Alternative health and healing

modern or alternative healing, or both?

What is natural healing?

Natural healing is a group of healing methods which formed through centuries of experiment by our ancestors. Their insights into the successful use of indigenous foods and plants as medicines have survived through generations to give us a rich, global heritage. Herbs were used in India five thousand years ago, oils in Egypt, acupuncture in China. The best known therapies are herbal therapy, acupuncture, aromatherapy, ayurveda, holistic medicine, massage therapy, apitherapy, vitamin therapy and healing touch.

The goal of natural healing is to reach a healthy state and keep it. To form the ideal diet and lifestyle for an individual, according to physical and mental state, to achieve optimal health. To provide the body with the right nutrition, vitamins and minerals as well as preventing toxic buildup in the body.

When illness develops, it is the goal of natural healing to help the body heal itself.

But..

Some people today are taking this to the extreme?

Yes, many of us are turning our backs completely on modern medicine, refusing immunizations, surgery or life saving medications according to the false notion of “getting back to nature”. This is not only ridiculous, but also dangerous. Please, let's not go back to the times of our ancestors when the only means of healing were herbs and blood letting. Let us use the knowledge which our ancestors gathered, lets us use the modern medicine and the old one together, but let us use them both wisely.

It is true that..

We're not going to the drug store to buy up all the medications that are in style because our neighbor recommends it, or we read about it in a magazine, but because we trust the doctor to prescribe the right one for us, right?

But..

Although herbs are powerful healers as well as safer than the more common synthetic medicines, let's not simply follow the advice of magazines or the nature store cashier's sales pitch on which herb, vitamin or homeopathic medication to take. The herb that Aunt Mary uses for her arthritis is not necessarily appropriate for, let's say, liver or heart problems. Of course, instinctively we should consult a well-qualified specialist.

And..

The vitamin mania is another example: “The more the better! They can't harm us, they're just vitamins and vitamins are good for you.” This way of thinking is just as dangerous if not more than vitamin deficiency. We need vitamins and minerals, yes, but the big question is what kind and how much. The body can store overdosed fat-soluble vitamins or minerals for a while but when this resource is exhausted, the result can be serious organ damage. For example, vitamin A in high doses can cause acute reactions such as severe headache, vomiting, fatigue, loss of hair and peeling of the skin. When these symptoms occur, changes in the liver, spleen and bones, indicate a toxic reaction, almost always accompany them.

Further more..

Advisably we should watch our diet, but what kind of diet should we follow? Whatever is in style; “I'm a vegetarian and have no idea how to replace the proteins and enzymes that meat consumption provides me with!” Or possibly Atkins and other weight loss diets which turn digestion upside down. Should we follow calories, portions or what not, how much and what kind of fruits, vegetables should we eat? How can we follow anything, when the fad-diet requirements are changing on a daily basis?

The questions are...

What kind of diet, herb, or vitamin is good for me? How can I achieve good health? There are two options: learn every fact there is out there on our own, or quite simply ask the advice from someone who spent years learning about them.

What are the basics of modern and alternative medicine?

Modern: symptomatic treatment

Alternative: prevention with healthy lifestyle and nutrition

Modern: according to symptoms, focus on the diseased organ with treatment

Alternative: healing of the body as a whole

Modern: symptom-medication-side effect-more medication-vitamin deficiency due to medication-even more medication.

Alternative: diet, combination of herbs, nutrition and vitamin replacement to help the body to heal itself

Is there a possibility to use them both?

The discoveries in modern medicine offer quick diagnosis, life saving treatments and surgeries but are not really equipped for the prevention or the treatment of chronic conditions. In integrating modern and alternative medicine, we can reach better health and also keep it.

Modern medicine offers mostly one size fits all medication, diet and exercise.

Alternative medicine is more personalized. It takes into account the patient's physical and mental state as well as preferences. Aerobic exercise is a good cardiovascular workout, but for sedentary, heavy people it is torture. For them, the longer walk will be satisfying and they will do it, while if we insist on the aerobic exercise, they will sit on the couch feeling guilty and munch on a donut. For energetic, fidgety people, the walking exercise is not enough, they will be happy to do aerobics and feel satisfied.

