BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Alternative Medicine Advantages & Disadvantages Of Alternative Medicine

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of alternative medicine?

I am really trying to use alternatives to medications and drugs whenever I can for both myself and my two kids. My hubby still likes to pop a pill for things but he's coming around.

I think one big advantage is that it's possible to use alternatives as a remedy for just about anything and it's healthier and safer.

One disadvantage, if you can call it that, is that it requires some research to find reputable alternatives. There is a lot of misleading hype out there and "cure-alls" that probably don't work and might even be harmful.

I try to stick to sources I trust for information.

Since I started using essential oils as natural remedies for many things, I've really become a believer in them!

Advantages: Teaches you to be an active participant in your own health care.

Disadvantages: Most health insurance won�t cover alternative medicine treatments.

We have to look outside of the box. Preventive medicine has to be taken more seriously. Changing our diet to a more alkaline PH and learning how to treat ourselves with natural medicines is simply the next step toward extending our lifespan.

The disadvantages -- well, the uncertainty. Not having good solid research in some cases. Trying to figure out which is the right approach among all the vary different options.

Advantages -- possibly getting to the root problem and fixing it at a more permanent, substantive level.

I find the book The Herbal Drugstore, by James A. Duke PH.D very helpful,
Also very good book is Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, by
Micheal Murray,N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno N.D.

In many cases, if you try an alternative healing method, and it's not the one for you, it doesn't add anything unwanted to the body (as opposed to taking "Medicine" that will always leave something behind that may be unwanted).

It does take some work to research alternative medicine. I've been looking for something to help with eye health (I don't want to wear bi-foculs LOL).

And sometimes it's necessary to have a higher dose of an herb or supplement than what is recommended on the bottle - but you'd need to find an herbalist or nutritionist to be able to do this. I'd feel really uncomfortable upping the dosage of an herb without a qualified professional telling me it was okay. And of course, sometimes it's hard to find these qualified professionals.

Sometimes someone will call themselves an herbalist, yet all they really did was take a course or two through an internet program.

I love alternative and holistic healing methods, but unfortunately, over the years, I've had to (on occasion) turn to regular medicine because I couldn't find an alternative one that would help. It would be nice if there were at least a quarter of qualified alternative health practitioners out there for us as there are medical professionals

There are over 2000 herbs that can be used for healing purposes. Great Spiritual Leaders and medicine men and women of the Native Americans studied and worked for many years to know the properties and power of herbs. Each of these leaders knew maybe as many as 300 herbs and their uses. They knew it was wise to know and learn about just some and know them well rather than trying to know them all and stretching their knowledge too thin.

If you are going to use herbal remedies, it is wise to make sure you find a good practitioner who is familiar with herbs and their uses. For myself, I learned just three remedies that I use for my own particular health issues and that changes from time to time depending on my needs - and I never commit to memory more than three, but I do write down my own recipes and keep them for future use. An herbal remedy for a specific illness may take much higher doses and a much longer treatment time than what is reccomended on prepared, store bought bottled capsules.

You should know your herbs well and understand the illness well and consult a reputable herbalist prior to using herbal remedies - and never use herbal remedies if you are on any other meds without discussing it with your doctor and the herbalist.

If it will help, read my article on 'Healing Herbs' at
www.bellaonline.com/articles/art50027.asp

I agree that you should know your herbs well before trying natural remedies. I like being in charge of my own health and it's kind of a challenge to educate myself on natural remedies-but it's a challenge I enjoy.

Disadvantages- You have to really know and trust your sources. I haven't found a reputable herbalist to go to tho and I've found t's hard to get recommendations in my area.

There are sites on the web that begin to make it more convenient for consumers to compare approaches. One of them is www.rvita.com. You can find out about effectiveness of different remedies for specific conditions.