1. Morwenna Given
discusses
MEDICAL HERBALISM VS.
ORTHODOX MEDICINE
FOR OPTIMUM PATIENT CARE & TO
REDUCE COSTS – THERE IS A BETTER
WAY!
©
13/09/2011 1

2. MORWENNA GIVEN
BA MA (Oxon) BSC BHG mOHA RH
Who am I?
I am a Medical Herbalist practising in downtown
Toronto treating a variety of disease from
constipation to cancer
• www.medicusherbis.com
©
13/09/2011 2

3. Why this subject?
DRU’S STORY
PLEASE NOTE IT IS ADVISED, THAT ANY PLANTS
MENTIONED IN THIS TALK ARE ONLY USED UNDER
PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE. BOTANICAL MEDICINE AS
SUPPLIED BY A PROFESSIONAL IS NOT AVAILABLE OVER
THE RETAIL COUNTER.
©
13/09/2011 3

4. What is?
• Orthodox medicine – a form of medical therapy
• Practiced by someone who has completed med school &
hospital training with emphasis on surgery & synthetic drugs
• Herbal medicine - a form of medical therapy
• practised by someone who has completed med school &
clinical training with emphasis on phytotherapeutics,
biochemistry and pharmacology, a 6 yr. training program
• Both operate on an evidence based model
©
13/09/2011 4

5. SMILE !
My patient contract contains the words:
“I may recommend walks, movies, laughter as well
as specific herbs and nutritional therapies. “
This is apparently now acceptable!
It is evidence based!!!
• “ Laughter & therapy could go a long way for the
heart” European Society of Cardiology
20ll study on endothelial function & laughter
©
13/09/2011 5

6. Oops!!
• HERBAL MEDICINE VS.
• COMMERCIAL MEDICINE
©
13/09/2011 6

7. WHY HAVE WE COME TO THIS
POSITION?
• CURRENT ORTHODOX MEDICAL STRUCTURE IS
ONLY @ 50 YEARS OLD
• HISTORICAL ANAMOLY
• 2 KEY CHANGES IN THE recent TIME PERIOD
• BIG PHARMA
• SOCIAL (OHIP) MEDICINE
©
13/09/2011 7

8. MEDICINE IN THE PAST
• 50,000 YRS AGO – ONLY HERBAL MEDICINE
• 2,000 YEARS AGO - HERBAL MEDICINE &
SURGERY
• 1,000 YEARS AGO - IN THE WEST
MEDICINE CONTROLLED BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Unani & Chinese herbal medicine flourished in
the east
13/09/2011 8

9. NOTHING NEW!
• Roman-era shipwreck reveals ancient medical
secrets – Daily Telegraph/Reuters headline
• A first-aid kit found on a 2,000-year-old
shipwreck has provided a remarkable insight
into the medicines concocted by ancient
physicians to cure sailors of dysentery and
other ailments.
• Parsley, yarrow, hibiscus, alfalfa, chestnuts
©
13/09/2011 9

10. MEDICINE IN THE PAST (2)
• 100 YEARS (1900) AGO MEDICAL HERBALISTS
AND SURGEONS WORKED TOGETHER treating
PRIMARILY WAR INJURIES & BACTERIAL
DISEASE
• 100 YEARS AGO BACTERIAL DISEASE began to
be CONTROLLED DUE to SCIENTIFIC
DISCOVERY & PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMS in
the west
©
13/09/2011 10

11. MORTALITY 1900
TOP 3 CAUSES OF DEATH
PNEUMONIA, TB, DIAHORREA
LIFE EXPECTANCY 56 YRS
SOURCE: CDC.ORG
©
13/09/2011 11

12. SO WHAT CHANGED 1900-PRESENT?
• POLITICAL RISE OF SCIENTIFIC ORTHODOX
MEDICINE
• POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL RISE OF BIG
PHARMA
• THE FAILURE OF HERBALISTS prior to 1940
UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO CHANGE
©
13/09/2011 12

13. MORTALITY 2000
• Top 3 causes of mortality
• CVS, cancer, car accidents
• Life expectancy 81 yrs. @ 25 years later than
1900
• No change in 60 YRS for TOP CAUSES OF
MORTALITY - CVS & CANCER
©
13/09/2011 13

