Research; Part 1

Question 1

Learning outcomes:

Answer 1

• What is research?
• What is “isolated research”?
• How is medical research conducted and funded?
• Research assumptions and shortcomings?
• Natural assumptions and shortcomings?
• Natural medicine research.
• Natural medicine concepts formed from research – observation and practice.

Question 2

Definitions: Research

Answer 2

The systematic study of a subject in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

Question 3

Definitions: Research Synonyms

Answer 3

Investigation, experimentation, testing, exploration, analysis, fact-finding, examination.

Question 4

Definitions: Isolated research

Answer 4

Looks only at an isolated part of the whole picture and thereby draws false conclusions from it.

Question 5

Definitions: Science

Answer 5

The systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

Question 6

Medical approach

Answer 6

The medical approach to disease:
* The symptom is the disease (high blood pressure, eczema, arthritis). The symptom is the disease and cause at the same time.
* Sometimes there is little attempt to establish the real cause – Poor diet, stress, drug adverse effects, environment, poor function of an organ, etc.
* If no measurable observed symptoms are found, the patient Is pronounced ‘healthy’, even though they feel sick.
* When symptoms have become chronic over decades, and measurable tissue changes have taken place, a patient can be declared as “sick”, often too late to be successfully treated.

Question 7

Medical approach examples

Answer 7

Instead of establishing connections such as:
* Diabetes = poor diet
* stomach ulcer = chronic anger
* dizziness = drug adverse effect,
Medical researchers take the symptom (the “output”) as the disease:
For example:
* Type 2 diabetes; Therapy = Metformin (increases insulin sensitivity)
* Stomach ulcer; Therapy = proton pump inhibitors (inhibit stomach acid production).
* High cholesterol; Therapy = statins (lower cholesterol)
Not addressing the cause means the disease continues. The patient gets worse over time and additionally must deal with adverse effects resulting from the ‘orthodox’ treatment given.

Question 8

Medical approach; Suppression

Answer 8

Symptoms in medicine are considered as causes in their own right and treated as such.
* This kind of treatment is called suppression. It makes a symptom disappear without treating the true cause.
Examples:
* Fever: anti-inflammatories; weaken that immubne system
* Pain: painkillers including opiates; cause intolerance, i.e. patient requires more and more drugs for the same effect.
* Allergy: antihistamines to suppress the body’s response.
Suppression always drives the disease deeper into the body.

Question 9

Isolated research

Answer 9

An example of a isolated research:
* Alzheimer’s disease: medicine believes the Alzheimer’s is caused by the accumulation of plaques in the brain made of protein called amyloid – beta (AB or Abeta). Outsiders is considered a single disease, but no explanation is given to the presence of amyloid– beta protein.
* Amyloid is a potent pathogen fighter and part of the protective response of the brain to invading pathogens and sub optimal levels of nutrients.
* Getting rid of amyloid beta is, therefore, not a successful treatment for Alzheimer’s and can be damaging. Natural medicine instead looks at why the beta amyloid has formed.

Question 10

Medical research

Answer 10

Medical research:
* Not searching for the true cause of disease (lifestyle, diet, environment, organ dysfunction, stress, etc.)
* Isolates specific aspects of the problem without reference to the whole picture.
* Is almost exclusively funded to fulfil purpose – sets out to prove what industry wants to sell.
* Is subject to distortion due to the focus of removing the symptom(s), rather finding and treating the cause.
* Is, therefore, very naïve – remove the symptom (e.g. pain) and you have cured the disease.
* In general looks at isolated situations or symptoms (in vitro research, research on tissues, controlled clinical trials).

Question 11

Medical research on animals

Answer 11

Research on Animals:
Laboratory animals are under stress; results are, therefore, false:
* Stress hormones increase; metabolism changes; functions of cells and organs are thereby distorted.
* Animal studies are inhumane in brutal. Animals have feelings too
* Animal physiology is different from human.

Question 12

Competing paradigms

Answer 12

• Louis Pasteur (French biologist): developed ‘Germ theory’: disease comes from outside the body, bacteria, viruses, fungi responsible for diseases.
• Antoine Bechamp (French scientist, rival of Pasteur) developed ‘Terrain theory’. Disease occurs from within the body (negative changes in terrain responsible for disease). Bacteria/viruses are the ‘after effects’ not the cause of disease. Diseases are the result of an acidic, low oxygenated terrain where the diseased tissue supports the growth of microorganisms, which can develop into different forms (pleomorphism = “many forms”).

