The Freedom to Choose Alternative Medicine
The Freedom to Choose Alternative Medicine
The Importance of Chinese Medicine Pattern Discernment
Despite the FDA’s disapproval, in 1994 Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). Congress hoped that in passing this act, they would help relieve the increasing pressure that rapidly inflating medical costs was inflicting upon the American economy. The stated purpose of this bill was to:
“improve the health status of the people of the United States and help constrain runaway health care spending by ensuring that the Federal Government erects no regulatory barriers that impede the ability of consumers to improve their nutrition through the free choice of safe dietary supplements.”
The connection between good nutrition and the prevention of disease has been established through scientific means.
As stated in the Senate Committee report for DSHEA,
“The importance of nutrition and the benefits of dietary supplements to health promotion and disease prevention have been documented increasingly in scientific studies; there is a definitive link between the ingestion of certain nutrients or dietary supplements and the prevention of disease; and healthful diets may mitigate the need for expensive medical procedures.”
Congress expected that with the passing of DSHEA, the free market would offer new health solutions through nutrition which would set off an important chain of events. This would allow for a new beginning in filling a deep void that has occurred in America. This would have a long-lasting, multi-faceted positive impact on the American people.
Up to that time, DSHEA received more constituent support than any other bill. It revealed that not only did the federal government see the need to promote Alternative Medicine, but that the American people had a desire to take their health into their own hands-as they rightly should. Despite the fact that supplements must be sold without disclosing their known effects established through science, the American public still seized every opportunity in the betterment of their, and their loved one’s health.
25 years later a wide assortment of supplements are now available at even the smallest convenience store. It is now common place that more and more individuals are researching the multitude of supplements available and are discerning for themselves whether a particular item would be of benefit to them. They are taking the initiative to seek the knowledge that unlocks the healing potential offered within Alternative Medicine for their own health, well-being and quality of life.