Penn & Teller on Alternative Medicine

[Blue Wode]

Apologies if the following have been posted here before. I just came across them on the Chirotalk forum and thought that some of you here might enjoy them:

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHCMfIYXZkQ&search=chiropractic

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7gHhCBuoFk&search=chiropractic

Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6m_r0Udyvw&search=chiropractic

 

[gfunkusarelius]

i dont know if i would repost videos that are not in the public domain, but, with that said, i have seen this episode and it was pretty good. i love the part where penn doesnt even make a joke about the chriopractor that works in babies. he just called them sick @#*&s

 

[Amorelli]

Okay so there are these medical doctors who are bashing natural alternative medicine. Now they are just using 3 types of alternative medicine and they are acting as it represents ALL natural medicine, and I hope you guys didn't fall for that.

These natural medicines could work but they are taking these MDs as truth for whatever they say and if you think about it, you realize that these MDs are also in direct competition with natural medicine. You think McDonalds will ever talk nicely about Wendys?

So of course these MDs will say the natural medicine will either do nothing or can cause illness and/or break something (Chiropractic). The funny thing though is that these same doctors are in the same medical industry that cause WAAAAAY WAAAAY WAAAAAY more deaths and illness. Look into Iatrogenic deaths (Doctor caused deaths) and then you will see 9/11 caused over and over and over again every year (9/11 everyday).

In the second video (and this is where you can see Penn & Teller Bullsh*ting you), you can see at about 2:00 in that the man says he can't officially, scientifically say what he does cures anything (Penn then repeats it over and over again). The problem is, he would be arrested if he did say it cured anything because of the FDA. The FDA is helping to get rid of any of the medical industry's competition by effectively squashing the little man's free speech. The only people who can say what they do or create cures anthing are the people who can spend millions and millions on tests and then get them approved by the FDA.

The real people you need to be afraid of is the synthetic pill popping doctors. All they recommend are pills that hide the symptoms and don't cure it. Then after that you are a repeat customer (yay!). So now you are suppressing the symptoms and letting the real problem get worse, and then you also have these pills that....could cause DEATH! (you see them on the commercials with ALL the side effects that are probably worse than what the symptoms you're trying to suppress are)

It was funny that Penn & Teller completely disregarded the fact that the people did feel better after their treatments. They compared it to snails on the face and fake body suits....then quickly they said near the end that other people did figure out it was a hoax...but it wasn't as funny and so we didn't show it (something like that). So basically this was all a comedy routine, not scientific.

 

[case sensitive]

Okay so there are these medical doctors who are bashing natural alternative medicine. Now they are just using 3 types of alternative medicine and they are acting as it represents ALL natural medicine, and I hope you guys didn't fall for that.

These natural medicines could work but they are taking these MDs as truth for whatever they say and if you think about it, you realize that these MDs are also in direct competition with natural medicine. You think McDonalds will ever talk nicely about Wendys?

So of course these MDs will say the natural medicine will either do nothing or can cause illness and/or break something (Chiropractic). The funny thing though is that these same doctors are in the same medical industry that cause WAAAAAY WAAAAY WAAAAAY more deaths and illness. Look into Iatrogenic deaths (Doctor caused deaths) and then you will see 9/11 caused over and over and over again every year (9/11 everyday).

In the second video (and this is where you can see Penn & Teller Bullsh*ting you), you can see at about 2:00 in that the man says he can't officially, scientifically say what he does cures anything (Penn then repeats it over and over again). The problem is, he would be arrested if he did say it cured anything because of the FDA. The FDA is helping to get rid of any of the medical industry's competition by effectively squashing the little man's free speech. The only people who can say what they do or create cures anthing are the people who can spend millions and millions on tests and then get them approved by the FDA.

