Popular Alternative Medical Careers

September 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Basic Acupuncture.

Image via Wikipedia

The Alternative Medicine Sourcebook describes “alternative medicine” as healing practices that do “not fall within the realm of conventional medicine.” Critics claim that the effectiveness of alternative medicine is negligible, but many turn to it as a practical treatment for their ailments, often in conjunction with conventional medicine. Business is good, and practitioners are in demand. Here are a few fields that those interested in alternative medicine careers can pursue.

  • Acupuncture: Acupuncture treats patients via the insertion or manipulation of needles in the body. The ancient practice originated in China and is used to relieve pain, promote health, and some claim that it can prevent disease and improve fertility.
  • Chiropractics: This field of alternative medicine focuses on diagnosing and treating disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Treatments involve manual therapy of joints or of the spine and certain exercises.
  • Iridology: This somewhat controversial alternative medicine involves diagnosing physical ailments by thoroughly examining the eye. Treatments then generally include homeopathy or herbal medication.
  • Naturopathy: Naturopathy involves encouraging the body’s natural ability to heal and not relying on surgery or medication. Treatments include, but are not limited to, acupuncture, massage, kinesiology, iridology, enemas, vitamins, and a variety of other therapies.

Those interested in careers in medicine alternatives generally need some sort of specific education or training. This can be gained from classes, study, apprenticing or through specialized institutions like chiropractic schools. A lot of people are either wary of chemicals or in favor of more natural treatments and will need professionals in the field of alternative medicine to help them.

Filed Under: Acupuncture, Chinese Medicine, Traditional Medicine Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Slow Carb Diet

June 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Want to lose weight without exercising?

Timothy Ferriss

Image via Wikipedia

 

It certainly is possible the biggest issue facing people with weight problems is diet rather than not burning enough calories. Exercise can accelerate weight loss, but without a proper diet losing weight can be a losing proposition.

 

One popular diet is the so called slow carb diet. Rather than eating starchy or sugary foods that are quickly digested, the slow carb diet is full of food that will not quickly raise blood sugar levels.

Unlike other fad diets such as the no carb diet, the slow carb diet is based on the solid principles of eating more vegetables and less sugars and starches. The diet also requires consuming less calories through liquids. Rather than drinking orange juice, the slow carb diet recommends eating an orange.

 

What stands out about the slow carb diet is that it seems less like a fad and more like a lifestyle change. Rather than eating a lot of processed foods eat vegetables – the diet is not about losing weight without making sacrifices. Losing weight is not a difficult process to learn, but it is in practice.

Best selling author Tim Ferriss wrote about the slow carb diet in his work the Four-Hour Body. He also wrote about putting himself through absurd experiments in order to achieve lofty athletic goals. While the slow carb diet might be on the low end of his crazy physical tests, his track record of putting himself through hell tells the story.

 

Ferriss documented that the diet works. But it required sticking to a routine and not cheating with cheese fries at lunch.

 

Filed Under: General, Weight Loss Tagged With: , ,

Making Exercise Enjoyable

May 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A public demonstration of aerobic exercises 

Image via Wikipedia

To many people the idea of exercise is a four letter word. It’s not something that they look forward to but they agree to it anyway. But then something happens not long after they decide that they are going to get on the exercise band wagon…they fall off the exercise bandwagon.

While it’s understandable why someone who starts on a program will get discouraged and stop, it’s also completely avoidable. There are ways for people to enjoy exercise without it being a chore. Here are a few examples of how to ramp up your workout without wanting to throw in the towel.

The first thing you can do is take the workout outside of the gym. There are plenty of people who feel like it’s a chore just sitting on a treadmill…so don’t. Just get off the treadmill and take it outdoors. Just doing a leisurely hike might be a great way to get the blood flowing and get the exercise you need.

Something else to consider is that just doing the same thing over and over has to be boring, so make sure that your exercise is something that you enjoy. Don’t be the kind of person who does squats just because you are told to do it. You’ll get discouraged and quit. The best thing that you can do is focus on doing the kinds of exercises that you like and forgetting about exercises that you don’t particularly like.

You can be in great shape by having fun with exercise. Remember to make it about enjoyment and everything else will fall into place.

 

Filed Under: Healthy Tips, Weight Loss Tagged With: , ,

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies? Pt 6

March 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies? Pt 6

When it comes to taking herbs, you may actually be unwittingly making a mistake that could potentially harm your health. Here is a look at one of the biggest mistakes that you could be making when it comes to taking herbs.

Are you making sure that you are taking your herbal supplements every single day, or otherwise on a consistent basis?

It is vitally important that you take your herbs and your supplements regularly as is recommended by the manufacturer in order for you to assess if they are actually working for you or not. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is that they begin to take an herb or a supplement, then they skip a day, and then they skip two days, and then after a while they believe that they have not seen any improvement and so they either stop taking the supplement all together, or they add other supplements in because they believe the first one was not working.

The fact of the matter is, you have to be consistent in taking your herbal remedies and supplements in order to tell whether or not they are actually working for you. One of the best ways that you can achieve this is by purchasing a daily pill organizer so that you can tell whether or not you have taken your supplement for the day. This will ensure that you stay on track. Keeping a pill organizer within reach will ensure that you really, truly benefit from the vitamins and supplements that you buy.

Filed Under: Herbal Food Supplements, Traditional Medicine Tagged With: , ,

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies? Pt 5

March 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies? Pt 5

When it comes to taking herbs, you may actually be unwittingly making a mistake that could potentially harm your health. Here is a look at one of the biggest mistakes that you could be making when it comes to taking herbs.

Are you being honest with your doctor about the herbs and the supplements that you are taking? One of the biggest mistakes that people make is that they take supplements and herbs directly before or directly after having surgery without telling the surgeon about them. Your surgeon absolutely has to know about any herbs and any supplements that you are taking in order to prevent any complications from occurring. These types of herbs and supplements can actually interact with your anaesthetic, and it could potentially cause an excessive amount of bleeding.

There are certain herbs and supplements that you are simply going to want to stop taking at least two to three weeks before your surgery, including the following: Vitamin E, valerian root, licorice, St John’s Wort, kava kava, chamomile, goldenseal, ephedra, ma huang, feverfew, danshen, omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil, flax seed oil, saw palmetto, coenzyme q10, glucosamine, ginger, chondroitin, ginseng, ginkgo and garlic.

Above all else, it is vitally important that your physician always know what you are taking in terms of herbs and supplements so that he or she can help you choose the right treatments and the right medications accordingly. It is important always to be honest with your physician about what you are taking to ensure that you are always in good health.

Filed Under: Herbal Food Supplements, Traditional Medicine Tagged With: , ,

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies? Pt 4

March 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies? Pt 4

When it comes to taking herbs, you may actually be unwittingly making a mistake that could potentially harm your health. Here is a look at one of the biggest mistakes that you could be making when it comes to taking herbs.

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make pertaining to herbs and herbal remedies is taking dieter’s teas and herbal laxatives thinking that it is going to induce regularity in your bowel movements. The herbs that are found in products such as these are known as anthranoid laxatives, and they include buckthorn, senna, aloe, rhubarb and cascara sagrada.

People that use these products can actually become unnecessarily dependent, and may end up using them for days, weeks, months or years longer than they are supposed to. Stimulant laxative chemicals like senna should never be used for a period longer than a week, unless you have express permission from your physician or some other licensed health care provider. When you use products such as these for an extended period of time, then it may cause your bowels to have difficulty moving all on their own. People who have taken these laxatives for too long a period of time have ended up with chronic diarrhea issues along with irregular heart rhythms, muscle weakness, liver impairment and kidney impairment.

Make sure that you talk with your primary health care provider about being able to wean off of laxatives in a gradual manner so that you can recover your normal bowel function again. The big key here is going to be to go about the process slowly, typically combined with taking a fiber supplement and making sure that you also get enough fluids as well.

Filed Under: Herbal Food Supplements, Traditional Medicine Tagged With: , , ,

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies? Pt 3

March 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies? Pt 3

When it comes to taking herbs, you may actually be unwittingly making a mistake that could potentially harm your health. Here is a look at one of the biggest mistakes that you could be making when it comes to taking herbs.

There are herbs, drugs and supplements that when you decide to take them together, you may actually be putting yourself at risk of bleeding. Certain types of medications known as anticoagulant drugs like warfarin and aspirin are blood thinners. What this means is that they are designed to keep blood clots from forming inside of your arteries. Their purpose is to reduce the risk for developing heart disease or a stroke. However, it is vitally important that you understand that when you combine these medications with supplements and herbs that are also capable of promoting the anticoagulant effect, then you can significantly increase the risk of bleeding and causing serious harm to your body.

Some of these herbs and supplements include willow bark, fish oil, dong quai, devil’s claw, goji, saw palmetto, ginseng, gingko, ginger, garlic, feverfew, danshen, coenzyme q10, chamomile and aloe vera. While these are all natural supplements that are generally healthy for you, they can cause a bad reaction when mixed with anticoagulant drugs. If you happen to be taking more than one of the aforementioned herbs, or if you are taking an anticoagulant drug, then you are going to want to consult your physician so that you can determine the best course of action from here on out. Make sure that your physician always knows what herbal remedies you are taking when a new medication is prescribed in order to ensure your good health.

Filed Under: Herbal Food Supplements, Traditional Medicine Tagged With: , ,

What is Acupressure?

March 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

What is Acupressure?

A common practice in alternative medicine is known as acupressure. Acupressure is defined as being the application of the hands or the fingers to the body, creating pressure on the body. These specific points on the body, which are commonly referred to as acupoints by many acupressure practitioners, lie along meridians which are perceived to be invisible lines made up of flowing energy in the body.

Acupressure comes from traditional Chinese medicine. In traditional medicine, the stimulation of these points using acupuncture or acupressure has been thought to restore the proper flow of energy in the body, known as Qi, as well as to treat a number of specific conditions and ailments including headaches, nausea and muscle tension.

Acupressure can either be done on your own self or performed by a practitioner, typically a licensed acupuncturist. There are a number of different acupressure points, but one of the most common ones is known as PC6, and it is located just on the inside of your wrist. Another can be found in the skin between the thumb and the forefinger, and it is believed that placing pressure here for a period of time can relieve nausea as well as chronic headaches.

Acupressure is not for everyone, but if you have a chronic condition and you are looking for a non-conventional way to treat it, then you should consider that alternative medicine practices such as acupressure and acupuncture have shown themselves to be capable of helping in certain situations. Work with a licensed acupuncturist when determining whether or not this type of therapy can benefit you.

Filed Under: Ancient Practices, Chinese Medicine Tagged With: , ,

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies? pt 2

March 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies?

When it comes to taking herbs, you may actually be unwittingly making a mistake that could potentially harm your health. Here is a look at one of the biggest mistakes that you could be making when it comes to taking herbs.

Are you turning to natural products like herbs in order to boost your energy “naturally” because you are feeling tired all the time?

If you are feeling weary, tired or completely lacking energy on a constant basis, then you should visit your primary care physician rather than just attempting to mask the symptoms with a trip to your local health food store. Although supplements and good diet can be beneficial in some circumstances, your absolute first step is going to need to be to ensure that the cause of your fatigue is not some kind of underlying condition. There are actually a number of different conditions that are capable of presenting themselves in this manner, including depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, sleeping disorders like obstructive sleep apnea, asthma and anemia. It is important that you rule all of things out before trying to change your situation using herbal remedies and other health supplements.

Fatigue is also a symptom of a number of other conditions including some infectious diseases, diabetes, heart failure, liver disease, kidney disease, Addison’s disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases such as lupus, malnutrition and a side effect from taking certain medications. As such, it is important that you go and visit your primary health care provider first. Your physician will ask you some questions, ensuring that the right examination and tests are done so that these conditions can be ruled out and you can figure out what is actually causing the tired feelings.

Filed Under: Herbal Food Supplements, Traditional Medicine Tagged With: , ,

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies?

February 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Are you Making Mistakes with Herbal Remedies?

When it comes to taking herbs, you may actually be unwittingly making a mistake that could potentially harm your health. Here is a look at one of the biggest mistakes that you could be making when it comes to taking herbs.

Are you drinking chamomile tea without really knowing what types of medications it is capable of interacting with?

Most people think that chamomile tea is simply harmless, but the truth is that this seemingly harmless tea can have some pretty serious side effects when it is combined with specific types of medications, and so it is important for you to be aware of these potential interactions so that you can avoid them.

Here is an example: There was a case that was published in Canadian Medical Association Journal in the April 2006 issue that describes how a 70 year old woman was being treated by her physician with a drug called warfarin, when she was simultaneously using chamomile. She ended up being admitted to the hospital because she had internal bleeding, and it turned out that she had been using chamomile body lotion and chamomile tea as a means of self treating some cold symptoms that she had.

There is actually a pretty extensive list of drugs and medications that are capable of interacting with chamomile. It is important that you speak to your physician before you take chamomile, or tell your physician that you are taking chamomile if he or she plans to put you on a new medication so that you can prevent a completely unnecessary interaction from happening between your medications and your herbal supplements. A little bit of forethought can go a long way in ensuring your good health and overall safety.

Filed Under: Ancient Practices, Herbal Tagged With: ,
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