I wonder anyone has got experience in Alternative Medicine and would be grateful if you could mention whether it was good or bad experience.
For me, I really believe in alternative medicine (some not all). For example, accupunture is amazing for me. In some hospitals in China, up to 80 percent of the surgical operations have been performed with acupuncture. Patients are given choice of undergoing operation under conventional anesthesia or under acupuncture.
Herbs are also very much interesting as well. Garlic is one of them and it was found that it could cause significant lipid lowering of cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein and may be used in the treatment of hyperlipidaemia.
Another powerful antioxidant is "Green Tea". Green Tea is good for your health. It has got very powerful antioxidants and some studies claim that it could prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and infections. Of all the antioxidants green tea contains, EGCG is most famous and researches are going on the health benefits of EGCG. To read more about green tea (EGCG), visit the following site.
http://www.egcg.co.uk/ I prefer the term 'completentary medicine'. I believe Earth Mother has provided us with a cure for all ills, we just haven't found them yet.
The majority of people in the world use herbal medicine. Herbs tend not to produce side effects like chemical medicine does. this is because in herbal medicine, the whole of the plant, bark, root etc is used which keeps a balance, while chemical medicine synthisis the one ingredient they need. There are a few exceptions to this such as digitalis which is used for heart complaints.
I make my own skin care products and soap using natural ingredients. Before I started doing this I suffered badly from ezema. I used my own herbal cream to treat it and this was very successful, but this didn't stop me from getting it in the first place. I knew soaps and shower gels were one trigger so I started making my own soap.
Besideds an ezema cream and soap, I also make an after shower oil, body butters, facial night oil and day cream, exfoliators and hot oil hair treatments.
The best part about making my own is I know exactly whats in them.
I guess it's due to influence from my mother and aunt, I really believe in chinese medicine. It's basically stewing all those ingredients together into the worst tasting thing on earth for you to force down your poor throat twice a day or more.
But, it's rather effective from what I've experienced. I've often had *cough* irregularities due to the high stress level in my life, after I was put on one of those nasty soups, it came like clockwork >.> As they say, western medicine heals the symptoms and chinese med takes out the problem.
Donno how much of that is true, but chinese medicine does have thousands of years of history behind it (although I wished all of whom invented chinese med would revive so I could kill them again every time i had to drown myself in one of their creations).
As for those all natural herb personal care products. I totally love them =D
Edit: >.> forgot there are guys, >_< aaah embarrassing, edited edited *rolls off*
Last edited by Aiz on Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:15 am; edited 1 time in total
I think I'd have to answer yes and no. It really depends on the type. I am a firm believer that Chiropractic is almost worthless, but that is based on only one practioner. Some herbals seem to actually have an effect on me, some nothing at all.
I'm really interested in reading about the experiences of others here.
Ayurveda is very popular here in India. One must understand that it takes time for Ayurvedic treatment to show the results but it works and it works permanently without any side effects.
I have tremendous faith in Homeopathy. In fact I have even prescribed homeopathic remedies to close friends and my family and I had had a consistent degree of success. For chronic ailments, homeopathy is best, imho.
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| I've often had *cough* irregularities due to the high stress level in my life, after I was put on one of those nasty soups, it came like clockwork |
I make a fantastic tasting syrup for coughs which also treats chesty complaints. It normally clears up the problem in two days. I make wetern herbal medicines, which on the whole taste ok. There are some which are a bit bitter tasting, but that's nothing compared to Chinese medicine, which, I hasten to add, is very effective.I'm not generally treated by medical doctors, nor have I had any jabs since I was about 2 years old. My family and I tend to go to a homeopath instead. What I like about this alternative to medicine is that it tends to be based on you as a person as well as your symptoms. I really believe that it works and recently, having had Bel's Palsy, it made me feel a lot better.
Yes, yes, yes.
When I was teenager I have big problem to dislocated my knee and hip. My father take me to old woman that practice alternative medicine. She fix my leg in few seconds. I did'nt cry, it was no time to cry.
Here's another example:
My bussines partner son was 2 months old baby when doctors discover he have orange size big tumor on brain! He take his son to best medical doctors in country and around, but there was no one to take risk to operate his baby. Chance was less then 5% to survive. Then he meet old man that practice alternative medicine with lots of plants on tee. That men give's special tee baby to drink. After two months tumor dissapier and little baby develops normaly.
