Treating the Whole Body

I would be one of first to hail modern medicine. Traditional medicine has come far from where it was years ago. Modern medicine saves lives every day, but sometimes at a cost of unwanted side effects. Modern traditional medicine treats the visible symptoms.

For example, you have daily pain in your joints. Modern medicine is likely to treat you with pain medication. Alternative therapy addresses this common point by treating the underlying cause creating the pain. All the pain medication is going to do is cover up the disease process.

What about the disease itself?

Healing Herbs and Holistic Remedies

Does Diet, Holistic and Herbal Therapy Fit into Traditional Modern Medicine?

I believe that alternative medicine is gaining tremendous strides within the traditional medical field. There are more compelling articles in the 21st Century, written in conventional and reputable medical journals about the potent healing properties of primary herb groups.

Types of Doctors

• DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine)
• MD (Medical Doctor or Allopathic Medicine)
• Holistic MD treating traditionally or through alternative therapy is a medical doctor who attained their Holistic Degree
• The Holistic Practitioner is a doctor certified in addressing underlying causes of diseases and illnesses with herbal remedies. These practitioners are not licensed to practice medicine or prescribe medicine.

The Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine has the same education that the Medical Doctor, except they learn chiropractic techniques or bone manipulation along with their medical schooling. The DO learns about in-depth diets and well-balanced meals. The DO does go to school longer. I always thought the opposite. I used to think that the DO did not have nearly as much schooling as an MD. I was wrong.

Training for the DO always included a look at the whole patient, body, mind, and spirit, versus just looking at the injured or diseased part of the body. Part of the required study of the DO is diet therapies and the importance of eating the right balance of foods.

In recent years, medical schools for the MD are stressing the importance of incorporating more about diets into their learning process. They now want medical students to look at the whole patient just as the DO have done for years. In years past, schooling for the medical doctor taught students little to nothing about diets and food balances during their course of study.

For example, if you visit your primary Medical Doctor for continued headaches, this MD may order a workup and tests to determine why you are having headaches and may merely treat your problem with pain medication.

If you visit your primary DO, your doctor may manipulate the vertebrae in your neck as part of your medical examination. It is easy to slip a disc in the vertebrae. This, in turn, could, sometimes, cause headaches.

I feel that two of the essential training courses for an aspiring physician are in-depth nutrition and how herbs relate to modern medicine and how the doctor can incorporate herbs into their practice.

I think that your health and wellness is your responsibility. Never lay this responsibility on your doctor. At one time, I asked my primary doctor why the MD is not in tune with healing herbs versus traditional chemical-laden medicines.

His answer prompted me to find another doctor and make this visit my last visit to this doctor.

"Herbs for healing, Holistic practices, and diet therapies are a whole different ball game, and I do not have the time to learn these processes. It takes years to learn this field of medicine, and I do not have the time or desire."

After a lot of consideration I thought to myself that if this doctor does not have the time to learn some alternative practices and would instead use only traditional medicine, he is likely to order me something to mask my symptoms instead of finding out the root cause of the problem. I felt that he did not have "real" time for me.

The answer from my doctor on this question prompted me to find an MD, with a Holistic and Healing Herb background. I knew that many DOs had this knowledge so I was interested in seeing if I could locate an MD or a DO with these credits.

I found an OD and saw him for about a year but again I was not satisfied with how he chose to treat me. I searched that year and finally located a wonderful MD in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This MD was also a holistic doctor and a traditional doctor all wrapped up in one.

I believe that in many instances, doctors order certain medicines that merely cover up the real problem. Many of my patients expressed to me that their doctor had a magic pill to make them well when in truth all this pill did was to mask the signs and symptoms of the real underlying problem.

You deserve to have medical choices; it is your right.

Even though this doctor had just written a book, taught at U of M Medical School and had a particular spot on a famous radio station a few times a week, in addition to extensive family practice, this doctor would take as much time for his patients as they wanted him to make.

Additionally, this doctor told me that I was the reason he practiced medicine. He stressed this with all of his patients how vital they were to him. Thus he took as much time as they needed. This doctor had patients that seemed in tune with his time and did not waste his time needlessly.

