Holistic centers

Many of us suffer from back pain and serious health problems associated with back pain, compounded over many years, while others may only deal with limited back pain, with the occasional flair up or strain. Many people still have prolonged back pain, no matter what they seem to do about it. They buy back pillows, ergonomic chairs, change their posture, get massages, even take up yoga, but they still are confronted with back pain. If you are one of these people, then you are not alone, as the true cure for back pain might be finally within our grasp.

Doctors and chiropractors for years have tried to come up with treatments, and cures for back pain, but have had varied success. It has only been recently, in the latter part of the 20th century, that people started to take more of an interest in holistic medicine to treat their everyday symptoms. This basic premise has led many practitioners to pursue holistic treatment options for patients, especially for back pain, to find a more complete method of treatment. Through these grueling years of study, observation, and trial and error, they have developed a comprehensive treatment for back pain, called Visceral Manipulation Therapy.

Visceral Manipulation Therapy is based on the notion that our organs have inherent movement patterns, basically speaking, that they are not frozen in place. Their theory is, that not only do our organs need the ability to move, but need to be able to glide, slide, rotate or compress, when we are physically moving our bodies or when they’re standing still. When one of our organs becomes either displaced or compressed by one of its neighbors, it can create abnormal scar tissue if it does not function properly, which can result in chronic irritation or pain.

But only in recent years, scientists have proved that organs do have inherent moving patterns, and are connected with ligaments and fascia, which hold our entire bodies together. Visceral Manipulation Therapy allows the restrictions in your body to become free, and with proper treatment in time, it can relieve back pain almost permanently. It will also return the correct mobility patterns to your internal organs, thus enhancing fluid and chemical shifts that may be needed for healing and repair, while improving joint pain as well.

Visceral Manipulation can be a great option of back care if you are seeking an alternative, holistic method of treatment. Remember that traditional medicine only treats the symptoms of the problem, whereas holistic medicine goes after the root of the problem, and takes into account the entire health of the body. By treating conditions holistically, you may have better success, and overall increased health at the same time. Before starting any alternative treatment make sure you contact an Ontario Chiropractor, or a doctor in your area for more information.

Holistic doctor

The world has always been mixed with the rich, the poor and the middle ground. Should we assume that if you make more and more money, that you are more and more successful? Perhaps not.....looking at ourselves and life that way just keeps us trapped in our animal/primate history. You see in the animal/primate world, the big male controls all the sex and resources, he's the successful one and those around him are less fortunate. This mentality has been the driving force in our political and financial life for all of human history. So, as we continue to evolve, this model seems a bit outdated, and not really a uniquely human definition. So, how can we define and create success from a more evolved position?

When I was growing up...way back in the 50s, a successful business person had an expensive car parked in their driveway, they had the house most could only dream of, and the beautiful wife as well. Things looked real good ... but that was rarely the whole story. They also had an ulcer, drank and smoked to handle all the stress, was often on medication and lived with endless stress symptoms. Yet by the old model, they were successful inspite of the fact that they were in big trouble on the inside. However, this was normal and accepted as the norm at that time.

Then came the 60s, and all hell broke loose! The older model was challanged by a very large population called the baby boomers.....and there were alot of us. We experimented with all kinds of new and radical ideas. We saw that the older path had flaws and were trying to evolve beyond that. Some of our efforts paid off in the growing holistic health and mental health movements. We became aware of an inner life that had been neglected by earlier generations.

However, where we found our inner selves in private, when we went to work in the corporate world, things had not made much shift there. So, we did what we could to change things, but really just got drowned out by the older model being so firmly in place. So it became normal to have a split life, one that was for our personal self and the other for the corporate world. It's like living with a split personality. [ This split model seems to be the current norm..we complain about it...but ]

Then came the clash of cultures that resulted in 911, and all the corporate scandals that rocked the business world. So here we are living beyond the year 2000, yet still trying to evolve. Well, at the rate we make changes, it's most likely that things will not resolve themselves in your whole lifetime. Are we all still trapped in the past or is there a way out? There is a path through the garbage but one that only some will travel. At this point in history that new path must be one taken by personal choice. I don't suggest you wait for everyone to change into a newer, healthier norm.....if you value a quality life.. don't wait for others..you will die before that happens.

