The field of population, health, and environment studies has encountered a number of barriers, most notably a limited theoretical framework and incompatible methodologies. Population, Health, and the Environment interact in complex ways, and we need to address them in an integrated fashion and improve the way we study, document and communicate the relationships.
Following are some of the many factors that affect the relationship among population, health and environment.
Demographic – these trends strongly affect the way humans change the natural world. The regional distribution of population, population age, birthrate, health, and migration patterns all have to be taken into account.
Policies and Institutions – can affect can have positive or negative effects and human and environmental well-being. For example, the emission standards for chlorofluorovcarbons (CFCs) enacted through the 1987 Montreal Protocol, slow the deterioration of the ozone layer. Farm subsidies, on the other hand, while helping farmers support their families and grow their businesses, contribute unintended consequences of wasteful resource use, excessive environmental damage, and growing financial strains on governments.
Culture – Together with policies and institutions, cultural factors – beliefs, values, and traditions – influence public support for public policies and the ways that humans interact with their environment. As an example, women’s social status in many less developed countries limits their access to land and education.
Poverty and Wealth – Poverty may promote environmental degradation in a variety of ways. Poor rural families are more likely to support themselves with subsistence slash and burn agriculture, use forest products as fuel, and live in ecologically fragile zones. Disadvantaged minorities are more likely to live in areas that are heavily polluted and that have substandard sanitation and health services.
At the other end of the spectrum, wealth brings greater environmental management opportunities and challenges. As societies grow wealthier, some human-induced environmental problems, such as access to water and sanitation, are expected to improve, while others – such as the generation of solid waste and greenhouses gases – get worse.
Land, Food, and Agriculture – The imbalance between food supply and demand often reflects political and social inequities. Famines generally occur because food is not available where people need it, rather than from overall shortage.
Deforestation – The direct causes of deforestation are themselves symptoms of underlying demographic, social and economic connections. More developed countries such as Japan and the United States can drive deforestation in less developed countries by importing tropical hardwoods. In addition, rising paper consumption has also encouraged overcutting of forests.
Energy Use – Global energy production and consumption have risen steadily for several decades, and this has the greatest potential impact on climate. The vast majority of the world’s energy comes from the burning of fossil fuels, in liquid (petroleum), solid (coal or Lignite), or gas (natural gas) form. Average energy use per person is more than nine times greater in developed than in less developed regions.
Climate Change – Carbon dioxide and other gases naturally trap heat as it is radiated from Earth’s surface back to the atmosphere. This “natural” greenhouse effect keeps Earth’s temperature about 60 degree Fahrenheit warmer than it would otherwise be!
Water Availability – About one-third of the world’s population lives in countries suffering from moderate to high amounts of water stress – where water consumption is more than 10 percent of renewable freshwater resources. Lack of access to safe water supplies also results in hundreds of millions of cases of water-related diseases and more than 5 million deaths every year.
Despite the lack of common methodologies to study these various factors in relation to population, health and environment, there is an increasing body of empirical data about the population and health impacts of such things climate change, land degradation, and forest loss. Accordingly, there is greater agreement among scientists about global changes and the factors that contribute to those changes. Satellite and other types of images are providing clearer evidence of what is happening over time.
The ability to track information from different sources with geographic information systems and remote sensing is opening new areas of study. Patterns and trends in human distribution and land and resource use may be analyzed in relation to economic and market activity and changes in geographic and biological measurements.
(Summarized from POPULATION BULLETIN, Sept. 2003 pp3-43, Article by Roger-Mark DeSouza, John S. Williams, and Frederick A.B. Meyerson. Copyright© Population Reference Bureau, Inc., September, 2003.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Going Under: Artists on the Healing Power of Artmaking
Researchers are beginning to find that the creative euphoria artists feel as they work can have a salutary effect on the body. Some say there’s a connection between artmaking and the process of healing. According William Poole, in THE ART OF HEALING, “Many cancer patients find it healing to express their fears, hopes and feelings about their illnesses through art.” Poole states, “For years, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York has encouraged such artistic expression.” Patients said their art work allowed them to forget post-operative pain, to express anger, frustration or fear, and to cope with their situations.
These health-related approaches to art are not available only to the visual artist, and not only to professional or serious artists. Art therapists teach people to make art in a way that helps them express the “stuck” emotions associated with illness. Her work with patients is based on the idea that an emotional release also triggers a physiological release of chemicals in the body that are associated with healing.
What happens when professional visual artists are faced with illness? Does their artmaking help them heal automatically? Are they immune to the effect of artmaking as they make art all the time? Is it just a momentary escape from their illnesses, or does something deeper happen?
Clearly, being an artist does not make them immune to illness. It did not keep Tom Miller and Deryl Mackie from contracting AIDS. I did not halt Ellen Powell Tiborino’s cancer. Tumors invaded Carolyn Mazloomi’s brain. Richard Yarde’s kidney failed. So did Charles Miller’s heart. However, these artists, some consciously and some unconsciously, turned their creative gift toward themselves, and opened their artists’ eyes to their bodies. And each found some power in the connection between their work and healing.
When Richard Yarde began to paint again after what he believes was a spiritual healing in church after many months of illness and weakness, he said that he felt as if he was “laying hands” on himself. And the process was healing. He was on dialysis, but when he was painting he said, “I’d get into a state that I just didn’t experience the dialysis as a difficulty.”
Carolyn Mazloomi was diagnosed with two brain tumors, each 15 years apart. Each time the doctor broke the bad news and told her to go home and prepare to die. She went home and made quilts again. The fear she felt, the worry that might otherwise have inhabited her thoughts, she instead “poured into my work.”
