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The Power of Natural Alternative Medicine Part 1

By 1a2b | June 29, 2010

The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest
his patients in the care of the human body, in diet and in the
cause and prevention of disease.”…Thomas Edison, 1902.

We have many different options for health care today, but the
focus will be on biologically based treatments and prevention.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(NCCAM) defines the scope of biologically based practices to
include, but is not limited to, botanicals, animal-derived
extracts, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, proteins,
prebiotics and probiotics, whole diets, and functional foods.

But first, let’s take a look at the different philosophies of
healthcare practiced today. Allopathic, alternative,
complementary, integrative-what does it all mean? Each includes
many different kinds of therapies, and although alternative,
complementary and integrative are sometimes used
interchangeably, the general focus of each is different.

Allopathic medicine focuses on disease and the treatment of the
physical body with drugs and surgery. These are conventional
physicians with the title of M.D. that are universally
recognized as having a medical degree.

Alternative medicine includes those therapies not generally
recommended by allopathic physicians. It includes Energy Medicine,
Ethnomedicine, Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Homeopathic Medicine,
Botanical or Herbal Medicine, Bio molecular Medicine, Manual
Medicine, Spiritual Medicine.

Complementary medicine includes therapies used by both
alternative and allopathic physicians. It includes Exercise
Medicine, Environmental Medicine, Social Medicine, Nutritional
Medicine.

Integrative medicine is the attempt to integrate the many
philosophies of medicine, allopathic, complementary, and
alternative, to treat the whole person, physical, emotional,
spiritual, and intellectual.

Many people are hesitant about trusting their healthcare to
anyone other than an allopathic physician. But did you know that
Naturopathic Medical Doctors are the only physicians who receive
complete training in conventional medicine as well as natural
medicine? Licensed Naturopathic medical doctors (N.M.D./N.D.)
attend a four-year graduate level Naturopathic medical school
where they are educated in all of the same basic sciences as a
conventional M.D. In addition to this training, they are
extensively educated in the philosophy and implementation of
safe and effective natural therapeutics with a strong emphasis
on disease prevention. Unfortunately, some states do not yet
offer licensing for Naturopathic Doctors.


 

 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 8:22 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “The Power of Natural Alternative Medicine Part 1”

  1. ARCHER Says:
    June 30th, 2010 at 4:39 am

    Hallo. I am archer meyer fr south africa. I am 46 years old. Is it in any way possible for me to study naturopathy in the usa?

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