14. Current medical construct:
• Big Pharma, Big Government, Academia,
Orthodox medicine
• Linked together in a financial and power based
web with
• NO ACCOUNTABILITY & POOR RESULTS
• RESULT The patient suffers & we pay via inflated
taxes/costs for poor results
• Medical Herbalists now operate on a low cost
scientific model
©
13/09/2011 14

15. FIGHTING THE LAST WAR
• DISEASE MODEL HAS CHANGED FROM ACUTE
TO CHRONIC. The medical model has not
changed.
• THE MEDICAL PROBLEMS OF A CHANGING
POPULATION & DISEASE CANNOT BE
RESOLVED BY THE CURRENT MEDICAL
CONSTRUCT
©
13/09/2011 15

16. JANUS
• 1950-2011 Death primarily due to cancer, diabetes,
CVS - diseases of excess
• THIS REPRESENTS A MAJOR SHIFT FROM ACUTE TO CHRONIC DISEASE OF
THE PAST
• THIS REPRESENTS A CONTROLLING OF BACTERIAL DISEASE TOGETHER
WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN SURGERY AND PUBLIC HEALTH/HYGIENE.
• BUT WE ARE NOW DEALING WITH VIRUSES ( MUTATION ) AND LIFESTYLE
DISEASES OF EXCESS
• WE NEED TO CHANGE THE WAY WE APPROACH DISEASE AND PHYSICAL
DYSBIOSIS IN CANADA ESPECIALLY WITH AN AGING POPULATION
©
13/09/2011 16

17. THE CHANGING FACE OF MEDICINE
FROM ACUTE TO CHRONIC.
• " The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will
interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in
diet and in the cause and prevention of disease " Thomas
Edison
• WHAT IS THE CONSTANT IN THE LAST 50,000 YEARS AND
WHERE ARE WE TODAY?
• PLANTS remain AS PRIMARY MEDICINE
FOR HUMANS world wide
©
13/09/2011 17

18. SOLUTION !
• PLANTS ARE MULT FACETED AND MULTI
FACTORIAL OPERATING ON BIOCHEMICAL
PATHWAYS WE ARE ONLY BEGINNING TO
UNDERSTAND capable of treating CHRONIC
DISEASE WITH NO SIDE EFFECTS.
• ' Everything man needs to maintain good
health can be found in nature - the true task
of science is to find these things ' Paracelsus
©
13/09/2011 18

19. NOTHING NEW!
• Jacqui’s Grandfather:
I am old fashioned enough to
believe that 80% of the drugs
and compounds in use today
could be advantageously
substituted by other more
simple vegetable products
provided us by Nature. 1937
©
13/09/2011 19

20. CHRONIC DISEASE
Cancer, Diabetes type 2, Arthritis, IBS, Alzheimer's
Anxiety, hypertension, auto immune conditions & so
on.
All principally caused by environmental issues.
• WHAT IS THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF THESE
ISSUES? Alcohol, smoking, diet, no exercise
©
13/09/2011 20

21. Environmental aetiologies
• “If we go down the same path and do nothing
more – with people becoming less and less
physically active and relying more and more
on highly processed and energy dense foods,
the problem is only going to get worse”
Martin Wiseman as reported in www.medscape .com Sept 9 2011
©
13/09/2011 21

22. How is chronic disease treated?
• The socialised model has been built on the surgical skill
of the physician using drugs for acute short term care
• and DRUGS but
• There are no efficacious drugs for the ‘environment’.
Antibiotics no longer work
no curative drugs for the chronic long term diseases
Surgical skills have limited relevance for chronic disease
• Surgery is brilliant for hip replacement but a complete
waste if the diet for bone health is ignored.
©
13/09/2011 22

23. DRUGS
“ Physicians pour drugs of which they know little to cure diseases
of which they know less, into patients of which they know
nothing “ Voltaire
©
13/09/2011 23

24. Current Treatments - DRUGS
• Create further disease – suppress symptoms
• 3 drug classes for discussion :
• Statins, bisphosphonates, proton pump
inhibitors
©
13/09/2011 24

25. CYNARUS SCOLYMUS
an alternative to
• Statins:
• Mechanism of action
• Inhibit proper functioning of the liver, pancreas
and the immune system
• Known to increase the risk of diabetes and auto
immune disease
• Failure to reduce mortality due to heart disease
• Major Side effects – 30% impaired muscle activity
©
13/09/2011 25