Can one say that to make art is to heal? Perhaps not, but Mazloomi and Yarde were given up for dead. Yet, years later they are still working, exhibiting, traveling, and what is more - telling the story of their personal miracles through their art.
Even those artists that may not make it still reap the rewards of their artmaking. Ellen Powell Tiborino was diagnosed with cervical cancer. After it was radiated, it came back 12 weeks later. Finally, surgery excised it for good, but Tiborino was left in and out of hospitals because of the treatments. But no matter how weak she was, she did her work.
Even in the last moments of her life, she maintained her vow to her art. At one point, she revived from a coma, and came home to die in her own bed with her family and her colors around her.
(Summarized from the INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OR AFRICAN ART, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2000, pp 3-15. © published by the Hampton University Museum
These health-related approaches to art are not available only to the visual artist, and not only to professional or serious artists. Art therapists teach people to make art in a way that helps them express the “stuck” emotions associated with illness. Her work with patients is based on the idea that an emotional release also triggers a physiological release of chemicals in the body that are associated with healing.
What happens when professional visual artists are faced with illness? Does their artmaking help them heal automatically? Are they immune to the effect of artmaking as they make art all the time? Is it just a momentary escape from their illnesses, or does something deeper happen?
Clearly, being an artist does not make them immune to illness. It did not keep Tom Miller and Deryl Mackie from contracting AIDS. I did not halt Ellen Powell Tiborino’s cancer. Tumors invaded Carolyn Mazloomi’s brain. Richard Yarde’s kidney failed. So did Charles Miller’s heart. However, these artists, some consciously and some unconsciously, turned their creative gift toward themselves, and opened their artists’ eyes to their bodies. And each found some power in the connection between their work and healing.
When Richard Yarde began to paint again after what he believes was a spiritual healing in church after many months of illness and weakness, he said that he felt as if he was “laying hands” on himself. And the process was healing. He was on dialysis, but when he was painting he said, “I’d get into a state that I just didn’t experience the dialysis as a difficulty.”
Carolyn Mazloomi was diagnosed with two brain tumors, each 15 years apart. Each time the doctor broke the bad news and told her to go home and prepare to die. She went home and made quilts again. The fear she felt, the worry that might otherwise have inhabited her thoughts, she instead “poured into my work.”
Can one say that to make art is to heal? Perhaps not, but Mazloomi and Yarde were given up for dead. Yet, years later they are still working, exhibiting, traveling, and what is more - telling the story of their personal miracles through their art.
Even those artists that may not make it still reap the rewards of their artmaking. Ellen Powell Tiborino was diagnosed with cervical cancer. After it was radiated, it came back 12 weeks later. Finally, surgery excised it for good, but Tiborino was left in and out of hospitals because of the treatments. But no matter how weak she was, she did her work.
Even in the last moments of her life, she maintained her vow to her art. At one point, she revived from a coma, and came home to die in her own bed with her family and her colors around her.
(Summarized from the INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OR AFRICAN ART, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2000, pp 3-15. © published by the Hampton University Museum
Thursday, March 12, 2009
What is Holistic Healing?
During the last quarter-century, holistic healing concepts and complementary therapies have begun to gain acceptance in the West. In 1992, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that about one-third of all Americans use alternative therapies.
Generally speaking, holistic healing modalities take the entire body system into consideration and treat all levels of being, not just the physical body. Some practitioners prefer the spelling “Wholistic” because healing involves the whole person. Body, mind, emotions and spirit are viewed as inseparable. All affect your health, and all must be considered in the course of treating an ailment.
Holistic healing also targets the subtle bodies and the life force or chi. Although “new” to Western society, complementary healing practices have ancient roots. Acupuncture, for example, has been performed in China for thousands of years. Massage and aromatherapy were popular in ancient Egypt. Herbalism, which is still the primary form of medicine in many parts of the world today, predates written records.
As is true of conventional medical techniques, proficiency in holistic healing requires study and experience. Acupuncture and chiropractic, for example, demand extensive knowledge of anatomy and great skill. Therapies, such as herbalism, can be dangerous if practiced incorrectly. Others, such as homeopathy is rarely harmful – just ineffective if you choose the wrong remedy. To be safe, it is always a good idea to consult a competent professionals rather than attempting to diagnose and treat illnesses yourself.
There are several holistic healing modalities, and each one is a field in itself. Following are brief descriptions of some of the most popular complementary healing techniques.
Acupuncture – uses fine needles and sometimes heat to activate and balance chi. A practitioner inserts needles at certain points along the body’s meridians to remove blockages and harmonize the flow of energy through the body.
Acupressure – activates the flow of chi by applying gentle pressure to the sensitive points along the meridians.
Aromatherapy – primarily refers to healing through olfaction. Some aromatic oils can be rubbed on the skin and absorbed, providing therapeutic benefits in much the same way as other herbal medicines do.
Chi kung – also spelled Qigong, is an ancient Chinese system of promoting health and longevity by harnessing and balancing the vital life force (chi).
Chiropractic – was founded in the late 19th century by B.J. Palmer, and is probably the most widely accepted “alternative” medical therapy used in the West. It involves manually adjusting the spine – to alleviate pain and other physical and emotional problems. Chiropractic has been shown to be effective in relieving ailments ranging from headaches to arthritis.
Herbalism – is one of the oldest forms of medicine, and it is still the most frequently used in many parts of the world. The healing properties of plants may be extracted and utilized in various ways – drunk in tea, as an example. Although many herbs can be taken by most people safely, others can be harmful if used incorrectly.
