news.nationalpost.com: Alberta and "When Naturopathy Kills" (ouch!)

here, a pretty damning assessment of Alberta, Canada naturopathy absurdity:

001. Alheli Picazo reports at news.nationalpost.com, in "When Naturopathy Kills" (2016-03-23):

"after weeks of trying 'natural' extracts and homemade remedies like smoothies cut with ginger root and horseradish to cure a suspected case of meningitis, 19-month-old Ezekiel Stephan’s tiny body had so deteriorated that he was too stiff to bend. Unable to be sit in his car seat, Ezekiel’s parents, David and Collet [...] now on trial for Ezekiel’s death [...] loaded a mattress into the back of their vehicle to take him to a health practitioner — not a doctor.  They planned to drive to Lethbridge, Alta., to visit a naturopath, whose clinic they’d contacted days earlier in search of something to 'boost Ezekiel’s immune system.'  Only after their son stopped breathing did the Stephans think it wise to call 911. In a desperate bid to save time, they drove to meet the ambulance, performing CPR en route. According to Collet, Ezekiel 'was blue by the time we met up' [...]";

exceptionally disturbing.  And unnecessary.

"the same government that is now prosecuting the Stephans has also granted the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta (CNDA) the power to self-govern their industry — in essence, the state is now prosecuting parents for pursuing cures from a modern-day snake-oil industry that it licenses and legitimizes [...]";

hugely TRUE.

"when it granted the CNDA its powers back in 2012, Health Minister Fred Horne said that he and his fellow elected representatives 'believe the practices that will be engaged in by (naturopathic) professionals are safe and effective and meet the highest possible standard' [...] Dr. Allissa Gaul, founding president of the CNDA, boasted the decision meant that 'Albertans can have confidence … they have a Naturopathic doctor who meets stringent competency and practice requirements' [...]";

but even then this was easy to research and prove false.   It's so false its a reversal of values.  Which makes naturopathy pathological in terms of the truth.

"although homeopathy was not prescribed in Ezekiel’s case, it remains one of the central tenets of naturopathy [...] as Timothy Caulfield, professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta wrote in 2013: 'there is no evidence that homeopathy works, and given the absurd nature of the proposed mechanism of action, no scientifically plausible reason that it should work' None [...]";

yes, homeopathy is baked into naturopathy, and homeopathy is NOT effective at all.

"one thing is clear: Ezekiel is a casualty of pseudoscience; his death facilitated by the allure of alternative medicine  .Naturopathy, for instance, is not a form of medicine, but a system of belief; its approach to treating illness reliant on the theory of vitalism. That is, disease is viewed as being caused by an imbalance of vital forces and, thus, the treatment rests in the restoration of those forces [...]";

true that.

"naturopathy preys on the critically and terminally ill by peddling false hope and sham treatments with exorbitant financial and emotional costs; it fuels scientific illiteracy by accommodating those who misunderstand or distrust legitimate medicine, prescribing futile detox and cleanse regimens [...]";

hear, hear.

"until the alternative heath industry is required to demonstrate the validity of its existence, the corpses that refute it will continue to mount. And all who overtly or indirectly enable the spread of pseudoscience share the blame for the casualties [...]";

an excellent conclusion.