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7 Key Benefits of Holistic Doctors

Holistic Doctors

The modern world is full of advances in medicine, drugs, tools and knowledge, but that does not mean that ancient practices and ideals do not have a valuable place. Today, many people choose to take advantage of all that holistic medicine has to offer.

Holistic medicine as a practices does not focus on just symptoms or some disease, but instead targets the whole person and overall wellness of mind, body, spirit and lifestyle. Holistic medicine seeks to provide a balanced approach to healthcare by combining both conventional medical practices and forms of alternative therapies.

Close your eyes and imagine visiting your physician because your back is riddled with pain. Typically, your physician might perform a few tests, encourage you to stay active and prescribe pain medication. A holistic doctor, however, will conduct a broader assessment of your overall physical health, discuss your dietary habits, sleep hygiene, emotional and mental wellness and even engage in a bit of conversation around your spiritual practices.

It is important to note that there are several different types of alternative therapy options used within holistic medical practides, including but not limited to:

  • Acupuncture
  • Homeopathy
  • Aromatherapy
  • Reiki
  • Ayurvedic medicine
  • Biofeedback
  • Theraueputic topuch
  • Mind-body practices (yoga, meditation, QiGong and Tai Chi) 

Benefits of Holistic Doctors

Holistic practices can use a combination of conventional medicine and alternative options. Holistic doctors provide care to the whole patient. Physicians who approach your healthcare holistically can offer a bevy of benefits with an individualized treatment plan that best fits your needs.

Principles Behind Holistic Medicine

Some of the greatest benefits of holistic medicine is the principlies behind it.

  • All humans possess innate healing powers
  • A patient is a person, not a set of symptoms of some condition or disease
  • Lasting and effective healing is a team effort which includes both the patient and the doctor
  • Treatment approaches target the causes of the condition and not symptoms.

Focus On The Whole Person

Holistic doctors focus on the whole person. Holistic medicine principles are based on the idea that when one area of a person’s life is out of balance, it can affect all others.

For example, chronic stress can affect emotional, psychological and physical health. Another example, emotional issues such as relationship troubles can affect psychological and physical health.

Ultimtately, the end goal is balance and wellness in all parts of life and self that leads to an overall well and whole person.

Get To Know The Patient

Perhaps one of the most significant benefits of having a holistic doctor provide care is the amount of time he/she spends getting to understand and know your individual needs.

Alternative Medicine Options

Holistic doctors deploy holistic and conventional medicinal practices. This feature enables them to provide you as their patient with a variety of treatment options that might otherwise be limited if he/she was more inclined to focus in one area.

Expedited Pain Relief

Holistic treatments by doctors can help to expedite pain relief using low risk natural methods, such as meditation, and massage therapy. Examples of holistic medicine pain relief options may include acupuncture, massage, hypnosis, biofeedback, and meditation.

Preventative Care

Holistic doctors focus on preventative care that can aid in reducing the risk of chronic illness.

Mindfulness

Holistic doctors can help patients gain a comfort level for mindfulness in which they can connect their mind with their body and be present in the moment. This practice can have a positive impact on stress levels, the immune system and spiritual wellness.

In summary, holistic doctors offer a variety of benefits in individualized care. Holistic doctors  spend more time getting to know their patients and are likely to deploy treatment options that combine traditional and alternative medicine therapies.

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Holistic Practitioners For The Treatment Of Type 2 Diabetes

holistic-medicineDiabetes has been around for millennia and it has only been recently that doctors and scientists have been able to develop medications to control the symptoms by lowering the average blood sugar. Before that, those with symptoms of diabetes needed to rely on holistic practitioners to help them stay healthy. Nowadays, people with type 2 diabetes have a choice between conventional medicine and holistic medicine to manage the symptoms and complications of this complex disease.

Holistic practitioners take a holistic approach in treating patients, and in a partnership fashion with those patients attempt to use any and all available and safe treatments to restore the patient to wellness, including, mind, body and soul.
This can mean going beyond diabetes itself, and dealing with stress, emotional issues and any other barriers that prevent the patient from being well. Typically, by returning the person to a state of homeostasis any conditions or ailments, like type 2 diabetes tend to improve as well. Overall, holistic medicine can only serve the patient to improve their overall wellbeing and therefore the state of their health.

Holistic treatments for diabetes include therapies that are not necessarily used in conventional medicine. They include lifestyle changes, dietary measures, exercise, meditation, acupuncture, biofeedback, stress reduction, acupuncture, hypnosis, and herbal treatments.