Homeopathy – was founded by the German physician Dr. Samuel Hahenmann during the late 1700’s, early 1800’s. Hahnemann based his theory on the law of similars, or “like cures like”. A patient is treated with a minute amount of a substance whose effects on the human body are similar to the symptoms the patient is experiencing.
Massage – has been practiced for 5,000 years and was a favorite treatment of Hippocrates. Many different types of massage are popular today for relieving discomforts.
Osteopathy – was devised by an American surgeon name Andrew Taylor Still in 1874. It treats the body’s structure: the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissue. Osteopaths believe that when one part of your system is out of balance, other parts of your body will be impaired.
Reflexology - refers to massaging the feet and hands to stimulate and balance the flow of chi. This form of massage therapy dates back to ancient Egypt and Greece. Each part of the body corresponds to a spot on your feet or hands.
Visualization – has been popularized by Shakti Gawain and others as way to heal physical and emotional problems. Usually combined with meditation, it involves creating a mental image of a condition you desire that will promote well-being.
Yoga – is thousands of years old. It gained a strong following in the West starting in the 1960’s. Yoga combines physical movement with mental relaxation and deep, rhythmic breathing to produce overall health.
Aside from these therapies, there are the Chakras. Chakra is a Sanskrit term meaning wheel. To psychics and others, these nonphysical energy centers resemble spinning wheels located roughly along the spine. Even if you can’t see them, you may be able to sense their presence in your own body. When the chakras become blocked or don’t operate properly, illness occurs. Health and happiness result when the life force flows freely through the chakras.
There are several chakras along the body. Each one corresponds to a color of the visible spectrum and a note of the musical scale. Therefore, chromotherapy – using colors for healing, and sound healing can be particularly effective in chakra work.
(THE CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR CHI, 2004, pp48-63. Reprinted with permission by the author: Skye Alexander.)
Generally speaking, holistic healing modalities take the entire body system into consideration and treat all levels of being, not just the physical body. Some practitioners prefer the spelling “Wholistic” because healing involves the whole person. Body, mind, emotions and spirit are viewed as inseparable. All affect your health, and all must be considered in the course of treating an ailment.
Holistic healing also targets the subtle bodies and the life force or chi. Although “new” to Western society, complementary healing practices have ancient roots. Acupuncture, for example, has been performed in China for thousands of years. Massage and aromatherapy were popular in ancient Egypt. Herbalism, which is still the primary form of medicine in many parts of the world today, predates written records.
As is true of conventional medical techniques, proficiency in holistic healing requires study and experience. Acupuncture and chiropractic, for example, demand extensive knowledge of anatomy and great skill. Therapies, such as herbalism, can be dangerous if practiced incorrectly. Others, such as homeopathy is rarely harmful – just ineffective if you choose the wrong remedy. To be safe, it is always a good idea to consult a competent professionals rather than attempting to diagnose and treat illnesses yourself.
There are several holistic healing modalities, and each one is a field in itself. Following are brief descriptions of some of the most popular complementary healing techniques.
Acupuncture – uses fine needles and sometimes heat to activate and balance chi. A practitioner inserts needles at certain points along the body’s meridians to remove blockages and harmonize the flow of energy through the body.
Acupressure – activates the flow of chi by applying gentle pressure to the sensitive points along the meridians.
Aromatherapy – primarily refers to healing through olfaction. Some aromatic oils can be rubbed on the skin and absorbed, providing therapeutic benefits in much the same way as other herbal medicines do.
Chi kung – also spelled Qigong, is an ancient Chinese system of promoting health and longevity by harnessing and balancing the vital life force (chi).
Chiropractic – was founded in the late 19th century by B.J. Palmer, and is probably the most widely accepted “alternative” medical therapy used in the West. It involves manually adjusting the spine – to alleviate pain and other physical and emotional problems. Chiropractic has been shown to be effective in relieving ailments ranging from headaches to arthritis.
Herbalism – is one of the oldest forms of medicine, and it is still the most frequently used in many parts of the world. The healing properties of plants may be extracted and utilized in various ways – drunk in tea, as an example. Although many herbs can be taken by most people safely, others can be harmful if used incorrectly.
Homeopathy – was founded by the German physician Dr. Samuel Hahenmann during the late 1700’s, early 1800’s. Hahnemann based his theory on the law of similars, or “like cures like”. A patient is treated with a minute amount of a substance whose effects on the human body are similar to the symptoms the patient is experiencing.
Massage – has been practiced for 5,000 years and was a favorite treatment of Hippocrates. Many different types of massage are popular today for relieving discomforts.
Osteopathy – was devised by an American surgeon name Andrew Taylor Still in 1874. It treats the body’s structure: the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissue. Osteopaths believe that when one part of your system is out of balance, other parts of your body will be impaired.
Reflexology - refers to massaging the feet and hands to stimulate and balance the flow of chi. This form of massage therapy dates back to ancient Egypt and Greece. Each part of the body corresponds to a spot on your feet or hands.
Visualization – has been popularized by Shakti Gawain and others as way to heal physical and emotional problems. Usually combined with meditation, it involves creating a mental image of a condition you desire that will promote well-being.
Yoga – is thousands of years old. It gained a strong following in the West starting in the 1960’s. Yoga combines physical movement with mental relaxation and deep, rhythmic breathing to produce overall health.
Aside from these therapies, there are the Chakras. Chakra is a Sanskrit term meaning wheel. To psychics and others, these nonphysical energy centers resemble spinning wheels located roughly along the spine. Even if you can’t see them, you may be able to sense their presence in your own body. When the chakras become blocked or don’t operate properly, illness occurs. Health and happiness result when the life force flows freely through the chakras.
