When I took a gap year between first and second year university, I went through a stage in which I wanted to 鈥渙ptimize鈥� how healthy I was. I was working at Tim Hortons, subsisting on a diet that primarily consisted of whatever soup of the day was available, and far too many Timbits and doughnuts.
In an attempt to rectify what would have been fixed by packing myself a lunch and cutting drastically back on my sugar intake, I went around spending enormous amounts of money on things that were purported to enhance one鈥檚 health.
In an attempt to reinvigorate myself at the end of a long shift, I decided coffee was too 鈥渕ainstream,鈥� and I took all sorts of types of ginseng to pep myself up. To make myself more resilient (and less sore) in the gym, I took capsules of some plant I can鈥檛 even remember the name of. At one point, I got the idea that I could stave off a hangover with a certain concoction that had saw palmetto in it.
Did any of these remedies achieve what I wanted them to? Maybe. I felt a little peppier, occasionally, taking a ginseng supplement. I noticed, sometimes, the symptoms of a cold I had, while taking echinacea, would sometimes be a little less severe. That鈥檚 about it.
The sorts of remedies I took that year are, in many cases, part of homeopathy 鈥� a form of alternative medicine. In theory, homeopathy seems pretty benign, but in the case of David and Collet Stephan and their poor deceased son, it鈥檚 clear that homeopathy is no proper replacement for traditional Hippocratic scientifically-backed modern medicine.
The Stephans were both found guilty in a Lethbridge court, of letting their son die of meningitis, and for 鈥渇ailing to provide the necessaries of life鈥� to their 19-month old son, Ezekiel, in 2012.
The Stephans were proponents of naturopathy. When their son fell ill with a fever, a cough, and distorted breathing, they consulted a doctor who suggested the child had croup. They did internet research on croup, found that the treatment was a type of steroids (not the kind you inject to make your muscles big, by the way) and antibiotics. For some reason, they decided a blend of natural remedies would be better for the boy, no more doctor consultation needed.
Instead of catching what turned out to be bacterial meningitis and treating it with tried-and-true modern medicine, the Stephans put little Ezekiel on a regimen of cool, humidified air, olive leaf extract, garlic and a smoothie of other natural remedies and herbal supplements 鈥� ones that did nothing to help the child. Many of the remedies they bought for their son, they bought from a relative who runs a business selling naturopathic remedies.
In the following weeks, Ezekiel eventually lost his appetite, his breathing became laboured, he became lethargic and ultimately, he succumbed to meningitis. By the time he passed away in a Cardston hospital. His body had physically stiffened to the point of having an arched back, and he was in a coma and blue.
All of this could have been prevented, had his parents ditched the health supplements, taken Ezekiel to the hospital and put him on a round of antibiotics and steroids 鈥� things that have been available, and that consistently have worked, at least in the case of antibiotics used to treat meningitis, since the 1940s.
Currently, at least in Alberta, there is a legal battle over natural remedies 鈥� not just because they are not doing what the businesses selling them purport them to be able to do, but because some of the remedies for sale are being proven too dangerous for human consumption.
Some will argue that the sentence the court gives聽 the Stephans is going to be disproportionate and that they meant well. I disagree. If they meant well, they鈥檇 have done their research when trying to figure out what was best for their son 鈥� not operate on hunches and speculation they have about medicine. A licensed pediatrician would have diagnosed, prescribed scientifically backed medicine, and would have saved Ezekiel from a completely treatable disease.
The jury鈥檚 out on which naturopathic remedies are legit and which are just snake oil. I鈥檓 sure, in many cases, the benefits of such a system of medicine can serve as a great adjunct to proper diet and Hippocratic modern medicine 鈥� but it鈥檚 not a replacement.