This two examples realy happens, but I also know lot's fake medicine cases, in order to take client money.
I definatly believe in alternative medicine... western medicine has so many side effects. Besides chinese people have been practicing herbal medicines for thousands of years.
| Shanghai_Dragon wrote: |
| I definatly believe in alternative medicine... western medicine has so many side effects. Besides chinese people have been practicing herbal medicines for thousands of years. |
The sad thing is, Europe also used herbal medicine for thousands of years. It's been used since the stoneage. It was only in the last centuary that chemical medicines became comon place. Merely a fleeting moment of time.Yes, my grandfather, a general surgeon was trained in western medicine [took his residency at NJ], but also practiced acupuncture.
When family members are sick we would go to him and undergo acupuncture. It has worked really well! 
My grandfather has also cured cancer patients with his acupuncture [he was featured on TV]. He still practices up to this day, but he is old--he's 81.
I plan on studying acupuncture to supplement my med school studies in the future. I take ayurveda medicines. They are damn costly. Thay might charge you upto $50-$60 for a single consultation. But, you may not have to go to the doctor again for some years. Longest gap - 6years for my 68yr old grandma.
i think herbal or altenitive medicine is verry powerfull and it should be used in conjunction with conventinal medicine. but allways let you docter know because herbs can interact with conventinaL MEDS TO FORM UNDESIREABLE SIDE AFFECTS
You're right, the alternative medicine is very good. It should be practiced by a Doctor specialiced and experienced.
In many places of the world there are people that utilize some of this knowledge and invent extrange thinks that aren't homeophaty and this give it bad image to this kind of medicine.
Im a medical Doctor, I myself have experienced the alternative medicine, I think it actually works very well beyond doubt. I think emphasize should be given to alternative medicine to find a better place in research fields and so on. I guess its only in China and in rural India mostly this type of medicine practiced.
I am not 100% for alternative medicine. Mostly because I don't like the word. I prefer to use the term complementary medicine.
I am a big believer in naturopathy and massage and accupuncture, but I also place a lot of trust in traditional medicine. If I ever have a heart attack, I WON'T be steeping herbs to make a tonic, I'll be straight off to the hospital!
Having said that, maybe the right herbs would help me to avoid a heart attack
Alternative/complementary therapies have always been around and can help us in so many ways. With the right alternative/complementary therapies, you may very well be able to avoid your doctors office, but don't hesitate to go there if the other things you have tried are not working. yes i do believe that there is an alternate medicine.
The most influential, in my opinion, is Ayurveda. Ayurveda is an age long genre of medicine which has grown in the East.
It is a natural process of medicating without the use of chemicals. Medicinal Herbs are used for the treatment.
It has no side effects and has been quite popular in the west in recent days also.
I believe Ayurveda is a strong alternative for allopathy. Besides, there are Homeopathy, Natural Treatment etc.
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I am a big believer in naturopathy and massage and accupuncture, but I also place a lot of trust in traditional medicine. If I ever have a heart attack, I WON'T be steeping herbs to make a tonic, I'll be straight off to the hospital!
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Todays medicine is based on herbal remedies. Take aspirin for instance, it's found in willow bark. Scientists studied willow bark, found which componant eased pain and finally synthizised it. The problem with just using this one componant is that it causes side effects. Side effects aren't normal when the whole of the bark is used.
If you suffered from a heart problem, you would be given digitalis, which comes from foxglove and cannot be synthizised.
I'm not putting modern medicines down, I use them myself along with natural remedies.I have tried and it worked with me and my family. Homeopathy and herbs were used to cure my son from a serious and rare illness called Legg-Calve-Pérthes Syndrome.
The Conventional Medicine could do nothing for him, and the doctors themselves told to me to seek Alternatives treatments. We used a brazillian herb named "arnica" which was very powerful to heal this bone disease that occurs only with children.
But we never left the doctors advisements.
Alternative therapies are considered "alternative" because they don't fit into the neat classification schemes of modern Western medicine or because they haven't been proven through rigorous scientific methods. Doesn't mean they work. Doesn't mean they don't work.
