Thursday, August 12, 2010

Why Alternative Medicine is the Answer

Here are only some of the advantages of natural medicine:

The approach is holistic. While conventional medicine is organ-specific, natural medicine approaches each person as a unique individual and takes on a holistic view in the treatment of symptoms and illnesses, believing the body to have its own natural healing powers and energies. It also focuses on the prevention or treatment of the cause of disorders, and deals with much more than mere relief of symptoms.

Alternative medicine embraces natural remedies, therapies, and products. The health and beauty industry has grown to include not just cosmetics and bodybuilding solutions, but also other products and services promoting one's general well-being. This includes natural / alternative medicine products, nutritional vitamins, supplements, fresh herbs, and other natural herbal remedies. Botanic Choice, for example, is a leading source of fresh, all-natural products for various health concerns, including cholesterol health, weight loss, heart health, blood pressure, diabetes, and respiratory care, among many others.

It is time-tested and safe. Conventional Western medicine, lest you forget, is only less than a hundred years old, while each modality of natural medicine is an integrated system of safe, time-tested healthcare that is increasingly being validated by scientific research. It has a longer history of development than has conventional medicine, spanning centuries, and it has also made people take much more active roles in understanding their bodies and bodily functions better as well as applying techniques to make these healthier.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Natural Medicine for Insomnia

Acupuncture

Traditional Chinese Medicine has been using acupuncture for decades for treating insomnia and other related diseases. This is done by using fine needles that are inserted into the skin at specific points that can influence blood flow and improve the functioning of the internal organs. There are scientific researches that back up the effectiveness of acupuncture in improving sleep quality among people with insomnia.

Herbal Remedies

Herbal remedies for insomnia have been found to be just as effective as some of the anxiety drugs that are in the market. The root of the valerian plant is known to stimulate sleep, and has been found to have no side effects such as dizziness, which some sleeping pills cause. Other herbal remedies for insomnia include ginseng, passionflower, hops and green tea. These herbs are known to relax the body and the mind, which can improve sleep.

Meditation and Relaxation

Sleep usually does not come easy when you are feeling stressed out. By learning techniques of deep breathing and meditation, you can achieve a more relaxed body and mind, which can help you sleep better. Researches have shown that meditation and relaxation can lower your blood pressure and can also regulate your heart beat, which are all essential in achieving quality sleep.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Holistic Approach to Depression

Millions of individuals suffer from clinical or symptomatic depression. If you are one of them, you can experience great benefit from some specific attention to their own health as well as guidance from a health professional who understands the basic tenets of natural medicine.

Natural medicine is consistent with the rhythms of nature and how nature is organized. Historically, there has been a commitment in medicine to do no harm, and when you are using natural substances such as herbs and working at a gradual pace, the likelihood of doing harm is almost completely eliminated.

Because depressions symptoms can be all over the board and sometimes quite contrary to each other, finding the right herbal medicine for treatment can be tricky. For instance, some symptoms for one may include chronic fatigue syndrome, insomnia, excessive sleep, loss of appetite, excessive appetite, headaches, backaches, joint aches, bowel disorders, as well as feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy.

The next person will complain of tension, stress, chronic headaches, chronic stomach aches, bowel problems, chronic nutritional deficiencies, chronic allergies, chronic physical disorder, poor diet, excessive sugar and caffeine intake, endocrine disorder such as hypothyroidism, endometriosis, lack of sun exposure, and assaults from the environment such as toxic metals.




Saturday, July 24, 2010

Garlic as a Natural Medicine

Garlic is one of the oldest known medicine from plants. Ancient Sanskrit documents describe garlic remedies being used in India 5,000 years ago. Chinese medicine has used the healing and beneficial health qualities of garlic for over 3,000 years. In 1858, Louis Pasteur praised the anti-bacterial properties of garlic. World War I surgeons used garlic juice to fight infections in wounds. Garlic was also used as an antibiotic during World War II. Garlic has been used as a spice for food for centuries because of it s ability to kill germs that cause food to spoil. Roman senator, naturalist and scholar, Pliney the Elder, recorded the beneficial effects of garlic on human health. In Marseilles, in 1722, garlic was the main medicine used to prevent and treat the plague. Dr. Albert Schweitzer used garlic as an antiseptic in his hospital. Garlic is actually licensed as a drug in Japan.

Garlic contains a sulphur compound called allicin. Allicin is what gives garlic it s taste and aroma and is thought to be the key ingredient that gives garlic it s natural health benefits.

Garlic kills 30 types of bacteria that are known to cause intestinal disorders and digestive problems. Garlic has been used for hundreds of years to treat dysentery. Garlic has been known to help kill intestinal worms and other parasites. Garlic also has antifungal properties to prevent and help treat intestinal disorders such as candida. Garlic s antifungal qualities has also been used to treat fungal and bacterial skin infections as well as infections of the lung, sinus, bladder, vagina, colds and flu.



Tuesday, July 20, 2010

An Alternative Medicine Truth

There exist today many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical treatments. It would pay to consult the experts as to the legitimacy of these treatments.

Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In that case of minor ailments your expert we actually advise you to take natural therapies instead.

The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick. Natural medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits. These habits include good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment.

It is this same line of thought that leads our parents to tell us to eat our vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle and will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine; may it be massage, herbal medicine, aromatherapy or others.

It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of sages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine are encouraging. So staying tuned to studying these remedies is worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly helpful to our health and our society.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Natural Medicine: A Lost Art?

Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. This does not mean that it has lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually better than modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider and study the possible uses of natural medicine

Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.

Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, and the like are likely to be recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.

Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy of natural medicine among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free.

As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate are legitimate.


Thursday, July 8, 2010

Think Past the Medicine Bottle

When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the doctor will, of course, prescribe medicines. You will go and buy medicines. You take them, and hopefully, you get well. This is how the health profession goes on nowadays, a cycle of diagnosis and prescription. If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you would probably say that that person was a quack.

But nowadays, studies are being conducted to see if there are really is any merit to what is called natural medicine.

Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.

Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine. Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before the advent of modern medicine. This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese, Ayurvedic(or Indian), and Greek medicine.

Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten.

For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in traditional medicine.