5 Types of Alternative Medicine for High Blood Pressure
If you suffer from high blood pressure, one thing you probably dread is the use of strong medicine. Some even believe that this is their only option. There are, however, many types of alternative medicine for high blood pressure. Provided here are five types of alternative medicine techniques you can use to control your high blood pressure.
1. Lose Weight and Eat Healthy
One of the most effective types of alternative medicine for high blood pressure is to lose weight. A major cause of high blood pressure is obesity, so losing weight is a great way to lower your blood pressure. This isn’t the easiest thing in the world for a lot of people. It takes dedication and consistency, but it is your health and, overall, it is your life. Losing weight involves changing your diet and getting plenty of exercise and the best time to start is now!
2. Relieve Stress
Stress can cause a lot to go wrong with your body and high blood pressure is no exception. Another type of alternative medicine for high blood pressure is simply to learn how to relax. Learn some relaxation techniques such as:
> Meditation
> Yoga
> Massage
> Music
There are many more ways to relax and apart from lowering your blood pressure, it will also improve your quality of life.
3. Magnet Treatment
This can definitely be classified as an alternative medicine for high blood pressure. Not much is known behind why this works, but copper and iron bracelets can help reduce the effects of blood pressure. There are no side effects or any type of harm that can come of it, so it doesn’t hurt to try it out.
4. Chiropractic Treatment and Acupuncture
Another great alternative medicine for high blood pressure is visiting your chiropractor. Realigning the vertebrae in the spine can reestablish the body’s balance and help you function properly. Acupuncture can help release strain on your heart. Both treatments contribute to reducing stress, therefore dramatically reducing high blood pressure.
5. Herbs and Vitamins
I’m sure you’ve heard of using supplemental vitamins for health reasons and you may even take vitamins already. This is a great alternative medicine for high blood pressure. Not only can you take supplements, but you can also increase the amount of vegetables and fruits in your diet. This will also contribute to eating healthier, which will help you lose weight. You are looking to increase three major elements in your diet
> Calcium
> Potassium
> Magnesium
All five types of alternative medicine for high blood pressure will give you options for treating your high blood pressure other than taking strong medicine. They may not be your cure, but they can work together to help improve your quality of life and lower your high blood pressure.
KJ King
http://www.FightingHighBloodPressure.com
© 2007
About the Author
For more techniques on how to lower your high blood pressure and improve your quality of life, visit Fighting High Blood Pressure today.
Make Way For Alternative Health Care Research
In the past few decades, alternative medicine is starting to make its claim on the medical world. Some may consider it to be a pseudo-science, but nevertheless, alternative medicine is practiced quite widely. In fact, alternative medicine practitioners are doing their own scientific researches to prove that their practice could be at par with conventional medicine.
The research is not a matter of which is better among the two; instead, it focuses more on how to give the people more treatment options. Through the years, more and more consumers are looking for natural treatments, which are as effective but do not have as much side effects as traditional treatments. Of course, part of their reason to prefer alternative medicine is economical. Consumers can save a lot on alternative medicine.
As more alternative health care researches are made available, more conventional doctors are starting to integrate their practice with some alternative methods. Both alternative health care and otherwise researches demonstrate somewhat the same results when it comes to identifying the cause of the ailments.
Alternative medicine also plays a major role to proper health care. They strive to provide curative treatments for common disorders, such as diabetes and arthritis. Like traditional medicines, they are an integral contributor the scientific world.
In fact, several licensed alternative medical schools are brewing up. They also follow defined and comprehensive curriculums, complete with several studies and researches to scientifically back up their data. They’ve done their own researches and conducted their own studies, not to oppose what conventional medical schools, have done, but to complement them instead.
One reason why alternative health care research is gaining much popularity these days is the fact that alternative medicine could not do any harm when implemented correctly. When alternative medicine is combined with conventional medicine, overall risks are reduced and possibly will make the patient heal at a faster rate.
Alternative medicine is usually associated with some religious or spiritual beliefs. Though it could be true in some of the therapies, it is not entirely proper to generally refer to alternative medicine as such. It is just basically taking in natural supplements instead of drowning oneself with synthetic drugs. The philosophy is to make the patient more in-tune with the body and nature.