There are several chakras along the body. Each one corresponds to a color of the visible spectrum and a note of the musical scale. Therefore, chromotherapy – using colors for healing, and sound healing can be particularly effective in chakra work.
(THE CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR CHI, 2004, pp48-63. Reprinted with permission by the author: Skye Alexander.)
Saturday, March 7, 2009
More than One-Third of U.S. Adults Use Complementary and Alternative Medicine, According to New Government Survey
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is defined as a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices and products that are not presently considered part of conventional medicine. According to a nationwide government survey, 36 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 years of age and over use some form of CAM. When prayer specifically for health reasons is included within the definition of CAM, the number of U.S. adults using CAM rises to 62%.
“These findings confirm the extent to which Americans have turned to CAM approaches with the hope that they would help treat and prevent disease and enhance quality of life,” said Stephen E. Straus, M.D., Director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
The survey was administered to over 31,000 representative U.S. adults, and was conducted as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The survey included questions on 27 types of CAM therapies commonly used in the U.S. The results from the CAM portion of this study provide the most comprehensive and reliable data to date describing CAM use by the U.S. adult population.
Overall, the survey revealed that CAM use was greater among a variety of population groups, including women, people with higher education, those who had been hospitalized within the past year, and former smokers. This was also the first survey to yield substantial information on CAM use by minorities. What the survey showed was that a sizable percentage of the public puts their personal health into their own hands.
CAM approaches were most often used to treat back pain or problems, colds, neck pain or problems, joint pain or stiffness, and anxiety and depression. However, only 12% of adults sought care from a licensed CAM practitioner, suggesting that most people who use CAM do so without consulting a practitioner.
According to the survey, the 10 most commonly used therapies and approximate percent of U.S. adults using each therapy were: (1) Prayer for own health (43%), (2) Prayer by others for respondent (24%), (3) Natural products (19%), (4) Deep breathing exercises (12%), (5) Participation in prayer group for own health (10%), (6) Meditation (8%), (7) Meditation(8%), (8) Yoga (5%), (9) Massage (5%), and (10) Diet-based therapies – Atkins, Pritkin, Ornish, etc. (4%).
The survey also sought to determine why people use CAM. 55% of adults said they were most likely to use CAM because they believed that it would help when combined with conventional medical treatments. 50% thought CAM would be interesting to try. 26% used CAM because a medical professional suggested they try it, and 13% used CAM because they thought conventional medicine was too expensive. In contrast to previous studies, 28% of adults use CAM because they believed conventional medicine would not help them with their health problem.
The results of the survey reveal new patterns of CAM use among various population groups and provide a rich source of data for future research. The survey results provide a baseline for future surveys, as it establishes a consistent definition of CAM that can be used to track trends and prevalence of CAM use.
(Summary of NIH News Release, May 27, 2004; Health and Human Services Department (HHS); National Institutes of Health (NIH)
“These findings confirm the extent to which Americans have turned to CAM approaches with the hope that they would help treat and prevent disease and enhance quality of life,” said Stephen E. Straus, M.D., Director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
The survey was administered to over 31,000 representative U.S. adults, and was conducted as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The survey included questions on 27 types of CAM therapies commonly used in the U.S. The results from the CAM portion of this study provide the most comprehensive and reliable data to date describing CAM use by the U.S. adult population.
Overall, the survey revealed that CAM use was greater among a variety of population groups, including women, people with higher education, those who had been hospitalized within the past year, and former smokers. This was also the first survey to yield substantial information on CAM use by minorities. What the survey showed was that a sizable percentage of the public puts their personal health into their own hands.
CAM approaches were most often used to treat back pain or problems, colds, neck pain or problems, joint pain or stiffness, and anxiety and depression. However, only 12% of adults sought care from a licensed CAM practitioner, suggesting that most people who use CAM do so without consulting a practitioner.
According to the survey, the 10 most commonly used therapies and approximate percent of U.S. adults using each therapy were: (1) Prayer for own health (43%), (2) Prayer by others for respondent (24%), (3) Natural products (19%), (4) Deep breathing exercises (12%), (5) Participation in prayer group for own health (10%), (6) Meditation (8%), (7) Meditation(8%), (8) Yoga (5%), (9) Massage (5%), and (10) Diet-based therapies – Atkins, Pritkin, Ornish, etc. (4%).
The survey also sought to determine why people use CAM. 55% of adults said they were most likely to use CAM because they believed that it would help when combined with conventional medical treatments. 50% thought CAM would be interesting to try. 26% used CAM because a medical professional suggested they try it, and 13% used CAM because they thought conventional medicine was too expensive. In contrast to previous studies, 28% of adults use CAM because they believed conventional medicine would not help them with their health problem.
The results of the survey reveal new patterns of CAM use among various population groups and provide a rich source of data for future research. The survey results provide a baseline for future surveys, as it establishes a consistent definition of CAM that can be used to track trends and prevalence of CAM use.
(Summary of NIH News Release, May 27, 2004; Health and Human Services Department (HHS); National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Magical Thinking in Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Many of today’s “complementary” and “alternative” systems of healing involve magical beliefs, manifesting ways of thinking based on principles of cosmology and causality that are timeless and absolutely universal. When we ask “why people believe in weird things” (as has Shermer, 1997), we might consider that at least some beliefs derive from a natural propensity to think in certain ways.
This article considers those aspects of belief that accord with the best anthropological meanings of “magic” and “magical thinking.” These words have a wide range of meanings, both among scholars and the general public. For example, “magic” can include the illusions of a stage magician: the ability to change form, visibility, or the location of something. It also includes things like spirit invocation and command, paranormal happenings, the occult, or anything mysterious or miraculous.
