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ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

What is Alternative Medicine?

 

It's an approach to health manangement outside the scope of Traditional Western Medicine. Also known as 

Complimentary & Alternative Medicine (CAM).

 

Complementary Medicine uses treatment methods that work in conjunction with Western (traditonal) Medicine.

 

Alternative Medicine is used in the place of 

Traditional Medicine as a substitute for conventional treatment options.

 

There are five (5) different practices within the CAM approach to health management;

 

  1. Mind-Body Medicine                                                       (i.e. Meditation, Massage, Yoga, etc.)

  2. Whole Medical Systems                                                       (i.e. Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, Homeopathy & Naturopathy) 

  3. Manipulative/Body-Based Practices (i.e. chiropractic)

  4. Energy Medicines (i.e. Reiki & Qi Gong) 

  5. Bioloigically Based Practices                                         (i.e. herbs, nutrition, vitamins, dietary supplements & herbal medicine)

 

Referenced from an article written by Sara Calabro. Read more about these practices by visiting: www.EverydayHealth.com

 

Additional info can be found at: http://guides.hmcpl.org/

The purpose of the Alternative Medicine section of our website is to educate, highlight and provide information about Alternative Medicine & Treatment options.

 

While the A Song for Life Sarcoidosis Foundation supports Alternative Medicine treatment options, we don't believe it should be used to fully replace traditional healthcare but to enhance it.

 

The content shared in this section and throughout the ASFL website & network is strictly for informational purposes. ASFL urges everyone to always seek guidance

from a Certified Alternative Medicine 

Professional & seek advice from their own Personal Physician prior to incorporating any new therapy practices, remedies &/or healthcare regimens.

MIND-BODY MEDICINE

MEDITATION

What is it ... What are the health benefits?

People have practiced Meditation for thousands of years! Meditation is the practice of going into a deep state of relaxation in an effort to eliminate stress and gain an enhanced physical & emotional well-being. This is considered a complementary mind-body medicine.

 
Basic Benefits of Meditation

It's been proven that Meditation aids in providing peace & balance that is beneficial in achieving emotional well-being and overall physical health.

 

Meditation & Illness

Meditation might also be useful if you have a medical condition, especially one that may be worsened by stress.

 

While some researchers don't believe there's enough evidence about the benefits of mediation, a recent comprehensive scientific study ...

ENERGY MEDICINES

REIKI: Healing Through Energy

Reiki (ray-kee) is a gentle and safe healing practice that is geared towards removing any energy blocks in our system caused by emotional, mental or physical stress and pain.

 

The Reiki Process

During a Reiki Session a practitioner places his or her hands on the client with the intention of the Reiki Energy to flow. This Reiki energy, also known as the Universal Life Force Energy, is not the practitioner's energy. It is a divinely guided energy that knows exactly where the blocks are and pushes them out as well as fills up the energy gas tanks wherever you are low in energy. During a session a person may feel heat, tingling or cooling sensations as blocks are removed. Most all clients get to a deep state of peace and relaxation during a session.

 

Reiki Benefits 
Reiki can help to greatly reduce alleviate ...

Whole Medical Systems

Whole Medical Systems are complete systems of diagnosis and practice. These systems include ancient practices of Ayurvedic or Ayurveda Medicine & Traditional Chinese Medicine. More modern practices include; Homeopathy & Naturopathy. Read more about these practices below.

BALANCE

AYURVEDIC or AYURVEDA MEDICINE 

("the science of life") aims to integrate and balance the body, mind and spirit. A chief aim of Ayurvedic practices is to cleanse the body of substances that can cause disease, thus helping to reestablish harmony and balance. 

 

Ayurvedic treatment goals include eliminating impurities, reducing symptoms, increasing resistance to disease, and reducing worry and increasing harmony in the patient’s life. It is a comprehensive system of medicine that places equal emphasis on the body, mind, and spirit and strives to restore the innate harmony of the individual.  Some treatments include diet, exercise, mediation, herbs, massage, exposure to sunlight, and controlled breathing.

 

Ayurvedic medicine, as practiced in India, is one of the oldest systems of medicine in the world. 

 

Ayurvedic Points to Remember

  • The aim of Ayurvedic medicine is to integrate and balance the body, mind, and spirit. This is believed to help prevent illness and promote wellness.

  • Ayurvedic medicine uses a variety of products and techniques to cleanse the body and restore balance. Some of these products may be harmful if used improperly or without the direction of a trained practitioner. for example, some herbs can cause side effects or interact with conventional medicines.

  • Before using Ayurvedic treatment, ask about the practitioner’s training and experience.

  • Tell your health care providers about any complementary and alternative practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care. 

 

 

 

 

For additional info on this go to:

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/ayurveda/introduction.htm

Custom Care

HOMEOPATHY, which was developed in Germany in the late 1700s, is based on the principle that "like cures like". In other words, a substance that in large doses causes illness is believed to cure the same illness if given in minute doses. The minute dose is thought to stimulate the body's healing mechanisms. Treatments are based on a person's unique characteristics, including personality and lifestyle as well as symptoms and general health.

