Twenty-four years ago you would have been hard pressed to find a strong, organized movement in complementary and alternative medicine. CAM enthusiasts were out there, but they were generally dismissed by the mainstream as hippies and crackpots who refused to embrace the obvious miracles of Modern Medicine.

In 1982, Prince Charles became a public advocate of non-traditional medicine. For most of a quarter century he's hung in there, championing the use of herbal remedies, acupuncture and pesticide-free foods, while often drawing fire from the scientific community.

I wonder if he's feeling a little bit vindicated this week as he prepares to address the annual World Health Organization Assembly in Geneva. In fact, he's scheduled to give the assembly the royal treatment sometime today. According to The Independent, "The Prince is expected to argue that doctors should put less reliance on conventional drug-based treatments and take a more 'holistic' view by putting greater emphasis on preventive healthcare, diet and healthy lifestyles."

In a speech before the Royal Society of Medicine last year (when he was made an "honorary fellow"), Prince Charles had the audacity to confront the mainstream medical crowd with this statement: "We need to harness the best of modern science and technology, but not at the expense of losing the best of what complementary approaches have to offer. That is integrated health - it really is that simple."

To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson

May 23, 2006  
Sources:

"FDA OKs Pfizer Anti-Smoking Pill" Associated Press, 5/11/06, ap.org

"Charles Tells Doctors of the World to Use Alternative Treatments" Severin Carrell, The Independent, 5/15/06, news.independent.co.uk

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