There is not general agreement as to what “magic” really is. However, there are distinct ways of thinking and corresponding ritual practices that are similar among all peoples in the world at all stages of recorded history. It appears that magic operates according to any of all of five basic principles:
1) Forces – Most people seem to believe in “forces” in nature that are separate from and operate independently of any spiritual beings, and they are also separate from those forces identified and measured by science.
2) Power - People believe that the forces, and everything else, are energized by a mystical power that exists in varying degrees in all things. In some belief systems, forces and power seem to merge.
3) A coherent, interconnected cosmos – It is widely believed that everything in the cosmos is actually or potentially interconnected, not only spatially, but also temporally – past, present and future.
4) Symbols – These are words, thoughts, things or actions that not only represent other things of action, but can take on the qualities of the things they represent.
5) Frazier’s Principles – Sir James George Frazer, in his monumental work on religion and kingship, The Golden Bough, explained his famous principles of sympathetic magic (3rd edition 1911-1915). Heir to the 18th century Positivist assumption of “laws” governing nature and society, Frazer said that sympathetic magic was of two types: “Homeopathic” magic – working according to the “law of similarity” – things or actions that resemble other things or actions have a causal connection. On the other hand, “Contagious magic” obeys the “law of contact” – things that have been either in physical contact, spatial or temporal association with other things retain a connection after they are separated.
These ideas of causality based on similarity and contact had been expressed by philosophers since Classical times.
Magic essentially involves the transfer of power in nature. Magic should be distinguished from supplication to a deity, as through prayer; but all scholars recognize that magical principles are intertwined with and complementary to religious ritual.
Homeopathy as a Magical Belief System
Some of the principles of magical beliefs are evident in currently popular belief systems. A clear example is homeopathy. Fallacies in homeopathic claims have been discussed by many scholars in this journal (Barrett, 1987; Gardner, 1989);, but it is curious that this healing system has not been more widely recognized as based in magical thinking. The fundamental principle of its founder, Samuel Hahnemann, similia similibus curentur, or “let likes cure likes” is an explicit expression of a magical principle. The allegedly active ingredients in homeopathic medications were “proved” effective against a particular disease when they produced in healthy people symptoms similar to those caused by the disease. Hahnemann also insisted that a “vital force” was present in both the human body and in the medications.
Three fundamental principles of magic are involved in homeopathy: similarity, power, and contact. According to a survey on alternative medicine reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Nov. 11, 1998), American’s use of homeopathic preparations more than doubled between 1990 and 1997 (Eisenberg, et al., 1998). Most modern homeopathic texts are careful to emphasize homeopathy’s limitations and to advise consultation with a physician if symptoms persist. But most insist that homeopathy accords with proven principles of science, citing its basis in experimentation, principles of vaccination, and parallels to discoveries in symptomatology and immunology and the body’s reactions to various stressors.
Various other “altnerative” and “New Age” beliefs are obviously magical; many are ancient and widespread. Crystals, for example, have long been believed to contain concentrated power. Colored crystals have specific healing effects, as certain colors are associated with different parts of the body. The magical healing power of colors seems universal.
Social-psychological explanations for people’s continued use of magic in an increasingly scientific and technological age agree that it gives individuals a sense of control. Neurobiological bases for magical thinking may lie in the mechanism of cognition. Frazer’s principle of similarity is the most basic. It is the basis for the universal and timeless beliefs in practices involving notions of resemblance.
But the vast majority of the world’s peoples, including many highly educated research scientists, obviously believe that there are real connections between the symbol and its referent, and that some real and potentially measurable power flows between them.
One researcher, Elisabeth Targ, M.D., and her colleagues recently had “a randomized double-blind study of the effect of distant healing.” The study was published in a leading American medical journal, the Western Journal of Medicine (Sicher et al. 1998). Dr. Targ received two million dollars of public funds from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health for two studies of “distant healing.” While some scholars were outraged at the generous expenditure of funds to test “magic,” it is tempered by the fact that huge numbers of Americans consult “Alternative” and “Complementary” medical practitioners. Perhaps the government has an obligation to support research into the effectiveness of these practices.
(Summarized from the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Nov/Dec 2001 pp32-37; Article by Phillips Stevens, Jr. – used by permission of the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Amherst, NY.)
This article considers those aspects of belief that accord with the best anthropological meanings of “magic” and “magical thinking.” These words have a wide range of meanings, both among scholars and the general public. For example, “magic” can include the illusions of a stage magician: the ability to change form, visibility, or the location of something. It also includes things like spirit invocation and command, paranormal happenings, the occult, or anything mysterious or miraculous.
There is not general agreement as to what “magic” really is. However, there are distinct ways of thinking and corresponding ritual practices that are similar among all peoples in the world at all stages of recorded history. It appears that magic operates according to any of all of five basic principles:
1) Forces – Most people seem to believe in “forces” in nature that are separate from and operate independently of any spiritual beings, and they are also separate from those forces identified and measured by science.
2) Power - People believe that the forces, and everything else, are energized by a mystical power that exists in varying degrees in all things. In some belief systems, forces and power seem to merge.
3) A coherent, interconnected cosmos – It is widely believed that everything in the cosmos is actually or potentially interconnected, not only spatially, but also temporally – past, present and future.
4) Symbols – These are words, thoughts, things or actions that not only represent other things of action, but can take on the qualities of the things they represent.
