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Some Reasons Why Alternative Medicine Is So Popular
When was the last time you picked up a newspaper or magazine, or turned on the television only to find yet another prescription drug being withdrawn from the market due to recently discovered severe, even fatal, reactions? Have you received a letter from a law firm asking you to become a plaintiff in a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit against a drug company? Prozac, the first of the SSRI-class of antidepressants, is currently under investigation due to several lawsuits where the drug was prescribed to adolescents who later committed suicide while taking the drug. And yet Prozac is the most tested drug in US history and was declared to be safe.
These headline-busting examples may at least partly explain why has gained such popularity in the past decade. Once dismissed as “New Age junk,” more and more people are turning to alternative methods of healing; there are no pending lawsuits against distributors of Valerian root. In the late 1990s, OxyContin hit the market as the best new narcotic painkilling prescription drug. Only a few years later did medical researchers learn of its horrific potential abuse and addiction potential. Who knew? Even after its years of clinical trials, the OxyContin scandal is perhaps another reason why is so popular. Herbal preparations, nutritional supplements and techniques like acupuncture have never caused severe addiction or death by overdose.
Do Medical Costs Explain why Alternative
Medicine is so Popular?
Yes, more than likely. The next time you need to fill a prescription, ask the pharmacist what each individual pill costs. Incredible! How can one little pill cost that much. How much does it cost for a simple doctor’s visit? What about the things you need that your insurance plan won’t cover? Why is so popular? You can answer this question by looking at your next insurance bill and your required deductible.
Are There Other Reasons why is so Popular?
In increasing numbers, ethnic groups are returning to their roots to cope with medical problems. Native Americans once used only natural remedies. Chinese medicine is thousands of years old, and is still very much in practice. African Americans too appear to be returning to the “old ways” of healing before they were enslaved. These cultural reasons contribute to explaining why is so popular.
Culture, safety, expense and mistrust of the big drug companies are the best explanations for why is so popular. However, it seems likely that would long ago have been abandoned if it wasn’t helpful. It’s helpful to keep in mind that virtually every prescription drug on the market is derived from natural ingredients like opiate painkillers, digitalis, penicillin, and the ma huang Chinese plant. Perhaps the best reason why is so popular is that it works.
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