Question 13

Medical research: randomised clinical trial (RCT)

Answer 13

Medical research: the gold standard clinical trial (RCT):
RCT = Randomised (double blinded) placebo-Controlled Trial
Randomised = intervention is given at random
Placebo = inert substance with supposedly no effort.
* Research that has limitations. Conducted on humans, involving a specific intervention (often the drug), to be tested against a placebo.
* Depends upon ensuring that each respondent has an identical pathology and no other complicating factors.
* Is often conducted in a ‘clinical’ environment i.e. a space where nothing ‘normal’ happens.
* Is subject to strict ‘Scientific’ rules, including that neither the patient’s nor the physicians administering the trial know who is getting the real drug, and who is getting the placebo (double blinding).
Other weaknesses of the RCT:
* Real people don’t come as ‘standard’ – they have different lifestyles, diets, constitutions, and medical preferences.
* RCT’s are not concerned with causes, just whether the drug works to suppress the symptom or not.
* Clinical situations do not reflect real life, abnormal environments will create abnormal responses.
* Drugs tested are single molecules and no attempt is made to test alongside co-medications which the patient maybe taking.
* Data can easily be ‘cherry picked’ – results that support the hypothesis Doctor; all of the results discarded.
* ‘Placebo effect’ is well known to work…

Question 14

Research in the food industry: Coffee

Answer 14

Coffee: latest research promotes coffee is healthy, but…
* It leads to physical dependency
* It can aggravate other addictions such as smoking, sugar, sweets and empty carbs.
* It impairs sleep and can over-stimulate the adrenals resulting in exhaustion
* It increases the stress hormone cortisol, which causes weight gain and increases blood sugar and Type II diabetes. Cortisol also suppresses the immune system leading to recurrent infections.
* It suppresses reproductive and thyroid functions
Coffee research: isolated research, looking at isolated chemicals. $42 billion sales/year – may double by promoting ‘health benefits’.

Question 15

Research in the food industry: Alcohol

Answer 15

Alcohol: “French get fewer heart-attack because they drink wine”: but…
* The overall effect of alcohol even in small amounts is detrimental (changes in the brain and liver, reduced reaction time, negative effects of alcohol additives, etc.).
* The researchers conducted on an isolated constituent of wine which may reduce heart attacks, but the negative effect of alcohol content is not considered: fails to see the whole picture.
* Does not consider other variables in French culture (e.g. good food, taking time, less stress, garlic consumption).
* Result: drink daily 1-4 glasses of red wine. Become a regular customer and, ultimately, a possible addict.

Question 16

Research funding

Answer 16

It is vital to know who funds the research, as this generally dictates the results of the ‘research’ e.g.:
* Drug/food research funded by the pharma and food industry is an integral part of licensing and selling products.
* Food research funded by the food industry is in an integral part of getting food products on the shelves and promoting them to the public
* ‘Natural medicine” research is often funded by universities and conducted by ‘scientists’ who do not know anything about natural medicine; the purpose is often to debase and disprove it
* Medical research is uniquely designed for the testing of isolated pharmaceutical drugs

Question 17

The Pharma and Food Industry

Answer 17

The pharmaceutical and food industries finance most of the clinical trials into their products.
* A finance/influence universities and the continuing education of medical doctors and dieticians, build new hospitals and wards.
* Clinical trials are often conducted on small groups of unrepresentative subjects
* Negative data is routinely withheld, and researchers fired if their findings of negative
* Supposedly independent academic papers may be commissioned and even ghost-written by pharmaceutical companies or their contractors, without disclosure

Question 18

Research Assumptions; Biomedical research

Answer 18

Biomedical research:
. Aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of a single treatment intervention e.g. a drug
. Is funded by vested interests for profit: major expense of the pharmaceutical companies
. Cuts out complexity and variability as far as possible: tests simplistic hypotheses
. Only useful for what can be precisely measured
. Assumes that patients (people) are all the same and will respond similarly to drugs

Question 19

Research Assumptions; Natural medicine research

Answer 19

Natural medicine research:
. Aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of a treatment strategy in any particular case
. Natural products and treatments cannot be patented, therefore, few if any profits to be made.
. Embraces complexity and variability is part of life and therefore, patient experience
. Precise measurements not important in the context of overall outcome
. Assumes that patients are different and works to develop greater individualisation in treatments.

