Why I write this blog

Quite a few people seem to be amazed about the amount of work and the enthusiasm I invest into this blog. To be honest, I am amazed too. Why do I do it? And why do I do it in the way I do it?

I am sure that my critics have a choice of answers at the ready; in one way or another, the following theories have been put forward:

1. I was bought by the pharmaceutical industry.
2. I have had a bad experience with one or several alternative practitioners.
3. I want to get rich and/or famous.
4. I feel that conventional medicine is flawless
5. I don’t know what I am writing about.

None of these notions is remotely true, of course.

Big Pharma has never approached me, and so far nobody at all has ever tried to influence the contents of my posts. I never had a bad personal experience with alternative medicine; on the contrary, I had several quite positive ones. The blog does not earn me money; it even costs a little to run it, and nobody other than I pay for it. I do not think that fame is something one can achieve through doing a blog, and I certainly do not aim at doing so. Sadly, I know only too well about the many flaws in conventional medicine; it is often far from perfect but at least it makes progress; alternative medicine, by contrast, seems almost entirely static. As I have studied most aspects of alternative medicine for two decades and published more than any other person on this subject, I think the allegation of incompetence might be a bit far-fetched.

So, why then?

When I decided to become a doctor I, like most medical students, did so mainly to help suffering individuals. When I became a researcher, I felt more removed from this original ideal. Yet I told myself that, by conducting research, I might eventually contribute to a better health care of tomorrow. Helping suffering patients was still firmly on the agenda. But then I realised that my articles in peer-reviewed medical journals somehow missed an important target: in alternative medicine, one ought to speak not just to health care professionals but also to consumers and patients; after all, it is they who often make the therapeutic decisions in this area.

Once I had realised this, I started addressing the general public by writing for The Guardian and other newspapers, giving public lectures and publishing books for a lay audience, like TRICK OR TREATMENT…The more I did this sort of thing, the more I noticed how important this activity was. And when a friend offered to help me set up a blog, I did not hesitate for long.

So, the reason for my enthusiasm for this blog turns out to be the same as the one that enticed me to go into medicine in the first place. I do believe that it is helpful for consumers to know the truth about alternative medicine. Considering the thousands of sources of daily misinformation in this area, there is an urgent need for well-informed, critical information. By providing it, I am sure I can assist people to make better therapeutic decisions. In a way, I am back where I started all those years ago: hoping to help suffering patients in the most direct way my expertise allows.