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Introduction to Holistic Medicine: The Safer Alternative

Intro- Every day 46 people in the U.S. die from legal pain pills (Deadly Pain Pills 19).
Prescription medicine and other conventional methods are known to cause harm to people
instead of helping them heal. Unconventional methods are a solution to this problem that many
people are unaware of or are afraid to use. Alternative medicine is made up of a group of systems
and philosophies for diagnosing and treating illnesses. It is also about keeping a state of wellbeing within the persons body. Alternative options concentrate on the person as a whole and the
bodys ability to heal itself (Medicine 2). Alternative medicine is safer and more effective than
mainstream medicine.
2A-

Eastern medical practices are said to be the origin of holistic health. These cultures

believe that symptoms are the bodys way of responding to an issue affecting a persons care.
Eliminating the symptoms can weaken the body instead of healing it, which causes the sickness
to worsen. Alternative modalities are used so that does not happen and also creates balance by
providing strength for the body to heal itself (Steinfeld 10). Alternative medicine was a common
practice long before conventional options, such as prescription medicines and surgeries, were
around. Using these options will help let the body take care of itself which has been successful
since the beginning of time. It is believed that Shaminism was the earliest form of medicine. The
Shaman, a medicine man or woman, would perform a variety of healing rituals to influence the
patients inner feelings and to help stimulate their healing powers (Steinfeld 12). Several years
before mainstream medicine was used, alternative methods, such as Shaminism, were popular
among different civilizations. The practice of these methods over time has resulted in the
improvement of unconventional medicine. Alternative medicine has dated back to the treatment
techniques of the Chinese, Indian, Greek, and Roman civilizations. The men and women of these

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groups had detailed knowledge of healing and a variety of remedies (Alternative Medicine 1).
Civilizations similar to the ones previously stated went years without modern medicine or
technology and only had holistic medicine to use. These groups of people were able to cure
illnesses or even just small problems for instances headaches and stomachaches by using herbal
remedies, massage therapy, and a variety of additional options.
2B-

Alternative medicine is used to eliminate causes of illnesses, remove obstacles that are in

the way of recovery and encourage equilibrium within the body. These methods do not cure the
conditions, but restores the body to its self-healing capability (Steinfeld 10). Instead of using
drugs or surgeries to rid the illness altogether, unconventional medicine eliminates the cause of
the sickness and helps the person recover faster. This helps in building the bodys immune
system back up and its ability to heal on its own. Alternative medicine encourages the
individual to play an active role in his or her own well-being. It also stresses disease prevention
as a primary goal rather than focusing solely on the treatment of a disease (Steinfeld 3). In this
quote from Careers in Alternative Medicine, Alan Steinfeld believes that unconventional
medicine allows the patient to have a say regarding their health and the prevention of diseases. In
contrast, modern day medicine does not always give people options about their treatment or
health and also focuses more on the medical care instead of prevention. Alternative medicine is
considered any type of healing or wellness practice that does not involve the conventional system
of medical physicians, nurses and hospitals. This approach includes a wide range of therapeutic
treatment, from acupuncture to yoga (Alternative Medicine 1). As stated, unconventional
methods are not only herbal remedies, acupuncture or homeopathy, it can be as simple as yoga,
massage therapy or even healthier diets. Any sort of therapy that is not invasive and does not use

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pharmaceutical remedies is considered a form of alternative medicine. The various options
available are more easily accessible than modern day treatments.
4C-

Holistic healing views the body, mind and spirit as one system. The diagnosing

techniques are used to find the root of the illness and treatment is intended to improve overall
health and immunity. Alternative doctors prescribe natural instead of pharmaceutical medicines
which are nontoxic and do not cause harmful side effects (Alternative Medicine 2). Holistic
healing is a different approach to helping people with illnesses than the traditional medical route.
This type of healing focuses on the person themselves, not the disease. Holistic doctors use
natural remedies that are safe for the patient and also will help prevent any other diseases.
Unconventional medicines have been proven to be safer than the misdiagnoses and hospitalborne illnesses, which kill hundreds of thousands of people every year. One-third of the
American population uses some type of alternative treatment and half of cancer patients have
tried a type of holistic therapy (Steinfeld 8). Holistic medicine has been proven to be safer than
conventional medicine and the sicknesses received in the hospital, which kill a large amount of
people every year. Many people have switched form modern day medicine to alternative
treatment along with cancer patients that use holistic healing for side effects of chemotherapy
and radiation. Charlene Solomon turned to alternative medicine after she watched her mother die
of complications from a hysterectomy. She chose to take more responsibility for her health by
eating better, exercising and looking for more natural and safer health aids. Charlene says that
she tries to avoid drugs because of the side effects they can have. Charlene enjoys the alternative
treatments she uses because they help support her bodys natural capability to fight off the
disease (Haugen 80). Charlene is similar to many other Americans that have had a traumatizing
experience with modern medicine and chose to use alternative methods. These people believe

