There is an excellant article in this month's "Mother Earth News" written by a man who's also married to a doctor

In this article he states that "Prescription Drug side effects" are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.

He debunks some common myths about herbal medicines and lists 75 common ailments and herbal remedies that effectively treat them.

He also points out, it's pretty hard to die, or even get hurt, using herbal remedies and that his wife does prescribe herbal remedies when she believes they will be effective.

This is only one aspect of health care that "Modern Medicine" tends to ignore. Chiropractic approaches, nutrition, and message therapy are often ignored too.

To truly "advocate for ourselves" we must indeed take some personal responsibility and learn for ourselves what treatments and remedies are available and their effectiveness. It is silly to think that a doctor can know all there is to know about every condition they run across.

MNS provides what I think is an inspiring example when she related how she dealt with her hip pain. No surgery, drugs, or even herbs. It'd be hard to argue that this was not the "Best" approach by any measure.

Questioning one's Doctor is a kind of cultural taboo here in the U.S. That people are reluctant to do this is certainly, at least in part, a result of the responses they get when they do.

Criticizing "Doctors" may indeed be picking low hanging fruit but it is none the less important to understand that it is "Doctors" that are prescribing and monitoring the drugs that are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.

Jim Shaw's experience with his knee is another perfect example of why we should look to alternative approaches before deciding on committing to the sledge hammer approaches of prescription drugs or surgery. Ultimately, we must live (or die) with the results of the treatments and remedies we submit ourselves to.

So, I would suggest that our "Health Care Industry" needs to integrate other effective approaches into their tool bag of treatments and patients need to be taught to be proactive in learning what treatments are available.

On a personal level we can all do that ourselves right now and make it a part of our own "Personal Health Regimen".