Dr. Hassan Amjad doesn't hold back when he speaks of the reigning medical system in the United States.
"Health care is America is totally broken. It's too expensive and the system is too corrupt," said the Beckley-based internist and medical botanist.
Amjad is a self-described "naturalist" who emphasizes herbal remedies and alternative remedies in the face of a corporate medical system that emphasizes expensive interventions and costly procedures and medicines.
Amjad, who has written scores of books, monographs and articles about natural remedies, will be a featured speaker at Saturday's free Holistic Health and Wellness Fair, which runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 520 Kanawha Blvd. West.
The event features four other guest speakers, more than 30 vendor booths, specialty foods, raffles and free demonstrations and group practice from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. to mark World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day (Qi Gong is a Chinese moving meditation exercise).
Amjad will speak at 11:30 a.m. and then again at 1 p.m., on the topic "Treating Common Illnesses with Herbal and Natural Medicine."
He has written on such subjects as "Medical Botany of the Eastern United States," "Common Medicinal Plants of Appalachia," "Wild Flowers of West Virginia," "Pomegranate: Anatomy of a Divine Remedy," and "Tea: Elixir of Life." (See his website for more titles: www.jmcnaturalmedicine.com.)
Amjad also wrote a book on "Catfish, Man of the Woods," the legendary West Virginia herbalist Clarence Frederick Gray, titled "Life and Thymes of an Appalachian Herbalist."
"I encourage patients and in my lectures to look at natural cures," Amjad said.
Natural and alternative medicinal practices are common around the world, he added.
Yet in today's corporate-driven medical system, Amjad said, many doctors are not able to fulfill the Hippocratic Oath, which in its classical form required a new physician to swear to uphold specific ethical standards, and in its modern version, specifically notes that: "I will not be ashamed to say 'I know not,' nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery."
"Instead of the Hippocratic Oath, to worry about the patient, now, because they are owned by corporate medicine, it's more of a 'veterinarian' ethic," he said. "Because if you go to a veterinarian, whoever is paying the bill tells you what to do. I mean you never ask our dogs whether they need to be neutered.
"It is the bottom line: medicine has become a trade, a commodity. And it is really time for change. Less expensive therapies and options should be given," Amjad said. "I'm hoping we have a better understanding that there are simple cures and you don't have to have expensive methods to treat common ailments."
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Other speakers at Saturday's event include:
10 a.m.: Pam Litz, a nutrition and wellness adviser and consultant and distributor for Young Living Essential Oils. Topic: "Essential Oils from Ancient Times to our Modern Age."
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10:40 a.m.: Dr. Peggy Burkhardt, an Associate Professor Emerita at WVU School of Nursing in Charleston and former president of the American Holistic Nurses Association. Burkhardt has authored and published numerous articles and books relating to holistic nursing, spirituality and ethics in nursing. Topic: "Mindfulness."
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1:45 p.m.: Kasabez Maakmaah, an instructor, social activist, and regional director of the Earth Center located in Charleston, one of nine Earth Centers in the world. He teaches the importance of understanding the complete human being and the role of nature in the process of healing, especially from addictions. Topic: ''Addiction Recovery: Healing the Whole Person and How Addictions are Byproducts of Psychological Imbalances." For more, visit theearthcenter.org.
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2:30 p.m.: Alecia Rice, an ordained minister and counselor who serves as a spiritual adviser, guiding clients to an awareness of the 'divine feminine' within. Her topic is "Nurturing the Holistic Goddess."
For more information on the event, contact Ron Wilkerson at 304-395-7671.