He never pushed either of his types of treatments on his patients. If I wanted holistic healing or just traditional healing, he gave me what I wanted. We also had to agree on the best course of treatment.

This doctor loved to teach his patients about alternative medicines and hired only the right people to lead some classes in alternative medicine. This doctor started up what he called a remedy room where you could purchase affordable vitamins, minerals, supplements, and holistic over the counter medicines. The staff that worked this remedy room were certified and embraced educating customers interested in what they offered.

Big Pharmaceutical Companies

I believe that traditional doctors do not realize how many conventional medicines have their foundations built from herbs. Maybe professionals do know this, but do not understand the correlation of modern medicine to herbs.

Much of the medical community remains quite skeptical about the art of healing with herbs. Many think it is a lot of gibberish, and some doctors are quite indignant when the patient brings up the subject of natural healing.

Some medical doctors have gone on to learn the art of healing with herbs and incorporate herbs and traditional medicine with their practice. These medical doctors give the patient a choice of natural healing or traditional healing, so the patient has the best of both worlds. However, these doctors are rare. When you discover a doctor such as this, hang onto them.

When a physician speaks with a medical representative from a pharmaceutical company, nothing usually comes up about a written prescription having a foundation from the plant family. Those medications that are not from the plant family are synthetic medications bearing a lot of different side effect.

European countries seem to be ahead of the United States in the way of healing with herbs versus modern medicine and traditional treatments. China and Japan have treated for centuries using herbs and remedies.

Herbs have made headlines in some medical journals, but articles about what herbs can do to heal the body are rare. The doctors I have personally spoken with have never viewed these articles on healing herbs as attractive or exciting news.

Side Effect of Herbs Versus Side Effects of Modern Medicine

Every medicine on the market today carries with it some hair-raising side effects, and I would say that ninety-eight percent of all medications have three possible side effects: nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.

The attractive thing about healing with herbs is that herbs carry little in the way of side effects and are safe. Herbs come under the classification as a food source, unlike traditional medicines.

When you use healing herbs, you need to do this under the direction of a doctor whose expertise is traditional medicine and herbal therapies because sometimes you cannot mix certain herbs with certain medications.

The bottom line is that the news about healing herbs is in the negative arena, but seems becoming more positive. I believe that the pharmaceutical companies have a lot to do with the negativity of healing herbs. If this alternative therapy continues to catch on, it seems as though they would significantly decrease the profits for these big pharmaceutical companies.

Herbs and Herbal Therapy

In the last several years, herbs, side effects, and effectiveness of natural herbs have been gaining momentum in treating the ill patient. Prestigious medical journals are featuring more articles on healing herbs, bringing to light new and valuable information on herbs. Years ago, people did not have the traditional medicines that are available today, and many of these medicines are life-saving medicines. However, these life-saving medicines come to you at a price, taking into consideration all of the possible side effects they create.

Many herbs prove helpful in the treatment of many common health complaints, such as:

• Ginger to prevent motion sickness and nausea
• Garlic in the diet reduces cholesterol and cardiac risk factors. It is possible to buy odorless, tasteless garlic. Otherwise, the person will transfer a garlic odor on their body. Garlic is so valuable when taken daily that the person should check into odorless, tasteless garlic capsules.
• Comfrey is a substance called Allantoin a chemical to help heal incisions.
• Feverfew prevents migraine headaches.
• Licorice has long been known as helpful in healing stomach ulcers and is as good as any brand name antacid.
• Strychnine is not an herb, but a holistic remedy and known to help eliminate anxiety and panic attacks safely when used in minute doses through the management of the holistic physician.
• Madagascar Periwinkle treats leukemia and Hodgkin's in children.
• An herb called Foxglove is the foundation of Digoxin and Lanoxin. A manufactured medicine used to regulate the heart rate.

No one should use herbs recklessly but under the direction of an herb specialist or doctor who has gone extra years to school to learn about this fantastic natural treatment option.

As safe, as herb therapy is there are safety precautions to consider. Some herbs are exceedingly strong and can cause harm when not used respectably.

