How to Use Alternative Medicine Properly

Discovering your path to Healing

If you or a loved one has a chronic illness I would like to provide a working blueprint or outline of how you can create your own healing pathway. The concepts of this journey were developed over a course of 30 years involvement with the alternative medicine field. These principal steps were observed while working with some of the leading health experts and thousands of patients. We have summarized a series of options and a pathway for you to follow to create your individualized health plan. These concepts were incorporated in building the web site HealUSA.net where you can see these principals at work.

Before we can start on your journey it is critical that we clear up some haunting problems that stand in the way of effectively using alternative medicine. There are a few legitimate concerns that have affected medical practitioners acceptance of alternative medicine. These are the most important:

PROBLEM Over 75% of adults use alternative medicine without clear unbiased professional guide lines of use - the medical profession has very little skill, knowledge and training in alternative medicine to be experts on a field outside their area of expertise. How can anyone determine if an alternative medicine practitioner is who they say they are?

SOLUTION Integrative Medicine Institute has developed a set of national credentialing principals for alternative medicine practitioners based on the same credentialing standards that hospitals use to determine the ability and skills of a medical doctor. Not all alternative medicine practitioners qualify under our strict standards. These standards help insure that the alternative medicine practitioners you are referred to from HealUSA.net and other sites adopting this program are qualified and trained in accredited schools to provide the type of alternative health care therapy you desire.

All practitioners listed on www.HealUSA.net site pass the stringent alternative and complementary medicine credentialing standards developed by Integrative Medicine Institute.

PROBLEM Over half of the natural supplements for sale do not contain the ingredients or potency described on their label.

SOLUTION We have adopted the Integrative Medicine Institute¹s Physician Natural Product Certification Program to identify natural supplements that are manufactured and produced in a manner that helps ensure there purity, safety and effectiveness. This growing list can help direct you to specific brands and formulas that can help you regain your health.

PROBLEM There is no research to back up the claims of effectiveness of alternative medicine.

SOLUTION Alternative medicine does need more research, less that 1% of health care research is spent on alternative medicine. However alternative medicine does have a long (up to 5,000 years ) history of critical observation of helping people get well. 80% of the world¹s population uses alternative medicine and to put things in perspective less than 25% of conventional medical treatments today are scientifically proven to be effective. HealUSA.net is developing state of the art researched reports on effective alternative medicine therapies for each major chronic illness. These reports will highlight the most effect treatments as well as those therapies that look promising. We will also include beneficial historical treatments that may not have been validated yet by scientific research. Through these reports you will know and understand what treatments in alternative medicine have been shown to be safe and effective. Always consult with your doctor before using any alternative treatment.

PROBLEM Medical health care has a history of curing illnesses with a single magic bullet drug. This treatment arose from medicines great ability to fight and destroy bacteria and other toxic organisms which invaded our body. Chronic illnesses are different, they are not curable by one drug. They are developed over a period of time through a combination of factors which disrupt the normal healthy functioning of the mind body spirit system. Successful treatment is based on an integrative holistic approach developed for the individual¹s unique imbalance. Each person¹s approach is different and can include alternative therapies, supplements, mind body training, lifestyle improvements, spiritual reconnection, relationship healing or other means of treating of our mind body spirit.

SOLUTION We have devised a step by step program to help you to develop your personal healing plan with your physician by integrating alternative medicine in to your health plan. It starts right here.

Your Journey Begins:

FIRST healing is a journey not a destination. You can actively affect your health by changing what you are now doing. The power to heal is inside you not in a pill or herb or other person. They can activate that healing in you, but it is up to you.

SECOND Get an over view of your illness and successful alternative medicine therapies. HealUSA.net can provide you with an overview of the latest research showing what works and what is promising to treat your condition. Our researchers and board of advisors are creating a series of scientific reports on each major chronic illness. Consider this a map of the territory — you don¹t have to act yet — just absorb the information.

THIRD Educate yourself to understand the healing process and your new role in regaining your health. Read some of the articles or books that relate to using alternative medicine, what healing is about, how the body heals and your role as a patient. There is a fine line which has developed in patient responsibility - we are not to blame for our illness when we take responsibility for healing our self. But by accepting responsibility we can empower our self to do something to start the healing process and support it as it supports us. We can recreate our health and rebalance our mind body spirit. This program will help you to discover that for yourself.