I was advised by a very wise physican, scholar, and mentor that the best cure for most ailments is the human body. People take medicines that might work, whether traditional or alternative, and often it is their own bodies healing them but they attribute the results to the medicine. (Consider the case of someone taking an antibiotic for a viral illness.)
Also, just about all of our medicines are natural medicines. We have just looked at which chemical in a whole mess of chemicals from this or that herb is actually doing the work, then we have taken that chemical and found a way to make just that so that we can make enough for lots of people without having to find lots of the herb. We have used our understanding of these natural products to make modifications to decrease side effects or to make novel molecules that can target other diseases in the absence of finding that molecule in nature.
A MAJOR MISCONCEPTION IS THAT ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES ARE WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS, WHILE TRADITIONAL MEDICINES HAVE LOTS OF SIDE EFFECTS. This is not true. The difference is that traditional medicines are studied and their side effects are categorized and stapled to the prescription. Alternative medicines are harder to study because their administration methods are often unconventional and don't ensure even dosing, etc. They DO have side effects. Saint John's Wort, for example, changes the way your liver processes lots of other chemicals and can effect other medications you are taking. A tea made from Ma huang in China contains ephedra and can lead to cardiac dysrhythmias and kill you!
The best medicine, alternative or traditional, is evidence-based. You should try to find research behind the therapies you chose to pursue, by searching for it yourself or asking your doctor or medical care provider about it. It can be trickier to find evidence for alternative therapies, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try them. Lots of therapies really do work but haven't been studied in a formal scientific way. Just be sure to do your homework and make sure it's safe!
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| A MAJOR MISCONCEPTION IS THAT ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES ARE WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS, WHILE TRADITIONAL MEDICINES HAVE LOTS OF SIDE EFFECTS. This is not true. The difference is that traditional medicines are studied and their side effects are categorized and stapled to the prescription |
Traditional medicines (plant based] heave been in use for thousands of years, and side effects are well known. This side effects are noted in the same way as those of chemical medicines - through trial and observation.
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| Also, just about all of our medicines are natural medicines. We have just looked at which chemical in a whole mess of chemicals from this or that herb is actually doing the work, then we have taken that chemical and found a way to make just that so that we can make enough for lots of people without having to find lots of the herb. |
These medicines aren't natural. The neccessary compound is usually synthisized. Even if they weren't, they still wouldn't be natural medicines because it is the whole of the plant which makes up the medicine. The coumpounds within the plant balance each other. For instance, willow bark does not cause stomach problems, but aspirin can cause horrific stomach problems.
Side effects are less likely to occur in herbal medicine because the whole of the plant is used.
People should always get proper advice before taking herbal remedies, particularly if they are pregnant or have medical conditions. This also applies to the use of essental oils.As with quite a few posters here, I love homeopothy! One of the best things about it, generally speaking, is that there are almost no side effects, even if you select or try the "wrong" one. It just has no effect, instead of hurting you. I have had extremly good success with homeopothy in the past, and I most definatly plan on continuing to use it in the future!
P.S.
One exception to the "no side effects rule": if you take "Rhus Tox", which is a derivitive of Poison Ivy (and is used to cure it as well), in large amounts when you do not have poison ivy, instead of curing it (becasue you do not have it) it will instead give you poison ivy...if you are even allergic to poison ivy in the first place. Confused yet? XD A person of scientific mental orientation can not disbelieve in any claim which has not been disproved. Everything has some goods and some bads. To say that this is harmless as it is traditional or alternative or herbal, is a blind faith just like to say that all the chemicals are harmfull.
The basic thing is that to talk about any thing being good or bad for the human body and mind should be left to the persons having deep knowlwdge or long experience in THAT SUBJECT !! ( because our science do not know much about the humain physiology, yes,it is true, not joking !!!)
| Quote: |
| The basic thing is that to talk about any thing being good or bad for the human body and mind should be left to the persons having deep knowlwdge or long experience in THAT SUBJECT |
We all learn through experience. Other peoples experiences are as relevent to us as our own. It is the way we learn. If all discusions were carried out only by those who have deep knowledge or experience of a subject, nobody would ever learn.
As a Druid who does healing, among other things, I value what other people have to say to me on the subject. I meet with others regularly to share information and points of view. Some I take on board, others I don't. We are all at different levels, but I do not discount the imput of a novice, just because they do not yet know much.It is true that one should always try to find out as much as possible about thier condition, overall health, and options before making any health desicion.