 

The remedies used in homeopathy are derived from naturally occurring substances, such as plant and animal extracts and minerals. These substances are used to stimulate the body's innate capacity to heal. Remedies are prepared by diluting these substances over and over and rapid shaking of the resulting solution. The more chemically dilute the homeopathic medicine, the more potent it is considered to be. Many homeopathic remedies are diluted so much that none of the original substance is present. However, many other homeopathic remedies do retain some pharmacologic activity.

 

No scientific explanation for how ultradiluted remedies used in homeopathy might cure illness has been proved. There are few risks associated with homeopathy. However, side effects, such as allergic reactions and toxic reactions, can occur.

 

Homeopathic remedies are often formulated as sugar pellets to be placed under the tongue; they may also be in other forms, such as ointments, gels, drops, creams, and tablets. Treatments are “individualized” or tailored to each person—it is not uncommon for different people with the same condition to receive different treatments.

 

 

 

Websites Cited:

http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/special_subjects/complementary_and_alternative_medicine_cam/whole_medical_systems.html

 

http://guides.hmcpl.org/content.php?pid=293777&sid=2689514

 

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE, which encompasses many different practices, is rooted in the ancient philosophy of Taoism and dates back more than 5,000 years.

 

This system is based on the theory that illness results from the improper flow of the life force (qi, pronounced chee) through the body. Qi is restored by balancing the opposing forces of yin and yang, which manifest in the body as heat and cold, external and internal, and deficiency and excess. Various practices are used to preserve and restore qi and thus health. They include diet, medicinal herbs, massage, meditative exercise called qi gong and acupuncture.

 

Traditional Chinese medicine uses formulas containing mixtures of herbs to treat various ailments. For example, Chinese herbs seem to effectively treat common forms of arthritis and have few side effects. 

 

Websites Cited:

http://guides.hmcpl.org/content.php?pid=293777&sid=2689514

 

http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/special_subjects/complementary_and_alternative_medicine_cam/whole_medical_systems.html

 

For additional info on this go to:

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/chinesemed.htm

 

Whole Person

NATUROPATHY —also called naturopathic medicine—is a medical system that has evolved from a combination of traditional practices and health care approaches popular in Europe during the 19th century. Guided by a philosophy that emphasizes the healing power of nature, naturopathic practitioners now use a variety of traditional and modern therapies.

 

Naturopathy has its roots in Germany. It was further developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States.

 

The word naturopathy comes from Greek and Latin and literally translates as “nature disease.” A central belief in naturopathy is that nature has a healing power (a principle practitioners call vis medicatrix naturae). Practitioners view their role as supporting the body’s ability to maintain and restore health, and prefer to use treatment approaches they consider to be the most natural and least invasive.

 

Today, naturopathy is practiced in a number of countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.

 

The practice of naturopathy is based on principles that are similar to and consistent with the principles of primary care medicine as practiced by conventional physicians. These include:

 

  • First do no harm. Try to minimize harmful side effects and avoid suppression of symptoms.

  • Physician as teacher. Educate patients and encourage them to take responsibility for their own health.

  • Treat the whole person. Consider all factors (e.g., physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, genetic, environmental, social) when tailoring treatment to each patient.

  • Prevention. Assess risk factors and, in partnership with patients, make appropriate interventions to prevent illness.

  • Healing power of nature. Seek to identify and remove obstacles to the body’s natural processes for maintaining and restoring health.

  • Treat the cause. Focus on the causes of a disease or condition, rather than its symptoms.

 

Naturopathic practitioners use many different treatment modalities.

 

 

 

Websites Cited:

http://guides.hmcpl.org/content.php?pid=293777&sid=2689514

Biologically Based Practices

Diet Therapy & Herbal Medicine

Biologically Based Therapies use naturally occurring substances and include individual biologic therapies, diet therapy, herbal medicine, orthomolecular medicine and chelation therapy. 

 

This system of practice includes use of a variety of herbal medicines (also known as botanicals), animal-derived extracts, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, proteins, whole diets and functional foods.  Many are sold over the counter as dietary supplements.

 

(Some uses of dietary supplements such as taking a multivitamin to meet minimum daily nutritional requirements or taking calcium to promote bone health, are not thought of as CAM.)

 

"Natural products" also include probiotics-live microorganisms (usually bacteria) that are similarl to those normally found in the human digestive tract and that may have beneficial effects.  Probiotics are available in foods like yogurts or as dietary supplements.  They are not the same thing as prebiotics - nondigestible food ingredients that selectively stimulate the growth and/or activity of microorganisms already present in the body.

 

Historically, herbal or botanical medicines reflect some of the first attempts to improve the human condition.  By the Middle Ages, thousands of botanical products had been inventoried for their medicinal effects.

 

 

Interest in and use of natural products have grown considerably in the past few decades.  The most commonly used product among adults was fish oil/omega 3s.  Popular products for children included Echinacea and fish oil/omega 3s. 

 

 

Websites Cited:

http://guides.hmcpl.org/content.php?pid=293777&sid=2689515

 

http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/special_subjects/complementary_and_alternative_medicine_cam/biologically_based_therapies.html

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