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[A466]Alternative And Conventional Medicine

by Evelyn Lim, Eve

Until recently, there has been a battle between proponents of alternative medicine and believers in conventional medicine. It seemed that to back
one was to deny the other. This is no longer the case. An increasingly knowledgeable public is aiming for health and wellness, a more general term that recognises that both conventional medicine and alternative medicine have something to offer. These two fields now create a whole new medical approach.

What is conventional medicine?

Conventional medicine is used to describe the services that treat the symptoms of a disease or illness with prescribed medications and surgeries. Conventional medicine treats the ailing part of the body but may not address the underlying causes of the illness or disease. This area of medicine is what is practiced in hospitals and most doctor's offices in the Western world. Backed by the FDA and multiple scientific studies, conventional medicine is highly regulated for the benefit of the patient.

What is alternative medicine?

An alternative form of treatment to conventional medicine, alternative medicine attempts to treat the patient as a whole - the mind, spirit, and body ? to prevent diseases and illnesses from occurring and creating a better overall quality of life rather than just a body free of symptoms. Because it acknowledges that the patient's physical health is directly affected by state of mind and spiritual health, alternative medicine offers preventative
treatments that are often relaxing and non-invasive.

Can conventional medicine co-exist with alternative medicine?

Increasingly, more and more people would like to believe so and are introducing alternative therapies, such as massage therapy and energy balancing, into their daily lives. When sick, these people may still go back to their western allopathic medicine for speedy recovery.

In fact, "integrative medicine" is the term coined for which the scientific and objectivity of conventional medicine is complemented with the subjective, more personal dynamics of alternative medicine. It is a new movement that is driven by consumers, that is, patients who demand

higher standards of health; in short, total wellness. In addition to providing the best conventional care, integrative medicine focuses on preventive lifestyle measures. These lifestyle measures include diet, exercise, stress management, and emotional well-being. However, as it is still evolving, more needs to be investigated into precisely what "integrative medicine" stands for and what it advocates.

In the meantime, for anyone, it is important to understand the principles of each area of medicine. Only then, can one benefit from making a wise choice in terms of one's health and wellness.

The American Medical Association Journal statistics showed that more than 100,000 people die every year in American hospitals from side effects of appropriately prescribed medicine.

There is an enormous amount of medication prescribed every day. The authorities admit they have no cure available for many of the diseases that afflict people today. But they continue to mask the symptoms.

Synthetic drugs have many side effects. First of all, they are toxic to all of our bodily systems. Remember this when you see prescription drugs pulled from the market place after having carried the FDA's seal of approval for many years.

Unfortunately very few doctors inform their patients of possible side effects. For nearly every drug prescribed there are enough side effects to fill a book the size of a dictionary.

Is it too much to ask that our doctors know more about medicine than what the pharmaceutical companies teach them. Is it unreasonable to expect a doctor to be knowledgeable, and skilled in the art of healing after eight or more intensive years of training.

Shouldn't modern medicines focus be on the patient as a whole instead of just on the disease?

Doctors are beginning to recommend that patients try some alternative medicines such as herbal remedies. Meanwhile they prescribe more drugs, while you do the research to locate alternative health solutions.

Did you know that...?

1. The pharmaceutical industry grosses more than $100 billion annually just in the U.S.

2. About one-fourth of the prescription drugs in the U.S. are plant based.

3. There are more than 80,000 various plants used in the world today.

4. Herbal remedies are the main form of medicine for three-fourths of the entire world.

Many people are researching alternative health solutions today, while looking for some much needed changes in their health care.

The choices are many, including herbal remedies, acupuncture, tai chi, qigong, yoga, ayurvetic medicine, holistic, hydrotherapy, massage therapies, homeopathy and energy medicine.

Information overload is absolutely mind boggling, and there are as many conventional medicine choices as there are herbal remedies.

There is becoming a much greater demand for safe, efficient and cost-effective natural health care solutions over the past twenty years or so.

I know this is no news flash to you, but preventing disease is still much easier than treating it. This is where herbal remedies can help. Herbal remedies use botanicals, which are simply natural plants to treat and prevent illness.

More people are turning towards herbal medicines for healing different health problems because they desire a more natural form of health care.

The main reason herbal remedies are particularly beneficial is because they treat the cause of the disease, instead of the effect of the disease (the symptoms).

Another good thing about herbal remedies is that they have less chance of side effects compared to conventional synthetic medications.

In a nutshell, we have to take responsibility for our own health, and do our best to prevent disease. An ounce of prevention is truly still worth a pound of cure.

Article Source : Symptoms Of Gum Disease

About Author

Both Evelyn Lim & Rita Kennon are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Evelyn Lim has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family, Disease & illness and Acid Reflux. Evelyn Lim is a writer and an online market strategist. Her article directory site is a growing database of content on health, business, internet marketing, finance, home, etc . To submit your articles, please visit. Evelyn Lim's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.

Rita Kennon has sinced written about articles on various topics from Disease & illness, Bad Breath and Alternative Medicine. Herbal Remedies With 12 month Guarantee, Healing Books, and Free Newsletter.. Rita Kennon's top article generates over 590 views. to your Favourites.