Question 20

Research Assumptions; ‘Objectivist’ science

Answer 20

Problems with ‘Objectivist’ Science:
* Maintains that everything exists independently (objectively) of what we think or feel. Ignores individual truth.
* We must be able to measure everything.
* Knowledge of the past is unverifiable (hasn’t been measured), and Therefore must be tested again
* The only valid kind of research is quantitative and measurable
* Individual variations are merely ‘confounding factors’ to be ruled out of investigation

Question 21

Natural medicine research; traditional medicine

Answer 21

Traditional medicine and research:
* Traditional healers of the past developed highly sophisticated treatment methods based on observations in practice.
* Once something his known, it can be experienced by others and doesn’t need to be tested again and again. Concepts and methods that have been demonstrated to work in practice, can be reapplied with success.
* Knowledge comes from better sources than the scientist’s laboratories.
* Traditional healers gain their results in many years of practice, as opposed to theoretical learning.

Question 22

Natural medicine research; patients choice

Answer 22

Patients know what works for them:
* You know what is true for you.
* No one has the right to tell you that it doesn’t work based on some experiment that has nothing to do with you.
* The way patients feel about their treatment and their practitioner is part of the process and can facilitate healing.
* The more a patient engages with their personal situation, e.g. changing their lifestyle, healing themselves, the more success we see in practice.

Question 23

The Conventional Hierarchy of Evidence

Answer 23

The conventional ‘hierarchy of evidence’ puts ‘scientific research’ at the top of the pyramid: (1 = Top; higher quality of evidence, 8 = Bottom; lower quality of evidence)
1. Systematic reviews and meta-analysis of RCT’s
2. Randomised controlled trials (RCT’s)
3. Cohort studies
4. Case-control studies
5. Cross-sectional studies, surveys
6. Case reports, case studies
7. Mechanisti hi therec studies
8. Editorials, expert opinion

Question 24

The Hierarchy of Evidence

Answer 24

The inverted pyramid (1 = most important, 3 = least important):
1. Practitioner and Patient observations and experiences; values observations and experiences of practitioners and patients.
2. Laws, principles and conclusions. Patient reports, case studies; laws, principles and conclusions based on observations and experiences of practitioners and clinic. Patient reports.
3. Patient questionnaires. Outcome research. Possibly RCT’s & systematic reviews; practitioner case-studies in clinic. Patient questionnaires. Outcome research.

Question 25

Natural Medicine Research

Answer 25

Doesn’t equate the symptom with the disease (skin problem, high blood pressure, pain, etc.).
* Asks why is the symptom there, what led up to it, what is the underlying cause?
* Considers that each person is an individual and therefore, needs an individual approach.
* Examples of natural medicine are; Herbal Medicine, Nutrition, Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Naturopathy, Bach Flowers, etc.
* Natural therapists recognise the fact that diet and treatment approaches differ from individual to individual (not everybody gets the same treatment for headaches, asthma, diarrhoea, etc.).

Question 26

Natural Medicine Research; Types of research

Answer 26

There are many ways of doing research which are far more suited to the special conditions of Natural Medicine:
* Qualitative research rather than quantitative research
* Case studies and research based on the experience of practitioners
* Patient questionnaires such as MYMOP (see later) – ‘Measure your own medical outcome profile’.
* Clinical audits conducted within practices to identify strengths and weaknesses
* Outcome studies to test whether patient needs are being met

Question 27

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

Answer 27

• Quantitative research: refers to any research based on something that can be acutely and precisely measured, such as BP, blood chemistry, etc. Most medical research is quantitative.
• Qualitative research: refers to any research based on something that is impossible to accurately and precisely measure, such as the way people feel about something, or why they prefer one thing over another.
• Qualitative research has been identified as being more appropriate for complex investigation; i.e. it can
  align with real practice in the field of natural medicine, the social, as well as clinical applications, e.g. patient differences.

Question 28

Case studies

Answer 28

• Case studies: the notes that practitioners take in consultations with patients are a valuable source of information about what works in treatment.
• Sharing case studies is a valuable way for practitioners to compare notes and share their experience of what works in practical application.
• Case studies deal with real people in all their complexity and can therefore, be useful in identifying individual responses to treatment.
• Case studies are plentiful and are readily accessed and anonymised to provide a rich source of data.

