What is Alternative Medicine? 

Alternative medicine is a term that describes medical treatments that are used instead of traditional (mainstream) therapies. … Alternative medicine may include special diets, megadose vitamins, herbal preparations, special teas, and magnet therapy.

Alternative medicine has been playing a large role in the healing industry for centuries and its popularity is showing no sign of slowing down. The numerous benefits directly linked with an alternative or natural medicine has created a wave of interest, especially in the western world, that seems to continue to grow at a rapid rate.

Alternative medicine includes a range of treatments that, while considered unorthodox, have various advantages that many modern forms of medicine simply cannot achieve.

• Traditional alternative medicine. This field includes the more mainstream and accepted forms of therapy, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, and Oriental practices. These therapies have been practiced for centuries worldwide. Traditional alternative medicine may include:
  • Acupuncture
  • Ayurveda
  • Homeopathy
  • Naturopathy
  • Chinese or Oriental medicine
• Body. Touch has been used in medicine since the early days of medical care. Healing by touch is based on the idea that illness or injury in one area of the body can affect all parts of the body. If with manual manipulation, the other parts can be brought back to optimum health, the body can fully focus on healing at the site of injury or illness. Body techniques are often combined with those of the mind. Examples of body therapies include:
  • Chiropractic and osteopathic medicine
  • Massage
  • Body movement therapies
  • Taichi
  • Yoga
• Diet and herbs. Over the centuries, man has gone from a simple diet consisting of meats, fruits, vegetables, and grains, to a diet that often consists of foods rich in fats, oils, and complex carbohydrates. Nutritional excess and deficiency have become problems in today’s society, both leading to certain chronic diseases. Many dietary and herbal approaches attempt to balance the body’s nutritional well-being. Dietary and herbal approaches may include:
  • Dietary supplements
  • Herbal medicine
  • Nutrition/diet
• External energy. Some people believe external energies from objects or other sources directly affect a person’s health. An example of external energy therapy is:
  • Electromagnetic therapy
  • Reiki
  • Qigong
• Mind. Even standard or conventional medicine recognizes the power of the connection between mind and body. Studies have found that people heal better if they have good emotional and mental health. Therapies using the mind may include:
  • Meditation
  • Biofeedback
  • Hypnosis
• Senses. Some people believe the senses, touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste, can affect overall health. Examples of therapies incorporating the senses include:
  • Art, dance, and music
  • Visualization and guided imagery

We will share many articles and information on the vast growing of Alternative Medicine and its effectiveness on the body in the Nutrition & Wellness category.

~Diadel Kimberlee