The diet advice is usually one size fits all as well, not to mention the ever changing opinions of diet requirements. Today drink milk, tomorrow it is a poison for you. Today eat meat, tomorrow be a vegetarian but after tomorrow you need some meat anyway. No fat at all today but tomorrow have some because of your deficiency in fat soluble vitamins. Sounds familiar?

According to natural healing methods, what is medicine for one can be poison for another. A good alternative practitioner takes into account the physical and emotional factors, medical history, chronic conditions and medication usage of a person in order to develop a diet plan for that person. With good nutrition, healthy lifestyle and exercise, many conditions, organ damage or the development of chronic diseases can be prevented by giving the body what it needs to build and heal itself.

Modern medicine mostly concentrates on symptomatic treatment with aggressive therapy, versus alternative therapy which focuses on restoring the balance and enhancing the body's self healing abilities.

Can we integrate the two healing methods? Yes, to meet in the middle. How?

In asthma attacks, the inhaled or injected medicine is a lifesaver but herbal teas, diet change or acupuncture can reduce the frequency and strength of the attacks.

Throat cancer can be treated with radiation but it burns very painful blisters in the mouth and throat. Rinsing the mouth with sesame oil before treatment will prevent the mucus from burning but will not interfere with the treatment. Chronic rheumatoid pain is debilitating, the side effects of the pain medications are even worse. Using aromatherapy massage, acupuncture and anti-inflammatory herbs can make the pain tolerable without the side effects. With gout, get advice from an alternative practitioner on diet, to reduce uric acid buildup which is the cause of the condition.

In the case of Insulin dependent diabetes, follow the doctor's advice, but talk to an alternative therapist to develop a diet and exercise plan, as well as herbal therapy for liver and circulatory system protection. The examples are endless

The solution? Take your health into your own hands. Use both healing methods to your advantage for prevention as well as treatment wisely.

What is behind treating or healing a disease?

Let’s see what a gardener would do if one of his trees got sick.

Treatment:

An apple tree lives in the corner of the garden in the shadow of the house, the soil is full of stones and the tree does not get adequate sunlight. It’s miserable and sickly looking with dry, yellow leaves; the branches are breaking off one by one. The gardener smears chemical glue on the broken branches, binds them with tape and supports the branches with poles, meanwhile ignoring the overall condition of the tree, concentrating on the symptoms of broken branches.

Healing:

The gardener replants the tree in a sunny corner with rich soil and plenty of water, provides the tree with fertilization and cuts the broken branches and dried leaves. The tree will get better now that it gets what it needs to heal.

To make it simple, the treatment concentrates on the symptom ignoring the overall condition; the healing eliminates the unhealthy condition that caused the symptom.

We can treat high blood pressure with medications without healing the person by masking the symptom and ignoring the cause: unhealthy diet, lifestyle and the overall condition of the body.

We can treat alcoholism with medication to create chemical dislike for the alcohol.

We can treat allergies with antihistamines.

But, we can heal high blood pressure with stress reduction, increased nutrition, exercise and healthy lifestyle to improve the overall condition and balance of the body.

We can heal alcoholism with dietary, lifestyle and nutritional changes, with the aid of herbs that reduce craving and dependency.

We can heal allergies by eliminating the trigger factors and calm the jumpy immune system with the aid of herbs.

People’s trust is declining in the medical field and its doctors. It seems that overbooked and overworked doctors are not giving enough information, they are in a hurry, and they don’t listen to or adequately explain the patient’s illness and treatment. The visit is short, mechanical, concentrates mostly on the symptom and most of the time, and ends with one or more prescription or a referral to a specialist. The patient then takes the medication, develops side effects or new symptoms, returns to the office where new tests, change of medication or a prescription for a new medication follows. Meanwhile, the patient’s diet, lifestyle, feelings, work and family circumstances get little or no attention at all. Modern medicine, with its businesslike set up ignores the whole person, pays attention mostly to physical symptoms. A person is reduced to a name, and number that doesn’t mean much in a busy, overbooked office.