The holistic movement is trying to expand into the business world. There are only a few of us at this time working on this...but that's life! Things have to start somewhere. Holism deals with the whole of things. I no longer consider a person or business successful if their inner life is a mess. To be really successful by a wholistic point of view you need to consider the impact of every action on every level of the business, including the health and mental health of you, the staff and your customer base. Taking that even one step further, you need to consider the impact on the global community.

Sounds like too much to handle, but there are tools and techniques that are evolving to help you if you want to operate from this approach. The business world needs to do some tough soul searching, and then help will come along. When you change you inner choices, things will start to happen!

Holistic treatments

Acne is a very devious skin disorder. Your face can stay clear and blemish free for a certain period but without warning, pimples, cysts and pustules can pop out. For people who have been suffering from the effects of long-term acne (some acne starting as early as nine years old), it can be very traumatic, often resulting to withdrawal from social activities. Relationships can be affected as well as routine and social interaction. It is a deep-seated physical as well as emotional disease that can literally and figuratively scar a person for life.

Because of this, some people resort to more drastic solutions to reducing acne. Some acne treatments that are offered by medical experts today include laser treatment, cosmetic procedures and some experimental procedures like detoxification therapy.

1. Laser Treatments

Laser treatment is considered to be one of the more popular skin care treatment. There are many types of laser and light-based treatments but the following are the most common:

a) Blue-light therapy
This has already been approved by the FDA and the most popular type of acne laser treatment. It works by destroying P. acnes, the bacteria responsible for causing acne. It is also used as an alternative to treat acne which has proven stubborn against other forms of treatment. Blue-light therapy is considered a breakthrough because it does not make use of ultraviolet light which has been discovered to damage skin and at sum, promote skin cancer.

b) Pulsed light and heat energy therapy
This involves mixing light pulses and heat to destroy P. acnes. Pulsed light and heat energy therapy also reduces the skin’s ability to produce oil or sebum. It works by shrinking the sebaceous glands and is used to treating moderate acne.

c) Pulsed dye laser treatment
As yet, there have been no consistent results with this type of laser treatment to date. In this treatment, a low-energy pulsed light is used to treat acne as well as acne scars. However, random healing of subjects with mild to moderate acne has been reported but no definitive results have yet been determined from the experiments.

2. Cosmetic procedures

Cosmetic procedures have long been resorted to by the rich and famous for erasing wrinkles and other fine lines. Studies have shown that when used with other treatments, it can effectively reduce the effects of acne. Chemical peels using salicylic acid or glycolic acid can help unclog pores that give rise to acne. It also removes whiteheads and blackheads and clear away dead skin cells. Another method that is gaining popularity is microdermabrasion which uses crystals to exfoliate the skin, unclogging the pores and reducing the appearance of acne.

3. Detoxification

This is one of the experimental forms of getting rid of acne. This, however, is based on sound medical philosophy. The body, due to internal problems and accumulated toxins in the body often manifests its physical symptoms in skin disorders like eczema, psoriasis and acne. Detoxification can be simply done through fasting. You must be careful and ease slowly into the detoxification process by careful apportioning of food. A vegetable, fruit and nut diet can be followed during this period. If you need protein in your diet, you can start the first few days of the diet with lean white meat like turkey and slowly eliminate it in your dietary intake.

Holistic healers

Health supplements are preparations made to supply additional nutrients to our body. Even though one has consumed a complete set of meal per deal, the actual meal in itself may be lacking some of the essential nutrients of the body. With this, by taking in health supplements, the body is insured of its proper body maintenance.

What is health? As defined by the World Heal Organization (WHO) Health is defined as “a state of full and complete mental, physical, as well as social well-being, not only infirmity or the so-called absence of certain diseases”.

In 1986, this definition of health was updated and stated by the "Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion" to say that health is known as the "resource for everyday life, not the objective of living", as well as "health is generated as a positive kind of concept that emphasizes the personal and social resources, including the physical capacities”.

With these definitions, it is said that to be healthy, the physical outlook of our body should not be the gauged on whether we are healthy or not. It should comprise of the whole aspect of the person, which are physical, mental, emotional, as well as spiritual. Just like in our daily intake of food, it does not mean that by completing the set meal per day, it would mean that you have achieved the optimum nutritional needs of your body. With this in mind, taking in health supplements is the key.

