9 Things You Should Know About Alternative Medicine

alternative medicine1. What is Alternative Medicine?

Alternative medicine is a variety of techniques that are outside the field of conventional medicine.

These techniques mostly focus on physical, energy and herbal remedies [Home herbal remedies].

These remedies attempt to be as natural and cost-effective as possible in order to compete with conventional medicines that often have a variety of side effects and enormous costs.

Alternative medicine usually follows one of two principles:

1. The body must be allowed to heal itself naturally.

2. The body needs to have a life force balance periodically restored.

2. Patients come first

As opposed to conventional medicine, in which the doctor decides the treatments, natural medicine is patient-first.

The idea is that patients should have a choice over the treatments that they receive and the doctors should recommend treatments. Luckily, many conventional health care centers are switching over to patient-centered treatments as well.

3. Heal, don’t harm

Many conventional treatments have an array of devastating side effects. Also, conventional treatments can have complications that can lead to problems that are even worse than the disease including death.

Alternative healers do everything they can to ensure that their treatments are almost 100% safe.

4. Patience is required

Unlike conventional treatments, which are expected to provide patients with quick relief, alternative methods focus on the body’s ability to heal itself, which generally takes longer. Also, alternative healing relies on coaching the patient through healthy life choices.

5. Use natural over synthetic

Treatments should mostly utilize ingredients that are found in nature rather than ingredients that are synthesized in a lab.

6. Improve general health instead of curing one disease

Alternative health is interested in overall health and well being. The idea is that the human body has the natural ability to heal most diseases and that treatments should facilitate this natural ability.

7. Alternative medicine is not a replacement for your doctor

There are some diseases that are genetic. Other diseases have progressed to a point where the human body cannot possibly heal the disease. Patients need to consult with their doctors before relying solely on an alternative health care treatment.

8. Alternative medicine must be researched

Alternative medicine should be researched for several reasons. Firstly, there are a large number of alternative health treatments and patients should be aware of which treatments they are best off putting their money towards. Secondly, some alternative medicine treatments can conflict with other treatments.

Using multiple herbs can lead to an excess of one nutrient or another, causing potential health problems. Thirdly, there are many alternative health practitioners who are bad at their practice.

You should research different alternative health practitioners to see which ones has the best reputation.

9. Not all insurance companies cover alternative health care

Check with your insurance company. Fortunately, most alternative healthcare methods are much cheaper than conventional methods.