Alternative Medicine Vs. The Pop the Top, Pop the Cure Mentality

I've been delving into empowerment and why things are the way they are for each individual lately. I have to say I have one major challenge. Money. It is of all the possible challenges, the easiest to handle, unless you happen to want to feed your children or something silly like that. But really, I have seen several of my friends relatives die recently from Cancer or Parkinson's or some other awful disease. I have to wonder, if my challenge was health related how far would I research to help myself. If I was too sick to do it for myself would someone do it for me if conventional methods weren't working?

There are so many "alternative" methods to healing that have been around so much longer than our Western ways. It is so funny to me that anything that isn't dispensed from a pharmacy, anything that isn't easy, take the lid off, get a cure, is "alternative." I don't know if once you become ill it will make a great difference in your condition if you start a, say, Chinese medicine treatment plan. I don't see how it could hurt, but I think therein lies the problem with Eastern medicine in the Wester world. We want to do as we please, face no consequence and if we do face a consequence there should be a QUICK, neat fix for it. From what I've been reading most of the so called alternative medicines depend on nourishing the whole body, on a consistent basis, and not isolating the element in the particular herb or plant that works but using it in concert with other things to enhance the healing quality of the medicinal herb and the nutrients in the whole healthy foods as well. This is far from the pop the top, pop a pill philosophy the doctors and pharmacies are promoting.

I have found natural medicine for high blood pressure, help for infertility thru natural means, help for headaches and so much more that it's mind boggling. As I read I'm always on the look out for the feeling that I'm being sold what I want to hear, that if I just eat this dandelion all my ails will be cured. But that's never how I feel. It feels more like I'm being guided to work with my body and the things that are around it naturally to fuel it and maintain it.

I'm far from a tree hugging, granola munching hippie but the more I read the more I lean toward putting in the effort now to turn away from the instant fix and go with the long term healthy maintenance plan.