When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the
doctor will, of course, prescribe medicines. You will go and buy medicines. You
take them, and hopefully, you get well.
This is how the health profession goes on nowadays – a cycle of diagnosis and
prescription.
If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you would probably say that that
person was a quack.
But nowadays, studies are being conducted to see if there are really is any
merit to what is called natural medicine.
Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and
traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural
medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors of the
community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.
Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these
are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine.
Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before
the advent of modern medicine.
This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese,
Ayurvedic(or Indian), and Greek medicine.
Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of
herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on
the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten.
For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in
traditional medicine.
Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. This does not mean that it has
lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually better than
modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider and study the
possible uses of natural medicine
Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies
are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been
thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.
Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied
herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments
such as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, and its ilk are likely to be
recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to
synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause
negative side effects.
Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy
of natural medicine – among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and
health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are
inexpensive and relatively risk-free.
As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of
accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be
bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies
because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate
are legitimate.
There exist today many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural
medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could
mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical
treatments. It would pay to consult the experts as to the legitimacy of these
treatments.
Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right
now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be
used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In that case of minor
ailments your expert we actually advise you to take natural therapies instead.
The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and
prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests
that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick. Natural medicine strives
to make each patient practice good health habits. These habits include good
diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment.
It is this same line of thought that leads our parents to tell us to eat our
vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle and will do no harm to our well-being. And
this is the foundation of natural medicine – may it be massage, herbal medicine,
aromatherapy or others.
It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the
knowledge of sages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies
nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in
natural medicine are encouraging. So staying tuned to studying these remedies is
worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly helpful to our
health and our society.