5) Frazier’s Principles – Sir James George Frazer, in his monumental work on religion and kingship, The Golden Bough, explained his famous principles of sympathetic magic (3rd edition 1911-1915). Heir to the 18th century Positivist assumption of “laws” governing nature and society, Frazer said that sympathetic magic was of two types: “Homeopathic” magic – working according to the “law of similarity” – things or actions that resemble other things or actions have a causal connection. On the other hand, “Contagious magic” obeys the “law of contact” – things that have been either in physical contact, spatial or temporal association with other things retain a connection after they are separated.
These ideas of causality based on similarity and contact had been expressed by philosophers since Classical times.
Magic essentially involves the transfer of power in nature. Magic should be distinguished from supplication to a deity, as through prayer; but all scholars recognize that magical principles are intertwined with and complementary to religious ritual.
Homeopathy as a Magical Belief System
Some of the principles of magical beliefs are evident in currently popular belief systems. A clear example is homeopathy. Fallacies in homeopathic claims have been discussed by many scholars in this journal (Barrett, 1987; Gardner, 1989);, but it is curious that this healing system has not been more widely recognized as based in magical thinking. The fundamental principle of its founder, Samuel Hahnemann, similia similibus curentur, or “let likes cure likes” is an explicit expression of a magical principle. The allegedly active ingredients in homeopathic medications were “proved” effective against a particular disease when they produced in healthy people symptoms similar to those caused by the disease. Hahnemann also insisted that a “vital force” was present in both the human body and in the medications.
Three fundamental principles of magic are involved in homeopathy: similarity, power, and contact. According to a survey on alternative medicine reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Nov. 11, 1998), American’s use of homeopathic preparations more than doubled between 1990 and 1997 (Eisenberg, et al., 1998). Most modern homeopathic texts are careful to emphasize homeopathy’s limitations and to advise consultation with a physician if symptoms persist. But most insist that homeopathy accords with proven principles of science, citing its basis in experimentation, principles of vaccination, and parallels to discoveries in symptomatology and immunology and the body’s reactions to various stressors.
Various other “altnerative” and “New Age” beliefs are obviously magical; many are ancient and widespread. Crystals, for example, have long been believed to contain concentrated power. Colored crystals have specific healing effects, as certain colors are associated with different parts of the body. The magical healing power of colors seems universal.
Social-psychological explanations for people’s continued use of magic in an increasingly scientific and technological age agree that it gives individuals a sense of control. Neurobiological bases for magical thinking may lie in the mechanism of cognition. Frazer’s principle of similarity is the most basic. It is the basis for the universal and timeless beliefs in practices involving notions of resemblance.
But the vast majority of the world’s peoples, including many highly educated research scientists, obviously believe that there are real connections between the symbol and its referent, and that some real and potentially measurable power flows between them.
One researcher, Elisabeth Targ, M.D., and her colleagues recently had “a randomized double-blind study of the effect of distant healing.” The study was published in a leading American medical journal, the Western Journal of Medicine (Sicher et al. 1998). Dr. Targ received two million dollars of public funds from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health for two studies of “distant healing.” While some scholars were outraged at the generous expenditure of funds to test “magic,” it is tempered by the fact that huge numbers of Americans consult “Alternative” and “Complementary” medical practitioners. Perhaps the government has an obligation to support research into the effectiveness of these practices.
(Summarized from the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Nov/Dec 2001 pp32-37; Article by Phillips Stevens, Jr. – used by permission of the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Amherst, NY.)
Friday, February 27, 2009
Asthmatic Kids Under a Cloud
Half a century ago, when Pigpen was new to the Peanuts gang, Charlie Brown asked him the obvious question: “Pig-Pen, why are you always so dirty?” Pig-Pen, answered with his face ringed with grime, “I have affixed to me the dirt and dust of countless ages.”
He isn’t the only one. Research shows that even kids as clean as Charlie Brown are enclosed in invisible halos of dirt and dust that can be detected using small personal monitors. For children with allergic asthma, that can be a problem.
Lead author, Nathan Rabinovitch, of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, states that “each kid has his own individual pollution cloud.” What’s in this cloud depends on what’s in their house, their school, and what their daily experience entails. Even serious scientists have started to call this phenomenon the Pigpen Effect, referring to the Charles Schulz character of the 1950’s.
Scientists have known for a long time that dust and dirt make allergies worse, especially in inner-city urban areas. A study of 1,528 children, financed by the National Institutes of Health, found that a child’s symptoms and cost of care can be significantly reduced by spending a $1,469 per family on counseling, cleaning and buying supplies, such as impermeable mattress and pillow covers.
However, while many studies of inner-city kids have focused on allergens in the home, Rabinovitch, instead, chose to focus his study of the Pigpen Effect on a highly allergenic protein called an endotoxin. Endotoxin, one component of the pollution cloud, comes from bacteria that are everywhere in the environment, including on pets.
Researchers are baffled by the fact that kids that have asthma are better or worse, one day to the next. They hoped to discover why and to answer a related asthma management question: How do pets complicate a child’s asthma, even when the child is involved in activities outside of the home?
A curious wrinkle to this study comes from other research that has shown that exposure to lots of endotoxin before allergy develops, usually through insect dust, pets and animals, can actually be protective – priming the immune system to become tolerant of the things that often promote allergy. This theory is part of the “Hygiene Hypothesis.” Multiple studies have suggested that this hypothesis is grounded in fact. However, it becomes murky when some kids are allergic, even when they are exposed to endotoxin from cockroaches and dust mites when they are younger. The Hygiene Hypothesis also doesn’t explain why kids who have asthma get better or worse from day to day.
The distinction between the Hygiene Hypothesis and the tendency for asthma to wax and wane is an important one, according to Rabinovitch, since once a person has allergies, dust, dirt, and pets make matters worse.