Currently, though alternative medicine is still not widely accepted, especially in the Western culture, it is good to note that it is gaining supporters quickly. Most conventional medicine practitioners do not find any problem in suggesting alternative treatments alongside their prescriptions.
Unfortunately, there are still several critics who do not place any confidence in alternative practices. It could be because of the lack of scientific studies made to prove the effectiveness of alternative health care. By definition, these practices are referred as alternative practices precisely because of their lack of scientific proof. The moment more scientific health care researches are made on them, they’d no longer be alternative forms but another conventional treatments.
There is one major hindrance in conducting these researches on alternative treatments though. Because these treatments usually just aim to make the patient feel better about himself and be self-aware, science finds it hard to arrive at a complete solution. Also, alternative medicine elicit slight changes over longer periods of time which makes it difficult to achieve a more definitive scientific research, because the positive results could just be due to the placebo effect or natural healing.
About the Author
Mark Hipp is an author and regular contributor to The Healthy Village, a virtual community for health practitioners and enthusiasts. The Healthy Village consists of an article directory, discussion forum, and monthly newsletter.
Chinese Medicine-An Alternative Medicine For The Modern World
Whilst thought of, for thousands of years, as the primary medical system in China, Chinese medicine is considered as alternative medicine in the Western world. Because Chinese medicine relies on natural healing rather than synthetically produced drugs, more and more people in the Western world are turning to this branch of medicine.
Said to have been practised for 5,000 years the history of Chinese medicine is anything but lucid. The first written document concerning Chinese medicine is thought to be Hung-Di Nei-Jing (Cannon of Internal Medicine) and is considered to date back 2,000 years. It is attributed to the Yellow Emperor although the dates and author is still the subject of much debate.
Most people are familiar with the primary methods of healing within Chinese medicine, which are herbal medicine and acupuncture with other methods such as massage, qi gong, or food therapy playing a secondary role. The aim of Chinese medicine is restore harmony and balance to the system and is not so much concerned with the illness or disease.
The primary cause of any illness or disease is disharmony. The philosophy of Chinese medicine is the restoration of the body’s harmony and balance and this holistic view of medicine maintains that a well-balanced person is resistant to most everyday illness and disease. Modern medicine on the other hand treats bacteria and viruses directly by the use antibiotics and vaccines.
While more and more medical schools are including classes on alternative medicine in their syllabuses, the relationship between Chinese medicine and Western medicine is still contentious. Chinese medicine is more likely to be viewed with distrust by older Western doctors.
Even though, the techniques are now valued in the west. Alternative medicine has been recognised by drug companies and the value it can give to the world of modern medicine and are employing scientists to gather information from around the world from traditional Chinese medical practitioners. Inpatient and health programme classes of hospitals and clinics are now including T’ai Chi Ch’uan or qigong.
Not considered as alternative medicine by over three quarters of the world’s population, Chinese medicine excels in the areas of prevention of physical and emotional illnesses. For centuries it has been regarded as form of non-intrusive, remedial, risk free treatment.
Modern medicines increasing reliance on synthetic drugs have influenced many people to alter their attitude towards Chinese medicine and many are finding satisfaction in this branch of alternative medicine. Increasingly people are maintaining their health at optimum levels by having regular treatments and are applying Chinese medicine as a first option instead of a last resort.
About the Author
John Philips is the author of Chinese Healing an informational website with various articles about Chinese Medicine. To read more articles from various sources on Chinese Medicine visit www.chinese-healing.info
Definition of Alternative Medicine
As time passes, people are becoming more accepting of alternative medicine, but what exactly is it? We need a definition of alternative medicine.
Definition of Alternative Medicine
Alternative medicine is a term that has come to describe health care treatment that strays from what we now consider to be conventional ways of treating illness or injury. It is interesting to note, however, that in many cases these alternative treatments have been around much longer than the “conventional” treatments we tend to rely on. Alternative medicine is typically used in the place of conventional medicine. In some cases, patients choose to utilize the treatments which fall under the umbrella of alternative medicine along with a more conventional treatment plan. This is called complementary medicine.