26. URTICA DIOICA
an alternative to
• Bisphosphonates:
• Mechanism of action
• Impact on bone is highly negative leading to
bone fractures aggravating the diseases of old
age
• Shown to be potentially carcinogenic
• Side effects – FDA now reviewing
©
13/09/2011 26

27. ALTHEA OFFICINALIS radix
an alternative to
• Proton pump inhibitors:
• Mechanism of action
• Inhibits a principle mechanism of the body’s
defence system
• Inhibits optimum function of the digestive
tract
• Side effects
©
13/09/2011 27

28. Plants
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PLANTS WHICH DO ALL THESE
ACTIONS i.e. cholesterol inhibition, anti acid, bone protection
WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS
• MH ESTABLISHES /treats THE CAUSE. DOES NOT SUPPRESS
THE SYMPTOM
• MH TREATS INDIVIDUALLY & WHOLISTICALLY
• PLANTS CAN RESOLVE THE CAUSES WITH NO SIDE EFFECTS
AND AT A FRACTION OF THE COST for long term use.
©
13/09/2011 28

29. The patient is the priority
–WOULD IT NOT BE BETTER
FOR PATIENTS Through an
INTEGRATIVE MODEL TO BE
ABLE TO ACCESS THE BEST
MEDICINE FOR THEIR
MEDICAL PROBLEMS?
©
13/09/2011 29

30. WHAT IS INTEGRATION?
• MD has limited effectiveness, no drugs in the kit bag for longterm
disease, focuses on location of disease, vertical integration of
profession versus homeostasis and energy.
"The part can never be well unless the whole is well”
Socrates
• MH innovative and clinically validated, harmonious and synergistic
model ( ying/yang ) significantly improves patient outcome
• MH provides the links between the diagnosis, the surgery, the path
lab, the treatment and refining the protocol as well as dealing with
the environment & homeostasis & prevention
©
13/09/2011 30

31. CURRENT Medical CONDITIONS
• Let us look at 2 diseases which would benefit
from an integrated medical model
•CANCER & DIABETES
©
13/09/2011 31

32. WORLD CANCER RESEARCH FUND
• 2.8 MILLION CANCER CASES COULD BE
PREVENTED
• ‘ The policy of relying on identifying and
treating these cases when they occur is simply
not a sustainable solution in any country’
• Martin Wiseman Project Director
FRCP FRCPath September 2011
©
13/09/2011 32

33. PREVENTION
• CANCER IS A PREVENTABLE DISEASE
Prof. B Aggwhal MD Anderson Cancer Centre
University of Texas
• MASTECTOMY OFFERS NO SURVIVAL
ADVANTAGE IN YOUNG WOMEN
Dr. U Mahood Fellow radiation oncology Univ. of Texas MD Anderson Cancer
Centre
©
13/09/2011 33

34. Cancer
• NO NEW DRUGS IN 30YRS
• Cancer drug costs can be $7,000 plus a shot
• Radiation & Drugs do not cure the cause they
destroy the body. They may delay.
• Jones in 1895 and Peters in 2005 both observed:
Surgical removal of the primary tumour activates
cancer
• In Ontario: the absence of adequate Pathology
reports – sausage machine approach
©
13/09/2011 34

35. ANTI CANCER PLANTS
How can I help:
• The pathogenesis of cancer is relatively well
understood.
• At a simple level there are 27 pathways
• We have plants which inhibit everyone of
these pathways all evidence based
• Curcuma longa, Boswellia, Scentella asiatica,
Tannacetum, Polygonum cuspidatum, Thuja
©
13/09/2011 35

36. Diabetes
The Ontario physicians contract bounty
Failure to distinguish between insulin resistance
and diabetes
Universal application of Statins which can cause
diabetes
Failure to educate the patient
Type 2 is an environmental disease arising
almost solely out of an inappropriate diet
©
13/09/2011 36

37. ANTI DIABETIC PLANTS
• The pathogenesis of diabetes type 2 is relatively
well known
• At a simple level it is the excess ingestion of
sugars and the exhaustion of the
pancreas/adrenal glands in the body
• We have plants which can regenerate the
pancreas and adrenal glands and inhibit sugars
• Gymnyma, Galega oficinalis, Pterocarpus
marsupium, Trigonella
©
13/09/2011 37