Researchers studied students ages 6 to 13 who attended a National Jewish’s Kunsberg School. These were children whose asthma would interfere with their performance and attendance in ordinary schools. Each child was fitted with a monitor equipped with a filter that would capture airborne endotoxins. Asthma severity was measured by their breathing, and by asking the children to log severity of their symptoms using a daily scoring system. Researchers then compared readings from their monitors, with those monitors in the environment.
The monitors showed that personal exposures to endotoxin were “significantly higher” than the levels kids were exposed to in the environment, supporting the notion that children, like Pigpen, are surrounded by a personal cloud. “One kid may have a very different exposure than a second kid,” Rabinovitch says.
The final result: The bigger the child’s endotoxin cloud, the more airway obstruction they had to endure, researchers reported in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Even if exposed at a young age, “Pets are not good for asthma,” according to Rabinovitch. If you play with a cat or a dog on a given day, you will get a high dose of endotoxin. If you live with a cat or dog, you will get the maximum dose.
(Summarized from USA Today: Article by Steve Sternberg)
He isn’t the only one. Research shows that even kids as clean as Charlie Brown are enclosed in invisible halos of dirt and dust that can be detected using small personal monitors. For children with allergic asthma, that can be a problem.
Lead author, Nathan Rabinovitch, of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, states that “each kid has his own individual pollution cloud.” What’s in this cloud depends on what’s in their house, their school, and what their daily experience entails. Even serious scientists have started to call this phenomenon the Pigpen Effect, referring to the Charles Schulz character of the 1950’s.
Scientists have known for a long time that dust and dirt make allergies worse, especially in inner-city urban areas. A study of 1,528 children, financed by the National Institutes of Health, found that a child’s symptoms and cost of care can be significantly reduced by spending a $1,469 per family on counseling, cleaning and buying supplies, such as impermeable mattress and pillow covers.
However, while many studies of inner-city kids have focused on allergens in the home, Rabinovitch, instead, chose to focus his study of the Pigpen Effect on a highly allergenic protein called an endotoxin. Endotoxin, one component of the pollution cloud, comes from bacteria that are everywhere in the environment, including on pets.
Researchers are baffled by the fact that kids that have asthma are better or worse, one day to the next. They hoped to discover why and to answer a related asthma management question: How do pets complicate a child’s asthma, even when the child is involved in activities outside of the home?
A curious wrinkle to this study comes from other research that has shown that exposure to lots of endotoxin before allergy develops, usually through insect dust, pets and animals, can actually be protective – priming the immune system to become tolerant of the things that often promote allergy. This theory is part of the “Hygiene Hypothesis.” Multiple studies have suggested that this hypothesis is grounded in fact. However, it becomes murky when some kids are allergic, even when they are exposed to endotoxin from cockroaches and dust mites when they are younger. The Hygiene Hypothesis also doesn’t explain why kids who have asthma get better or worse from day to day.
The distinction between the Hygiene Hypothesis and the tendency for asthma to wax and wane is an important one, according to Rabinovitch, since once a person has allergies, dust, dirt, and pets make matters worse.
Researchers studied students ages 6 to 13 who attended a National Jewish’s Kunsberg School. These were children whose asthma would interfere with their performance and attendance in ordinary schools. Each child was fitted with a monitor equipped with a filter that would capture airborne endotoxins. Asthma severity was measured by their breathing, and by asking the children to log severity of their symptoms using a daily scoring system. Researchers then compared readings from their monitors, with those monitors in the environment.
The monitors showed that personal exposures to endotoxin were “significantly higher” than the levels kids were exposed to in the environment, supporting the notion that children, like Pigpen, are surrounded by a personal cloud. “One kid may have a very different exposure than a second kid,” Rabinovitch says.
The final result: The bigger the child’s endotoxin cloud, the more airway obstruction they had to endure, researchers reported in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Even if exposed at a young age, “Pets are not good for asthma,” according to Rabinovitch. If you play with a cat or a dog on a given day, you will get a high dose of endotoxin. If you live with a cat or dog, you will get the maximum dose.
(Summarized from USA Today: Article by Steve Sternberg)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Their Best Shot –
In the epidemic growth of allergies, the environment seems to play a larger role than researchers first thought. New studies into immunotherapy are giving sufferers…their best shot.
Health Correspondent Stacey Singer reported in the SUN SENTINEL the story of a 2-year old by the name of Grace King. At birthday parties, this sociable girl sometimes leaves before the cake is served. That is because Grace is allergic to both milk and eggs, and cake and ice cream could send her to the hospital.
One third to 50% of the population has some sort of allergy, and the severity of allergic reactions appears to be growing quickly, especially in children. As an example, the number of children who react to peanuts tripled between 1989 and 2002, according to a recent European study. The same trend is emerging for many other allergies.
The quest to understand the cause of allergies has taken scientists from farm fields to inner cities, from laboratories to grocery stores. The allergic response remains full of paradox: Filth can cause disease and asthma. Yet new studies suggest clean living probably unleashes allergies.
It is hard to imagine that Grace King’s clean house or suburban lifestyle could have unleashed Grace’s severe food allergy, but a concept known as the “hygiene hypothesis” has gained converts.
The thinking is that clean food and water and indoor living have deprived us of exposure to germs and parasites that our great-grandparents survived. As a result, our immune systems never get trained properly. Dr Marc Rothenberg, chief of Allergy and Clinical Immunology for the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, refers to it as the immune system’s “delinquency problem.” “The immune system has too much free time, and it is getting into things that it shouldn’t,” he said.