Question 29

CNM Case Taking; MYMOP

Answer 29

MYMOP: Measure Your own Medical Outcome Profile.
Health Concerns:
* Patient feels in the questionnaire section of the case taking form, not the practitioner.
* Patient reports from visit to visit whether there symptoms are improving
* Simple to fill-in and analyse
* Completed questionnaires are kept with the patient notes – fully confidential and secure.
* Questionnaires can then be used in a clinical audit to produce data about clinical effectiveness of the treatment.

Question 30

Clinical Audit

Answer 30

There are two meanings of the term ‘clinical audit’:
1. To determine whether best practice is being carried out in clinic; covers health, safety & hygiene, and the provision of positive patient experiences.
2. To draw out data regarding the effectiveness of treatments delivered in clinic. For example, extract the MYMOP forms of all patients receiving treatment for IBS and assess whether treatment outcomes are conclusively positive for that pathology

Question 31

Outcomes research

Answer 31

Outcomes research is very similar to clinical audit:
* Assesses the delivery of care in a particular context
* Assesses the use of resources
* Assesses the benefit to the users – patients
* Can be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of specific therapeutic interventions, but…
* Is a multidisciplinary investigation, capable of covering a variety of issues.
* Therefore, well-suited to the delivery of care in general, as opposed to the effectiveness of individual medications
Examples:
* Questionnaire to all patients in a clinic to get their impressions, levels of satisfaction, success of their treatment.
* May also assess cost, convenience, geographical accessibility and patient preferences, as well as actual treatments
* Enables service providers to ensure the best use of resources
* Patients also have a stake in Outcomes research because it facilitates decision-making: what treatment is best for them, given they are ultimately paying service.

Question 32

Good and bad research

Answer 32

• Sound principles once discovered hold good for ever e.g. Ayurveda, TCM, Homeopathy: apply these principles and you will have success.
• The traditions and researchers in the following slides formed abiding doors and principles derived from practice and observation. ‘Scientific’ research data is subject to frequent change.
• Many drugs are withdrawn from the market amidst safety concerns – even though they ‘passed’ all the tests (e.g. thalidomide causing birth defects) – or when new drugs need to be promoted.
• ‘Scientific truth’ changes with the next discovery: real science does not generally change as it is based on a observable facts.

Question 33

Examples of natural medicine

Answer 33

Examples of individuals and traditions that use observation and experience to come to their conclusions about health and healing:
* Ayurvedic medicine
* Traditional Chinese medicine
* Hippocratic Medicine
* Samuel Hahnemann (founder of homoeopathy)
* Ignantz von Peczely (Iridology)
* Edward Bach (Bach flower remedies)
* Bernard Jensen (Naturopathy and Iridology)

Question 34

Ayurveda

Answer 34

Translates as ‘the Science of Life’.
* The Rig Veda (BCE2500); first documented Materia Medica BCE200
* A complete system of healthcare and lifestyle medicine, including, herbal and mineral medicines, diet, exercise, detoxification.
* Tradition is still fully intact India and practiced as state healthcare alongside biomedicine
* Ayurvedic doctors also practice in the UK and Ireland
Ayurveda was based on observation of the natural world and therefore, fulfils the criterion of research (as per definition inside 3).
* It starts by recognizing that not all people are the same – different body shapes, different constitutions, etc. and that these develop in different ways and need different treatments.

Question 35

Ayurveda: Types

Answer 35

There are three basic types energies in Ayurveda:
Vata: can be thin, dry, cold, mentally agile, can be anxious.
Pitta: medium-bodied, physically active, warm, can be bad-tempered.
Kapha: strong build, can go to excess weight, a Solid, dependable, can get depressed.

Question 36

Ayurveda: Example of types in a diagnosis - arthritis

Answer 36

Example – diagnosis of arthritis:
* Vata out of balance: joints will be cold, dry, cracking, require warming and lubricating – herbs with warming and moistening properties, soups and broths.
* Pitta out of balance: hot, inflamed, swollen, require cooling and calming – relaxing, sedative, anti-inflammatory herbs and foods.
* Kapha out of balance: cold, damp and stuck, require warming and moving – spicy herbs and foods, detoxification, alternating hot and cold-water cures.

Question 37

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

Answer 37

TCM is an aggregate of systems and approaches, dating back to BCE 400.
* TCM includes acupuncture, Chinese herbs, nutrition, massage, movement (Tui Na and Qi Gong)
* The discoveries in TCM hold just as good today as they did when they were first formulated, as they were based on observation of the natural world
* The traditional Chinese description and explanation of organs and their functions works for all of us and can be verified by the results of practice: it doesn’t need to be ‘reinvented’ or tested.
* TCM is practiced in China in State medical facilities.

