Archive for January, 2008
A major component of Oriental Medicine, acupuncture works by altering the internal flow of vital life energy or chi. This life energy moves along established pathways or meridians in the body that relate to the organs and the tendo-muscular system. When the balance of chi is disturbed due to physical or emotional trauma, poor diet, pharmaceuticals, stress, genetic or environmental factors, pain or illness result. Inserting hair-thin needles at specific meridian points restores the balance of chi by calming, strengthening or removing a blockage of the flow. An average acupuncture treatment involves five to 15 needles in a procedure that usually causes little discomfort. In addition to, or sometimes instead of inserting needles, an acupuncturist may use a treatment called moxibustion in which heat is applied directly above acupuncture points.
The role of cleansing in recovery, wellness and immune system fortification is commonly underestimated despite the fact that most all health professionals will agree that a sick body is a toxic body. Cleansing rids the body of toxins, allowing the organs and body systems to rejuvenate themselves naturally.
Toxic acids are by-products of normal metabolic changes in cells known as cell catabolism. We also take in varying amounts of toxic materials from air, water and other environmental sources, from the herbicides, pesticides and chemical additives in food, as well as from prescription and street drugs. The body’s ability to clear away the toxic materials created and assimilated each day is vital to health and immune response. Problems occur when these poisons accumulate faster than they are eliminated or when one or more of the systems designed to rid the body of toxins is underactive. Health and recovery programs that use detoxification and cleansing aid the body’s natural systems that eliminate poisons, and facilitate the rebuilding of body tissues.
Colon hydrotherapy, juice fasting and diets, herbs, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes are used for detoxification and cleansing purposes. Some of these methods can be employed without professional supervision, but in the case of serious illness, it is important to regulate the amount of toxins released into the bloodstream during cleansing.
Founded in 1790, homeopathy comes from two words, homeo meaning similar, and pathy designating disease. Homeopathy is commonly practiced in many countries including France, India, Mexico, Russia, and England, where one in three people, including the royal family, use homeopathy as their primary form of medical care. Introduced to the US in 1825, by 1890 there were 14,000 homeopathic physicians, 22 homeopathic medical schools and 100 homeopathic hospitals nationwide. Fifty years later, regulation by and reliance on Western medicine had driven homeopathy to near extinction. But today, more than 2.5 million Americans seek homeopathic care each year.
Naturopathy is a system of medicine that promotes health by stimulating and supporting the body’s inherent power to heal. Although the term naturopathy was first adopted in the early 1900s, its philosophical basis dates back as far as 400 BC. A naturopathic doctor, or ND, seeks to discover and alleviate the root causes of disease rather than eliminating or suppressing symptoms, works with a patient to create conditions that enhance healing, and avoids drugs and surgery whenever possible. Since physical and psychological elements are recognized to contribute to disease, NDs generally pay considerable attention to a patient’s lifestyle.
Nutritional healing is a natural method of overcoming illness and maintaining wellness without the use of toxic drugs. Nutritional medicine recognizes the body as a complex biochemical system that has specific requirements for optimal function. In addition to proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and water, there are over 40 different vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and other components, including oxygen and sunlight,