Can Better Health Be Found in Nature? Part I: The Revival of Natural Healing

There has been a growing interest in various types of natural healing, such as herbs, acupuncture, aromatherapy, and massage therapy. This interest is a revival of ancient practices that fell in disrepute with the advent of modern medicine and its cornucopia of pharmaceuticals and high-priced diagnostic tools born of modern technology. There are several reasons for this return to the type of medicine practiced by the ancient Greeks and Romans, Asians and Arabs, shamans and wise women.

One reason many people are turning to all-natural methods of healing is the rising cost of medical care. Even those covered by health insurance find themselves paying higher premiums and more out-of-pocket expenses. For the millions of Americans, who do not have health insurance, the situation is even more dire with doctor visits and hospital care not always being options. As a result, more people are turning to all-natural -- and less expensive -- methods of getting healthy and staying healthy. For example, it is much easier during the cold and flu season to boost one's immunity by taking extra vitamin C and regular doses of olive leaf extract rather than paying a visit to the doctor's office where one most likely must submit to additional -- and more expensive -- tests and then pay even more for any prescribed medication.

This leads to another aspect of natural healing and its increasing popularity, which is the preference for all-natural, frequently organic, medications over the use of strong synthetic chemical pharmaceuticals. Most natural treatments have few if any harmful side effects, while prescribed medications can often produce numerous adverse side effects. In addition, many people dislike the "drugged" feeling that many pharmaceuticals can cause. Ambien might help you fall asleep at night, but chamomile tea will not have you eating in your sleep or feeling hung-over the next morning. Many people also prefer resorting to aromatherapy and/or massage therapy as a means for dealing with stress rather than popping antidepressants on a regular basis.

Natural remedies also have a preventive quality about them. Visits to the doctor too often do not occur until a person is already sick, plus too many insurance companies are loath to pay for preventive care. Besides, it is much easier to prevent a cold by boosting one's immune system with vitamins, minerals, and herbs than it is to try to treat a virus that has already taken hold of the system.

This revival of all-natural methods of healing extends, however, beyond the financial. It is quite often linked to our desire to put less chemicals in our bodies. People are becoming more interested in the preservation of the environment and have begun to realize that if chemicals can so desecrate our planet, what must they be doing to our bodies? In addition, another reason for this revival of interest in natural healing is a reaction to yet another aspect of our environment, which is the fast-paced, technological society in which we now live and which has created a sense of alienation in so many. We text, tweet, and number our friends in the hundreds on Facebook; however, we spend less time engaging in meaningful face-to-face conversations with friends, less time with our elderly parents, less time in soul-searching introspection. Natural healing, in all of its many forms, is a means of getting back in touch with something very elemental -- nature.

There are numerous forms of natural healing. Will one type, for example, herbal medicine, be sufficient for all purposes? Should different methods be used in combination? As far-fetched as it may sound to some, does astrology have a place in natural healing? The first question to address, however, is how natural healing first began, which will be covered in Part II.