New Consciousness Review Spring 2016 | Page 16

HEALTH treatments will NOT have large, expensive, class 3, double blind, placebo-controlled studies—the kind the FDA requires to give its approval—since a majority of those studies are conducted by the pharmaceutical companies that stand to profit from them. And pharmaceutical companies are not likely to want to put money into studying natural treatments, or those that are too inexpensive. In HONEST MEDICINE, David Gluck, MD contributes a fascinating chapter in which he explains the Big Pharma-FDA-Trial connection. I’d be happy to send this chapter as a PDF to anyone who writes to me at [email protected]. Please put “Dr. Gluck’s chapter” in the subject line. But many promising, so-called “alternative” treatments do have smaller studies performed on them. For instance, a recent check on PubMed showed numerous studies conducted on the treatments profiled in my book: e.g., 95 on Low Dose Naltrexone, 13 on Silverlon, 1584 on the Ketogenic Diet, and 2017 on alpha lipoic acid. Some people are surprised when they learn that a large number of nutritional supplements have been put through similar small studies, some conducted in foreign countries, but reputable studies nonetheless. (Try searching for studies on melatonin, magnesium, gaba, and some of the supplements you take. You may be pleasantly surprised!) CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS Just as there are signs to watch for in the alternative medicine world, there are also signs to watch for with conventional treatments—even in cases of treatments offered by some of our “best” medical institutions, and touted by some well known physicians. The reason for this is that some physicians and medical institutions receive financial support from pharmaceutical and medical device companies, which can lead to conflicts of interest. So, again: “Patient, beware!” Tip #1: W  atch out for Major Medical Institutions with Financial Ties. Chances are, if your doctor knows you will want to research your condition or treatment, he or she will most likely steer you to a website or websites that are considered by conventional medical practitioners to be