When It Comes To Alternative Therapies, The Evidence Isn’t All Complimentary

On this week's episode of the pod, we take a more philosophical approach to a topic we've discussed in detail many times before-- alternative medicine.

We set the stage by discussing the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) medicine industry and remind people that it is a multi-billion dollar industry. We discuss the available research on the effectiveness of alternative therapies, many of which lack scientifically verifiable effects. However, we talk about the very valid reasons why some people are drawn to CAM (largely due to the shortcomings of our healthcare system). We go on to discuss some of the potential dangers of CAM and give some specific examples, such as alternative therapies used to "treat" cancer. We discuss the many different types of CAM-- some of which have some evidence to support their use in conjunction with conventional medicine but are rarely (if ever) a replacement. We wrap up with a discussion of the vilification of conventional medicine and "big pharma" and why that kind of thinking is flawed and extremely dangerous. We discuss certain logical fallacies, such as the appeal to nature, which are central to this discussion-- and their implications. You do not want to miss this!

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