Para bien (o para mal)

DoTERRA received a warning letter from the FDA for misbranding, false claims, marketing as cures. Do not trust this company.

I was pleasantly surprised the way they handled the subject. I did Ayahuasca three years ago and it changed my life. The stories are powerful and very moving, and different perspectives including the scientific is covered in a respectful way. I also really liked that they included the perspective of the natives that have shared their medicines compassionately with the west.

What I feel is missing very often concerning documentaries on aya, is the fact that you are responsible to stay off medicines, drugs, alcohol and to cleanse and fast before the ceremony. The other thing is that unfortunalely aya is not healing in itself, if you are not surrounded by experienced, grounded and loving guides! The third thing is that aya requires you to work on your self and make necessary changes in your life, it is you who needs to do the work, and some experience with introspection and reflection is very useful before you choose to do it.

What an awesome idea to debunk pseudosience in a Netflix series. But these documentaries don't do anything to support a scientific worldview or combat pseudoscience. Such a missed chance!

Right of the bat, in the opening lines of each episode, there are judgments, but we don't need judgments based on who know whose opinion, we need a series like this to present products, highlight what's controversial about them, denounce any misinfirmation if it's out there, and present scientifically grounded and paracticle conclusions.

You can do better, Netflix!

This is an interesting, yet flawed presentation of alternative "medicine" health strategies. Testimonials from practitioners are not challenged in a traditional reporting style question and answer format. This leaves many crackpots extolling the virtues of their unscientific therapies unchallenged as they speak. My biggest issue so far was related to the fasting episode. Specifically, a man with Mantle Cell Lymphoma (which I also have), claimed that after 2 rounds of chemo and intermittent fasting while on chemo, his scans came back "cancer free." If he was "cancer free" then why did his doctors have him complete 6 rounds of chemo? I had 8 rounds of chemo and after my 3rd round my PET scan was clear. My doctors explained my cancer wasn't gone and I was certainly not "cancer free" at that point. The medical fact is after your first few rounds the remaining cancer cells can become so dispersed and small that a PET scan doesn't detect them. So you STILL have cancer and you STILL need to complete all of your chemo. I focused on healthy eating according to the Certified Dietician's recommendations for all 8 rounds. The testimonial was false, misleading and dangerous for him to indicate 2 rounds plus hydration and fasting did anything to make him "cancer free." I agree with his nutritional and exercise approach post-chemo while he's in remission, but there is zero scientific evidence that his fasting will keep him in remission longer than me. I'm on a mostly plant-based diet (which I've followed for years) plus exercise every day (which I've also done for years). Despite strongly disagreeing with his conclusions on the role of fasting during his chemo, I wish him the best. We are both going to face health challenges in the future from this aggressive, incurable disease.

My eyes came across this documentary and watched it without any expectations. It just got me interested in some things that are used for wellness and treatment as I did not know they existed. It did not get into the details of the directors background and other stuff that may influence the perspective provided the series, but from my point of view it tries to be quite neutral, show different opinions, some advantages and risks of one treatment or another. It does not say what is good or bad for us, it just shows that some people go too far and yes, there are some inspirational and phenomenal cases. It's all about to be smart and thoughtfull about yourself. In general - pretty good for a person without any expections or preconceived notions.