The time of family doctors who visited their patients in a horse buggy, knew the family, their medical history, personality, social status from birth to sometimes death, has long gone. Today in our fast paced lifestyle, the quick and hurried visit leaves an anonymous feeling in the patient. Mostly this feeling of “I’m important, not only my back pain or diarrhea” forces the patient to turn to alternative medicine where they receive attention as well as plenty of time and empathy, which are a very important part of healing. In the past decade, there has been a rapid incline in the number of people who seek alternative methods.

Alternative medicine is a wide concept and includes varying types of natural healing methods. For example, osteopathy, naturopathy, and acupuncture require close to the same schooling as traditional medical doctors, but they’re in the same hat with kinesiology, iris diagnostics or shamanism that anybody can learn in a couple weeks long course, never having had medical schooling in anatomy, physiology or psychology. No wonder there is a lot of confusion about what alternative medicine really is.

Alternative medicine treats the whole person; including body and mind, taking into account the person’s symptoms, lifestyle, diet, feelings and beliefs.

Although from time to time, the uses of extremist or “magical” treatments provide negative results, people view them as important. First of all, alternative healers, including the extremists, pay more attention to the person; they listen, show empathy and look at the whole person. Physical touch is also important to most people, such as in massage, reflexology and osteopathy. The ancient method of healing by touch wins against the machines that stand between the modern doctor and patient. The “magical” healers with their chanting and unusual, rituals create a mystical atmosphere that can be powerful along with their placebo effect if the person believes in them.

Most well informed people on the other hand, seek out an alternative healer instead, someone who has medical knowledge and background in combination with alternative methods. They use the discoveries of modern medicine along with herbal, vitamin or other natural treatments. They pay attention to the whole person, taking into account the person’s physical and emotional state, as well as playing a major role in developing a healthy diet and lifestyle, thus preventing and treating illness.

My opinion is that the future looks bright for integrated medicine, combining the gathered knowledge of millennia with modern discoveries, using the best of each. For example: in heart failure, the person needs diuretics to get rid of the extra fluid that accumulates in the extremities or in more serious cases, the whole body. The diuretics deplete potassium, which can cause dangerous arrhythmias. The integrative healer would use dandelion, which is rich in potassium and also a powerful diuretic instead of traditional diuretics, getting rid of the extra fluid and replacing potassium in one step. Most medications used to treat asthma and cough contain ephedrine which raises blood pressure and speeds up the heart. The herb ephedra sinica also contains ephedrine as the main ingredient as well as six other alkaloids that reduce this side effect. In the majority of the cases, the use of whole herbs makes more sense because of nature’s built in counter effect. The integrative healer admits the lifesaving benefits of chemotherapy and radiation in cancer treatment, but in addition, helps the body heal with appropriate natural methods to cope with the drastic effects of the treatment. Overall, alternative healing uses both the natural and modern medicine to treat the person according to the situation and the person’s need.

As an alternative practitioner I am not here to treat diseases with drastic measures, order tests or even medications. This is the role of your medical doctor as well as overseeing your medical treatments. My aim is to help you decide what kind of diet, nutrition and lifestyle to follow in order to feel healthier. I might recommend herbs, but these will not interfere with your existing medications. I might also recommend certain vitamins which you are either not getting enough of in your diet or which your current medications are leeching out of your system. I will give you a type specific diet plan and exercise recommendation which makes you feel the best you can physically and emotionally.

There are practitioners out there who will advise taking excessive amounts of vitamins or herbs daily. They might recommend extreme treatments which, most of them, in my opinion; do more harm than good to your body. I am not one of these extremists whose far out ideas and miracle cure promises sound catchy at first but later are proven to be harmful. I will not recommend 350,000 IU Vitamin A for your infant who will end up in the Emergency Room lethargic with a bulging fontanel. I will not even recommend the coffee colonics or fasting three times a week (which seem to be popular right now) nor will I recommend abusive exercise.

My philosophy is to do no harm, to help the body heal itself with the aid of the right nutrition, herbs and vitamins and to keep the body in a maximum state of health. So, if you are in favor of a quick fix, expecting a miracle cure or partial to extreme treatments, you are in the wrong place.

But if you are serious about helping your body, to stay healthy with the aid of the right diet, lifestyle and nutrition, let me help you.