Always talk over treatment options with your doctor, and if you want herbs incorporated into your treatment plan. Remember though that the routine primary care physician most likely will say they know little to nothing about how to treat using holistic or herb therapy.

A Small Note About Medically Prescribed Diets

As far as diets go, such as the patient who needs a diabetic diet, renal diet, cardiac diet, or other specific diets, most doctors refer the patient to a nutritional consultant, or they order a dietary consult.

The doctor does not have the time or knowledge to get into the aspects of what the patient can and cannot eat, given specific diagnoses, such as diabetes.

Although, any doctor knows that if the patient has diabetes, they will have to have a diabetic diet, but cannot give the patient the particulars of the diet.

If the patient is going into kidney failure, the doctor knows beyond a doubt that the patient needs a renal diet, so will refer the patient for a diet consult with a dietician.

Again, it is my belief that a prescribed diet does not treat the underlying condition.

Holistic Remedies Versus Herbal Therapy

Holistic Medicine, simply put, is the treatment of using similarities. For example, if a person has a panic attack, they experience a few of the following symptoms such as,

• Restlessness
• Anxiety
• The feeling of fight or flight
• Unquestionable unknown fear

One of the holistic remedies of choice for panic attacks and anxiety may be Strychnine. Strychnine, a poison, when consumed in unsafe amounts, causes the same symptoms as a panic attack.

To eliminate panic attack symptoms, the Holistic Doctor may prescribe the person the same thing that causes these symptoms such as Strychnine.

This strychnine given in minute doses unseen by the human eye except under a microscope is highly effective. The strychnine compounded in a tiny pearl dissolves under the tongue. Usually, the patient experiences no side effects, except for relief from the symptoms, unless that patient takes too much; then side effects may occur temporarily.

Holistic Medicine does not just include these tiny miracle pearls to eliminate unwanted symptoms; this ancient Chinese Medicine consists of an extensive list of modalities brought forth through the ages by the Chinese and have been proven effective against numerous ailments, diseases, illnesses, physically and mentally.

Holistic Medicine includes the following 20 therapies:

• Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Acupuncture, Acupressure
• Chiropractic Medicine
• Hypnotherapy
• Hypnosis
• Massage Therapy
• Yoga
• Pilates
• Saunas
• Meditation
• Aromatherapy
• Detoxification
• Homeopathy
• Essential oils
• Chelation
• Chi Gong
• Chi Kung
• Reflexology
• Ayurvedic

Each of these therapies plays an integral part in your healing process if you believe in their positive effects towards eliminating many disease processes and illnesses whether it be on an emotional or physical level.

Traditional medicine seeks to eliminate the signs and symptoms of a disease process of a specific body part. Holistic Medicine acts to restore a natural balance of the entire body. Holistic Therapies have excellent results, proven effective to millions of people.

The list of some of the ailments that Holistic Medicine show effectiveness, is much too numerous to list. However, the following are just a few illnesses from the list that people have found success.

• Improvement in blood circulation in the body
• Stress relief
• Increase in the body's energy flow
• Detoxification of the body from dangerous toxins
• Improvement in the immune system
• Improvement in Mood and behavior
• Development of health and wellness of vital organs including the skin

These 20 therapies work on the whole body to target different disease processes and illnesses. These therapies have proven to bring health and vitality to the entire body.

Holistic Medicine cannot match perfectly with specific health remedies to particular health conditions. Holistic Medicine does not work this way.

On the other hand, and to some extent, remedies can treat and heal specific targets in the body. Holistic Medicine has proven for centuries to have potent healing properties.

Again, I repeat that for one to achieve incredible health and experience a level of wellness in their life, they must make a Holistic Lifestyle Change, instituting effective, healthy life habits. This includes body, mind, and spirit.

*Never try to self-diagnose or self-medicate with herbs or medicine. Consult your doctor, ask questions of your doctor, and expect answers you can understand. Work with your doctor to achieve optimum health for you and your family. Do your reading, your research, and become a self-educated, and informed patient.

Reference Only

• Personal knowledge

• Principles of Holistic Medicine

• Herbal Therapy

• The Big A-Z List Of Complementary And Alternative Therapies