Like many others, I watched the new drama on Netflix titled Apple Cider Vinegar, a dramatisation of a real-life event in which a woman called Belle Gibson scammed millions of her Instagram followers into thinking that she managed to cure her (fake) brain cancer using holistic and natural methods. Belle Gibson is one of many influencers who advocate for holistic medicine and natural ways to cure various illnesses, and it got me thinking: Is holistic medicine actually a viable replacement for science-backed Western medicine, and why does it attract so many people? Before science as we know it was even around, people used naturally grown products to look after themselves.
Many cultures around the world still use it, particularly in Asian countries. Herbal medicine uses plants or plant extracts to treat illnesses and promote health, with each aspect of a plant from the roots to the leaves and flowers having different medicinal uses. Holistic medicine is a form of healing that focuses on every part of your life, from your diet to your spirit and mind, aiming to find a perfect balance, which in turn will heal you from your ailment.
This is one of the main reasons that some people are so attracted to it—because it has been used in many cultures for so many years. It has been around for longer than scientific Western medicine and, therefore, it must work—right?
To say it doesn’t work would be inaccurate. Scientists will all agree that focusing on the food you put into your body and how you treat your body is vitally important in improving your health. Eating foods rich in certain vitamins and minerals will help to boost your immune system or strengthen your organs and bones, reducing your chance of getting common infections and preventable illnesses. Reducing the amount of stress in your environment can help to minimise heart problems, and doing exercise helps support your heart health and various other organs in your body. So holistic methods of looking after yourself definitely have a place in medicine.
However, in the case of Belle Gibson, she claimed that she had been healed from a serious, non-preventable brain cancer using natural and holistic methods, and this is where many of the problems lie. With illnesses such as cancer, there is no evidence that natural methods of treatment are able to cure it. Cancer occurs when gene mutations in our cells interfere with the normal structure of our cells, causing them to grow out of control and not die in the usual life cycle of the cell. The only treatments that have been found by scientists to cure or reduce the spread of cancer cells are surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy. Only 1 in 100,000 cancer patients have been thought to have got rid of cancer without any kind of therapy, meaning that it is incredibly rare for anyone to not need one of the three treatments listed above. Using holistic and natural treatments alongside Western medicine treatments for cancer can be beneficial, as improving your lifestyle will always benefit your body; however, scientists do not recommend abstaining from Western medicine practices to fight an illness such as cancer.
So why are so many people becoming attracted to it? There is a growing scepticism surrounding the medical industry, particularly in recent years where the medical industry has become increasingly capitalistic, profiting off ill people who require medicine. According to a recent survey conducted in the US, only 34% of respondents had confidence in the medical field, compared to 75% of respondents in the 1960s. Many medical companies pursue profits at the expense of their patients, and this decreases people’s trust in the industry.
Additionally, holistic medicine is more accessible to people, as it is less expensive and it is easy to create medicinal products on your own with the wealth of information available on the internet for people to access.
Holistic medicine also offers remedies for a wide range of illnesses, since the key principle of holistic medicine is to focus less on the ailment itself and more on the overall well-being of the body. This, in the day of age where health and fitness influencers are all the rage, is incredibly attractive for some people.
In the digital world, where there are ever-changing trends and an enormous number of influencers attempting to sell you products or lifestyles, it is very easy to see why so many people are attracted to holistic methods. Influencers sell you the benefits but miss out any negatives, dusting over important information and persuading their audience to not conduct any of their own research. Holistic and natural medicinal practices are not something to ignore and can have many benefits to our lives; however, it is important to recognise that they should not always be used in place of Western medicine methods, but alongside it.
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