The result of these therapies can be as effective as those found in conventional medicine, and they certainly make excellent complementary therapies to conventional medical care. Even mental therapies like meditation and biofeedback can control some of the changes found in diabetes mellitus.

Some Alternative Treatments for Diabetes

There are several supplements that lay claim to helping diabetes. These include the following:

• Magnesium – Scientists have studied magnesium supplementation as a means to control blood sugar. What they have found is that magnesium deficiency is associated with abnormalities in the release of insulin so that complications of diabetes are more prevalent.
• Chromium – This mineral supplement has been found in some studies to improve glucose control in diabetes mellitus. Some studies, on the other hand have shown no improvement in blood sugars with chromium supplementation. Clearly more research needs to be done in order to see if chromium can be effective in controlling diabetes numbers. One study showed that a combination of chromium with biotin helped to improve blood sugar numbers.
• Vanadium – This is also a mineral supplement that has been suggested to increase sensitivity to insulin. Research on this supplement is not very extensive yet so that it may or may not be helpful in managing diabetes.

Yoga And Meditation

Yoga, meditation, and massage help reduce stress in the body and thereby reduce the release of stress hormones that can aggravate type 2 diabetes. By reducing stress, the body is able to use insulin more efficiently. These are some of the best therapies to manage the disease because they not only have a direct effect on blood sugar; they also improve overall health that is greatly affected by stress.

Are there plants that have an effect on blood sugar?

Some food ingredients based on plants have been found to make a difference in the blood sugar numbers and complications of diabetes type 2, these include:

• Buckwheat
• Brewer’s yeast
• Okra
• Peas
• Broccoli and similar green vegetables
• Sage
• Fenugreek seeds

These tend to be foods that contain a great deal of fiber. Fiber in the diet allows for a more gradual increase in glucose into the bloodstream so that there are no sudden spikes and peaks that indicate out of control blood sugars. Glucose is managed more easily when it is gradually sent from the gut into the bloodstream.

The biggest problem with supplements or plant foods for diabetes is that there are few studies showing their effectiveness. It is difficult to know for sure if certain substances can holistically control diabetes if the funding for studies on the matter is unavailable.

Can weight loss supplements help diabetes?

Any natural and holistic substance that can lessen your weight can secondarily affect blood sugar values and can decrease the complications of diabetes.

Some of these natural supplements include:

• Camsogia Garcinia
• Pyruvate
• Chitosan
• Chromium
• Germander
• Sauropus androgyous
• Aristolochic acid
• Momordica charanta

These are available in many forms to control appetite and reduce weight and blood sugar. There are even skin patch systems containing homeopathic compounds that have been purported to be effective in controlling appetite.

Which holistic practitioners should I see?

If you have been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and want to try holistic therapies first, you might get lucky enough to find a conventional doctor who also knows a lot about alternative medical therapies who can help you navigate the world of alternative therapies for diabetes and weight loss. If this is not possible, consider seeing a reputable herbalist that can use herbal lore and scientific research that has been found to identify those herbal products for the treatment of diabetes. Even a good nutritionist can be helpful in this regard.

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Conventional Medicine Versus Holistic Approaches To Anxiety Problems

ComplmentaryThere are many treatments available for anxiety; some of them require pills or talk therapy, while others use herbal remedies and special exercises like yoga, Tai chi, and Qi dong to relieve anxious systems. The latter choices have been around for centuries and are based on ancient traditional Chinese medical practices.

Conventional Medicine

Anxiety symptoms can drive you to seek the advice of a conventional medical doctor, who will examine you and will try to determine if you have a physical cause for your anxiety, such as heart disease or thyroid disease. If the anxiety seems unrelated to physical events, the doctor is left with several choices.

Most conventional doctors turn to anti-anxiety medication, such as Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, or Ativan. These are supposed to be used only for short durations; however, as these medicines are addicting, people tend to relapse into anxiety when the medication is stopped. They have to go back on the medicine, sometimes for the duration of their lives.

The doctor may also request that you attend some type of talk therapy. There you will talk about the sources of your anxiety and make attempts to de-stress your life to be less anxious. This kind of therapy can be short term or long term, depending on the cause and severity of your symptoms.

Some conventional doctors are familiar with holistic approaches to addressing anxiety and may recommend acupuncture, massage, yoga, or relaxation exercises to augment the treatment you are already receiving from the doctor. Unfortunately, most conventional doctors will not go as far as recommending holistic practices.

