More and more people are using holistic healing as either a supplementary method or their main technique of health care. Holistic healing uses all aspects of the individual to treat illness. It is a combination of body, mind and spirit. It takes all things into consideration such as the patient's diet, their environment, their lifestyle, social outlets, spiritual health and of course their physical health. All the aspects of their life create the disease or illness, not just an isolated part.



Today, many new research studies indicate that this is true. Claims of a diet of red and purple fruits and vegetables as a cure for colon cancer caught the ears of researchers at Ohio State, primarily because it worked. Today they found the reason, anthocyanins. They isolated the active ingredient in blueberries and grapes and now attempt to duplicate it in a drug for cancer. The holistic doctor, of course, would recommend eating the vegetables and fruit instead.

Many holistic cures are "chicken soup cures". Like chicken soup for a cold, they make you feel better and do no harm for your body. Until recently physicians thought that chicken soup made you feel better because it's one of the many comfort foods, but instead found that there's something in the fat in the broth that actually helps you heal. Other types of non-invasive holistic treatments involve traditional Chinese medicine, herbology, chiropracty, reiki, the healing touch, reflexology, acupressure, massage therapy, yoga and breathing exercises to name but a few.

Unlike some of the invasive surgery or toxic medication, most won't hurt you. I use the term most because herbology and Chinese medicine, while normally safe, also uses some toxic herbs. Foxglove, a plant that Indians used for heart conditions is the plant digitalis purpurea. This plant from herbal remedies of the American Indian gave us the drug Digitalis, a toxic medication if used improperly. Many of the herbs and treatments found in both Chinese medicine and herbology are now getting a second look by scientists and physicians. Herbs contain a vast amount of additional nutrition compared to their weight and some feel that this may be why they work. Like Digitalis, herbs also are the basis for many drugs on the market today.

The massage therapy, reiki, yoga and even breathing exercises are for the body as well tapping into pent up spiritual issues. Massage therapists tell that they not only stimulate the flow of blood to injured areas, they unlock the stress that's trapped in the tight muscles and allow it to flow out. Stress from anger, disappointment and fear all gathers in the body and if not released causes disease. Studies now prove that stress causes the body to weaken and illness to settle in the body.

The body is a beautiful instrument that heals itself. The body maintains itself if we work with it, feed it properly, appreciate and exercise it. Yoga and breathing exercises work to improve the circulation of the body and increase the healing oxygen intake. More doctors are recommending yoga classes as a form of maintaining limberness, relieving the pain of arthritis and overcoming other problems such as back pain.

Creative visualization, once thought as something for people that wore tin foil hats and practiced strange beliefs, now is part of the supplemental treatment for cancer and other diseases. Doctors found that this simple tool increases the speed of recovery and increases the effectiveness of treatment.

Holistic medicine isn't one theory; it's a combination of different techniques that looks at the whole person using as many as necessary to make them well again, often with no drugs or invasive procedures.