I have done lots of reading and learning, but still have so much to learn still! But, with the experience i've gained, I feel comfortable recomending Homeopothy as a general pratice to anyone. The specific remedies needed for every person or situation greatly varies, of course... Im a medical Doctor, I myself have experienced the alternative medicine, I think it actually works very well beyond doubt. I think emphasize should be given to alternative medicine to find a better place in research fields and so on. I guess its only in China and in rural India mostly this type of medicine practiced.
| Quote: |
| Side effects are less likely to occur in herbal medicine because the whole of the plant is used. |
Show me the data.
You can't just say "the compounds within the plant balance each other." How do they balance each other to avoid side effects? A lot of side effects occur because medicines target a specific molecule to get to a specific tissue in the body, but that molecule may be expressed on additional tissues, allowing the medicine to reach other sites as well. If the compounds balance each other, then do they contain something that inhibits that process? Is this inhibition specific to tissue type? Or does it reduce the overall binding effect of the medication? And if it does the latter, doesn't that reduce the effectiveness (or basically mean that a synthesized form of the same targeted medicine could be given in a lesser dose to produce a similar reduction in side effects)? | benjmd wrote: |
You can't just say "the compounds within the plant balance each other." How do they balance each other to avoid side effects? A lot of side effects occur because medicines target a specific molecule to get to a specific tissue in the body, but that molecule may be expressed on additional tissues, allowing the medicine to reach other sites as well. If the compounds balance each other, then do they contain something that inhibits that process? Is this inhibition specific to tissue type? Or does it reduce the overall binding effect of the medication? And if it does the latter, doesn't that reduce the effectiveness (or basically mean that a synthesized form of the same targeted medicine could be given in a lesser dose to produce a similar reduction in side effects)? |
I kno you were talking about herbs in general, but I thought you might find it interesting that homeopathy uses a different healing process. Instead of targeting the symptom, as does "traditional" medicine, homeopathy seeks to upbuild the body's own immune system, allowing the body to fight the underlying problems and symptoms on it's own. In this way, you usually don't become 'desensitized' to homeopathy, as is common with "traditional" drugs. Instead of homeopathic remidies fighting the problem, it gives the body more weapons, so it can fight it's own battles! | Quote: |
Show me the data.
You can't just say "the compounds within the plant balance each other." |
Maybe balance is not quite the right word, but I think it's near enough to give the general idea. As for data, I will have to get my notes and books out.
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| How do they balance each other to avoid side effects? |
Herbs work differently to chemical medicines. I'm not going to try and explain it now. I shall wait until I've got my notes so as to be sure to express myself properly. It's one thing to have information in your head, but another to put it into words.I absolutely believe in alternative medicine.
My wife is a perfect case. She was having lower back back and could barely walk. She went to a hospital and the doctor prescribed muscle relaxers and ibuprofen. She stayed away from work for two weeks. One day I picked up a book about nature's medicine. The book suggested a simple test that wouldn't cost much and wouldn't interfere with medication.
I had her drink a gallon of cranberry juice within an hour to flush her kidneys. After she went to relieve herself, the pain was completely gone.
I realize this example isn't saying much, but a chemist friend of mine summed it up: Doctors learn medicine, not nutrition.
I beleive in alteranative medicine , where we can find most cure for all ills, we mus keep searching to find more cure
i'm using herbal medicine , and i prefer it more than chemical medicine
no side effects of herbal medicine
we must keep studying the nature around us to learn more
I believe it alternative medicine, but that's a very poor phrase to use for it. "Alternative Medicine" is a misnomer. Most forms of alternative medicine have been around for thousands of year in the Far East and Mysterious Orient. What we really need to examine is the uses of Common Medicine. For instance, who says that bloodletting DOESN'T work? Not me. I have never once had a head-wound treated and I'm doing just fine. The economic and spiritual potential of Magnets is being completely underfunded and denied by the special interests groups in Washington (like Nestle) who don't want to see real research done on how natural childbirth and magnetism could prevent autism.
| benjmd wrote: |
| Quote: | | Side effects are less likely to occur in herbal medicine because the whole of the plant is used. |
Show me the data.