What are health supplements? Health supplements are preparations made in order to supply additional nutrients in our body. Even though one has consumed a complete set of meal per day, the actual meal in itself may be lacking some of the essential nutrients for the body. With this, by taking in health supplements, the body insured of its proper body maintenance. Health supplements comprise of the following: minerals, vitamins, amino acids, fatty acids, as well as herbs. For it to be a supplement, it should be in a form of a capsule, pill, tablet or liquid form. It should not also be taken as a replacement of a meal, for the word supplement in itself is just to be added to your daily meal intake.

It has been proven that the consistent use of such health supplements do promote overall good health. Aside from this, it also aids in the prevention of diseases. This is a research done by the Council for Responsible Nutrition or CRN. With such use, it shows that it provides positive impact on several areas, in terms of health. Moreover, if health supplements were a part of your daily routine, and the fact that they have been used for a long time, they can give you the greatest benefits, instead of just starting late or never taking them at all.

Some of the advantages of taking dietary supplements are listed below:

1. Women that have reached childbearing age who used multivitamins and folic acid reduced the occurrence of neural tube birth defects (spina bifida).

2. By routinely using multivitamins as well as mineral supplements when reaching the elderly years, it can improve the immune functions, which will result to fewer occurrences of infectious diseases. Thus, this cuts the illness period in half.

3. By taking supplements that have calcium as well as vitamin D, it can reduce hip fracture rate of older people. This results to lesser costs and bills for hospitalizations and surgeries.

4. The probable cost savings in the preventive approach to our health is tremendous.

Through proper health management such as taking in health supplements, this vastly lessens the chances of getting debilitating diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, and fractures, among others, which would result to fewer future bills as one gets older.

In addition, to achieve an optimum level of heath, you can follow these guidelines:

1. Eat a well balanced meal such as vegetables and fruits.

2. Drink 8 or more glasses of water per day.

3. Try to achieve 8 hours of sleep in order for your body to recuperate totally.

4. Practice time and stress management in order to be more productive in your daily activities. This is without the hassle of going through unnecessary undertakings.

5. Find time for recreational activities with your family and friends.

6. It is also good to sometimes allow yourself to go out alone for meditation and relaxation.

Moreover, since there are a lot of health supplements in the market these days. It is best to stick with the familiar and trusted brands. Just like in other products, there are still fake ones, especially now that the most in-demand health supplements are the “energy-boosting” types. With the advent of these “magic” supplements, questions about their authenticity really affected many people; especially athletes who thought this can help them.

Here are the popular brands in the market today:

1. Co Enzyme Q10 Gel Capsules

This is actually the most popular health supplement these days. Its main ingredient is a type of enzyme, which can be found in almost every cell inside the body or in various foods. It is an antioxidant that also helps produce energy. Thus, amidst beliefs that it can make you strong and it has curative effects for HIV and cancer, it only possesses very limited effectiveness to boost energy, even if it has been used for many weeks already. Even so, it is noted to be safe to use but quite expensive.

2. Yerba Mate

This is now being vended as a type of diet tea that can boost energy. It actually contains lots of minerals such as iron, phosphorous, calcium, Vitamins B, C and B2. Aside from this, it is noted to contain caffeine as well as Theobromine and Theophylline stimulants, in minimal amounts. Manufacturers would only say that there is only a substance that is “caffeine-like” known as “Mateine” that can make you jittery. Thus, as per studies, it is truly chemically identical to real Caffeine. This means that the energy produced is primarily because of caffeine. There were also studies which indicated that long term use of this tea have resulted to neck and head cancers.

3. Noni Juice

Polynesian Medicine has traditionally used this for centuries as treatment for a number of ailments. This would include hypertension, cancer and diabetes. Even so, further study in this age has proven that these claims are very limited even at the best effort. Hence, the energy provided is only due to the high amounts of natural sugar mixed in it. Since this was derived from a particular kind of plant, it possesses minerals and vitamins such as potassium. As a word of caution though, people with kidney problems and Diabetes should stay away from this.

