Alternative medicine, or holistic medicine, is approaching mainstream popularity at breakneck speeds. While conventional medicine focuses on the condition, practitioners and patients of holism believe it’s an art form that focuses on the individual. This attitude invokes the powerful phrase “You are not your disease.”

There is considerable controversy surrounding this philosophy of medicine, as both sides collide over several topics. The biggest issue is holism’s skepticism toward prescription drugs; something mainstream medicine relies on heavily. In fact, the Hippocratic Oath specifically states that no doctor may disregard the value of prescription drugs in his or her practice, a main point of friction with holistic practitioners.

Another hotly debated issue is that alternative methods of treatment are sometimes untested methods and have no basis for their use except via personal practitioner experience and word-of-mouth.

Okay, that’s enough controversy for now. This is about you and your health, right? Let’s let the scientists argue and we’ll take a look into just a handful of the many available (and many would say “proven”) kinds of holistic approaches to well being.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a holistic form of healing beginning to receive its due respect in the conventional medical world, as study after study shows its benefits. Acupuncture is the ancient Chinese technique that has been in use for thousands of years. It involves the practice of inserting needles into “points” on the body, that follow certain nerve meridians throughout the body.  The presence of the needle is said to positively improve the nerve’s ability to send messages to the brain and thus heal the body faster. When energy is released, the body is said to be in harmony and patients claim to feel better.

Bodywork

Bodywork is a generic term to describe pretty much any form of physical therapy focusing on tension relief in tendons and ligaments, joints and muscles. There are many different ways to approach body working, but here are a few:

• Therapeutic massage manipulates muscles in such a way that the pressure and movement widen blood vessels, increase blood flow and help rid the body of wastes built up during exercise.

• Deep tissue cleansing is a more invasive form of massage that purposely affects deep muscles and tissues, intentionally causing microscopic tears in muscle fibers. Bodybuilding also uses this approach as its keystone – though not through massage, but with weight training – based on the belief that the brain receives these “distress calls” from the muscle and quickly repairs them with newer, stronger muscle fibers. Cleansing comes by way of releasing those pesky toxins.

Chiropractic

Through everyday activities, from exercise or slouching in your office chair, the vertebral column gets jolted and loosened and knocked out of its natural alignment. The vertebral column, being a vertical collection of bones varying in size and density and arranged in a very particular pattern, protects the spinal cord, a “major thoroughfare” in the nervous system.

Okay, so it’s well known that the vertebral column protects the spinal cord, but chiropractic philosophy contents that any extra pressure placed on the spinal column can disrupt the central nervous system’s ability to maintain a healthy human body. Chiropractors seek to realign the vertebral column, releasing pressure from the spinal cord using specialized techniques.

Herbalism

Scientists note that animals today seek out bitter plants – ones they would normally leave alone. It’s because animals, including humans, have discovered the beneficial effects of certain properties of some plants.

Herbalism is a folk tradition dating back to prehistory. Simply put, herbalism is the practice of healing the body through the topical use or consumption of individual plants or plant extracts, or some combination of them.

We humans are no different than any other animal in our constant struggles for self-preservation, and it all began with herbalism.

Today, we use many plants for medicinal purposes:

• Echinacea limits the effects and length of the common cold.
• Garlic, lemon grass and honey (separately) lower cholesterol levels.
• Peppermint oil is believed to benefit irritable bowel syndrome.
• St. John’s Wort offers great results in numerous studies by lessening the extent of depression.
• Valerian root treats insomnia.
• Lemon juice and apple cider vinegar are widely believed to treat acne.
• Green tea helps the body heal faster and is also a mood enhancer due to the antioxidants and caffeine it contains.

           
Nearly every region in the world holds tightly to an ancient form of healing. Today, modern medicine is beginning to realize the potential of certain herbs in your diet, a simple needle’s effect on a nerve cluster, and even the micro-damage caused by massage being a benefit to overall well being in the long run. Seek out what treatment suits you and your lifestyle best.