shineonhealth.com

The Need to Educate Ourselves

Cheryl Jones — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:37:00 +0000

When we begin to think about improving our life styles, one of the first things we might begin to do is to educate ourselves.

We might start reading more health articles in magazines, begin to watch health infomercials, take a trip to the local health food store and browse through books there and maybe pick up a few. Also, the local library is a good repository for health related books.

We need to educate ourselves because health is a journey, not a one time event. It is not a pill you take. It is not a one-time operation. It involves understanding how your body works and what is necessary in terms of nutrition, exercise, and rest.

One place I have gone is this site. It offers a lot of educational articles and a video as well. I would recommend you take a trip here.

Naturopathic Medicine – What Is It – Does It Work

Cheryl Jones — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 11:00:09 +0000

Naturopathic Medicine – What Is It – Does It Work
Naturopathic Medicine promotes working with the body and it’s ability to heal. A naturopathic doctor (ND’s) have a similar level of education to a ‘regular’ MD, except they don’t have such a high reliance on using man made drugs and they are more interested in preventing illness rather than just treating it.
ND’s encourage using methods like herbal medications, acupuncture, massages, meditation, aromatherapy, to name just a few, in order to achieve and maintain good health. They encourage their patients to take a pro-active stance on their own health care and to make better lifestyle choices.
This approach to medicine encourages the prevention of disease by more of a mind body balance, rather than the ‘closing the barn door after the horse got out’ approach that is more typical of western modern medicine and only relieves the symptoms after an illness has presented itself.
Patients are encouraged to make permanent lifestyle changes to help them live longer, and healthier lives. They are also encouraged to ‘get in touch’ with their body and pay attention to any signs that something is wrong, such as pain.
Many of these early signs wouldn’t show up in the lab tests routinely performed by doctors, and without this confirmation your doctor will often send you on your way telling you that there is nothing wrong. This approach all too often leads to the worsening of a problem that could have been easily corrected if it had been treated early. ND’s will look at your complaints and try to find what aspect of your body is out of balance to help you get relief more quickly so the ailment doesn’t get worse.
Of course many of use have some familiarity with the practices that will help us stay healthy. Below is a list of some of the easy things you can do daily, starting today, that will help prevent illness:
1) Eat better. Avoid too much sugar and fat. Stay away from soda and fried foods. I know you’ve heard this before and I know most of us like our junk food, so if you don’t think you’re ready to cut it out completely just cut way back on it. That is a good place to start. When hungry for something sweet grab a piece of fruit instead of a candy bar.
Remember, you don’t have to be perfect, even small changes can pay off big with better health.
2) Get enough sleep. How much will depend on what your body needs. Most healthy adults will need around 8 hours a night, but that’s not written in stone. Find out what your body needs and then make sure you get that much.
There is nothing on late night t.v. that is so important you can’t miss it. Your health is far more important, turn off the t.v. and get enough sleep.
3) Try to have some fun and unwind every single day, if only for a few minutes. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, our modern world is stressful. It’s vital for our physical and mental health that we de-stress. Something as simple as a little time playing with your kids or laughing with a friend can do wonders for not only your disposition but your health as well.
If you are interested in taking a more hands on approach to your health and keeping illness at bay rather than just treating the symptoms, you should consider learning more about naturopathic medicine. This can be a very important first step in having a longer, healthier, and more fulfilling life and it’s an easy step to take.

What Are Holistic Practitioners

Cheryl Jones — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 04:36:09 +0000

What Are Holistic Practitioners
Today we are starting to become a little leery of our health care. We are starting to think that ‘progress’ is overrated, or at least when it comes to ignoring centuries old practices that have been proven to work. Using some of these old practices is what holistic practitioners do.
Professionals who don’t just treat one aspect of the person but rather incorporate the whole person: mind, body, and spirit, are using the ‘whole’ or holistic approach to health care. These practitioners use many non-invasive, drug free techniques to help keep their patients healthy and to help treat chronic problems. Unlike drug therapies, these holistic methods don’t have the negative side effects associated with many prescription drugs.
Modern western medicine tends to look at the symptoms of an illness only after they’ve presented themselves there is little focus on prevention. The whole person, mind, body, and spirit is largely ignored with the focus only on that one part that is sick. Rarely do they look for the underlying cause but merely treat the symptoms.
Holistic medicine, on the other hand, takes a completely opposite approach. They focus on the mind, body, and spirit and encourage practices that can prevent illness from happening in the first place.
A holistic professional can use various methods to help their patient achieve and maintain good health and well being. Some of the most common methods used are: acupuncture, massage therapy, aromatherapy, meditation, and Chinese herbal medicine, to name just a few.
The holistic approach recognizes that the human body is designed to heal itself and sometimes just needs a little help. Just changing some simple daily lifestyle choices can have dramatic effects on the body and it’s ability to prevent and even cure many illnesses.
Many of these holistic approaches are starting to be recognized and endorsed by the once resistant ‘traditional’ medical community. With the awareness that not all man made medications are good for us and often create their own set of problems a lot of doctors are starting to incorporate a more holistic approach in their practice.
Most states require some type of licensing for anyone who is treating people using these methods. Most holistic professionals have as much, or nearly as much, schooling as a regular M.D.
If you don’t believe that just ‘popping a pill’ every time you have a health issue is the best way to go, if you are concerned with the long term side effects of taking a lot of medications, or if you just think that prevention makes more sense than waiting until there is a problem and treating it after it occurs, you should find holistic practitioners in your area and learn how you can become more pro-active in regards to your health.