Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Natural Medicine for the Whole Person


Holistic medicine is the term used to describe an array of different procedures that usually focus on natural forms of therapy. The practice is based on the tenet that in any malady or problem, it is necessary to treat the “whole person” rather than focus on specific symptoms.

Holistic medicine’s roots go back to the 4th century BC and cover the globe from Asia to the old world of Greece and Mesopotamia. Hippocrates, father of the medical field, used a holistic approach to all of his patients. So it stands to reason that many of the myths surrounding holistic medicine as “voodoo” are not only unwarranted, but flat out false.

Sometime between the age of the frontier doctors, who used a decidedly holistic approach, and the advent of modern medicine, snake oil charlatans ruined the image for the entire method. Perhaps it can be attributed to the success of large pharmaceutical companies that pandered to the use of chemically altered medications. In many ways, they spent years marketing the idea that science could create better cures than nature itself, and the general public bought into it. Additionally, many who claimed to practice the art in the early 20th century were nothing more than men who had not been through any formal medical training and were more concerned with profit than with the health of their clientele.

Today’s holistic medicine is decidedly different. The practitioners who are considered part of the new movement are being taken seriously again by the medical community. Chiropractic medicine is now being paid for by insurance companies, something that was unavailable 20 years ago. Holistic stores are on the rise, and pharmacies have entire sections that are devoted to herbal remedies. And now, like Hippocrates himself, physicians are using aromatherapy to aid in what are still considered “more conventional” treatments.

This move comes from the recent push toward “wellness” which completely coincides with the mission of holistic medicine to begin with. Further, holistic practitioners have been faithful in recommending their therapy work in unison with a traditional medicinal approach. The health of the individual patient hangs in the balance of this new détente, but it will serve both partners and patients in the long run.
Check out http://www.moriahherbs.com/, it is your source for natural healing. At Moriah Herbs you are part of the vision, our mission is your well being.

No comments:

Post a Comment