Natural medicine may be defined as a branch of alternative healthcare which employs non-synthetic treatment options ranging from herbal remedies to diets and exercise as means to cure and prevent medical problems. With so many acclaimed conventional treatments in the market today, how could natural medicine be of help to you? More importantly, how can it save your life?
- Through prevention
The way our bodies work is simply amazing. It has an uncanny ability to keep itself from harm, and repair damage, injury, and infections to the microscopic level. However, our systems have limits, and constantly subjecting them to stress diminishes their ability to repair, regenerate, and protect themselves. Consequently, we get sick quickly. A very good illustration of this is our marked susceptibility to infectious diseases when we are physically stressed (e.g. from lack of proper sleep, horrible diets, or continuous overexertion) resulting from an undernourished immune system. Natural medicine thus emphasizes that we take care of our body in such a way as to not cause a compromise of its integrity as a foremost measure of treatment. If we don’t get ill, we wouldn’t have to make our bodies deal with potentially toxic chemicals in the form of medications. We also avoid the risk of inflicting irreparable damage to our organs, nerves, and bones (e.g. kidney failure, herniated discs) leading to chronic, possibly fatal conditions. Even if we don’t admit it, most of our serious health problems merely result from bad choices, a majority of which could be avoided altogether. Natural medicine could save your life by teaching you not to let your body get to the point of illness in the first place.
- Through minimally toxic treatment approaches
One of the major disadvantages of allopathic or conventional medicine is that it is common practice to employ potentially toxic chemicals that drastically alter our body’s natural chemistry, and mechanisms of repair for treatment (e.g. chemotherapy). The problem with the approach is that most of our systems, including symptom-generating ones, are there for good reasons. The balance keeps the body safe from infection on a daily basis, allows it to function well, or alternately alerts us that we might not be taking care of ourselves as well as we should. Careless, or prolonged interference with these systems could bring about serious complications. A lot of the drugs are also well capable of inflicting serious damage to even our healthy cells. Thousands of people die every year due to side effects from properly prescribed medication, and even more from prescription errors or accidental overdose. But you don’t always have to go through that. Natural medicine capitalizes on your body’s self-preservation mechanisms, so your body is instead spurred to take care of itself without using harmful chemicals. Natural medicine minimizes exposure to toxins from drug components by supplementing your body’s core needs (e.g. rest, nutrients, repair materials) using unadulterated sources which do not harm as much.
- By taking care of you as a whole
Diseases, injuries, and dysfunctions happen when our bodies lack what it needs. However, patients and doctors alike have grown accustomed to only dealing with superficial problems, focusing solely on the symptoms (e.g. pain), or the disease (e.g. infections). This isn’t bad altogether, as treatment allows patients to regain some control over their illness, but it may be temporary. It is very important to deal with the underlying causes and deficiencies because they will eventually manifest again. Natural medicine attempts to turn this approach around by holistic treatment principles. Natural medicine promotes health in all aspects of life. Treatments used by natural medicine practitioners involve not only the physical aspect of the disease, but also the nutritional, emotional, and biochemical areas. Instead of just receiving medication when necessary for a particular disease, you also receive supplementary care to strengthen your immune system, detoxify your body, nourish deficiencies, and facilitate rehabilitation. You may also be advised by your natural medicine practitioner to modify your diet, and to undergo psychological and lifestyle counseling. By treating you as a whole, natural medicine takes care of the root problems and minimizes your chance of developing possibly-fatal complications in the future.
The various disciplines brought together by natural medicine has great potential to provide effective, non-toxic remedies for a broad spectrum of conditions. When traditional medicine fails, or prove insufficient, you could always give this option a try. Who knows, it might just save your life.
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