Holistic Health Care Information

Holistic Health Care – History

The roots of holistic health care can be traced back 5,000 years ago to China and India where great stress was laid on living a health way of life which was in harmony with nature. In the 4th century BC, it was Socrates who warned against treating only one part of the body.

The term “holism” was introduced by Jan Christiaan Smuts in 1926 but, it was only in the 1970’s that “holistic” became a word that came to be used in the modern vocabulary. Unfortunately, it was in the 20th century that holistic concepts fell out of favor in the Western societies. However things changed and people began turning back to the holistic approach. This approach is gaining popularity every year as this principle offers practical options that helps enjoy a high level of well-being and vitality.

Holistic Health Care – What is it?

Basically holistic health care is an approach to life which focuses on the whole person and how he/she interacts with his/her environment. This ancient approach emphasizes the connection of body, mind and spirit with a goal to achieve maximum well-being, where everything functions in the very best way possible. It is with holistic health care that people accept responsibility for their own level of well-being.

What are the basic principles of holistic health care?

Holistic health care is built upon the law of nature which states that a whole is made up of interdependent parts. It states that like the Earth is made of systems, such as air, land, plants and animals so is an individual made up of interdependent parts, which comprise of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Thus when one part is not working at its best, other parts of that individual are affected too! This principle also states that everything in the environment is constantly interacting with everything else in the surrounding environment, for e.g. anxiousness over an exam may result in a physical reaction.

Holistic health care views wellness as a whole along a line in which the line represents all possible degrees of health. The far left hand side of the line represents premature death while the far right hand side is the highest possible level of wellness of maximum well-being. The center of the line represents lack of apparent disease. All levels of illness are then placed on the left half of the wellness series while the right half shows that even when there is no illness there is still plenty of space for improvement. Basically holistic health care is an ongoing process which includes a personal commitment, in which people can improve their level of well-being, no matter what their current status of health maybe.

How is holistic health care practiced?

Holistic health care focuses on reaching higher levels of wellness by inviting people to constantly explore which everyday actions work for them and thereby discovering what is appropriate to move them toward maximum well-being. Most of the people who practice holistic health care are motivated by how good it feels to have lots of energy and enthusiasm for life, knowing that what habits they adopt that day will eventually allow them to continue feeling like this in the years to come.

Holistic medicine is applied when the disease and chronic conditions occur. In this case, healthcare professionals using the holistic approach work in partnership with their patients. The treatments that they recommend support the body’s natural healing system and consider the whole situation and the whole person.

In holistic health care, symptoms are considered as a message that something needs attention. It is thus used as a guide to look below the surface for the root cause, so that what need attention can be addressed.

The Energy Healing Power of Natural Medicine

Natural medicine is a system that uses a variety of therapeutic or preventive health care practices such as homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, and herbal medicine. Alternative medicine is also known as traditional, naturopathic, natural or holistic medicine. Proponents of alternative medicine are not refuting the validity of discoveries in and the practical uses of conventional medicine, but are merely trying to put some things into perspective. Due to the widespread interest in natural medicine along with the disappointment and disenchantment with Western medicine, many people, especially in the United States and Europe, where conventional medicine has taken a dominant foothold, are seeking the advice and treatment from naturopathic physicians. These practitioners include herbalists, acupuncturists, naturopaths, chiropractors, and others, who advocate preventative health measures as well as recommend wholesome foods and nutritional supplements for their patients and clients. Considering the growing popularity and effectiveness of alternative health treatments and products, certified and licensed professional practitioners of such medical practices should be given their rightful and respectful place in medical society. Natural medicine has been proven not only to be safe, but more effective than Western medicine in treating many chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and many other diseases as well

The history of Natural Medicine and its roots can be traced back thousands of years to ancient cultures such as India and China. Ayurvedic (E. Indian) and Chinese medicine, along with their diagnostic and herbal systems, are still used in these countries extensively, as well as in the United States, especially in Europe, where alternative medicine is well respected. Chinese herbal medicine has a documented history of over 2500 years in China, and is now widely used by practitioners all over the world. It has been legally practiced in the United States. since the mid seventies by licensed acupuncturists. Homeopathy is also a well-known form of alternative medicine discovered in the 18th century by German physician Samuel Hahnemann, but was practically stamped out in the U.S. in the late nineteenth century by the American Medical Association. In 1938, though, the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act finally recognized homeopathic pharmacopoeia as the legal equivalent of allopathic medicine.

Another more contemporary and popular form of herbal medicine, called Western herbalism, can be traced back about two hundred years in America. Samuel Thomson, born in 1769, is considered the father of Western herbalism. He discovered over sixty different medically effective native plants by clinical testing, and on the basis of these findings, devised a theory of disease and botanical drug action. Randy Kidu, D.V.M., Ph.D., writes in his articled entitled A Brief History of Alternative Medicine: “The history of herbal medicine is interesting because herbs have been a part of our diet and pharmacy since man began roaming the earth. Coprophytic evidence (seeds and other plant part(found in preserved fecal pellets) points to herbal use by cavemen. Early herbalists practiced their trade since before recorded history in all parts of the world including China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Africa, England, the Americas, and Europe. Many herbs are also mentioned in the Bible. Today, based on sheer numbers of folks who use one form of herbal medicine or another, it remains the most-used medicine worldwide.”

Twenty-five hundred years after the advent of allopathic medicine, modern medicine is still grappling with the idea that herbal medicine could be an effective treatment, and not just quackery, although thousands of years of recorded history has proved its efficacy. A new model of understanding in medicine needs to be incorporated into the existing allopathic model. Because of the growing popularity and effectiveness of natural medicine, practitioners may eventually be given their deserved place in medical society. The incorporation of natural medical practices into the existing model of conventional Western medicine, including the training of new medical doctors, is now called Complimentary Medicine. In order to solve our health problems, this modern paradigm for treatment in medicine must be promoted. This can only truly emerge when bias, self-interest, greed and discrimination is discarded and diverse medical knowledge is promoted and shared, not only between university trained scientists and medical doctors, but among Alternative Medicine practitioners, philosophers, metaphysicians, and other intelligentsia of society as well.