Understanding the Limitations of Medical Research

by Stephanie Chambers

The medical profession works hard to keep us healthy, and we are grateful that hospitals are available in case of a serious emergency. At the same time, it's important to recognize that some prescribed medications can be expensive, and clinical research, while essential, is still evolving.*

A Lot of Research Has Been Conducted On Men, Not Women

Many clinical trials of medications and other treatments are conducted on men rather than women.

Alyson McGregor, in her TED talk, explained how many of the medicines we take, including common drugs like sedatives such as Zolpidem and painkillers like aspirin, were only ever tested on men (and before that, male rats and male cells). We don’t know if women might experience unknown side effects that could be serious or possibly even fatal.

A recent study showed that 80 percent of the drugs withdrawn from the market are due to side effects on women. So, they get to market without being tested on women, and then have to be withdrawn from sale because women have bad side effects when they take them.

Men and women have very different physiologies, different hormones and so on. But the scientists doing the research found it easier to just test males.

As Noel Bairey Merz pointed out in her TED talk, most research on heart disease has been conducted on men, not women, even though more women die of heart attacks than breast cancer. Women appear to have different heart attack symptoms than men and need different tests to identify them. If they just have the standard “men’s heart attack” tests at the hospital emergency ward, nothing shows up, and they often get sent home being told that it might just have been gas. Then, later, they have the second and fatal heart attack and die.

You may be interested to know that there are Essential Oils that have traditionally been used for high blood pressure and arrhythmia. See Essential Oils For High Blood Pressure and Essential Oils For Arrhythmia for more details.*

More awareness of these gender differences is increasing, and hopefully future medical research won’t be so one-sided. Meanwhile, many medications that are currently for sale may not have been tested on your gender, if you are female.

The Effects of Combining Multiple Medications Aren’t Always Fully Understood

As Russ Altman explained in his recent TED talk, research by his team showed that taking one type of cholesterol medication with one type of anti-depressant caused a significant increase in blood glucose levels, and thus increased the risks associated with diabetes.

There are numerous combinations of other medications that have not been tested and probably never will be tested because they are too numerous to test. So every time you end up taking more than one medication, your risks of getting an unknown side effect substantially increases. And of course, each medication itself comes with a long list of possible side effects.

What Can You Do?

Natural approaches such as herbs, aromatherapy, and Essential Oils are often considered to have fewer side effects and may offer more subtle, holistic benefits. However, it's important to remember that 'natural' doesn’t always mean risk-free. If you're taking prescription medications, it's essential to check for possible interactions with any natural remedies. Research on many of these treatments is still limited, in part because they lack the large-scale funding that supports pharmaceutical research. As interest in holistic health grows, we hope to see more studies that help clarify the safety and effectiveness of these approaches.*

Disclaimer: *The statements made on this page have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They are not intended to diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. If a condition persists, please contact your physician or healthcare provider. The information provided is not a substitute for a face-to-face consultation with a healthcare provider, and should not be construed as medical advice.

Original Published: 2016-05-24 / Last Modified: 2025-5-30