A Pragmatist’s View of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

     I have a confession: I am a nerd. I like to study, read, investigate and analyze. I like things that are logical and make sense. I want to understand the world around me and how things work.

     Because of this, complementary and alternative medicine (commonly referred to as “CAM”) poses a quandary for me. On the one hand, most of these practices have been used for thousands of years in one culture or another and almost none of them do harm. I like that they are something positive we can do, rather than filling ourselves or our companions with medicines that almost always have some negative side effect. I rebel against the idea that the man in the white jacket has all the answers and I appreciate that some things work and we just don’t understand why.

     On the other hand, I do believe there is a reason why something works or doesn’t and I am driven to understand that. Frankly, some of the explanations CAM practitioners give as to why their modality works just don’t ring true for me and I have a hard time buying in.

     I find myself intellectually skeptical and yet emotionally drawn at the same time.

     Ultimately, I come down as a pragmatist (pragmatism: "a straightforward practical way of thinking about things or dealing with problems, concerned with results rather than with theories and principles").  I recognize that there are many, many things in this world that we do not yet understand, and that if people and creatures for centuries before us have tapped into something that works, we should not eschew it simply because we do not understand it.

4 Wonderful Herbs to Keep on Hand

     I discovered Slippery Elm Bark a number of years ago when working with a raw feeders group and always have a bottle on hand now.  There are many wonderful herbal remedies out there.  Here are my top four  "must-haves" when it comes to remedies to have on hand not just for hospice care, but for all animal care.