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that the alternative route gives them the chance to have responsibility over their health and is also
healthier and safer than conventional medicine.
4 B-

The growth of alternative medicine can be linked back to reasons such as the FDA

removing certain regulations, medical schools sudden curiosity in the different options and
increased interest in Americans. Recently, medical schools throughout the United States have
started studying alternative medicine such as herbal remedies and acupuncture. Additionally, the
National Institutes of Health started the National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine to aid in evaluating treatments and raising schools interests in the topic (Billitteri 16).
The growth of schools studying unconventional options will help hospitals and doctors around
the country become accustom them. That will then lead to the doctors using it more often as
treatments which will help heal patients in the end. In the 1998 Journal of the American Medical
Association, there was a survey published of more than two-thousand adults concerning the
unconventional choice. It was estimated that forty-six percent of these Americans visited an
alternative medicine doctor. This was compared to the thirty-six percent in 1990 (Billitteri 16).
The survey shows that in eight years more Americans became interested in using holistic
medicine as a cure instead of using conventional medicine. The growth from 1990 to 1998 could
mean that alternative medicine use has grown much more since that survey was taken. The
growth could have been a result of people discovering how much safer and more effective
holistic medicine is compared to mainstream medicine. The federal law recently removed the
Food and Drug Administrations regulation on supplements and vitamins which led to the
development of alternative medicine business (Steinfeld 3). The removal of this law will lead to
the growth of the patients using supplements and vitamins as a form of healing or preventing
illnesses. Thus more doctors and patients will start to practice alternative options throughout the

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country. In 2004, forty-eight percent of Americans used at least one type of alternative therapy.
This was compared to the forty-two percent almost a decade before. Experts say the growth has
to do with the distrust of modern medicine and the psychological interest in the nontraditional
approaches, for example herbal remedies and other supplements (Haugen 79). According to the
statistics, the effectiveness of unconventional medicine has begun to appeal to more Americans
since the earlier 90s. This is due to the inability to trust mainstream medicine and the emotional
attraction to the unpopular methods.
4C-

Unconventional medicines popularity has increased over the years as a result of the

benefits that occur from it, the price of the methods and the exposure to Americans. Alternative
medicine has helped people live longer than they have in the past because of the cure and
prevention of infectious diseases. It is skilled in managing emergencies and dealing with various
bacterial infections. There are many illnesses that were treated with drugs and surgery that could
have been treated more effectively with less deadly measures. For example, illnesses similar to
the common cold which pass on its own are being over treated with medications (Steinfeld 7).
The recent attraction to the untraditional methods is due to the increase in life expectancy and the
cure for simple diseases. Americans have begun to see how effective the alternative therapies can
be which has produced the increase in the practice. Statistics show that sixty-nine percent of
citizens use alternative treatments and fifty-six percent believe that their health plans should
cover those types of therapies. Also, in another study, fifty percent of people expected to begin or
increase their use of unconventional medicine in the next year (Gerdes 88). Recently, Americans
have started to navigate towards the untraditional types of treatments instead of using
mainstream medicine. The increase is expected to continue in the next couple years and will
prove to have successful benefits for numerous people. There are hospitals all over the country

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that provide alternative services to their patients. There are also many health clinics around the
country that have medical doctors and alternative medicine professionals, like acupuncturists,
massage therapists and chiropractors, working side by side (Steinfeld 1). These unconventional
methods have become more popular throughout the country and are more available to the public.
Not only has alternative medicine grown in popularity, the alternative doctors also have the
ability to work alongside medical doctors which will open more opportunities for the
development of this untraditional approach. It has been lately been discovered that using
alternative methods are much cheaper than traditional medicine. According to a Wall Street
journal story, a conventional prescription cost forty-five dollars for thirty tablets whereas the
natural remedy, freeze-dried stinging nettles, cost eight dollars for forty-five capsules (Steinfeld
140). The majority of Americans do not want to be spending a large amount of money on
medication. Unconventional medicine gives people the option of spending a smaller quantity of
money on treatments that will have the same or even better affect than modern day medicine.

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Works Cited
Alternative Medicine. Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
Billitteri, Thomas J. Alternative Medicine. Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century, 2001. Print.
"Deadly Pain Pills." Consumer Reports Sept. 2014: 19-22. Web.
Gerdes, Louise I., ed. Medicine: Opposing Viewpoints. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2008. Print.
Haugen, David M. Alternative Medicine. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2008. Print.
Katz, David. A Complementary Approach to Medicine Helps Patients and Is Scientifically
Sound. Alternative Medicine. Ed. Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012.
Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from Questioning the Guardians of Science. Huffington
Post. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
Medicine. World of Health. Gale, 2010. Students Resources in Context. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
Steinfeld, Alan. Careers in Alternative Medicine. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1997. Print.