38. Benefits of Medical Herbalism
• MEDICAL HERBALISTS INCORPORATE:
• TESTS, RESEARCH, DIET, EXERCISE,
INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF ORTHODOX
APPROACH. No commercial interests &
conflicts of interest. TRAINING IN
PHARMACOLOGY; LOW COST
• MD’S DO NOT FOCUS MANY ISSUES THAT ARE
NEEDED FOR GOOD HEALTH.
©
13/09/2011 38

39. Summary cost
• Breast cancer – No evidence of disease
• MH cost @$6,000
• Diabetes type 2 - No longer diabetic
• MH cost @$400
• Orthodox costs start at $2,500 & $14,000
• And are ongoing for life
©
13/09/2011 39

40. We need to grasp the nettle of costs
• WE NEED TO INTEGRATE FOR THE BENEFIT OF
THE PATIENT & REDUCE COSTS:
• Ontario population expected to grow by 30%
but the budget by 1.5%:
• TRIALs IN THE UK: MH saved 75% drug costs
45% consultant time
©
13/09/2011 40

41. CURRENT COSTS
• MH/MD should be integrated to reduce these
costs and lower your taxes of which:
• 66% SPENT ON HEALTH FROM INCOME TAX
revenues
• 44% SPENT ON HEALTH FROM TOTAL REVENUES
– Ontario budget data
• 35-42% of all monies are spent on
drugs – refusal of department to disclose $ -
WHY?
©
13/09/2011 41

42. RECAP
• There are no cost effective synthetic drugs for
chronic diseases. Many drugs create further
dysbiosis i.e. increased cost
• There is no clarity in the government data
• Is our health budget going to grow by 30%?
• NO!
©
13/09/2011 42

43. Health budget Issues
10% is spent on health prevention - it is not
prevention BUT early diagnosis
E.g. improving colorectal screening - that is
treating disease after it has started.
There is no program to inform the public that
one principal cause is eating too much red meat.
Early detection is not the same as
prevention
©
13/09/2011 43

44. HEALTH BUDGET ISSUES
• The focus is on disease e.g. breast cancer/HIV
But not but the fastest growing diseases
thyroid cancer /diabetes
• Diabetes affects 10% of the population growing
exponentially. But no mention of prevention or
separation of insulin resistance vs. diabetes type
2 diagnosis to help the patient resolve the
problem
©
13/09/2011 44

45. HEALTH Issues – 2
• There is no provision for assessing the
effectiveness of drugs against other modalities
or polypharmacy or programs
• No reduction in disease or mortality or
efficacy
• No drug performance review
• There is a huge disconnect between health
and treatment of disease
©
13/09/2011 45

46. PRACTICAL STEPS
• We need to educate both our physicians and
our patients
• We need to practise prevention not early
diagnosis
• We need to monitor the costs/effectiveness of
drugs/ use:
• E.g. Galega oficinalis instead of Metformin
because the former does not inhibit B12.
• We need to address the environmental issues
©
13/09/2011 46

47. Shift the focus
• WE NEED TO SHIFT THE FOCUS OF MEDICINE FROM
THE current ORTHODOX MODEL TO THE PATIENT AND
A more HOLISTIC MODEL
• Focus on prevention. There is only allocation for early
detection which is NOT prevention
• We need to recognize the limitations of conventional
medicine in the face of the changing face of disease
• We need to address cause not consequence
• IS THIS NEW? no - Eli Jones 1900
©
13/09/2011 47

48. 2011 & BEYOND
• INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE – continues to be
practised by the Chinese, over 2,000 years, to
great effect
• INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE STARTING IN THE
• UK & US. Examples include:
MH Clinics in Dermatology, Cancer, Family
practise
• But sadly not here in Ontario – quite the reverse
©
13/09/2011 48

49. Government Failures
• We need the government to recognise the consequences of
their actions and the waste/increased costs they cause.
• E.g. Vitamin D testing.
• Ontario is known to be generally deficient in Vitamin D(3)
• Yet the provincial government has made this cost outside of
OHIP
• This is not a money saving action – this action causes more
disease and cost
©
13/09/2011 49

