Does Alternative Medicine Work for You?

Conventional medicine includes a range of health care practices used to mostly treat illness and disease. This type of practice is based around a diagnosis of the patient and seeks to remedy any problems by writing prescriptions and/or performing surgery.

On the other hand, alternative medicine refers to healing methods that do not fall into the realm of conventional medicine. This is frequently associated with complementary medicine as well. Because this type of treatment is not scientifically based many people are still skeptical of its use. Alternative medicine is also a good source of prevention, which many people are beginning to seek the benefits of. Why would one want to wait until they are chronically ill to seek treatment? If we can care for and keep our bodies healthy then we would have a much better quality of life.

The medical field is beginning to see the benefits of alternative medicine and some are slowly educating their students about it. Many people have tried some sort of alternative therapy whether it is yoga, meditation, or herbs and for the medical community to be aware and have basic knowledge of the principals would greatly help in treating patients.

I consider myself a healthy adult, but even so I have used many alternative treatments outside the realm of conventional medicine. Some of these include nutritional therapy through a Vegan diet, supplements, and drinking herbal teas for various reasons.

I began eating a Vegan diet over two years ago. I had a history of unexplained digestive problems and high blood pressure that I did not want to live with, or take medicine, for the rest of my life. This miraculously changed my body. All of my digestive issues went away and my blood pressure returned to normal. I stopped taking all medication and have not looked back. Many people say, 'I could never do that', but I did not want to live that way. It was a big decision, and it has affected my family, but I have peace to know that I am being a health advocate for my children and helping them to make educated decisions to take charge of their own health.

Another alternative treatment that I use is supplements. I take a multi-vitamin, calcium/vitamin D/magnesium supplement, extra B vitamins, Lysine, and probiotics. No one today eats well enough to not need supplementation. The multi-vitamin can be considered as an insurance policy for your body. You do everything you can to take care of it, but just in case you have this insurance to protect you. Probiotics are also something that everyone can benefit from to aid in digestion and assuring that you have the 'good' bacteria in your body. The others that I take (calcium/vitamin D/magnesium, B vitamins, and Lysine) are personal to me and may vary for someone else. I take the calcium/vitamin D/magnesium supplement for two reasons: one because I am a woman and women tend to need more calcium and two because I do not regularly get enough of this in my diet. Vegans do not get any B12 in their diet. I take extra B vitamins because of this and for energy and metabolism. Any extra that my body does not need gets excreted in urine, so there is no harm to my body. The Lysine is an amino acid that the body does not produce, but helps in the prevention of cold sores, which I am prone to.

Herbal teas are also something that I regularly use. Green tea is simply a favorite and has excellent antioxidants. Peppermint tea is good to soothe any kind of stomach issues, and with kids this comes in handy plus they actually like the taste. At the end of a stressful day, or if I eat too much, Chamomile tea does the trick.

These are just the few small steps that I take daily to remain healthy. I do not rely on any prescription drugs and very rarely do I use anything over-the-counter. If I get sick I usually go crazy with the herbal teas and also use a neti pot for any congestion and sinus issues. As I said, my main goal is to remain healthy and to set a good example for my children.