Alternative medicine

HEALTH care is one of the most important facets in the lives of each individual yet, it has been said that in the Philippines, especially among those living below the poverty line, illness is seen as a catastrophe. Based on the study of the University of the Philippines National Health Institute, six out of 10 Filipinos who are ill just die for not ever seeing a doctor due to financial constraints. The Department of Health, on the year 1992 through former Health Secretary and Senator Juan M. Flavier, first came with Traditional Medicine Program by virtue of Administrative Order No. 12. The program was set to promote and advocate traditional medicine in the Philippines. The drafting of a traditional medicine law began on 1994 to institutionalize the Traditional Medicine Program and with the appreciation of President Fidel V. Ramos to include traditional medicine in the health and economy, a law was enacted on 1997. Thus on 1997, the Senate and House Representatives of the Philippines enacted Republic Act No. 8423 "Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA) of 1997" or An Act Creating the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) to Accelerate the Development of Traditional and Alternative Health Care in the Philippine, Providing for a Traditional and Alternative Health Care Development Fund and for other Purposes. The law recognizes the importance of traditional or alternative medicine in providing essential health care to the people. Despite the medical treatment provided by the Western countries which at most could not be afforded by Filipinos living below the poverty line, traditional medicine which has been passed from generation to generation has become significant in our health care system. In Davao Region, one famous name in the alternative medicine is the Dok Alternatibo Corporation (DACORP), which espouses natural healing. DACORP is registered with the Food and Drug Administration. Its herbal products are distributed all over the country. Dr. Vince Lambac, DMNH is one of the doctors of Dok Alternatibo. "The founder of Dok Alternatibo who is Dr. Edgar Delibo started the advocacy for alternative medicine because of his bad experience with hospitals. His wife was diagnosed with toxic goiter and asthma but they were disappointed because she was not healed even following the doctor’s advice. He later on discovered that herbal plants could be used as medicine. From then on, his wife started taking herbal medicines made by him and that started Dok Alternatibo,” Lambac said. According to Lambac, all diseases could be treated in the natural way because the essence of alternative medicine is that it detoxifies all the bad chemicals in the body through bringing back the nutrients in lesser expense. "Our seven-day detoxification program or total health restoration program has been proven effective in healing patients with any kinds of diseases,” he said. Lambac said that for those who have gallbladder stones, patients have to pay P200,000 in hospitals. With them, the cost is only around P10,000. In the case of diabetes, from P500,000 worth of treatment in the conventional way, their package costs P20,000 for total natural healing. Drinking one glass of purified water, fulvic mineral solution made of water, honey, fulvic minerals, and peanut size wonder cream, taking in siling labuyo or chili and capsules of activated charcoal are just some of the recommendations for the total health restoration program. He said that diabetes for example should be combated through eating sugar cane because sugar cane has fructose or the good sugar which the body needs unlike the sucrose and glucose present in the artificial sugar, which he said is bad for the health. "Filipinos in the past did not have diabetes because they used sugar cane as natural sweetener and not the artificial sugar that we use these days that causes diabetes,” he said in the vernacular. Cancer, he said, can be combated with natural herbs. "Our body should be chemical free for us to avoid cancer. The growth of our cells becomes atypical because of eating instant foods that are full of bad chemicals. Ang atong lawas gikan sa yuta ug kinahanglan walay chemical pud ang atong ipares niini (We all start from dust and the food we eat shouldn’t have chemicals that are not natural to our body),” he added. Hypertension, meanwhile, according to Lambac is cured through taking in siling labuyo or chili which is already a natural capsule. Sili is an anti-oxidant made up of 38 vitamins. Dengue is treated through drinking coconut water and the famous tawa-tawa plant found in Davao City. He said that natural healing should be holistic. "The best healer is still God. If you don’t believe that you will be healed, there is no chance of you being healed.” He also said that a change of lifestyle should be done by everybody. "Stop going for instant food, instant drinks and instant medicines. Lifestyle change is the best. Always opt for the natural.” For a total lifestyle change, Lambac suggested that instead of eating rice grown with chemicals, people should instead go for indigenous varieties such as brown, black and tanglad rice. Noodles should be avoided as well as eating all kinds of seafood because these are sea filters. "Cosmetics should also be made natural. For scalp, skin and hair care, coconut milk, molasses, activated charcoal and fulvic minerals are the best natural medicines,” he said. He admits that there are many who are riding on the natural medicine wagon and thus care should be taken when choosing what kind and brand. "To avoid being a victim of medical malpractice, always ask for an official receipt in buying herbal products,” he said, this will show the details of the seller. Lambac is a certified Doctor of Medicine under Natural Healing. He studied natural healing and learned the basics of patient handling and the effects of herbal medicines in the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda). "Healing is also a way of teaching and as a teacher of natural healing, we teach our patients the essence and truth of alternative medicines unlike what others are doing, which is only to gain profit,” he added. (MDC)//