TOPIC: ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE VERSUS WESTERN

MEDICINE
THESIS STATEMENT:
Let us examine the big differences between holistic health and Western
medicine, (holism versus reductionism).

The Western Approach to Medicine

The major difference between alternative medicine and western medicine, is
in approach. A Western doctor, or MD, sees his duty as searching out
disease, diagnosing it, and treating it. If he does that correctly and
effectively, he's done his job. Most often, this means the doctor prescribing a
pharmaceutical drug or a surgical procedure to remedy the situation.
Conventional Western medicine is organized around the Theory of Diseases,
which believes that a person becomes sick because he or she contracts a
disease. Conventional treatments are treatments of diseases, not of people.
Most of the drugs employed in conventional medicine are designed to act as
chemical strait jackets, preventing the cells of the body from performing
some function that has become hyperactive. The side effects of these drugs
are a direct extension of their actions and may be fatal. The Western doctor
is taught to see a patient. He sees the patient as the disease. This is an
epileptic, it is not a whole person who has epilepsy. He feels that he can
administer a drug or perform a surgery that will cure a person's liver without
making any difference to the rest of the person. Of course, this is never
possible, so when the inevitable complications arise, the Western doctor
deals with those one at a time, often causing additional problems for the
person, whether in body, mind or spirit

A. Our Future with Western Medicine

It is not at all difficult to see where our present medical system is leading
us if we observe the everyday events that normally occurs in our present
time since the emergence of the our so called high technology in the
medical field. The big question is are we winning the war against
diseases? Have we able to prolong the life span of our people with this
present medical technology or have we just prolong the pain and agonies
for the sake of money. Every year in every parts of the world we build new
hospitals and medical clinics and we are producing more doctors to
augment the system but nevertheless we were not able to stop chronic
diseases like cancer, heart disease, HIV, Alzheimer and lots of other
diseases that continue to dominate our evolution. We seem to be in the
wrong track in trying to win the battle against invading pathogens when in
fact more people are dying with cancer and heart disease every year. We
have to open our eyes to the fact that drugs and doctors does not heal
 only the body's innate intelligence can. The body it self is the only healer
but many of us failed to see the truth.

B. Western Medicine Effects

1. The expensive cost of medicines beyond the reach of many Filipinos.
2. People were misinformed and were program to believe that doctors
and drugs
can heal.
3. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics had lead the existence of highly
resistant
Strain of bacteria and virus.
4. The vaccination program which was forcefully implemented in many
countries
resulted in the high incident rates of autistic children.
5. Patients are treated not as a whole person but like robots with
individual parts
can be treated separately.
6. The side effects of drugs is sometimes more dangerous and fatal
than the
disease itself.
7. Safe and cheap alternative procedures are deliberately hidden to
the public
because vested interest of people who are making money from sick
people.

The Approach of Holistic Practitioners

A holistic health practitioner sees his duty as an educator and a facilitator.
He feels that the body can heal itself, and it doesn't necessarily need outside
influences (drugs, surgery) to heal from an illness or to prevent an illness. In
holistic health, the patient is an active participant. This is the best and the
worst thing about holistic health! The patient is actively involved in the
healing process. Everything you know about your body says that this is the
right approach. It makes so much sense. That's the good part. The bad thing
about this is that it is hard work for the patient. Taking a holistic perspective
means that you cannot understand a single problem with a single part of the
human body without looking at the whole person. We use the short-hand
mind, body, spirit to refer to the whole person.

