Reading Assignment: Natural Medicine vs. Orthodox Medicine
Today's health care consumer is fortunate because more options are now available in both natural and orthodox health care than ever before. It is also heartening that in recent years the various methods of health care have begun to merge. It is not unusual, for instance, for cancer patients electing to undergo chemotherapy to also fortify their immune system with herbs and other supplements before and/or after treatment. Clearly, today's consumer cannery the best of all types of medicine, but to take advantage of the benefits of various forms of health care, consumers must be wise. In today's health care environment it is essential to have a basic understanding of the philosophies, strengths and weaknesses of both orthodox and natural health care.
The Growth of Natural Health Care
It is hard to ignore the tremendous growth of natural health care in recent years. According to the Herb Research Foundation, sales of herbs doubled from 1981 - 1991 to more than $1.3 billion annually. Health clinics that offer alternative care are springing up nationwide. Practices considered outdated for the better part of the 20th century, such as midwifery and homeopathy, are gaining respect for their effectiveness and safety. According to a study published n the New England Journal of Medicine in 1989, today''s Americans spend more out-of-pocket money on alternative care than on orthodox medical care.
Pharmaceutical Drugs or Herbs, Foods and Other Supplements?
A key difference between natural and orthodox medicine is that orthodox medicine relies heavily on the use of powerful drugs to directly attack or "kill" disease, whereas natural medicine relies on the use of various measures to strengthen the body so it can fight the disease itself.
The Physician Within
The philosophy of natural health care can best be summarized in a simple sentence: the body is
self-healing. The body is always striving toward health and has a innate healing power that
causes a wound to scar over and heal, or causes the body's temperature to rise when germs are present in an effort to create a temperature at which the organisms cannot survive.
Personal Involvement in Health Care
In decades past, "good patients" didn't question their doctors. Patients were expected to
passively accept the recommendation of their physician, who, it was believed, possessed
knowledge far superior to the lay person. Today, however, you can open up magazines and see
articles on dangerous medical tests, getting a second opinion, side-effects of commonly
prescribed drugs, and other health subjects showing that drugs, surgery and orthodox medicine
are under more scrutiny than ever before. Consumers are realizing that to blindly trust medical
tests, prescription drugs, and their doctor''s diagnosis is sometimes a prescription for disaster.
Prevention of Disease vs. Reaction to Disease
Orthodox medicine, by and large, reacts to a disease only when it has progressed so far that
symptoms are occurring, at which point dramatic measures of intervention are incorporated.
One of orthodox medicine's most glaring weaknesses is lack of stress on preventing disease. And yet, it's not that many physicians aren't aware of the need for prevention. It simply isn't a priority in medical education.
There is a self directed Quiz at the end of the third class that will show your test results.
