....to not just take your Doctor's word on it....

1. These days, unfortunately, it is almost impossible for doctors to keep up on the ever expanding body of knowledge regarding....our bodies. By the time they graduate, so much new information has exploded into the arena they would need to start their education over again, and again, and again. Keeping up on the latest discoveries is definitely considered mandatory to being a good and successful doctor. But try asking someone who already works too much (we don't have enough doctors to go around anymore, either...) and would probably like to enjoy some quality of life with friends and family to spend extensive amounts of time re-educating themselves continually...well, I am just saying you shouldn't dismiss what you know or have learned either. At this point you may know more than your doctor does on the matter- (http://business.highbeam.com/410545/article-1G1-19031388/so-much-learn-so-little-time)

2. Worse yet, not only is ignorance on the list today, greed and fraud are too. It has long been speculated that Doctors are bribed and influenced by the fat&happy pharmaceutical companies, and sadly, there is plenty of evidence to support this claim. It's bad enough that pharma ads (illegal in some contexts) have made their way onto television, into magazines, and everywhere else so YOU can ask you doctor about it....No need!! Big Pharma will just ensure that if YOU don't ask, your doctor will still prescribe. (

http://www.communicationagents.com/chris/2006/01/09/bribing_doctors_another_drug_marketing_trick.htm,

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/morreim/prescribing.html)

3. You thought that was bad? Get this: Doctors kill more people in america than guns and traffic accidents combined. And, yes, that fact does take into consideration that when a patient goes to the doctor, they may already be terminally ill. But most of these deaths aren't terminal patients- they're patients in for a minor surgery who then develop a major infection due to HUMAN ERROR at the hospital. You know, that thing that made you punch the wrong number into the calculator at your job? Well at their job, it's your life in their hands, and when they err, it could be the end of it.

Some Fun Facts:

The top five causes of death in the United States, in order, are tobacco, alcohol, medical malpractice, traffic and firearms.

The number of people that doctors kill per day from medical malpractice is roughly equal to the amount of people that would die if every day, three jumbo jets crashed and killed everybody on board.

Another JAMA (The Journal of American Medical Association-yeah, it's legit..) statistic stated that 1/5 (20 percent) of all people who see an allopath (conventional medicine) will suffer a doctor-induced injury.

American Medical News stated that 28 percent of people admitted to hospitals are there because they have suffered an adverse reaction to prescribed drugs.

And, one of my personal faves, according to JAMA, 16 percent of all people who die in the hospital are determined by autopsy to have died of something other than their admission diagnosis. In other words, the doctor had no idea what was really wrong with the patient and, therefore, the patient may have died for want of appropriate care that would have been subsequent to an accurate diagnosis. (http://www.relfe.com/doctors_kill.html, http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/562793/?sc=dwhr;xy=5046338, http://www.healthgrades.com/business/news/press-releases/emergency-medicine-2010.aspx)

So, in conclusion....I am definitely not saying that you should forget your doctor, ignore his advice, or anything else that might offend your modern, western sensibilities. But, I will argue that you should be responsible for your own health, since no one else is...

And you should stop making fun of people seeking alternative medical/healthcare options. Seems like they may just have a better idea- ;D

To your health!