The cry carries on – #ProtectDocAdam continues to surge with stories from both sides. On one side, stories of gratitude about how Doc Adam’s advice helped them cope with sickness; while on the other, stories of contempt about how following one Dr. Farrah’s recommendation to turn to natural ways has worsened their condition.
What’s the deal with this Dr. Farrah?
If you haven’t been following the fiasco, here’s a super-quick condensed version for you:
In other words, Doc Adam, with 10 years of medical experience, debunks all the misleading information about a phony product in one of his YouTube videos; Dr. Farrah, whose natural remedies have also been proven bogus by Doc Adam before, teamed up with the CEO of said phony product to sue Doc Adam and ruin his reputation; Doc Adam leaves YouTube and Facebook after legal pressures, and now everyone is out for Dr. Farrah’s head. Now this is some serious medical drama.
So Doc Adam is good, Dr. Farrah is bad. Doc Adam uses his decade of medical expertise (and excellent Filipino-speaking skills too!) to educate Filipino viewers on public healthcare, while Doc Farrah backs her recommendations on natural remedies with her $49 online course taken from Harvard University.
And we’re not just talking about chewing santol leaves or rubbing aloe vera sap on a sore — her risky “medical guidance” has actually resulted to worse illnesses, and even death:
What #ProtectDocAdam gets wrong…sort of
Believe us, we’re all as proud a part of #ProtectDocAdam as the next person. It’s an understatement to say that his videos are helpful — they actually save lives by making rigorous medical information accessible to the common Filipino. He takes time out of his busy schedule (remember, he’s still a doctor) to film these enjoyable videos (he learned how to speak Filipino just to be understood) and to dole out free consultations to the most underprivileged.
But defending Doc Adam’s reputation shouldn’t have to come with resentment towards natural remedies as a whole.
In fact, Doc Adam, with all his years of expertise and dedication to the practice of medicine, has repeatedly cited natural elements as sources of effective medication for various sickness. These are just some examples where he cites natural remedies as effective alternatives to modern medicine:
Before we start sounding like the villain, let it be known that promoting natural alternative medicines versus promoting medical malpractice through false guidance are two vastly different things. If only the leaves could talk, they surely won’t share any of Dr. Farrah’s opinion.
With that being said, natural remedies work, and science says so. There are a lot of prescription drugs derived from plant products, as well as FDA-accredited herbal supplements with plant components that function as advertised. Even the repolyo (cabbage), with all infamous memes made after it, has documented benefits too, if only Dr. Farrah knew about them in the correct sense.
So if you’re rallying for the #ProtectDocAdam cause, then that means supporting safe remedies, natural alternatives included. After all, it depends on an accurate diagnosis and guided medical intervention that the likes of Doc Adam can provide. As long as the science is sound, conventional medicine and traditional herbal medicines will continue to coexist.