FOURTH Just like making a stew, let this information simmer in your mind and see what attracts you or makes sense to you. Health care is made up of five overlapping areas which provide treatments to the various aspects of our mind body spirit - look at each of these as a doorway to healing an area of your life that may be out of balance.

Cellular biochemical therapy: Allopathic drug medicine, nutrition, orthomolecular, herbs, food, supplements

Energetic balancing: Acupuncture, homeopathy, energy medicine

Psycho-social-emotional-relationship therapy: Psychology, social work,

Physical structure-function therapy: Chiropractor, osteopath, dentist, massage, body work, PT, yoga

Perceptual-cognitive-belief - mental therapies: Mind/body, imagery, hypnotherapy, biofeedback

There are several alternative medicine practices which are a complete holistic system unto themselves, they differ from our conventional medical care not only in the types of therapies offered but also in the way they look at disease and the philosophy behind healing you. Only conventional medicine treats the illness whereas these other system treat the whole person and recognize the interrelationship between our various aspects:

Naturopathic medicine - a natural system incorporate most of the well know aspects of responsible alternative medicine - nutrition, diet, herbs, manipulation, acupuncture, homeopathy - this practice dates back to before our current Allopathic system, their training is similar to a medical doctor except they learn to use natural therapies instead of drugs. There are currently five US and Canadian naturopathic schools that are fully accredited and thirteen states which license naturopaths to practice.

Ayurvedic medicine - this ancient system of healing has a 5,000 year old history of natural healing and preventive health care. Used in India there is a resurgence of ayurvedic medicine in the US - although not a fully accredited practice here in the United States there is an increasing number of medical doctors who are undergoing training in this holistic system.

Oriental medicine - Another complete system of healing that is over 5,00 years old from China and Japan this system uses a combination of herbs, diet, acupuncture and Chi Gong to restore balance by treat imbalances in our mind body spirit and using preventive techniques. You may find doctors who have about 220 hours of acupuncture training - usually in pain relief, or fully licensed acupuncturists with over 2000 hours of training. There are also OMD - oriental medical doctors who use all forms of Oriental medicine.

Allopathic drug medicine - our conventional medicine which is about 100 years old and treats symptoms mostly with drugs and surgery.

Each system of health care has two important parts — the actual therapy used in treatment ( ie. herbs or acupuncture needles or a drug) and the underlying philosophy. These philosophies are theories as to:

• How the body functions and heals,
• How the therapy should be used to create health or destroy the illness.

Conventional medicine is having a hard time accepting most alternative medicine concepts for healing - yet more and more doctors are becoming convinced every day that these therapies work and have merit. This slow process will lead to further integration of alternative and conventional medicine.

FIFTH Learn from success stories of survivors. You don¹t have to reinvent the wheel - but you do need to discover what works for you. After you have a feel or an understanding about this field of health care we recommend that you listen to a survivor who is thriving after their mind body spirit has been rebalanced - not only will they give you hope seeing someone else who has succeeded - they can possibly provide you insights to your own healing path - visit our survivors gallery to find someone you can relate to.

SIXTH Now you have several choices to do something for your self, Just for the Health of It.

SEVENTH Choosing a alternative medicine practitioner - look up the recommended guidelines to help you choose a practitioner — our certified referral service will help you find a practitioner who is certified and credentialed to provide the treatment you wish.

EIGHTH Choosing supplements, herbs, vitamins minerals to support and cleanse your body - research the herb through Herb Med check our certification program to see which brands are reliable and actually contain the ingredients and potency described on the label.

NINTH Start making lifestyle adjustments — some of these will help you fell better in a matter of days: more sleep, more water, long walks, different food choices

TENTH Keep asking the question: Does this support and heal me or not? Invite support and walk away from toxic elements.

Then go a little deeper and ask: What purpose does this disease have? What lessons can I learn to better myself ? How can I get closer to my GOD ?

Then be in the silence and let that calm clear soft voice talk to you. It will give yourself permission... right now. The point of power is in the presence. Use it now. It is the only place in time where we exist.

Peace be with you — God speed your health.