Holistic Approaches

Holistic medicine is a practice that treats the patient as a whole, instead of simply addressing the symptoms of a specific disease or condition. A holistic practitioner will work with the patient with the ultimate goal of restoring complete balance to all parts of the patient’s life, which includes addressing the body, mind, soul and the environment in which the patient lives. This type of approach facilitates great success for people with any type of ailment and encourages the ultimate results in improved overall wellbeing and wellness.

Holistic practitioners may recommend any number of various all-natural therapies that work in concert with and complement conventional medical care.

There are many such alternative therapies to addictive medication for anxiety. Some include ancient Eastern medicine techniques, such as, Tai chi, yoga, Qi Gong, acupuncture, and meditation. Visualization and exercise are other all-natural and very effective methods in reducing anxiety. These practices have been shown to reduce anxiety levels without resorting to medication.

Some alternative, holistic ways to counteract anxiety include these:

• Herbal remedies. These include remedies such as kava and German chamomile tea, which are used all over the world for relaxation and for a reduction in anxiety. Find a reputable herbalist or a holistic practitioner with knowledge of herbs for best results. Herbs are powerful plants and can interfere with each other and prescription medication, so safety considerations are very important.

• Yoga. The practice of yoga involves combining breath with different poses designed to improve balance and flexibility along with relaxation of the mind. Yoga has more than 50 different health benefits, and can go a long way in reducing anxiety.

• Tai Chi. Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese form of exercise that involves going from pose to pose, concentrating on the breath. This discipline looks much like a slow motion dance that can reduce stress and anxiety.

• Qi Gong. Because the Chinese believe the center of anxiety is in the heart, they use the practice of Qi dong in order to increase the flow of vital energy called “qi” to the heart. It involves having a practitioner work on mobilizing the qi while you learn techniques to keep the qi flowing when you practice it at home.

• Visualization. This is a form of meditation that allows you to travel in your mind to a calm and peaceful place. It brings a peaceful state of being, reducing anxiety in the process.

• Meditation. Meditation focuses on breathing in specific ways that relax the muscles of the body and opens your mind so it stays in the present moment, free of the regrets and fears of the past and future. With practice, a meditative state can be achieved anywhere and at any time, and even a few minutes a day can go a long way in reducing anxiety and stress that can exasperate it.

• Acupuncture. Acupuncturists use fine, painless needles to stimulate certain body acupoints that are associated with anxiety. You can have relief after one session or from several sessions, depending on how severe your symptoms are.

Holistic methods of controlling anxiety have thousands of years of practice, with most of the therapies stemming from the Far East. Today, more and more people seek medical care from holistic practitioners in order to utilize the many natural therapies available to treat various medical conditions or to simply improve their wellbeing. While medications for anxiety can leave you with withdrawal symptoms and addiction, holistic methods are non-addictive and often work as well as the prescription medications when practiced faithfully.

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Holistic Care Practitioners

 HolistiHealingHolistic medicine is a type of alternative medicine and treatment that treats the three most important parts of the patient: their body, mind, and spirit.

These three elements are believed to make up the entirety of every human being, giving them a deep sense of purpose and their own personal energy. Those who practice holistic medicine are known as holistic care practitioners, or doctors with an emphasis in holistic care. The point of holistic care is to treat the whole person in order to promote optimal health and wellness and prevent disease.

Holistic care practitioners take the primary goal of holistic medicine and make it the center of their practice.

Who They Are

Holistic care practitioners are doctors who view their patients in a unique way that can make all the difference during treatment and care. They take the whole person into account when creating a treatment plan so that the patient’s three most important elements will be in harmony to promote better balance throughout the body.

Not only do holistic care practitioners approach their patients as a whole person, they also strictly adhere to and believe in the Ten Practices of Holistic Medicine as according to the Holistic Medicine Organization website. Some of these practices include:

  • Optimal Health
  • The Whole Person
  • Love and Its Healing Powers
  • Everyone’s Innate Healing Power
  • Care that Builds a Patient-Practitioner Relationship

What They Do

Holistic care practitioners provide exceptional healthcare alternatives that integrate various treatment systems across different medicinal practices.

Holistic medicine incorporates unique alternative therapy methods along with conventional treatments, like prescription drugs and surgery. Holistic care practitioners take their vast knowledge of the holism philosophy and other forms of alternative medicines and treatments to bring their patients the best health care treatment plans and systems available.

They strive to create a real partnership with their patient and do so by talking with and getting to know their patients.

The best holistic care practitioner-patient relationship is achieved when both parties trust one another, exchange values, and come up with therapies and treatment plans that are effective.

