Question: Is there Scientific evidence that modern medicine is better than traditional medicine. If so why is is that people who use traditional medicine have less common diseases affecting them?

Isabel Webb answered on 19 Mar 2014:

Many people believe that traditional medicine can cure serious illnesses. However, there is no scientific proof behind these traditional medicines.

In order for a theory to be accepted by scientists as fact, we want to see real evidence – so we want to see a fair test that can be repeated and get the same results. With modern medicines this is done thoroughly. Before a medicine can be used on patients it must first go through trials and tests on both healthy and ill people to prove that it works and is effective. This evidence is presented, and only then are medicines allowed to go to shops/doctors.

Traditional medicine is often used by people who don’t trust doctors, and often don’t trust science. Their use of these medicines is based on other people’s claims – but these claims often have no evidence. Often a researcher will try and find out what it is in traditional medicine that is having the curing effect, and turn this into a drug. This is how we discovered asprin – people used to chew willow tree bark to help headaches, and a scientist found out what it was in the bark that helped.

Other traditional medicines have no scientific reason why they work. We often think this may be a ‘placebo effect’. The placebo effect is when you believe that something will make you better, and so your body tries harder to fight it, and you get better. This may explain why the people have fewer diseases affecting them as well.
People who use herbal medicines often live very careful healthy lifestyles because they are scared of getting ill. They probably don’t smoke cigarettes, and probably do lots of exercise – and so of course they have fewer illnesses.

If scientists believe that a traditional medicine truly does help cure a disease, they will probably try and investigate it!