50. What is Vitamin D
• Vitamin D is poorly understood ; currently 8 forms identified -
most common form known as Vitamin D3
• Pathogenesis of cancer, hypertension, MS, auto immune,
osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, pulmonary disease, Crohn's,
diabetes, thyroid function, blood clotting, liver function
• Critical to normal immune function, absorption of
phosphorous/ calcium in bones and muscles, insulin
• Grant W, et.al. An estimate of the economic burden and
premature deaths due to vitamin D deficiency in Canada »,
Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, volume 54, Issue 8, p.
1172-1181, août 2010.
©
13/09/2011 50

51. THYROID TEST
• The standard blood test only covers TSH but you cannot
evaluate thyroid function without considering T3/T4
• ( P. 1303 Merck Manual 18th ed.)
This is hugely important in Ontario: lack of iodine in the soils,
bromine in grains, the fastest growing cancer.
This policy promotes disease .
• MH can resolve subclinical thyroid issues whereas MD can’t.
The Thyroid governs all metabolic actions in the body with
implications for heart, liver, kidney functions as well as the
HPA/pineal gland and is implicated in all chronic disease
©
13/09/2011 51

52. Diseases of the future
• In the western world these are most likely to
be viral & auto immune e.g. MS , Fibromyalgia
• Single action drugs cannot deal with this type
of disease
• Surgery does not resolve the problem;
• Plants can and do resolve many of these
conditions, at low cost and high effectiveness
©
13/09/2011 52

53. POLICY CHANGE
• Drugs should be prescribed on the basis of need
not a formulaic based approach
• We need to stop the mass vaccination approach;
All it does is contribute to big Pharma’s profits as
the viruses mutate long before you get a vaccine
& they depress the immune system
• We need to integrate MH/MD to maximise
benefit to the patient and lower the cost to the
tax payer
13/09/2011 53

54. CORRUPTION
• MANY DRUGS ARE BASED ON FDA APPROVAL
BUT
• THE FDA FINDS US DRUG RESEARCH FIRM
FAKES DOCS – REUTERS JULY 26 2011
• THE FDA IS TRYING TO INCREASE THE
NUMBER OF NON INDEPENDENT doctors
• THE RELATIONSHIP OF DOCTORS AND BIG
PHARM/FUNDING IS NOT always DISCLOSED
©
13/09/2011 54

55. Added pressures
• In 2008, the FDA took a bold step of limiting
the percentage of a panel’s members with
financial conflicts of interested to 13 per cent.
Now, though, it turns out that the FDA’s
leader, Margaret Hamburg, has hinted she
may row back on this decision. There’s talk
that conflict of interest restrictions is leading
to a dearth of relevant experts which, in turn,
is slowing new product approvals.
©
13/09/2011 55

56. GENETICS
• Much of the thrust of the new research is in
individual genetics – patentability – rich
revenues – ( Chicago court ref ) – unknown
consequences – limited applicability
• Ignores causes of disease
• MH already IN A FAR CHEAPER FORMAT treats
individually in a physiological & wholistic way
©
13/09/2011 56

57. EXPANDING DISEASE
• “Basically, more and more people are being
diagnosed with 'conditions' that require
treatment. The broadening of the definitions
of disease is questioned in a recent article in
the British Medical Journal. It turns out that
the panels that set such criteria are usually
riddled with doctors who have significant
conflicts of interest.”
©
13/09/2011 57

58. references
• Lenzer J. FDA is criticised for hinting it may loosen
conflict of interest rules. 2011;343:d5070
• 2. Lenzer J. Doctors join protest over change to
FDA rules on conflict of interest. 2011;343:d5269
• 3. Lenzer J, et al. Naming names: is there an
(unbiased) doctor in the house? BMJ 2008;
337:a930
• Other references supplied on request. See also
www.pubmed/cdc.org./www.ontario.gov.ca
13/09/2011 © 58

59. Integrate for a better way
• Can a MH do everything – no
• Can a MD do everything – no
Together we are greater than the sum of the
parts
©
13/09/2011 59

60. THANKYOU FOR LISTENING
Thank you for listening to me
t
WWW.medicusherbis.com
MORWENNA GIVEN
13/09/2011 WWW.MEDICUSHERBIS.COM 60