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Holistic medicine
Holistic medicine is a system of health care that treats the patient as a whole,
meaning that instead of treating an illness, holistic medicine examines overall
physical, nutritional, environmental, emotional, social, and spiritual well
being before making a diagnosis and recommending treatment. Holistic medicine
treats the symptoms of the illness as well as looks for the underlying cause
of the illness, and attempts to prevent illness by placing emphasis on general
well being and ongoing optimal health. In holistic medicine, illness or disease
is viewed as an imbalance in the body’s systems, which are interdependent parts
of the whole being. Holistic medicine does not rule out conventional medicine
and believes that the two practices can be used in conjunction to complement
one another.
Since the principle of holistic medicine is to balance the body, mind, and
spirit, there is no limit to what diseases and disorders holistic medicine treats.
Generally when patients are treated with holistic medicine, other health problems
appear to improve without direct treatment due to the renewed balance in the
body’s systems, and increased performance of the immune system – an important
goal of holistic medicine. Holistic medicine is based on the idea that a whole
is made up of interdependent parts and that if life is to be sustained, they
cannot be separated, since what is felt by one part will affect other parts.
Based on this idea, the whole (made up of all the parts) interacts constantly
with everything in the surrounding environment, so outside factors can affect
the parts, possibly resulting in a physical reaction, which may worsen over
time if not acknowledged/treated.
Holistic medicine goes beyond treating the symptoms of an illness, because
in holistic medicine a symptom is considered to be a message that something
important needs attention, so the symptom is used as a guide to finding the
root cause.
Many therapies fall within holistic medicine, but they all use the same principles
to promote physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. Most holistic
medicine therapies emphasize eating quality whole foods that are low in fat,
cholesterol, and sugar, since in holistic medicine what one consumes is believed
to affect the cells in a person’s body, and harmful substances result in imperfect
cells leading to bad health. Holistic medicine therapies include noninvasive
and non-pharmaceutical treatments, however, in cases where patients are being
treated with conventional medicine, holistic medicine can be used to support
the body during treatment and help relieve symptoms that may accompany pharmaceutical
drug treatment and surgery.
Holistic medicine therapies include herbal medicine, homeopathy, naturopathic
medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, nutritional therapies, chiropractic,
stress reduction, psychotherapy, and massage. Often practitioners of holistic
medicine will advise treatment from more than one type of practitioner in order
to ensure that all aspects of health are properly treated. Holistic medicine
is used to treat ailments such as asthma, allergies, chronic fatigue, arthritis,
skin ailments, cardiac disorders, multiple sclerosis, insomnia, anxiety, depression,
and much more.
Holistic medicine is particularly beneficial in treating chronic illness, maintaining
health through proper nutrition, stress management, and preventing problems
from recurring. Holistic medicine is individualized, safe, gentle, non-invasive,
non-toxic, and non-addictive.
When seeking treatment from a holistic medicine practitioner, it’s important
to ensure they are properly qualified and willing to work with other practitioners
(including those of conventional medicine), and that they look at total well-being,
including spiritual and emotional health, instead of focusing on one area of
health (such as detoxification or nutrition) as holistic medicine believes that
only by looking at all parts will total health be achieved. There are few side
effects of holistic medicine, though often with treatment patients may go through
a detoxification process during which cells eliminate toxins into the blood
stream causing symptoms such as nausea, headaches, sensitivity to noise, and
irritability.
Holistic medicine dates to over 5,000 years ago, though the actual term “holistic”
only came into the language in the 1970s when people began searching for a term
to describe alternative medical practices. Holistic medicine has been practiced
in many cultures for centuries, though it wasn’t until the early 20th century
that holistic medicine lost popularity as conventional medicine made major advances.
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