Question 38

Acupuncture

Answer 38

Acupuncture: Developed via observations and clinical experiences on clients.
* 12 main channels, the meridians, have been discovered which move energy throughout the body to create balance and health.
* Meridians represent organs and functions of the body.
Acupuncture point: Area on the skin where a meridian comes to the surface.
* Acupuncture points can be needled or pressed to balance energy

Question 39

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM); Examples

Answer 39

Example:
* A headache may be related to the Gallbladder. One can access the source of the tension by stimulating specific points along the gall bladder “meridian” – not necessarily on the head itself but along the whole meridian which runs the length of the body.

Question 40

Hippocrates

Answer 40

Hippocrates (BCE460-377): Greek physician, ‘the father of medicine’ who founded the first medical school.
* He based his entire medical practice on observations.
* Through his experiences, he outlined a system of priorities: first reform lifestyle (rest, a good diet, fresh air), then if needed, medicines, and as a last resort invasive interventions (surgery).
* He selected treatments according to the individual constitution, observing that two different people with the same ‘pathology’ my different outcomes.

Question 41

Samual Hahnemann

Answer 41

Samual Hahnemann (1755 – 1843): German physician and founder of Homeopathy.
* In 1791, Samual Hahnemann translated a paper about the effect of Cinchona Bark (China).
* He decided to take ‘China’ which produced malaria symptoms
* In him he then gave China to patients with malaria and discovered that their malaria disappeared
* He observed that: if he, as a healthy person to China, he got malaria symptoms and that the patient with malaria took China, they were cured.

Question 42

The Law of Similars (“Like cures like”)

Answer 42

Thus the ‘Law of Similars’ was first outlined and Homeopathy was born.

• Bee venom for a bee sting (Apis)
• Coffee for Insomnia (coffea)
• Onion for water eyes and a runny nose (Allium cepa)
• Snake venom for a snake bite (Lachesis)

Question 43

‘Proving’ Homoeopathic remedies

Answer 43

The therapeutic qualities and action of homoeopathic remedies are discovered and tested by the process of ‘Proving’:
* Healthy human volunteers (provers) are given the substance to be assessed for its curative potential in very dilated doses (called ‘potencies’) and are then observed for any possible symptoms.
* Any symptoms a volunteer experiences during a proving are carefully recording and graded, so homoeopaths can accurately prescribe this substance in the future. Results are recorded in the “Homeopathic Repertory’.
* Homoeopaths know that if the substance can produce a set of symptoms in healthy provers, it will have a curative effect when prescribed for those who are unwell with similar symptoms.
(Proving, from Latin Probare = test, approved, demonstrate)

Question 44

Applications of
“Like Cures Like”

Answer 44

Fever: As fever is hot use lukewarm water (Like), dab the person’s skin to mimic the body’s natural way of cooling the body (perspiration)

Sunburn: Cool down slowly. Apply warmth, drink something warm. Avoid shocking the body with cold applications.

Burns: Apply something warm (Like). Heat stroke needs warm applications. To use cold is a ‘shock’ (& suppression of symptom)

Question 45

Ignatz von Peczely (1826 – 1911)

Answer 45

Ignatz von Peczely (1826 – 1911):
* Ignatz von Peczely investigated thousands of patients’ irises.
* Made clear correlations between presenting complaints and signs and markings he saw in patients’ eyes.
* He developed a chart of the iris which identified ‘reflex positions’ for all organs in the body
* This Iris chart has hardly changed since then

Question 46

Edward Bach

Answer 46

Edward Bach (1886 – 1936): English medical doctor and bacteriologist.
* Observing links between particular bowel bacteria and personality traits
* Saw illness as the body’s way of expressing mental disharmony
* Loved to walk in nature and could perceive the energy of plants
* Matched specific plants of similar energy to that of his patients
* Observed that once the personality improved, physical symptoms came back into balance.
* Patients recovered first emotionally, then physically, once the right, individual bach flower remedy was given.
* Bach observed, researched, tried things out.
* He recorded his findings and formulated indications as to which remedy could be used in what case.
* Treated his colon-sick patients individually, not according to ‘pathology’.
Okay I live there for about us if it takes longer
* Larch: Bach repeatedly noted that his patients who lacked confidence and felt inferior, responded to larch
* Oak: Bach noted that his patients who were overworked, exhausted but struggled on, respond to oak