This theory has gained support from a New England Journal of Medicine Study. Trying to understand why farm children were less likely to have allergies, researchers found that farm children’s mattresses were covered with bacteria endotoxin, the kind found in farm animal manure. Day and night, those children were breathing, touching eating, and drinking germs, and they appeared to have healthier immune systems as a result, according to Dr. Scott Weiss of the Channing Laboratory at Harvard University.
There are other theories. A French scientist showed that as measles and whooping cough have declined, while allergy, asthma and autoimmune diseases have risen. Childhood vaccines have also been implicated, he wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine. There may be a type of immune response mobilized by the shots, and these have an effect on the evolution of a child’s immunity.
This scientist also raised the possibility that babies who take antibiotics could also have problems because of the way the drugs alter intestinal flora, a key component of the immune system. One study showed that pregnant women with allergies that were given large doses of lactobacillis, commonly found in yogurt culture, had newborns with significantly less eczema.
Other research suggests that environmental pollutants may act like lighter fluid on a grill. While they may not cause allergy, they may prompt allergies to burn hotter. Things like truck exhaust, second-hand cigarette smoke, and flame retarding chemicals used in computer monitors have all shown some ability to heighten sensitivity of people to allergens in laboratory studies, according to Reuters Health.
Western diets have also been implicated. Weiss, at Harvard is studying the role of fats and oils in pregnant women’s diets. Some suspect that omega-3 fatty acids may help, while trans fats, widely used by fast-food makers, might worsen allergies and asthma.
On the prevention side, evidence is mounting that going to an allergist for a monthly allergy shot works well for treating inhaled allergies and insect-venom allergies, and can prevent new allergies and asthma, especially in children. Two recent studies showed that the shots prevented allergies from growing into asthma in a significant percentage of allergic children.
Other preventive strategies have been scrutinized. The American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology recommends that parents with allergies introduce new foods to their infants very slowly. Breast-feeding exclusively for the first six months is preferred, the group recommends.
For Grace King, the severely allergic 2-year old, the best approach at this point is to avoid the offending foods, and keep a loaded syringe of epinephrine on hand at all times.
(Summarized from SUN-SENTINEL, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. , Feb. 2003)
Health Correspondent Stacey Singer reported in the SUN SENTINEL the story of a 2-year old by the name of Grace King. At birthday parties, this sociable girl sometimes leaves before the cake is served. That is because Grace is allergic to both milk and eggs, and cake and ice cream could send her to the hospital.
One third to 50% of the population has some sort of allergy, and the severity of allergic reactions appears to be growing quickly, especially in children. As an example, the number of children who react to peanuts tripled between 1989 and 2002, according to a recent European study. The same trend is emerging for many other allergies.
The quest to understand the cause of allergies has taken scientists from farm fields to inner cities, from laboratories to grocery stores. The allergic response remains full of paradox: Filth can cause disease and asthma. Yet new studies suggest clean living probably unleashes allergies.
It is hard to imagine that Grace King’s clean house or suburban lifestyle could have unleashed Grace’s severe food allergy, but a concept known as the “hygiene hypothesis” has gained converts.
The thinking is that clean food and water and indoor living have deprived us of exposure to germs and parasites that our great-grandparents survived. As a result, our immune systems never get trained properly. Dr Marc Rothenberg, chief of Allergy and Clinical Immunology for the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, refers to it as the immune system’s “delinquency problem.” “The immune system has too much free time, and it is getting into things that it shouldn’t,” he said.
This theory has gained support from a New England Journal of Medicine Study. Trying to understand why farm children were less likely to have allergies, researchers found that farm children’s mattresses were covered with bacteria endotoxin, the kind found in farm animal manure. Day and night, those children were breathing, touching eating, and drinking germs, and they appeared to have healthier immune systems as a result, according to Dr. Scott Weiss of the Channing Laboratory at Harvard University.
There are other theories. A French scientist showed that as measles and whooping cough have declined, while allergy, asthma and autoimmune diseases have risen. Childhood vaccines have also been implicated, he wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine. There may be a type of immune response mobilized by the shots, and these have an effect on the evolution of a child’s immunity.
This scientist also raised the possibility that babies who take antibiotics could also have problems because of the way the drugs alter intestinal flora, a key component of the immune system. One study showed that pregnant women with allergies that were given large doses of lactobacillis, commonly found in yogurt culture, had newborns with significantly less eczema.
Other research suggests that environmental pollutants may act like lighter fluid on a grill. While they may not cause allergy, they may prompt allergies to burn hotter. Things like truck exhaust, second-hand cigarette smoke, and flame retarding chemicals used in computer monitors have all shown some ability to heighten sensitivity of people to allergens in laboratory studies, according to Reuters Health.
Western diets have also been implicated. Weiss, at Harvard is studying the role of fats and oils in pregnant women’s diets. Some suspect that omega-3 fatty acids may help, while trans fats, widely used by fast-food makers, might worsen allergies and asthma.
On the prevention side, evidence is mounting that going to an allergist for a monthly allergy shot works well for treating inhaled allergies and insect-venom allergies, and can prevent new allergies and asthma, especially in children. Two recent studies showed that the shots prevented allergies from growing into asthma in a significant percentage of allergic children.
Other preventive strategies have been scrutinized. The American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology recommends that parents with allergies introduce new foods to their infants very slowly. Breast-feeding exclusively for the first six months is preferred, the group recommends.
For Grace King, the severely allergic 2-year old, the best approach at this point is to avoid the offending foods, and keep a loaded syringe of epinephrine on hand at all times.
(Summarized from SUN-SENTINEL, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. , Feb. 2003)
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