Complimentary/Alternative Medicine Flashcards
What is CAM?
Practice and products generally not considered part of conventional (Western) medicine
Types of CAM
- natural products (dietary supplements, probiotics
- mind and body medicine (yoga and meditation)
- mainpulative and body-based practices (chiropractic’s, acupuncture)
Most common type of CAM
Massage therapy
Why do people choose CAM?
- Potentially safer option in comparison to risky, harsh, and ineffective traditional medicine
- For wellness: to prevent future illness or maintain health and vitality
What are natural health products?
Easier to say what they are not:
food, drug, or drink
Homeopathy
Diltuing a substance to the point where the active ingredient is most likely no longer active
Creates a placebo - thing it is improving your health but is most likely not (mainly water)
Health Canada’s Evidence for Natural Health Products
Some level of evidence is needed to maintain a certain level of safety, efficacy, and quality
Different levels of evidence accepted from clinical trials to “traditional use”
Based on OLD STANDARD
- word of 3 elders
- materia medica (manual, book, or document that provides evidence)
- product has been in use for a specific condition for 50 years
Is a product safe because it is natural?
- potentially poisonous
- healthy at a lower dose could be dangerous at higher dosage/concentrations (ex. green tea)
Risks to using natural health products
- manufacturing problems (contamination, incorrect ingredients or dosage)
- not enough information to make informed choice (product may not be suitable for certain groups)
- unproven claims (leads people to delaying proper treatment)
- interaction with prescription drugs
- unwanted side effects (allergies)
Reason for not doing randomized trials on common health foods/products
Not economically sane
Can’t patent a common health food product because it is easily accessible
It would be a waste of time and money because industry can sell them with these claims without having the evidence to support it
To get reliable information about a particular supplement
- Ask your doctor or pharmacist
- Look for scientific research findings
- Contact the manufacturer
Is CAM useless?
No
Many pharmaceuticals have derived from natural substances
Compounds are found in nature/environment and translated into good medicine
Ex. aspirin comes from a compound found in the bark of a tree
No number meaning?
Natural Health Product Numbers
Number indiciates that there is some evidence to support it, may or may not work for its traditional use
NPN - Natural Health Product Number
DIN - Drug Product
DIN-HM - Homeopathy
EN - registered but not fully assessed
Product’s without any number haven’t been registered or approved as a natural health product (sale isn’t permitted)
