Author Archives: aali

Conventional Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine

Posted on March 5, 2012 | 6 comments

While working in a pharmacy, I have realized that many people rely on conventional medicine to get rid of any pain or disease they may be suffering from. Conventional medicine defines health as the “absence of diseases.” These medications’ roles include only treating symptoms rather than their underlying causes. Most people take such medications hoping that it will treat their symptoms and ignore any preventative methods that are out there. For example,

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I notice many patients that come to the pharmacy every week to get certain medications to treat certain symptoms such as pain. Although the conventional treatment does work for them, it does not consider the effect of future side effects that may appear. This is why it is important to look at other options of treatment that have preventative measures as well as prolonged treatment and success in your health in the long run.

Alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine as it focuses on preventative treatment and looks at strengthening the body’s own defenses and restores balance. The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)defines alternative medicine as “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not

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presently considered to be a part of conventional medical treatment.” Some examples of alternative medicine include yoga, massage therapy, herbal medicine and acupuncture. The main role of alternative medicine is to put emphasis on using natural therapies and using the body’s own healing powers rather than relying on drugs and other Western treatments.

According to research done at the University of California at Los Angelas, 75 percent of medical students surveyed think it would be beneficial for conventional medicine to integrate with complementary and alternative medicine.

I think it would be beneficial to incorporate alternative medicine with conventional medicine as it has many advantages. The first key advantage of is to note that there are no side effects. This is because alternative medicine works with the body instead of suppressing certain symptoms like many modern drugs in conventional treatment work. They are also cost effective and “green,” taking into account that it includes natural methods of treatment that can be processed simply.

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In general they help in the overall mind and body healing process so that when diseases occur they can help strengthening resistance towards it. It is something to consider for your overall health and well-being and not just when you get a cold. For further information on the competition between conventional medicine versus alternative medicine take a look at Dr. Muhammad Aslam’s article and his discussion on how alternative medicine “empowers patients.”

6 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science Communication, Science in the News

Tagged alternative medicine, Conventional Medicine, Healthcare, Prevention

Is Animal Research Necessary?

Posted on February 5, 2012 | 4 comments

According to the Canadian Council of Animal Care, in 2010 roughly 211,604 animals were involved in scientific research at UBC. This accounts for only 6 percent of the total animals involved in animal research in Canada. Why are so many animals used in scientific research? What purposes are they used for? How relevant is research done on animals compared to us humans? Is it necessary to use animals in research?

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These are the questions that were circling in my mind as I pondered upon these numbers on the UBC website based on animal research. It gave me some insight as well as to other members of the community, the importance of animals in scientific research. It explains how the Canadian Council of Animal Care divides animals up into five categories based on invasiveness. For example, category D uses animals such as mice, rats, fish and toads and causes them minor to severe distress or discomfort, but does provide them with proper anesthesia. This includes sampling of blood or minor operations. Not only are they divided into categories, but also in terms of the purposes they are used for. One of the purposes that intrigued me was Purpose 3 since it involved drug testing. It stated that,

“Under Canadian Law all potential drugs, medical products…including vaccines used for both humans and animals must be [first] tested out on animals before clinical trials are allowed.”

I was quite shocked at this fact as it left me wondering about the production of potential drugs. For example, how would a potential drug, only being produced for human purposes was being tested in a study. According to the law, since testing is always done on animals first, how would this provide any insight as to how this drug would work on humans? I was left unanswered with this thought after reading many articles.

What I came across was this interview of Dr. Simon Festing discussing why animal research is necessary. Although Dr. Festing did say that “we share over 90 percent of our genes with a mouse…and many of the biological systems found in animals are found in human,” he never explained what differences we have and how those may account for the possible side effects found in humans. What I found most shocking was how he compared animal cruelty to how doctors mistreat their patients and how some older people in nursing homes are treated.

I had also come across the Stop Animal Research at UBC webpage and it stated that the UBC Animal Research webpage was created in 2011 for the first time releasing information about animal research done at UBC as well as relevant data and the types of animals they use (not specifying species type). Even though there is more data and information being put out for society to look at, there needs to be much more specific information for animal research so that people can understand its importance in scientific research.

Image by: Animal Connections 2009

4 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science in the News

Tagged Animal Care, animal research, animal testing, Government of Canada, UBC

Prevention is the only solution, but will the South Asian community take intiative?

Posted on January 15, 2012 | 2 comments

Indian sweets Image by: Oksabaro

The South Asian community consists of Bangladeshis, Indians, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans. Most typical South Asian communities stick to their traditional and cultural values as it is of quite importance to them and their way of life. This also means not changing their diet, which has been shown to impose many health risks. The main risk here is diabetes, which is a chronic illness that occurs when high levels of sugar are present in the blood. With such a chronic disease taking over the South Asian community, it has got me wondering as to what they are doing to combat this risk.

According to Dr. Sohal, South Asians are 3-5 times more likely to have diabetes than compared to the general population in Canada. The major problem here being the types of food they eat on a day-to-day basis. Not only does their diet consist of a large amount of sweets, but also present are foods rich in fats and deep fried foods. From my perspective, these foods are of cultural importance to the South Asian community and changing tradition would be a sign of disbelief. An example of such a culturally valued food would be ghor. Dr. Vinod Patel

Deep-frying Samosas Image by: Kirti Poddar

from the University of Warwick studies the clinical and cultural aspects of diabetes and defines ghor unrefined solid brown sugar that often many Indo-Asians wrongly perceive as a ‘healthy sugar.’ He also found out that South Asians have a poorer understanding about the key features of diabetes prevention. With a lack of giving up tradition and a poor sense of communication, a sense of hope in the South Asian community is far from where it needs to be.

Some important targets into dealing with the high prevalence of diabetes should include community initiatives and educating the South Asian community as to what a nutritious diet is and what alternatives they can look forward to. The biggest concern is for them to accept these tips and to change their lifestyle, but Dr. Julia Lawton has found the opposite in her studies. Dr. Lawton, Professor of Population Health Science at the University of Edinburgh performed a study to observe the eating habits of Pakistanis with diabetes. She mentioned in her results that most had continued to consume the South Asian foods despite their apparent knowledge of the risk it had upon their health. It seems like the South Asian community will not take a stand towards making a change in their diet whether or not they know how dangerous it can be to their health.

The solution to the high prevalence of diabetes in South Asians is prevention. It can come in many forms in order to deal with this situation. Whether it be physical activity or making healthy alternatives, there is a way out of this risky diet and it is up to the South Asians to take responsibility for their actions.

References:

–Dr. Julia Lawton’s research on prevention of Diabetes in South Asians

–What a typical Indo-Asian diet consists of

–“We should change ourselves, but we can’t”

–Dr. Patel’s research on diabetes and South Asian Health

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Posted in Public Engagement

Tagged Diabetes, Healthcare, Prevention, South Asians

Author Archives: aali

Conventional Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine

Is Animal Research Necessary?

Prevention is the only solution, but will the South Asian community take intiative?

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Conventional Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine

Is Animal Research Necessary?

Prevention is the only solution, but will the South Asian community take intiative?

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