There are some people who take issue with the term “alternative medicine.” They point out that whether a treatment is considered to be a deviation from mainstream medicine depends a lot on where you live. It also varies a lot by culture. What might be considered alternative in one area is a lot more conventional in another. Typically though, alternative medicine consists of several different areas. Chiropractic services, herbalism, ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathic medicine, unani, traditional Chinese medicine and osteopathy are the main branches of alternative medicine.
Chiropractors deal with the spine and nervous system. Manipulation is done in order to correct subluxation of the spine. Those who believe in chiropractic treatment believe that a subluxation can cause the nervous system to function improperly which can cause many different health problems. Herbalism is a traditional form of medicine which utilizes plants and plant extracts. It has existed for thousands of years. There is some evidence to suggest it was practiced as long as 60,000 years ago. Ayurveda originated in the Indian subcontintent and focuses on finding physical, mental and spiritual harmony.
Homeopathy is a somewhat controversial alternative medicine treatment. Followers of this treatment have identified certain agents which cause a healthy person to have symptoms of various illnesses if undiluted. In order to treat these illnesses, a diluted version of the agent is given to the patient. Some people feel that because the agent is so diluted, there is no reason to believe that homeopathy is anything more than a placebo effect. Naturopathic medicine works to assist the body in using its own ability to heal itself. Unani is based on the belief that four basic element exist in the body and they need to be balanced in order to stay healthy. Traditional Chinese medicine consists of many different treatments that originated in China over thousands of years. Osteopathy works to maintain the health of the body through the musculoskeletal system.
Alternative medicines continues to gain in popularity all the time, as many people are seeking a way to treat their illnesses without turning to synthetic drugs. Most of these treatments have been around for thousands of years and their successes have been many.
About the Author
Alien writes for herbal remedies and home remedies
What You Need To Know About Alternative Medicine
Alternative medicine practitioners are often “holistic,” claiming to treat the mind, body and soul of the patient. Treatments provide some services not available from conventional medicine; the practices are often based in belief systems not derived from modern science.
It is import to understand that alternative practitioners see themselves as facilitators, and do not claim to be doctors, and that alternative medicine means treatments that you use instead of standard ones. No one is ever forced to use these methods; it is completely up to the patient.
Alternative actually encompasses a very large array of different systems and therapies ranging from holistic medicine to vitamin therapy. Alternative medicine works, but sometimes not as quickly as taking a drug.
Many people today do not like taking medications because of the side affects that many of them have. Often, people will develop complications from the medicines that they took to cure the original illness.
Alternative medicine believes in gentle, long-term support to enable the body’s own innate powers to do the healing. It is believed that by using nature’s ingredients, the illness will disappear and the patient will be healthy again. Alternative uses time-tested, natural remedies and gentle, hands-on treatments.
Alternative, without exception, considers each person as a unique individual and uses a holistic approach in treatment. Each patient is treated individually, even if they have the same illness. In almost all cases using alternative medicine, it is required that the patient takes a highly active part in both prevention and treatment.
Alternative therapies include, but are not limited to the following disciplines: folk medicine, herbal medicine, diet fads, homeopathy, faith healing, new age healing, chiropractic, acupuncture, naturopathy, massage, and music therapy. These are just a few of the methods that are used in Alternative. There are actually thousand of them.
Alternative critics agree with its proponents that people should be free to choose whatever method of healthcare they want, but stipulate that people must be informed as to the safety and efficacy of whatever method they choose.
They do not believe that alternative is safe by any stretch of the imagination. This is most likely because they went to school to become doctors, and being trained in one way, it is difficult to believe in anything outside of that realm.
The debate regarding the safety of alternative medicine will continue on because neither side can provide sustainable proof that it does not work. The mind is a powerful entity, and it has yet to be fully understood. Whenit is however, maybe then the answers to so many questions will be found.
About the Author
For more relevant and important information about alternative medicine visit: http://www.information-on-the-internet.com/alternative_medicine