Integrating Medicine for Optimal Health
by Cynthia McMurrayAccording to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic disease now accounts for 70 percent of all deaths in the United States. In fact, statistics show as many as 133 million, or an astounding 45 percent of all Americans, currently suffer from at least one chronic disease such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s, cancer or diabetes, with 53 percent of those suffering from two or more these illnesses. While these statistics are staggering, what is even more alarming is that we now know up to 90 percent of these illnesses are actually preventable.
The question then is why, if the majority of these diseases are indeed preventable, are so many people still developing chronic illnesses? The answer is simply that traditional medicine alone has no way of treating something that has not yet happened. Traditional or conventional medicine as it is often termed is based on removing and treating symptoms. If there are no real and treatable symptoms, modern medicine is at a loss. There are no drugs or surgical remedies for something like pre-diabetes for example. When a patient comes to their doctor with a general complaint of “just not feeling well”, without a specific diagnosis, in all likelihood and based on their training, the doctor will either order a whole battery of often unnecessary and costly tests in order to identify a disease that can then be treated, or simply tell the patient to go home and come back in a few weeks if things don’t improve. The bottom line is that modern medicine is not equipped to deal with a patient who is in a “pre-disease” state (somewhere between optimal health and diseased) and it isn’t until they have actually reached a diseased state, when they are beyond the prevention stage, that they are finally treated.
For this and many other reasons, people are now turning to alternative or complimentary medicine. Practitioners such as naturopaths, chiropractors and herbalists for example can suggest a variety of holistic and less invasive approaches to treat illness. And while many people will find improved health with these natural approaches, there are still those who aren’t 100 percent comfortable with the lack of clinical evidence many of these approaches provide. Fortunately, a third option now exists.
Integrative medicine, an incorporation of both traditional and alternative medicines, offers all the benefits of a more natural approach that so many Americans are now turning to, backed up by substantiated evidence based on clinical trials and ongoing research. In essence, it provides people with the best of both worlds.
Like alternative approaches to healthcare, integrative medicine promotes prevention and healing of the whole individual. Conventional medicine on the other hand, typically seeks to treat specific symptoms. As well, integrative medicine looks more to the body itself as a mechanism for healing whereas conventional medicine tends to look outside the body at such things as medications and surgery as a way to heal the individual. Interestingly, the key tenet of integrative medicine stems from the beliefs of such ancient healers as Hippocrates, known today as the Father of Medicine. As a medical visionary, Hippocrates and other physicians of his time, taught that given the proper tools (things like optimal nutrition and exercise), the human body has the innate ability to heal and balance itself. Integrative medicine promotes this natural equilibrium known as homoeostasis and strives to support the body in the best way possible so it can use its own resources to induce healing.
One of the key resources in integrative medicine is the use of standardized nutritional supplements. While the body is indeed designed to heal itself, when it is in a weakened and unbalanced state, natural plant-based formulations are often the best way to enhance the body’s ability to restore balance. These formulations are also effective when used in concert with prescription medications in cases of progressive disease. Integrative medicine further promotes supplementation as a preventative. Simply living in today’s fast-paced world with its various stresses, pollutants and toxins can eventually drain the body’s immune system. Scientific evidence has shown various plants contain healing compounds that help reduce such things as inflammation and oxidative damage, both of which lead to many chronic illnesses. And while they are also shown in many cases to significantly bolster the immune system, many people make the mistake of waiting until they feel fatigued or sick before they turn to supplements. The truth is, by the time your body shows symptoms of illness, it is already overwhelmed. If you continue to ignore these often minor warning signs, as most of us do, they eventually result in chronic disease.
The best way to assure your health in the future is to become proactive now. This often entails making lifestyle changes and includes such things as drinking plenty of water, getting regular exercise and sleep, eating properly and when necessary, taking clinically based and standardized nutritional formulations before symptoms become critical.