The real people you need to be afraid of is the synthetic pill popping doctors. All they recommend are pills that hide the symptoms and don't cure it. Then after that you are a repeat customer (yay!). So now you are suppressing the symptoms and letting the real problem get worse, and then you also have these pills that....could cause DEATH! (you see them on the commercials with ALL the side effects that are probably worse than what the symptoms you're trying to suppress are)

It was funny that Penn & Teller completely disregarded the fact that the people did feel better after their treatments. They compared it to snails on the face and fake body suits....then quickly they said near the end that other people did figure out it was a hoax...but it wasn't as funny and so we didn't show it (something like that). So basically this was all a comedy routine, not scientific.

What herbs are you on? Penn and Teller trying to be funny? Nooooo... Next you will claim they use magic tricks too.

 

[Jeff Wagg]

Okay so there are these medical doctors who are bashing natural alternative medicine. Now they are just using 3 types of alternative medicine and they are acting as it represents ALL natural medicine, and I hope you guys didn't fall for that.

Where's the evidence that any given treatment works?

 

[thaiboxerken]

Amorelli, alternative medicines are those medicines that have not proven to be effective by any scientific standard. Now, you may STFU. Thank you and goodnight.

 

[fuelair]

It was funny that Penn & Teller completely disregarded the fact that the people did feel better after their treatments. They compared it to snails on the face and fake body suits....then quickly they said near the end that other people did figure out it was a hoax...but it wasn't as funny and so we didn't show it (something like that). So basically this was all a comedy routine, not scientific.

Apparently you haven't been around ( I read a lot of this before I actually joined) so possibly you have not heard of the placebo effect. Up to a point, people may "feel better" after treatment of any type (laying on hands, sugar pills, psychic surgery, real medicine etc.) but that does not mean they were actually improved in the sense of healed. Healed is, for many physical problems, testable. "Feel better" isn't.

 

[Amorelli]

Amorelli, alternative medicines are those medicines that have not proven to be effective by any scientific standard. Now, you may STFU. Thank you and goodnight.

Gosh you guys are mighty nice to opposing views. I brought that up and I told you that for a medicine to be official and proven you need lots of money. Thats why Big Pharma can get all these pills out and say they cure stuff...they have millions. You think synthetic pills are the only solution? You think mother nature is the under dog in medicine?

Where's the evidence that any given treatment works?

I'm not trying to prove that anything works. I'm trying to show you that Penn & Tellers show on Alternative medicine is Bullsh*t.

What herbs are you on? Penn and Teller trying to be funny? Nooooo... Next you will claim they use magic tricks too.

I think they are trying to convince people more then just make people laugh. I have seen comedy routines that are funny and don't try an advertise synthetic medicine while bashing natural medicine.

 

[Amorelli]

Apparently you haven't been around ( I read a lot of this before I actually joined) so possibly you have not heard of the placebo effect. Up to a point, people may "feel better" after treatment of any type (laying on hands, sugar pills, psychic surgery, real medicine etc.) but that does not mean they were actually improved in the sense of healed. Healed is, for many physical problems, testable. "Feel better" isn't.

Prove that Chiropractic is just a placebo effect. You probably can't because all you will get are a bunch of MDs bashing it when they clearly have an agenda (remember they are direct competition).

Anyways this wasn't the point of my post as to whether natural medicine works better or equal to synthetic medicine. The point is that Penn & Teller have a flawed show about this topic. I haven't seen their other shows so i'm not too knowledgeable.

 

[Greyman]

Prove that Chiropractic is just a placebo effect. You probably can't because all you will get are a bunch of MDs bashing it when they clearly have an agenda (remember they are direct competition).

So basically any study done by someone qualified to refute these claims is just a lie to sell thier own product... Nice universal out. I'm glad I have a little more faith in altruism.

 

[egslim]

I told you that for a medicine to be official and proven you need lots of money. Thats why Big Pharma can get all these pills out and say they cure stuff...they have millions.

And alternative medicine doesn't?

http://nccam.nih.gov/news/camsurvey_fs1.htm

The U.S. public spent an estimated $36 billion to $47 billion on CAM therapies in 1997.

Care to try again?

"Big Pharma" can say they cure stuff, because they have the evidence to prove it.

You think synthetic pills are the only solution? You think mother nature is the under dog in medicine?

