We live in an era where many of the things that used to kill us are not much of a threat, assuming we follow prevalent advice.
Of course from our earliest days we tried to overcome injuries and illnesses via use of people who claimed to have certain abilities or communion with spirits. Some of the things they did with herbs and other remedies actually had beneficial effects, since trial and error often led to moderately effective treatments.
However, they often used a hit or miss approach with no guarantee of success and like many current charlatans noted their successes without ever mentioning their failures.
Once in a while they used techniques that actually were likely to do more harm then good.
While there is evidence going back to ancient times of applied medical techniques using a more scientific approach, it was in the modern era that we developed the technology and infrastructure to effectively eliminate many diseases that had been a scourge to humanity.
Our life expectancy has greatly increased and many diseases that used to be largely fatal are now not.
Unless of course we ignore science and rely on superstitious remedies.
I was reading the story of a young boy who died from diabetes because his family decided to trust a herbalist who told them Insulin is poison. It isn't.
We see people refusing vaccines because of inaccurate information or studies that have been discredited because they don't understand or trust the science.
Yes some corporations might make unseemly profits providing drugs, but we do have ways to verify the effectiveness of those drugs.
Sometimes promises are made by non-traditional practitioners that seem too good to be true. They are.
It is easy to believe that a complex problem has a simple solution that relies of some mystical belief. If the ancients knew all the cures for everything, why didn't everything get cured?
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