Question 47

Bernard Jensen

Answer 47

Bernard Jensen (1908 – 2001): Naturopath and North America.
* Observed and treated thousands of patients
* Focused on the importance of the digestive tract of the causative factor for many diseases
* Family specific reflex points of the bowel, influence specific organs or parts of the body
* He developed through his findings the map of colon reflex points

Question 48

New natural therapies

Answer 48

New natural therapies and diagnostic methods continue to be developed out of experience, observation, understanding of the body, and practice – e.g:
* Tooth reflex chart (energetic relationships between teeth and organs)
* Lymphatic drainage (manual stimulation of lymph to detoxify)
* Set to reflex zones (relationship of foot zones to organs – diagnosis and treatment)
* Kinesiology (muscle testing to diagnose and treat)
* Thermography (heat distribution showing potential problems)

Question 49

Foot reflexology

Answer 49

Foot reflexology was first introduced in 1920s.
* The founders realised that by alternating pressure on certain points in the feet, they stimulated healing in the organ represented on that the Zone.
* The reflex chart was born out of observation and experience in practice. This is used by practitioners around the world, who continue to see the same results.

Question 50

Kinesiology

Answer 50

Kinesiology was discovered by a chiropractor called Dr George Goodheart in the 1960s.
* He identified the relationship between a specific muscle and an organ
* Specific muscles test as being strong or weak depending on the condition of the related organ
* Dr Goodhart’s observations remain the key principles of kinesiology.
http://www.balancewellness.co.uk/kinesiology/

Question 51

Thermography

Answer 51

Thermography: assessing body functions through the exploration of body temperature.
* Can identify abnormal body functions through the alteration in temperatures around the body. It can therefore, be a useful screen of pathological changes and dysfunctions including cancers.
* Thermography uses an infrared camera to detect heat patterns and blood flow in body tissues. When blood flow increases, the temperature around it rises; red colour.

Question 52

Naturopathy in Practice: Coronary Heart Disease and Atherosclerosis

Answer 52

Naturopathy in practice: Coronary Heart Disease and Atherosclerosis:
* A pathology where plaque forms inside the coronary arteries obstructing the blood flow to the myocardium
* In fact, plaques are formed in order to protect the vessel from collapsing
Naturopathic approach:
Correcting diet and lifestyle that cause the problem, thereby decreasing or even removing the plaque

Allopathic approach:
Dilating or removing vessels through surgical procedures; using drugs to suppress plaque formation; ignoring the cause of the disease.

Question 53

Naturopathy in Practice: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Answer 53

Rheumatoid Arthritis:
* An autoimmune disease associated with systemic synovial joint inflammation and organ disease.
Allopathic approach:
* Using harmful drugs to suppress the immune system without exploring a possible cause.
Naturopathic approach:
* Identifies the underlying cause. Addresses dietary and lifestyle factors that might be driving the disease, whilst using natural medicines to deal with inflammation in the body without harm.

Question 54

Naturopathy in Practice: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Answer 54

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus:
* Pathology characterized by hypoglycaemia, associated with insulin resistance. This is the result of improper diet and lack of exercise.
* (hyper = high, glyc = sugar, -aemia = blood)
Insulin resistance:
* Cells become unresponsive to insulin, which is produced by the pancreas. More insulin is produced until the pancreas cannot produce any more.
Main causes of insulin resistance:
* Excessive processed carbohydrates (fructose and grains, especially wheat), trans-fats/hydrogenised fats, low levels of dietary fibre, lack of physical activity.
Allopathic approach:
* Drugs that decrease insulin resistance and/or lower blood sugar levels, minimal dietary changes
* Adverse effects; Weight gain, increase of cholesterol, triglycerides, BP, increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Naturopathic approach:
* Applies much more to comprehensive dietary changes (and supplements), which naturally lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin resistance. Exercise stress reduction program.
* Effects; improved cholesterol, weight loss, improvement of BP readings, reduced cancer risk.

Question 55

Conclusions

Answer 55

Researchers is any activity that leads to more knowledge being produced on a subject
* So-called ‘Scientific’ or biomedical research is frequently isolated research, dealing with parts of the problem that failing to take the whole nature of the problem into account.
* Much biomedical research is also specifically geared up to the development of pharmaceutical drugs.
* Natural medicine research is based on observation: the researcher or practitioner does something, and a result follows. This kind of research is founded upon what is actually observed to work in specific situations.