial, and 4 percent as likely to be ineffective or harmful. For the remaining 47 percent of treatments, there was no convincing evidence of their effectiveness.
Given therefore that the majority of conventional treatments are unproven and even dangerous, it is hardly surprising that growing numbers of patients are calling for healthcare reform and seeking natural approaches that are safer and more effective than their conventional medicine counterparts.
With over 100 studies now published on the United States National Library of Medicine’s PubMed website, Dr. Rath’s groundbreaking Cellular Medicine research is at the cutting edge of the scientific transformation of healthcare. As we approach the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century, the question isn’t whether natural therapies will replace the pharmaceutical ‘business with disease’, but when. The size of the evidence base in favor of natural remedies has long since passed the point at which there can be any doubt that change is coming.
While pharma industry stakeholders are still seeking to restrict public access to natural approaches, the science is not on their side. For cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, kidney disease, liver disease, nervous system diseases, osteoporosis, and many other health problems, modern nutritional and Cellular Medicine therapies are already making it possible for patients to prevent illness and improve health naturally, without drugs. Online libraries such as our Foundation’s Independent Library of Nutrition and Natural Health are playing a vital role in driving these changes, by educating patients about the new possibilities for protecting their health using natural approaches. As the English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon famously put it: ‘Knowledge is power’. The approaching healthcare revolution will demonstrate to patients, doctors, and politicians alike that nowhere is this principle more important than in the field of health.