Community Magazine June 2014

LETTERS ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE Regarding last month’s article about alternative medicine (“Alternative Medicine: Sorcery or Science?”), I cannot understand people who discredit “alternative medicine” due to religious reasons. I work in a homeopathic doctor’s office and I can attest to the fact that homeopathy really works. It is said that King Solomon and the Rambam were physicians and they were able to cure people with all sorts of diseases and ailments. I think we can safely assume that they offered natural remedies to cure all these illnesses. You can be sure that they did not prescribe antibiotics to their patients! Larry G. Although I’m not a doctor, I have family members who are physicians and they believe that most “alternative medicine” treatments are nonsense. The reason for the rise in its popularity is mainly due to patients’ frustration owing to uncertainty, high costs of treatment, and the poor bedside manner of many physicians. But many “alternative medicine” therapies are unsafe and dangerous, or at best unproven and unreliable. What makes “alternative medicine” dangerous is that instead of taking medications that have been proven to work, people instead select a non-proven method of healing simply because of its lower cost and/or false hope. Unfortunately, there are too many stories of children and adults who died of treatable diseases because they shunned conventional medicine for “alternative medicine” practices. It is true that many people think that they have been cured by using alternative medical therapies, but in reality the real reason why most of alternative methods work is due to the extraordinary power of the human mind. This is similar to what is known as the placebo effect. If a patient with a health condition expects the symptoms to improve, they often do improve. Patients who are given empty injections or pills that they believe contain medicine can experience improvement in a wide range of health conditions. This kind of fake or empty medicine is called a placebo, and the improvement that results is called the placebo effect. Of course, improvement in a health condition due to the placebo effect is still improvement, but if you choose a treatment that provides only a placebo effect, you will miss out on the benefit that a better treatment would provide. The only way to know whether a health treatment works better than a placebo treatment is by checking the evidence. And herein lies the problem: in most “alternative medicine” techniques there is no evidence. Paulette A. ENERGY DRINKS The article in last month’s issue, “How Safe are Energy Drinks” was a little over the top. Of course it’s true that consuming too many energy drinks on a frequent basis is dangerous. But with a little common sense, energy drinks can be consumed without any side effects. As long as you are aware of how much caffeine you are consuming, people of all ages can safely consume energy drinks in moderation. Caffeine is the primary ingredient in most energy drinks, and is often blamed for causing the negative health effects some people have experienced after consuming too many energy drinks. However, most people can safely enjoy moderate amounts of caffeine without experiencing undesirable symptoms. Just like anything else in life – it needs to be taken with moderation. Case in point, too much water can thin out the sodium content in your blood and cause water intoxication. No one mentions that, though, because water is healthy, right? Too much tea is also bad for you, as it can change the acidity of your stomach to levels that may harm your stomach, and subsequently, the small intestines. But no one tells you about that because tea is generally regarded as healthy. Bottom line: staying aware of how much caffeine you are consuming each day from energy drinks, as well as other sources such as coffee, tea or soda, is important for staying within moderate, safe intake levels. Michael T. MAN IN THE KITCHEN Love your new recipe column with Chef Elliot Chrem. I tried both of the recipes in last month’s issue (Miso Glazed Cod and Steamed Baby Bok Choy) and served them at a dinner party that I was hosting – both were delicious! Can’t wait for next month’s recipes. Esther S. 14 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE