Latest Trustworthy News from Dr. Mercola - delivered straight to your inbox!

Stigmatized Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Sufferers Seek Recognition

There are many fronts in the war on alternative medicine. Symptoms that do not respond to reductionist allopathic treatments are frequently delegitimized and the suffering of those afflicted downplayed. A prominent and long standing target of the mainstream medical establishment is chronic fatigue syndrome. As reported by CTV, "Canada's largest scientific funding agency recently decided that ME/CFS is not deserving of research funding because it is not a legitimate disease, and more likely made up by patients."

The truth is that chronic fatigue syndrome is a debilitating condition and causes sufferers to experience unrelenting fatigue no matter how much rest they get. That there is no profitable standard of care model or silver bullet pill does not make it any less real. Recent research has pointed to gut health as being the underlying cause of the condition. Holistic treatment may be able to provide the path to recovery as it targets the underlying causes rather than just the visible symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. The potential success of the naturopathic model of treatment is a threat to the medical establishment and goes a long way towards explaining why Canada is so eager to pull the plug on funding research into this devastating affliction.