Ever heard of peniciline, and where it came from? "Big Pharma" is more than willing to use natural medicine, providing it's proven to work.

 

[Amorelli]

So basically any study done by someone qualified to refute these claims is just a lie to sell thier own product... Nice universal out. I'm glad I have a little more faith in altruism.

If you think they are qualified then why is the medical industry the leading cause of death in America?

 

[Greyman]

Anyways this wasn't the point of my post as to whether natural medicine works better or equal to synthetic medicine. The point is that Penn & Teller have a flawed show about this topic. I haven't seen their other shows so i'm not too knowledgeable.

I agreed Penn and Teller make sweeping statements about the whole industry based on just a few samples, but the show is comedical entertainment not an industry review.

As with anything, one shouldn't just take the word of any one source without verification from other sources. That is educational point brought to the table by Penn and Teller's Bulls**t. If one thinks that P&T are wrong maybe they'll research and find out on thier own.

-Greyman

 

[treble_head]

I think they are trying to convince people more then just make people laugh. I have seen comedy routines that are funny and don't try an advertise synthetic medicine while bashing natural medicine.

Well, yes. I think we all know by now that Penn and Teller are on the take from Big Medicine companies, (which are keeping us sick on purpose). The're quite easily manipulated, those two.

And I think we can all agree that politics has no place in humor. Those nasty Lenny Bruces and George Carlins of the world... Ick Ick Ick.

 

[Amorelli]

I agreed Penn and Teller make sweeping statements about the whole industry based on just a few samples, but the show is comedical entertainment not an industry review.

As with anything, one shouldn't just take the word of any one source without verification from other sources. That is educational point brought to the table by Penn and Teller's Bulls**t. If one thinks that P&T are wrong maybe they'll research and find out on thier own.

-Greyman

I agree with you on that we should get second opinions and maybe even 3rd and 4th....heck just do research on whatever one wants to do for one's health instead of taking the doctors word for everything. This goes for both sides of the medicine industry. Unfortunately its more widely excepted that doctors are all-knowing, not saying you guys think that but the average joe might. I know some people myself who take doctors word for everything and they are also the most sick (coincidence? maybe).

 

[Greyman]

If you think they are qualified then why is the medical industry the leading cause of death in America?

It's not the leading cause of death.

Number of deaths from iatrogenic causes circa 2004 - 195,000
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/iatrogenic/message/1451
I got to this from here http://www.iatrogenic.org/.

Number of deaths from cardivascular disease circa 2003 - 910,614
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=107
Under the Statistics on Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health heading.

-Greyman

Edited to add link to the AiA.

 

[Amorelli]

Well if you googled "iatrogenic deaths" in google and if you looked into the links there then you would see studies that show a lot more deaths and thats what I was looking at (maybe their wrong). Also I went to your link and then went to the website and looked at their updated PDF file for 2006 patient safety study and the number went up to 300,000 and this is only including medicare beneficiaries.

 

[thaiboxerken]

Gosh you guys are mighty nice to opposing views.

I'm not friendly to advocates of nonsense.

I brought that up and I told you that for a medicine to be official and proven you need lots of money. Thats why Big Pharma can get all these pills out and say they cure stuff...they have millions. You think synthetic pills are the only solution? You think mother nature is the under dog in medicine?

This is just more conspiracy theory NONSENSE. Many, many alt-meds have been researched and found to show no efficacy. This process costs money. "Big Pharma" would love to see "natural" methods work, as such methods would cost them even less overhead and give greater profit.

I'm not trying to prove that anything works. I'm trying to show you that Penn & Tellers show on Alternative medicine is Bullsh*t.

You've failed. The show is an accurate depiction of what Alt-med is all about.

 

[thaiboxerken]

If you think they are qualified then why is the medical industry the leading cause of death in America?

This is just a lie. The medical industry is not the leading cause of death in the USA.

Try again.

 

[Amorelli]

This is just a lie. The medical industry is not the leading cause of death in the USA.

Try again.

According to some studies it's not a lie. Every website I go to about this is giving me something different so its hard to say.