You've got 20 medical systems and nearly 200 health techniques to choose from.
If you're a consumer of establishment medicine, the doctors you've been hiring are trained in Allopathic Medicine and the biomedical model. There are more than 15 other medical systems.
Contents
Introduction to TCM, Heilkunst, Naturopathic Medicine, Functional Medicine
Allopathic Medicine / Allopathy is Just One System
20 Systems & Philosophies of Medicine
Dig Deeper
See Also
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Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
TCM draws on Taoism philosophy that is rooted in the laws and synergies of nature, and it applies these synergies to the human body. It recognizes that our organ systems are interconnected and our health is dependent on chi. Translated to modern-day language, chi is active energy — a metaphor for metabolic processes taking place in a living being. To be alive is to have vital chi flowing through the body. TCM theory states that when chi is in perfect balance, we enjoy good health. However, internal and external factors such as diet, weather, and pathogens can all create imbalances in chi, which eventually result in disease. In order to maintain balance, TCM further uses the concept of “Yin-Yang energetics” and “5-element theory” to classify disease patterns.
Heilkunst
Heilkunst is a complete system of medicine used to prevent and cure disease. Created by the genius of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann over 200 years ago, the term means ‘the art and science of making one whole.’ As it is grounded in natural law, it is a safe method of health care suitable for any age, including pregnant and lactating mothers as well as infants. Heilkunst respects the Hippocratic Oath: “First, do no harm,” and is used to treat both acute and chronic conditions as well as to improve overall health of body, mind, soul and spirit.
Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathic doctors are educated and trained in accredited naturopathic medical colleges. They diagnose, prevent, and treat acute and chronic illness to restore and establish optimal health by supporting the person’s inherent self-healing process. Rather than just suppressing symptoms, naturopathic doctors work to identify underlying causes of illness, and develop personalized treatment plans to address them.
American Association of Naturopathic Physicians
Functional Medicine
Functional medicine is a systems biology–based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease… The scope and cost of chronic disease continue to rise. Functional medicine has proven to reverse this trend by providing better outcomes and cost savings for both patients and the healthcare system in the long term.
Allopathic Medicine / Allopathy is Just One System
Allopathic medicine providers are licensed to practice and treat using “medication [pharmaceutical drugs], surgery, radiation and other therapies and procedures.” [source]
Naming
Allopathic medicine is also called:
Conventional medicine
Mainstream medicine
Western medicine
Rockefeller medicine
Orthodox medicine
Disease Focus: Germs, Genetics, Organ Dysfunction
Allopathic medicine uses the biomedical model which “views disease as a result of biological factors—such as infections, genetics, or physical injuries… the focus is primarily on physical causes (e.g., germs, genetics, or organ dysfunction).” [source]
Treatment Focus: Pharmaceuticals, Invasive Procedures
“Treatment is based on addressing the physical root cause, often through medications, surgery, or other medical interventions.” [source]
Pharmaceutical products often cause reactions that are unfavorable or harmful (side effects / adverse reactions). [dictionary and dictionary] In 2001, esteemed medical journalist Linda Marsa wrote in the LA Times, “Adverse drug reactions have reached epidemic proportions, killing more people each year than die on the nation’s highways, and doing serious damage to millions more.” [source]
Invasive procedures refer to accessing the body by incision, puncture or by an instrument inserted into a natural orifice. Instruments used include endoscopes, catheters, scalpels, scissors, devices and tubes. [BMJ]
Verifiable Failure as a System of Medicine Beyond Emergency
While allopathic medicine excels at emergency care, it’s a verifiable failure as a system of medicine:
Failed Health Outcomes — The U.S. spends nearly twice the per-capita amount on healthcare than the next highest spender, yet Americans are the most chronically ill, and rank 48th in life expectancy, among other countries. In addition, medical misdiagnosis causes permanent harm and death to 795,000 people every year.
Verifiably Corrupt — Establishment medicine as a system* is verifiably corrupt, serving the interests of industry — not health. (*Obviously, not every individual working in establishment medicine is unethical. Rather, the system that educated / indoctrinated them, and that sets policy, hires, pays, and promotes them is verifiably corrupted.)
Big Pharma & Biotech: Immoral Business Model — Corporations, by design, are beholden to profit above all else, acting as powerful entities that are “essentially psychopathic and without conscience.” Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are the utmost example of corporate psychopathy, demonstrating inhumanity in response to human suffering.
Regulatory & Professional Betrayal — Government agencies entrusted to regulate the field of medicine fail to do so. The majority of influential professional organizations such as the American Medical Association are corrupted by industry.
Not Evidence/Science-Based — The bulk of establishment medicine’s standard of care is not based on unbiased, reproducible science. (We prove it here.)
Harms, by Drug & Diagnostic — Establishment medicine providers routinely utilize diagnostic testing and “treatments” that cause harm (“adverse”, “side” effects). Get verifiable evidence of the harms, organized by drug, treatment, or test (mammograms, CT scans, antibiotics, statins, benzos, etc).
Corrupt & Failed Philosophy & Strategies — Allopathic medicine (also called conventional medicine, Western medicine, and Rockefeller medicine) was created to exploit the profit potential of drug patents. Born from a compromised report published in 1910, this system does not acknowledge the conditions under which the human body creates health, nor does it seek to identify and resolve the root causes of illness. On the contrary, it suppresses symptoms with drugs, creating more symptoms and distracting efforts from true healing. Diagnosis is disconnected from the wisdom inherent in the purpose and message of symptoms.
20 Systems & Philosophies of Medicine
African Traditional Medicine — “Traditional healers, known as herbalists or sangomas, possess vast knowledge of… natural remedies and employ them in their healing practices… [they] believe that illness is not solely physical but also involves spiritual and emotional imbalance… the use of indigenous plants, rituals, massage techniques, and music therapy all contribute to a holistic approach to healthcare” [source]
