ÔA MORE BALANCED APPROACH TO
GOOD HEALTHÕ
Alternative medicine or the latest
label complimentary medicine are terms used to define health care that falls
outside physician based treatment. I believe itÕs a good fit, and is becoming
as mainstream to our lives as toadyÕs high tech world of western medicine. More
than just a buzz word, complimentary medicine is now a billion dollar business
with state based licenser for all kinds of professional practitioners.
Although buzz word labels
change and the focus of treatment modalities may change to meet our health
needs the demand is there. These changes are fueled by a wave of discontent
running through our country over what traditional medicine doesnÕt have to
offer. Then thereÕs the issue of whether or not we can afford treatment due to
the prohibitive costs of health care and insurance. If anywhere in your medical
history a symptom or condition appears you may then be categorized with those
two nasty little words pre-existing condition. Instead of being angry, which
you have every right, why not look to new- or rather old ways of staying
healthy? Albeit a painful but necessary shift, maybe it isnÕt such a bad thing
after all.
Example: Following US embargo
which denied Cuban medical doctors of western medicines doctors and medical
students attend green pharmacy school to learn the use of herbs and plants to
maintain health and treat disease. Forced into this change patient and doctor alike turn more
and more to the plants that surround them to treat illness and sustain health.
The information gleaned out of this enforced experiment should prove to be
useful as to how effective plant medicines are in caring for an entire population.
I donÕt believe anyone including
myself thinks we should start over, western medicine has so much to offer but
where do we go from here? Up until now it appears we have had our way with nature but as with all things
there must be some balance. Nature ignored becomes nature out of control. Drug
resistant strains of bacteria, viruses that mutate and opportunistic fungi are
proving our over dependence on drugs that mask symptoms and do not treat the
root cause of illness.
When we rely totally on these
kinds of medicines we further push ourselves into more serious kinds of illness
moving further and further away from health and balance. To begin to correct
this we must first move away from our over dependence on medications,
especially over the counter medications that will lead to deeper imbalances and
yes, more pills.
We still need our physicians
and their guidance, but rather than total reliance we need to partner with our doctors
in the care of our health. A truly caring physician will welcome your interest
in the care and feeding of your good health, not question or intimidate. Till
next time, Rebecca