Biomedicine vs Alternative Medicine

Question 1

What is a common viewpoint on food in all societies and cultures?

Answer 1

Food is medicine; use dietary practices to maintain health or treat illness

Question 2

What is Evidence-based biomedicine?

Answer 2

The system of clinical medicine based on the principles of natural science

Question 3

What is alternative medicine?

Answer 3

The name for tradition and folk medicine outside of conventional biomedicine; uses mixture of healing therapies like food, herbal medicine, spirituality, manual therapies, or exercise

Question 4

Who is an African folk healer?

Answer 4

Healer that prepares traditional medicines and follows the word of ancestors

Question 5

What is Ayurveda?

Answer 5

Ancient Indian system of healing derived from the Sanskrit words Ayus (life) and Veda (knowledge)
- thousands of years old
- emphasizes good health through lifestyle practices and use of herbal remedies
- holistic practice that considers the whole person in quest for optional health and wellness

Question 6

What is the Ayurvedic diet?

Answer 6

• Based on Sattvic foods
• Dairy, veggies, fruits, grains, beans, seeds, and nuts
• avoid meat, eggs, fermented foods, mushrooms, stale food, and alcohol

Question 7

What is the Traditional Chinese Medicine Diet Therapy?

Answer 7

Achieve balance through food and herbs

Question 8

What is Traditional Arabic and Islamic Medicine (TAIM)?

Answer 8

• Islamic knowledge contained in religious texts for guidance in health and medical matters
• “Medicine of the Prophet Muhammad”

Question 9

What are the components of TAIM?

Answer 9

• Fasting
  -Use of medicinal plants in teas, honey, syrups, infusions, and ointments
• Utilization of certain for foods for their traditional/prophetic indications
• Cupping

Question 10

What is Black seed (Nigella Sativa)?

Answer 10

• Part of TAIM
• “the blessed seed”
• important herb in Muslim community; believed tp have healing properities for most illnesses

Question 11

What is wet cupping?

Answer 11

Medicinal bleeding where blood is drawn by local suction from a small skin incision; associated with detoxification

Question 12

What is the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine in Canada?

Answer 12

79% have tried sometimes in their lives
In 2016, $6.5 billion on providers of alternative therapies, $2.3 billion on herbs, vitamins, programs, books, classes, and equipment

Question 13

How is alternative medicine different from biomedicine? (5)

Answer 13

1. Food has energetic properties
2. You take on the qualities of the food you ingest
3. There is a life force
4. Balance is important for wellbeing
5. Therapies maintain or restore balance

Question 14

What is TCM Hot and cold food beliefs?

Answer 14

Foods are perceived to be energetically be hot cold, or neutral based on how foods are thought to affect body; when you ingest, you take on energetic characteristics

Question 15

What are the characteristics of Yin foods?

Answer 15

Dark, cold, cooling, moist, feminine

Question 16

What are the characteristics of Yang foods?

Answer 16

Bright, warm, warming, dry, masculine

Question 17

What do noodles symbolize in Chinese New Year?

Answer 17

Long life

Question 18

What are examples of life force energy?

Answer 18

• qi in Traditional Chinese energy (pronouced chi)
• prana in Indian 0based medicine including Ayurveda; pulses through body along network of channels (Chakras)

Question 19

What are chakhras?

Answer 19

Energy points in the body in Indian-based medicine

Question 20

What is the three-dosha theory?

Answer 20

Three energies that circulate in the body and govern physiological/psychological qualities (appearance, physique, and personality)

Question 21

What is life force energy?

Answer 21

A free-flowing energy that connect mind and body and contributes to health

Question 22

How do alternative medical systems view balance?

Answer 22

Holistic view on health; mind, body, and spirit are integral whole
Health is viewed as restoring balance within body, community, and universe at large

Question 23

What was the Ancient Greek humoral system?

Answer 23

Humors were vital bodily fluids linked to elements that had to be balanced

Question 24

What is ayurveda built upon in terms of balance?

Answer 24

• Five elements of ether (essence of emptiness), earth, water, fire, and air
• combination of elements make doshas (energies)
• we have all doshas but one or two dominate

Question 25

What is the First Nations medicine wheel?

Answer 25

It is about holistic health and balance in all aspects of life; the colours and meanings of quadrants may change between groups

Question 26

What is the primary way imbalance is corrected?

Answer 26

By the principle of opposites; given foods or medicines of opposite quality to restore balance and avoid those with the same quality that caused imbalance

Question 27

How is evidence used in biomedicine?

Answer 27

• uses the best scientific evidence derived from the scientific method in making health decisions
• hierarchy of evidence quality (systematic reviews and RCT over case reports, expert opinion/testimonials at the bottom)

Question 28

What tyoe of medicine is dieteics?

Answer 28

Evidence based practice; translate complex scientific evidence into practical solutions to promote health and manage disease

Question 29

What is the limitations of evidence-based dietetics?

Answer 29

Not everything can be answered using rigorous double-blind randomized controlled trials; would be unethical or impossible (in terms of blinding)
Foods and dietary patterns are complex
There are hard-to-eliminate confounding factors

Question 30

What type of scientific evidence does alternative medicine have?

Answer 30

Low quality; expert opinion, and case-controlled studies

Question 31

What does a sythesis of systematic reviews on acupuncture say?

Answer 31

The evidence that is it effective is limited and conflicting; not sufficient high-quality RCTs

Question 32

What has been learnt from scientifically testing alternative therapies?

Answer 32

Most are ineffective or cannot be tested well; most benefits are from placebo