4 Reasons Why People Should Use Alternative Medicine

Alternative forms of medicine are growing in popularity as people try to find a more holistic approach to their health. Conventional medicine is still very helpful but the underlying effects have sometimes caused people to become more aware of natural approaches to healing and preventative medicine.

1. One of the reasons alternative medicine has been booming recently is because people are tired of taking a pill or other medication for every bump, bruise and cough. For many people, alternative medicine seems more reliable than so-called modern medicine. After all, modern drugs are recalled on a regular basis while acupuncture has been practiced continuously for more than 5,000 years. In many countries, the rush to make a profit on a new drug often leads to the product being placed on the market before its long-term effects are known. The recent prevalence of this problem has caused many people to seek treatment that is tried and true.

2. Many people who seek out alternative medicine also do so because they do not want to fill their bodies with the chemicals that are inherent in more traditional medicine. Often the chemicals involved in prescription medication throw the body into a state of imbalance. For example, many antibiotics prescribed to treat infections cannot differentiate between infection and symbiotic organisms that are required for the human body to work as it should. The antibiotic kills off bacteria in the digestive tract and prevents the body from recovering as it should, perhaps prolong the illness.

Because of this overkill mentality in much of modern medicine, people seek out the kinder, gentler care of alternative medicine. And, in some cases wind up being treated with the herbs from which the modern medicine was derived. A foxglove tea is an herbal treatment for heart trouble, an alternative medicine approach. Digitalis, the medication prescribed for many with heart trouble, is a derivative and concentrated form of the plant.

3. People have begun to place more faith in alternative medicine as most treat the problem rather than the symptoms. Many modern medicines cause additional side effects and the solution of many doctors is to prescribe yet another medication to treat the symptoms. For example, Practitioners of many forms of alternative medicine, including massage therapy and chiropractic, realize that pain is usually a symptom of an underlying problem. In fact, pain is often the last symptom to appear and treating the pain itself is not going to correct the problem. Most people who use modern medicine would rather correct the source of the pain than simply pop a pain pill.

4. Many people seek out forms of alternative medicine because of its emphasis on preventing injury, illness and disease rather than curing it. Alternative medicine providers will still treat acute illness when it occurs, but they are often more focused on making the lifestyle choices to prevent such things from happening.

With the skyrocketing cost of health care, many people are operating under the theory that they will spend less and live happier, more fruitful lives if they can prevent illness. Most forms of alternative medicine place at least some credence in this theory. Many, like massage therapy and chiropractic, attempt to train patients to correct problems before they develop into life altering problems. This approach appeals to many as they seek out total wellness.

Alternative Medicine

What You Should Know in Regards to the Alternative Medicine Foundation

Modern medicine continues to get more and more complicated by the day, and this is resulting in a growing interest in the effective, simpler medical practices of the past. Herbs, massage, acupuncture, aromatherapy - all of these fall under the umbrella of alternative medicine. Unfortunately, there is quite a bit of misinformation and groundless fears about alternative treatments, as well as a lack of regulations in comparison to modern medicine. The not for profit Alternative Medicine Foundation seeks to provide fact-based information for those interested in learning more about alternative medicine treatments. This foundation does not intend to replace modern medicine with alternative treatments - they are hoping to combine the best of both practices.

A Brief History Lesson

The Alternative Medicine Foundation was founded in 1998 in Bethesda, Maryland. It began as a response to the growing demand for gentler and safer treatments than were being provided by modern medicine. They hope to educate the public about alternative treatments, and they also seek to educate the western medical field as well.

Traditional medicine is a big business these days, and as such they don't always appreciate competition. As Westerners have demanded more access to alternative treatments, insurance companies have responded by agreeing to cover some procedures, including hypnotherapy and acupuncture. Check with your health insurance company to see which, if any, alternative treatments are covered.

The Alternative Medicine Foundation also publishes The Townsend Letter, which is a journal about - you guessed it - different alternative treatments. Contributors to the journal include scientists, doctors, and those who are active participants in this particular field. It does not seek to push their therapies on anyone, simply to suggest those that may benefit from certain these treatments.

Best of All - It's Free!

The Alternative Medicine Foundation provides numerous services, including talks, classes, and a magazine about alternative treatments. It also manages a free website with useful information. They also publish a number of free or low cost books that are available through Amazon.com.

Some topics covered include Tibetan Traditional Medicine, Ayurveda practices, and topics devoted to specific illnesses like cancer and autism.

Information about something as important as healthcare should be readily available to everyone, especially in this day and age of technology. That is the main goal of The Alternative Medicine Foundation.

Need more information about Alternative Medicine Foundation? Then head over to The Herbal Community. It is a fast growing social networking site strictly devoted to herbal remedies, holistic healing and anything to do that is natural and healthy. It's completely free to use and anyone can join!

How Should Alternative Medicine Be Defined

There is still no strict definition on what alternative medicine really is. But presently, it borders on the broadness of description covered by what we know of as conventional or orthodox medicine. However, to define alternative medicine as we believe it to be, it may be a knowledge that is considered as unaccepted, untested and unscientific. All these were true if we are to look some years back. But since alternative medicine has been studied in the later years, employed by numberless institutions (such as spas and the likes) and accepted by many as cure to their ailments (even those that may be resolved through conventional medicine), this definition for alternative medicine may already be considered as obsolete.

On other terms, alternative medicines are practices that may be considered false that sometime go to the extent of quackery. However, this definition is much abused by several authorities that have their own systems of beliefs and other things to support to. Still others would define it as practices that may not be tested, refuse to undergo tests and may continuously fail tests. On other peoples' view, this may be too unfair for those practicing the knowledge that comprise alternative medicine and too sweeping a statement since many have gained healing by means of alternative medicine.

This debate on the authenticity of alternative medicine is further made complicated by the number of practices that are labeled as alternative medicine, which has some truths in them. In actuality, alternative medicine covers procedures involving metaphysical principles, spiritual and religious underpinnings, new sets of healing approaches and non-European medicine practices. These are enough reasons why alternative medicine is much harder to accept in the West rather than in the East where most these practices originated. In addition to these, many proponents of alternative medicine contradict and many individual belief systems may reject others.

Furthermore, critics of alternative medicine may further define it as therapy, treatment and diagnosis that may be performed legally by unlicensed practitioners. Yet, a number of doctors and physicians find good uses of alternative medicine when combined with the conventional medicine when they are trying to hit the balance.

But there are more logical and unbiased definitions that are accepted by most. Many of which deal only on the safety and affectivity of the alternative medicine without the protection on economic interests, political views and turf protection. One such definition is that alternative medicine is a field of healing, therapy and diagnosis that are not based on controlled studies.

There are however some therapies that were once covered by alternative medicine that are now accepted within the medical community since they passed approval over their affectivity. On the opposite, there were medical practices that are now disregarded within the medical circles since there are no profound evidences that prove their efficiency in healing.

In reality, the term alternative medicine is quite misleading. Both critics and advocates of the said practices support this view. Some support the idea that Western medical practices are the alternative medicines since they were preceded by ancient practices, which is somewhat true. Others would claim that the term "alternative medicine" was only devised by advocates of conventional medicine to discredit the natural methods of healing.

Detractors on alternative medicine claim that it is not worth as being accepted by the medical circles since it lacks components that may be used to support its efficiency. Yet many assert that once alternative medicine is fully tested, then there would be great rooms for wide acceptance.

Robert Thatcher is a freelance author based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and contributes on a regular basis to [http://www.freenetpublishing.com]