http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article447784.ece



Charles tells doctors of the world to use alternative treatments
Herbs and holistic remedies could replace conventional therapies, the
Prince of Wales will say next week
By Severin Carrell
Published: 14 May 2006
The Prince of Wales will urge doctors to start using unconventional
techniques such as chiropractic, acupuncture and herbal medicines to
treat serious illnesses, in a speech to the World Health Organisation
next week.

Prince Charles will claim that such major chronic illnesses as diabetes
and heart disease, which affect tens of millions worldwide, could be
successfully treated using complementary medicines and a "whole body"
approach to healthcare.

His comments, which will invite fresh complaints from his critics, are to
be made in a keynote address to the annual WHO Assembly in Geneva
on 23 May, where the Prince will set out his case for "integrated
healthcare" to a global audience for the first time.

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.

This would help tackle endemic diseases such as strokes, heart disease
and diabetes which kill 35 million people annually, and which are the
cause of 80 per cent of GP referrals in the UK each year, he will say.

The Prince also believes there is proven evidence that some mental
illness can be treated without anti-depressants, for example, using the
herb St John's wort for post-natal depression.

Doctors and governments should be focusing on diet, environmental
pollution and reducing the use of harmful chemicals in homes and
farming, he will say.

In a speech last year when he was made an honorary fellow of the
Royal Society of Medicine, Prince Charles said that modern Western
lifestyles played a major role in the rise of allergic diseases such as
asthma, various cancers and in obesity.

"The human body has too often been mechanistically reduced to
individual parts and treated with limited reference to the whole person,"
he said then.

"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."

Officials at Clarence House say the Prince is gratified that the WHO has
invited him to promote the case for complementary therapies
and "integrated health" - a subject which he has championed for several
decades, setting up the government-funded Foundation for Integrated
Health in London.

He has frequently been attacked by the medical establishment for
pursuing "crank" theories on health after he first advocated non-
conventional medicine to the British Medical Association in 1982. Critics
accused him then of a "flight from science".

His address to the World Health Assembly is a "sign of how far the
debate has moved on", said one official. Integrated health was now
the "subject of mainstream discussion".

But Prince Charles will avoid mentioning one of his most contentious
personal interests - homeopathy, the widely disputed theory that
minuscule doses of medicine can cure illness.

Prominent cancer specialists were also aghast when the Prince
advocated the Gerson diet method of treating cancers. Michael Baum,
emeritus professor of surgery at University College London, bluntly said
Prince Charles had "got it wrong" and urged him to "exercise your
power with extreme caution" when it came to health matters.

THE PRINCE'S WAY

ACUPUNCTURE The ancient Chinese science of inserting needles in key
points on the body can help osteoarthritis, menopause symptoms and
nausea in childbirth.

HERBAL REMEDIES Some have proven value - St John's wort for
depression, and Chinese medicines for eczema and hay fever.

CHIROPRACTIC Mostly manipulating the spine, this can treat muscle and
joint pain, migraine, asthma, menstrual pain and sports injuries.

DIET Prince Charles is a keen fan of organic, pesticide-free foods and
supplements such as Omega 3 and fish oils, saying they improve health
and cut the risk of illness.

The Prince of Wales will urge doctors to start using unconventional
techniques such as chiropractic, acupuncture and herbal medicines to
treat serious illnesses, in a speech to the World Health Organisation
next week.

Prince Charles will claim that such major chronic illnesses as diabetes
and heart disease, which affect tens of millions worldwide, could be
successfully treated using complementary medicines and a "whole body"
approach to healthcare.

His comments, which will invite fresh complaints from his critics, are to
be made in a keynote address to the annual WHO Assembly in Geneva
on 23 May, where the Prince will set out his case for "integrated
healthcare" to a global audience for the first time.

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.

This would help tackle endemic diseases such as strokes, heart disease
and diabetes which kill 35 million people annually, and which are the
cause of 80 per cent of GP referrals in the UK each year, he will say.

The Prince also believes there is proven evidence that some mental
illness can be treated without anti-depressants, for example, using the
herb St John's wort for post-natal depression.

Doctors and governments should be focusing on diet, environmental
pollution and reducing the use of harmful chemicals in homes and
farming, he will say.

In a speech last year when he was made an honorary fellow of the
Royal Society of Medicine, Prince Charles said that modern Western
lifestyles played a major role in the rise of allergic diseases such as
asthma, various cancers and in obesity.

"The human body has too often been mechanistically reduced to
individual parts and treated with limited reference to the whole person,"
he said then.

"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."
Officials at Clarence House say the Prince is gratified that the WHO has
invited him to promote the case for complementary therapies
and "integrated health" - a subject which he has championed for several
decades, setting up the government-funded Foundation for Integrated
Health in London.

He has frequently been attacked by the medical establishment for
pursuing "crank" theories on health after he first advocated non-
conventional medicine to the British Medical Association in 1982. Critics
accused him then of a "flight from science".

His address to the World Health Assembly is a "sign of how far the
debate has moved on", said one official. Integrated health was now
the "subject of mainstream discussion".

But Prince Charles will avoid mentioning one of his most contentious
personal interests - homeopathy, the widely disputed theory that
minuscule doses of medicine can cure illness.

Prominent cancer specialists were also aghast when the Prince
advocated the Gerson diet method of treating cancers. Michael Baum,
emeritus professor of surgery at University College London, bluntly said
Prince Charles had "got it wrong" and urged him to "exercise your
power with extreme caution" when it came to health matters.

THE PRINCE'S WAY

ACUPUNCTURE The ancient Chinese science of inserting needles in key
points on the body can help osteoarthritis, menopause symptoms and
nausea in childbirth.

HERBAL REMEDIES Some have proven value - St John's wort for
depression, and Chinese medicines for eczema and hay fever.

CHIROPRACTIC Mostly manipulating the spine, this can treat muscle and
joint pain, migraine, asthma, menstrual pain and sports injuries.

DIET Prince Charles is a keen fan of organic, pesticide-free foods and
supplements such as Omega 3 and fish oils, saying they improve health
and cut the risk of illness.