Good Alternative Medicine

“There is no alternative medicine, said Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and author. “There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t work.”

The popular notion of alternative medicine in the western world is any medical practice that falls outside the confines of conventional or allopathic medicine. Conventional medicine’s complaint against alternative medicine is that it doesn’t have a scientific basis or is not evidence-based. It is often rooted in historical or cultural traditions.

Alternative medicine does work, and it’s safe when administered by knowledgeable practitioners. It is safer than the side effects of many conventional pharmaceuticals. the purpose of this article is to let you know of the non-conventional healing available and the choices you have in addition to conventional medicine.

Some alternative healing practices are termed complimentary, and, indeed, there is an US government agency, the American National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine with the mission to inquire into those healing practices within the scope of rigorous science; qualification of CAM researchers; and promulgating confirmed knowledge to both public and health care professionals. However, few conventional or allopathic medicine practitioners endorse CAM because of pressure from the American Medical Association and the pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Another term for alternative medicine and practices, when combined with conventional medicine and practices, is integrative medicine. Several hospitals and universities have departments of integrative medicine.

The alternative medicine disciplines include chiropractic medicine, homeopathy, naturopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, holistic medicine, Ayurveda, and herbalism as well as a few other practices.  Sometimes meditation, yoga therapy, hypnosis, nutritional-based therapies, and biofeedback are referred to as alternative medicine.  However, they are tools and processes that may or not be used in complimentary, integrative or alternative medicine practices.

A chiropractic practitioner must be a doctor of chiropractic, or D.C.  in all states. Their’s is a hands-on therapy called adjustment or spinal manipulation. Low back pain treatment, especially sciatic nerve pain relief, is a common procedure sought after by many, if not most of their patients. Neck and shoulder treatments are also not unusual procedures. Chiropractic believes the body is a powerful self-healer. The goal of chiropractic therapy is to normalize the relationship of the structure of the body, primarily the spine, and its function of healing itself.

The central principle of homeopathy is “like cures like,” a principle of similars stating that disease is cured by remedies derived from natural substances that come from plants, minerals, or animals that produce like symptoms in a healthy person. Though a very few analyses produced evidence to support homeopathy, most have not reported positive findings. The challenges found in the study of homeopathy are that many of its key concepts aren’t consistent current science understanding, and especially physics and chemistry .

Naturopathic practitioners make use of a variety of traditional and modern therapies. However, their  emphasis is on the healing power of nature. Though naturopath specialists focus on  treatments they consider ‘natural,’ they may carry some risk. A typical patient sees his practitioner for primary care and other health related services. Not all states provide for licensing of naturopathic practitioners. As of 2011 less than 20 states license them.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TMC) views the body, mind, and spirit as one system. Treatment in TMC includes acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage, dietary therapy, and mind-body therapies such as tai chi and qi gong. The TMC practitioner has a concept of the world and the human body quite different from that of Western medicine. The basis of this concept is the ancient Chinese perception of humans being microcosms of the larger, encompassing universe and are interconnected with and subject to the forces of nature.

Acupuncture, though not accepted by all Western medicine practitioners, is the single most accepted Chinese medicine treatment. It’s use has been common in other Asian countries such as Japan and Korea and is one of the oldest healing practices in the world. The aim of acupuncture is to restore health and maintain it through stimulation of specific points on the body. At this time 34 states have education requirements and provisions for licensing acupuncturists in the United States.

Ayurveda, probably as old if not older than Traditional Chinese Medicine, originated in India. The primary purpose of Ayurvedic medicine is to balance and integrate the body, mind, and spirit and thereby gaining happiness and health and the prevention of illness. Cleansing the body of substances that can cause disease as well as treating specific physical and mental health problems are parts of treatment. The concepts of Ayurvedic medicine relative to health and disease are based upon the body’s constitution (prakriti) and life forces (doshas). Prakriti refers to a person’s general health and probability of staying in balance. Doshas are life forces or energies which control the activities of the body.

Though Ayurveda and TMC are holistic medicine systems, there is another system specifically named ‘Holistic Medicine’ that is perhaps a more simpler form. It appears to be more of a lifestyle rather than the Ayurveda and TMC systems. Its practitioners state that they treat the whole person, using holistic healing, holistic nutrition and herbs to stimulate the body’s ability to heal itself. As with most alternative medicine they treat the whole person rather than the disease. A holistic practitioner considers the patient’s nutritional needs, the physical and emotional state and his environmental, social, spiritual and lifestyle values.

Herbalism, or herbal medicine, is the practice of using plant and tree seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers for medicinal purposes. It has existed before there was a written human history. It is an important part of Traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda. As in those alternative medicines, it is used as both a preventative and a curative for disease. Among the reasons for using herbal medicine over pharmaceuticals are lower cost and fewer, if any, side effects.

Alternative medicine practitioners use an approach to medicine that emphasizes treating the person as a whole, with special attention to the interconnections of the mind and body and of the systems within the body. They view the presence of disease as an imbalance of the emotional, mental and physical state of a person and endeavor to support and strengthen the immune system by natural means.

The focus of conventional medicine is to treat disease or its symptoms using pharmaceuticals. The prescribed drugs often have side effects that introduce other problems and even death.

Often the studies of drugs prescribed in conventional medicine are revealed to be suspect and profit driven, too. A case in point is the cholesterol inhibiting/reducing statin drugs. Thirty years ago you had high cholesterol if you had a reading of 240. Twenty years ago the high cholesterol number became 200 and recently it has become 180.

Each time the high cholesterol reading was lowered more patients were prescribed statins. Is a reading of 180 really better than a reading of 240? There are conventional medical practitioners who question the need for the lower cholesterol numbers if a patient’s life style and nutrition meet good natural healthcare standards. They do not want to subject their patients to the dangers of the side effects of statins one of which is the interference of the production of Co-Enzyme Q10 (Co-Q10).

Certainly there is profit in Alternative medicine too. Its practioners are not 100 percent altruistic. And there may even be a few charlatans practicing. However there isn’t the billions of dollars for temptations there as there is in conventional pharmaceuticals.

I invite you to spend some time reading the articles on this site and see the choices you have available for medical treatment. Conventional medicine and alternative medicine can work side by side.