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There is a lot of controversy surrounding alternative modalities of healing, and whether or not they are effective. My feelings on alternative medicine is that mainstream medicine should not be replaced by it, but rather complimented by it. It's not an all or nothing scenario. All alternative medicine is not good, but it's also not all bad.
Recently there was an article about parents who withheld medical treatment for their child to treat the child with homeopathy, and the child later died. This is a sad and tragic story, but does it prove homeopathy doesn't work? I don't think so. I think this case is more of a reflection on neglect and/or poor choices by the parents, as apposed to the failure of homeopathy. This case is a glaring example of why traditional medicine should not be ignored for alternative medicine.
Even with all the controversy, many medical professionals are now excepting that alternative healing practices can be helpful to patients when used in conjunction with their mainstream treatments.
Marilynn Marchione wrote Alternative Medicine Is Being Integrated Into Mainstream for The Huffington Post on Monday. Here is an excerpt from the article...
Alternative medicine has become mainstream. It is finding wider acceptance by doctors, insurers and hospitals like the shock trauma center at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Consumer spending on it in some cases rivals that of traditional health care.
People turn to unconventional therapies and herbal remedies for everything from hot flashes and trouble sleeping to cancer and heart disease. They crave more "care" in their health care. They distrust drug companies and the government. They want natural, safer remedies.
I agree with most of what she's written about the supplement market and the lack of government regulation (it's bad), but alternative medicine is so much more than just supplements.
Angelique talks about 5 Reasons You Should Consider Alternative Healing...
There are many reasons to choose alternative healing over traditional forms of medicine. There’s the cost, the holistic approach, no side effects. The list goes on.
For those still on the fence about alternative healing, I found an article that lists the top 5 reasons why anyone should consider it from a practical standpoint.
Well, I would have to disagree with Angelique on this one. The cost is often times more for alternative healing, because it's not usually covered by insurance. And even holistic medicine has side effects. But even so, that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider alternative medicine.
From The Edge - Alternative and Allopathic Medicine: Peaceful Partnership...
Even though the scalpel may remove the tumor, since the disease effects the whole of its host/creator, the whole self must disinvite the disease and anchor wellness. In my own healing process, besides doing the inner work I knew I had to do, I researched diet, finding stunning similarities between the cancer-healing diets of Edgar Cayce and that suggested by the Center for Advancement in Cancer Education, which is based on growing edge clinical research.
I resolved the few differences between these sources with my own intuitive work and came up with a diet that can be fine-tuned for anyone who wants to heal from or prevent cancer. Bottom line: an alkaline diet rich in veggies and fruits, fiber, nuts and (non-peanut) legumes and, wild-caught fish, free-range poultry and eggs.
I am certain that the holistic modalities that I used to complement my medical care were important factors in my healing: Hypnotherapy, Self-Hypnosis, Meditation, Massage (both traditional and lymphatic drainage), Reiki, Sacro-cranial treatments, Acupuncture, Emotional Freedom Technique and Affirmative Prayer. Without them I believe my disease would have progressed faster; with them my recovery speeded up and my body healed not only from the disease but from the potentially devastating effects of the treatment.
Dr. Amy from The Skeptical OB calls Alternative Health Pseudoscience. Her perspective is interesting, but I think it's also an example of why an all or nothing approach isn't helpful.
The current popularity of "alternative" health is a sad testament to the pervasive appeal of pseudoscience among Americans. As a general matter, "alternative" health is the belief that simple measures (nutritional supplements, herbs, laying on of hands) are effective in preventing and treating serious illness. "Alternative" health promotes the happy fantasy that we have more control over our health than we actually do.
Like most claims of pseudoscience, "alternative" health rests on the twin pillars of lack of knowledge and magical thinking. Lack of knowledge is easy to explain. If you don't