You can't just say "the compounds within the plant balance each other." How do they balance each other to avoid side effects? A lot of side effects occur because medicines target a specific molecule to get to a specific tissue in the body, but that molecule may be expressed on additional tissues, allowing the medicine to reach other sites as well. If the compounds balance each other, then do they contain something that inhibits that process? Is this inhibition specific to tissue type? Or does it reduce the overall binding effect of the medication? And if it does the latter, doesn't that reduce the effectiveness (or basically mean that a synthesized form of the same targeted medicine could be given in a lesser dose to produce a similar reduction in side effects)? |
| Quote: |
| Inside the plant, a multitude of active ingredients are constantly interacting to heal and, simultaneously, to moderate any side effects on the body. The bark of the willow tree is a fine example of this proccess. It contains salicins that the body transforms into salicylic acid, an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, febrfuge. Unlike manufactured asprin,which has simmilar properties, the plantdoes not have anticoagulant properties. This means that people who suffer from intestinal bleeding can take it without dangerousside effects. |
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| Some pharmacologists believe the complexity of plants prevents germs, e.g. microbes and bacteria, from adapting and becomeingresistantto treatments, which is the converse of what happens with conventional medicine. |
I believe the main difference between traditional and alternative medicine, is that the traditional doctors tend to see patients as " a broken leg", " a deficient heart", "a sore throat", etc, and of course they have developed hte exact treatment for each particular illness, but they fail to see the person as a whole organism, complex as it is, and with emotional and psychological beings too.
I think that alternative medicine tries to keep the whole person together, seeing how it's interconected (just take a look at acupuncture, it makes use of "hidden" conexions inside the body).
But at the end, my opinion is that each person should take care of their own health.
+ $0.02...
A cure for nausea that my chief taught me:
Me: I feel really sick.
C: Stomach sick?
Me: Yah.
C: Have some really hot green tea. It'll fix you right up.
Me: Okay... damn, this is some strong tea.
C: Yeah, that's the trick.
Me: Um... now I feel worse.
C: Good, it's working! The bathroom's over there...
<five mintues of wretching later...>
Me: You son of a bitch!
C: Ah, but don't you feel better now?
Me: Well, yah.
C: See? Green tea fixes everything!
Honestly, though, if you feel like crap and you know you're gonna throw up sooner or later, green tea, super hot and three times the average strength, will shorten your agony. No real idea why, but I suspect the heat, the acidity, and the caffeine trigger something in your stomach...
/also good for getting oily curry residue off of the dishes
//and generally healthy, yes
This is a very grey area. Quite a few Alternative Therapies work wonders. Others are nothing more than Old Wives Tales. In many cases, old medicine practiced by other cultures are better than our Western medicine. I also think they can be used together in many ways.
| sherryrowe wrote: |
| This is a very grey area. Quite a few Alternative Therapies work wonders. Others are nothing more than Old Wives Tales. In many cases, old medicine practiced by other cultures are better than our Western medicine. I also think they can be used together in many ways. |
Which ones do you believe to be old wives tales?
Customers of my cream for dry skin conditions have told me it works better for their excema than anything their doctos have given them. They are amazed at how quickly their skin heals. I think it's because the cream is pure, with no additives. I met up with a friend today who uses my cream and she is so happy to be able to control her excema.
I think the additives in todays products cause a lot of skin problems. As long as I use the soap I make myself I tend not to get excema. I've just got to use a commercial soap product once, and I get a flare up.Hi ryukenden,
I've used alternative medicine for a couple of years, and still have not experienced anything wrong. I think it really depends on your 'alternative health professional' and his/her experience.
Mine told me that I could leverage my sleep with some natural oils, and it worked! How? Still don't know, but someway it seems my skin influences more my health than what I believed 
He also recommended me to use this shower oil:
sabonnyc.blogspot.com I believe in the future will be only alternative medicine we will talkabout and it will not be alternative anymore but the single medicine we will use.
I am so confident in the alternative medicine first of all because it has no side effects like the normal one and it has effects on the rarest diseases in which the medicine does not have any answers.
Yes, alternative medicine is effective in many cases. I will recommend "Ayur Veda", the Indian traditional system of medicine which uses only herbal products and procedures. Please keep in mind that there are fake doctors and ayurvedic hospitals in India. But authentic ayur veda is the world's oldest system of medicine and is very effective even in modern times.