Holistic care professionals also work alongside their patients to get to the root of all obstacles that are in the way of their health and wellness. So, as opposed to conventional doctors that treat disease, holistic practitioners treat the person.

This goes back to the idea of treating the “whole” person. When the practitioner takes the patient’s mind, body and spirit into account, they can explore other reasons behind diseases and mental health problems.

Once they have gotten to know their patient well enough, holistic care practitioners can usually discuss and explore other treatment plans and lifestyle changes to help them work their way to achieving ideal health and wellness.

How To Choose a Good Holistic Practitioner

Choosing a great holistic care practitioner is not hard, but, it does require research and patience. A good practitioner can be found a few different ways:

  • An Online Search: Find a practitioner is as easy as typing key words into a database. While any database will do, the best place to search is on the American Holistic Medical Association’s database. Here patients can find a complete list of qualified practitioners in their particular area.
  • Peruse A Guide: Stay informed by looking through the American Holistic Medical Association’s guide. This option can help patient’s find a great practitioner in their area.
  • Search Other Organizations: Patients can also search other organizations to find the right practitioner for them.

The right practitioner can really make all the difference in a patient’s healing process and overall treatment. Look for one today using these resources and the above information and begin enjoying the healing effects of holistic medicine.

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A Holistic Medicine Approach to Preventing Disease

Holistic (2)Many people focus on the treatment of disease once they have it and overlook the idea of preventive medicine. The truth is that prevention can go far beyond washing one’s hands and getting enough sleep—even though those practices are incredibly important.

Holistic medicine has many approaches to preventing disease, as well as, treating it in a healthful and natural way. This is because holistic medicine views the patient in a unique way, and very different from conventional medicine.

Holistic medicine approach the person as a whole, not just their disease, condition or symptoms there of. This means that the mind, body, and spirit are all taken into account when deciding how to approach treatment and prevention of disease.

What You Can Do

Much of the power of preventing disease lies in your own hands. There are plenty of holistic practices you can try that can boost your immune system to keep you safe from even the most virulent diseases.

Here are some examples:

• Take Vitamin Supplements: Men and women’s one-a-day supplements are often chock full of natural ingredients that promote bone, heart, and immune system health. By taking these regularly, you can help to strengthen your resistance.

• Proper Nutrition: A diet filled with nutritious whole foods and one that does not include junk food is the best way to keep a body string, healthy and to boost immunity.

• Anti-Oxidant Rich Foods: Anti-oxidant rich foods help to prevent cancer and fight free radicals that can cause disease, a diet filled with these foods is one natural method to living a long and healthy life.

• Add Citrus to Your Diet: Citrus fruits are a great source of Vitamin C which is known for supporting strong immunity. By adding fruits, such as lemons, oranges, grapefruit, limes, and more. The juices of these fruits are also very effective.

• Practice Stress Reduction: This is one of the best things you can do to help maintain your health. Despite vitamins, minerals, citrus, sleep, and more, stress can undo all of your hard work and weaken your immune system. Practicing stress management such as deep breathing, exercise like yoga, meditation and positive affirmation can help you to stop stress before it starts to maintain optimal immune system health.

Holistic Medicine

Holistic medicine refers to the philosophy behind the holistic care approach. As stated, holistic care refers to caring for the whole person rather than just their disease. Due to holistic medicine’s all inclusive approach to patients, it is often seen as a preventive as well as a therapeutic medicine that emphasizes self-care and self-healing. This is why looking at what you as the individual can do for yourself is such a large part of holistic care.

Holistic medicine can also be an umbrella term for more extreme cases—especially when it comes to treating disease if preventive steps have failed. As an umbrella term, it refers to a wide range of health care approaches that can include modern medicine as well as holistic options.

Some of the main preventive approaches holistic medicine focuses on are the following:

• Acupuncture
• Faith Healing
• Psychotherapy
• Self-Massage
• Yoga
• Megavitamin Therapy

The Bottom Line

Holistic medicine is a natural alternative to modern, or mainstream medications and treatments. In order to stop disease before it starts, it is important to practice self-care and other natural approaches that will help build up your immune system.

Holistic medicine is all about therapeutic care that is meant to make the patient feel good on the inside and out. While most mainstream medications and preventive practices focus on the disease at hand, holistic care practitioners understand that there is a still person to relate to in the midst of illness and the best way to prevent any illness is to maintain overall health and wellness.

Heeding holistic medicine’s preventive tips and advice can help you to build your immune system so that you don’t have to worry about pesky illnesses like the cold, flu and other more serious diseases, such as, heart disease, cancer, and more.