Health is all too often a consideration only after we experience sickness. Health does not exist exclusively in the moments after we’ve conquered an illness. In fact, it exists anytime we are intentionally work to improve our mental and physical selves. Alternative medicine supports paying attention to health before it ever becomes a problem or source of pain. Alternative medicine supports making intentional decisions to treat our bodies with dignity and respect. Sure, it sounds vague, but check out these three reasons that alternative medicine might just be on to something.
Stopping things before then start
Diabetes may be the most detrimental of health outcomes that Americans are facing. Each year, $220 billion dollars is spent on the management of diabetes through type 1 diabetes treatment and type 2 diabetes treatment. Type 2 Diabetes, a form often associated with a poor diet, affects around 1 in 10 adults. Alternative medicine supports encouraging a holistic approach to health that includes a love of nutritious food rather than a love of dieting. This proactive approach puts individuals ahead of the problem!
Using collaborative methods
Alternative medicine is an umbrella term for holistic health approaches that hail from all over the world. Alternative medicine “plays nice” with western medicine and is comprised of remedies from all continents across thousands of years. For example, a patience undergoing alternative prostate cancer treatment is in no way barred from accessing standard treatment. Alternative therapy for cancer can easily be paired with Western medicine for a multi-pronged approach.
Treating health as a culture rather than a fad
Health is truly about optimizing rather than fixing the body. This positive outlook serves well for those who are healing that those who are looking to avoid illness. For example, a patient undergoing alternative prostate cancer treatment might consider that said treatment is his or her way of optimizing their body on that given day. This is a less isolating, more normalizing approach. In the world of alternative medicine, all bodies have health and seek to improve upon it.
With Americans spending more than 30 million dollars per year on alternative medicine and according to the Center for Disease Control, around 33% of Americans using alternative methods, holistic medicine is emerging as a viable option. See this link for more references.