A. Change Your Lifestyle

 In most cases, the patient must make changes to their lifestyle.
Change your diet, do more exercise, stop using sugar, do these stretches,
stop negative thoughts, meditate twice a day, etc. Making lifestyle changes
is immensely difficult. The only time it's easy is when you are faced with a
life-threatening disease. When you find out you have lung cancer, it's pretty
easy to quit smoking. However, it's far too late by that time. Lifestyle
changes need to come before the illness becomes manifest

B. Alternative Natural Medicine

1. Herbal Medicine are much safer, no side effects and are inexpensive
and
effective.
2. Many people who have no access to modern medicines because of
poverty
are going back to Mother Natures cure and are learning the use of
many
Medicinal herbs for their medical problem.
3. Subtitute for expensive antibiotics are being rediscovered and are
more
Effective and affordable in many cases.
4. Patient are treated as a whole person, the relation between the mind
and the
physical body is being considered extensively in addition to the
environment
and way of life.

Holism Versus Reductionism

Let's examine one of the big differences between holistic health and Western
medicine: holism versus reductionism. This is a major shift in perspective.
One Person Three Parts: Body, Mind & Spirit
Even those three parts of the person are treated by separate people in
Western society. The body is the domain of the medical doctor. The mind is
the domain of the psychiatrist. Spirit is left to the priest, rabbi or pastor.
There is no overlap in roles, except for referrals from one to the other. In our
bodies, of course, there is tremendous overlap. A loss of connection to God
or the universe will cause no end of mental and physical problems. Mental
stress causes many physical diseases, as we well know. Who can coordinate
between these in the Western system? No one. Problems falling through the
cracks between mind, body and spirit is a common failure of Western
medicine. A holistic practitioner understands the interconnections between
mind, body and spirit. They work on the connections, and, although the
practitioner may not be an expert in all three, they focus on the overlaps
rather than ignoring them
Conclusion
In my opinion, alternative medicine is better in almost every case for almost
every person. Understanding the linkages between mind, body and spirit is
essential to understanding how to stay well and how to heal. Western
medicine can play a part within the scope of holistic health by offering
emergency solutions to problems that arise quickly and need to be fixed
immediately.

Humans have existed for millions of years without hospitals, doctors

and their drugs which proved that our continued existence does not depend
on any medical system at all. Mother nature have provided all our needs
since the beginning of time to present. Nature is the book of God written in a
language that is accessible to every humans regardless of race, place or
beliefs and it is from where humans started to learn the basics of living and
surviving. Earth is the university of life and it is in this place that we will learn
to uncover the secrets of the human body and discover the innate powers
within us to use in our life journey. We are spiritual entities in flesh and blood
and not physical entity with spirit. To be able to use all the powers given to
us we must discover first who we really are and what we are given.

The Supreme Creator had provided everything we need to survive in

this planet and we need to trust Him that He did not forget anything not
even the least of things that we need. Everything is already given but we
need to learn how to get it, we need to know how knock so the door will open
and we need to learn how to ask to be given. Life is a continues learning
process, lessons are given one after another in the ladder of progress. The
only permanent thing in life is change.

A. Western Medicine Effects

1. The expensive cost medicines beyond the reach of many Filipinos.

2. People were misinformed and were program to believe that doctors and
drugs can heal.
3. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics had lead the existence of highly
resistant strain of bacteria and virus.
4. The vaccination program which was forcefully implemented in many
countries resulted in the high incident rates of autistic children.
5. Patient are treated no as a whole person but like robots with individual
prts that ca be treated separately.
6. The side effects of drugs is sometimes more dangerous and fatal than
the disease itself.
7. Safe and cheap alternative procedures are deliberately hidden to the
public because vested interest of people who are making money from sick
people.
B. Alternative Natural Medicine

1. Herbal medicines are much safer, no side effects and are inexpensive
and effective.
2. Many people who have no access to modern medicines because of
poverty are going back to Mother Natures cure and are learning the use
of many medicinal herbs for their medical problem.
3. Substitute for expensive antibiotics are being rediscovered and are
more effective and affordable in many cases. Example is MMS (Miracle
Mineral Supplement by Jim Humble)
4. Electronic medicine similar to Dr. Raymond Rife machines are now
becoming popular again.
5. Patient are treated as a whole person, the relation between the mind
and the physical body is being considered extensively in addition to the
environment and way of life.