Alternative Medicine Is Not a Magic Potion for Seniors!

Alternative Medicine is one side of an intense love/hate relationship for many seniors. What makes this statement fact is a recent federal survey that reveals that more than 34 percent of all U.S. adults routinely use it.

What about children you ask. Approximately 12 percent of them avail themselves of it, of which nutritional supplements play a large role. But what is this form of medicine?

Simply put, alternative medicine is any method of treatment for the relief, or cure, of any disease or malady that is not either approved, or recommended, by established medical practitioners and their professional organizations.

The survey included more than 32,000 Americans and was conducted in 2007. One of the findings was very revealing. Since the last survey was taken five years earlier, the use of many types of this form of treatment had neither increased, or decreased, during the ensuing five year span.

These numbers tell us that each year, millions of people are putting their trust in the regular use of complementary alternative medicine. The percentage of those doing so hadn’t changed noticeably.

Does this mean that all seniors in the United States should begin immediately putting their trust in nutritional supplements, accupuncture, “probiotics” such as fish oil and a host of other natural treatments than we can’t find in our local pharmacy?

No! What seniors should do is set out on a path of finding out what complementary medicine can do for them as individuals. Emphasis is placed on the word complementary. By no means should seniors stop their regular usage of medicine prescribed by their personal physicians.

The most serious problem that exists with alternative medicine is the lack of scientific testing and verification of many of the claims put forth by practitioners in the field.

All of us look for hope, and as we age, our bodies gradually reflect the wear and tear of living our lives.

There exists no magic potion that will return us to the vitality and appearance of youth we once had. Alternative medicine is no mystical wand employed by a great wizard that can cure us of all maladies, including aging.

But it can do some very interesting things to us both physically and mentally. Before seeking so called “natural cures,” educate yourself! If you have access to a computer, you can do this without even leaving the comfort of your own home.

This is why this treatment brings out a love/hate situation in most seniors. While everyone would love to feel better physically and suffer less pain, they hate the very thought of having to plow through the myriads of treatments that make up the subject to pinpoint the ones that could help them.

The following are several easy steps to follow that will yield remarkable results for your search.

1.Look up your malady or particular pain on the internet. Don’t look for the treatment, simply identify the problem as it affects you personally.

2.Now seek personal experiences on the web that identify others suffering from your identical problem.

3.Make a list of the medicinal treatments that helped others.

4.Now look up the specific treatments and learn about them intimately.

5.This is very important! Before you begin using any type of medicine, consult your physician. Some medications prescribed by your doctor often react to other things. Play it safe!

The amazing thing about many new medicines put on the market by major pharmaceutical houses regularly, is that they originated in nature, and were first manufactured by green plants.

Don’t rule out all alternative medicine as just fairy tales and smoke. Take the time to investigate them for yourself. After all…there may be remnants of the Garden of Eden still left somewhere in the world. You wouldn’t want to miss that for lack of knowing its location.

Raymond Angus is a widely published author of articles and books about how seniors can be healthy and prosperous in todays world. Do you want to live successfully? Visit>= http://www.TheSeniorsLife.com

Why Alternative Medicine Can Do Wonders for Seniors

Alternative medicine has been credited by many as doing amazing things, but it should not be considered a cure-all by seniors. What is this particular form of medical treatment, and why is it called alternative?

It goes under the descriptive name alternative medicine because it is not officially embraced as true medical treatment by the medical profession. This opinion also includes about half of professional physicians.

This having been said, this more natural form of medical treatment may fall outside professional acceptance, but that in no means proves its failure as an effective method of treating pain and illness.

If you are considering embarking on the use of any form of alternative medicine, follow several courses of action first.

1. Do not accept the recommendation of a friend, or an item in the newspaper, or a remark on television as being the final word on the subject. Search the computer or library and make the final decision on any medical treatment one that you reached personally from your own private research. Don’t accept hearsay as fact…it never really is!

2. If you are on a medicine regimen regulated for you by your personal physician, don’t vary it, or cease it, without the advice of your doctor.

3. Look upon any form of alternative medicine that you personally decide to utilize, as complementary to the medicine and program set up for you by your physician. Use it in addition to, and not in place of what you’re presently taking on medical advice.

4. Finally, run your decision by your personal doctor! Some herbs, minerals or vitamins can adversely affect other medications, and physicians can head off any bad reactions.

The National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, has nominally designated five types of complementary alternative medicines that encompass the entire category.

” Manipulation.

” Energy Techniques

” Healing Techniques

” Diet Supplements

” Mind/Body Interactions.

There are many claims made by many people as to the amazing cures wrought by alternative medicine. Some individuals loudly proclaim that they discarded all of their physician designed medicines and replaced them with herbs and vitamin supplements.

Never, ever stop following your personal physician’s advice regarding medication. Take the time to educate yourself about more natural treatments than those developed by pharmaceutical manufacturers.

But always consult with your doctor before taking any such action. It’s an interesting fact of life that many of modern day medicines were first manufactured in nature’s own laboratory, living plants.

Most people have heard about the botanist that brought back to America a specimen taken from a rare tree in Brazil. Analysis performed on the specimen revealed it could actually cure various forms of cancer in humans.

Rushing back to Brazil, the botanist found to his chagrin that a poor farmer had cut the tree down and torn out its roots and burned them. All done to increase the size of his small farm.

As the tale goes, never has another tree of that type ever been found again. But there are new and exciting finds being made every day by scientists and non scientists.

Take the time to search the internet and libraries about complementary alternative medicine and the many changes and additions being made to the field. Don’t depend on word of mouth and health claims being ballyhooed by others.

Your computer can do more than display news items and play games. It can take you to the distant parts of the earth and show you new medical discoveries. Take charge of your own health in concert with your physician.

Who knows? You may discover that there is really a fountain of youth out there.

Raymond Angus is a widely published author of articles and books about how seniors can be healthy and prosperous in today’s world. Do you want to live a healthy life and prosper while doing it? Visit>= http://www.theseniorslife.com