According to health experts, doctors should be informed of anything a patient puts in their body to prevent any unwanted complications of combining conventional and complimentary & alternative medicines (CAM).

The report said discussing everything with a doctor “allows patients and physicians the opportunity to identify CAM practices that might be beneficial and also minimizes risks to a patient from potential therapy interactions.”

The survey included 1,559 people age 50 and older, 63 percent of which have used a CAM.

69 percent of that group did not tell their doctors about their use of CAMs. Massage therapy or chiropractic manipulation, and herbal or dietary supplements were some of the most popular CAMs used among those surveyed.

When asked why they don’t disclose this information to their doctors, the common response was because doctors never ask. 30 percent of people said they weren’t aware that they should tell their doctor. Of that 30 percent, 17 percent felt their doctor wouldn’t be knowledgeable about the subject and 12 percent felt that the doctor may try to deter them from using CAMs.

These answers are actually pretty spot on. It is awkward for a doctor to ask about alternative therapy because in their world, it doesn’t exist. All they know is conventional medicine so the thought of using something natural to treat or prevent an ailment is out of their scope of reality. And yes, it is true that most medical doctors aren’t very knowledgeable about CAMs. What do you expect? Not one single course on nutrition is taught to them in medical school. Instead, they learn treatments using chemicals that in reality can be prescribed for anything as long as they are approved by the FDA. And yes, in most cases a doctor will try to discourage use of CAMs for two reasons. First, they are uneducated about them. And second, natural alternatives take money from Big Pharma.

Simply put, for profit businesses like pharmaceutical companies make money off of your sickness, using CAMs takes money out of their pockets.

Here’s my advice. If you feel you need to see a doctor, try a Naturopath. If you insist on seeing a medical doctor, always disclose in full which CAMs you are using but let no one try to discourage you from using them.