4. Guarana

This health supplement is either mixed with the popular green tea or in capsule form. Like Yerba Mate, this is a type of diet herb. Similar to Yerba Mate also, it contains caffeine. This is also why you can get energy from this tea. Thus, with this caffeine content it is advised that patients with high blood pressure should steer clear from this supplement. Adverse effects of this drug would include anxiety, heart palpitations, along with some disorders of the Central Nervous System. These effects are similar to people who had a stimulant overdose.

Holistic physicians

In today’s economy and in the medical business in general, standard business hours no longer apply. Having just a voicemail or machine pick-up patient calls after hours for sure doesn’t work. Physicians especially need to be responsive and have a pulse on patient calls at all times. A Physician Answering Service can help and provide reliable phone coverage after-hours or whenever needed. And for progressive minded Physicians having a professional answering service in place to cover important patient calls after-hours or on an overflow basis is a necessity. With a Physicians Answering Service in place, live operators, not just voicemails are ready and able to answer patient calls promptly and in a professional manner. No medical call from a patient, hospital or another Physician should go unanswered no matter the day or time. Thank goodness for a Physicians Answering Service who can seamlessly cover calls including on a 24/7, 365-days a year basis.

It’s important to make sure that the Physician Answering Service you hire is fully HIPAA compliant, maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of client records required by law. You should carefully select your Physician Answering Service to ensure that their operators are thoroughly trained and screened. Their training should be ongoing. A reliable Physicians Answering Service treats each patient call with care and will be courteous and professional at times. A Physician Answering Service is a real business boost for Physicians as well since they can schedule and confirm appointments and also update patient databases. Making a Physician Answering Service available to patients and allow a Physician’s patient the option of calling and scheduling appointments at their convenience, is a service plus. With a Physician Answering Service, appointment scheduling can easily be in-sync with a Physicians office, which allows for accurate scheduling and as a result there will be no double booking. This is accomplished since a Physician Answering Service utilizes the latest technology and more importantly they make it appoint to know about a Physician practice and know before hand when that Physician or his medical associates are available for an appointment.

Referrals are also another source of business for any Physician. When you have a Physician Answering Service those important referral calls from nurses, doctors or other hospital personnel will be answered promptly by a well trained live operator and you will then be assured to get that call. Another important aspect of a Physician Answering service is the proper and accurate handling of an emergency medical call. A Physician Answering Service can provide that important service coverage. The best Physician-minded answering companies, go the extra step with regards to dispatching emergency calls. First their managers promptly confirm that emergency call is in fact an emergency call and they make sure it goes to the right on-call at the time Physician. And then if need be, that emergency call can be patched in to the right on-call Physician.

Holistic therapies

According to a 2001 Harvard Medical School survey, sixty-eight percent of adults have looked to at least one form of alternative or complementary therapy. The use of naturopathic medicine is increasing and patients suffering from a variety of ailments use this type of alternative care. From diabetes to cancer, several types of diseases and conditions are currently being treated with naturopathic medicine.

What is naturopathic medicine? Where is naturopathic medicine studied?

Naturopathic medicine utilizes a combination of non-toxic therapies such as herbal cures and methodologies like acupuncture and massage to treat patients. In order to enhance the body’s overall ability to prevent and combat disease, naturopathic doctors also incorporate the use of diet and nutrition, exercise, and innovative natural therapies to better the well-being of each patient. Students who wish to graduate with a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) degree and practice naturopathic medicine have a total of seven accredited naturopathic colleges in North America from which they can choose to study. These naturopathic colleges in the United States are found in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois. There are two colleges of natural health in Canada, and they are found in British Columbia and Ontario. Each alternative medicine school is accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education, an organization recognized by the United States Department of Education. Naturopathic medicine graduates who go on to be doctors adhere to six fundamental principles of naturopathic medicine that are similar to the Hippocratic Oath traditional medical doctors follow.

These are the naturopathic medicine principles:

(Principles and their explanation taken from the website of the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges- http://www.aanmc.org/naturopathic-medicine/the-6-principles.php and the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians- http://www.naturopathic.org/content.asp?contentid=59):

1. The Healing Power of Nature: Trust in the body’s inherent wisdom to heal itself. Naturopathic doctors work to nurture the process of self-healing.

2. Identify and Treat the Causes: Look beyond the symptoms to the underlying cause. If the root problem is not addressed, the patient’s symptoms will inevitably return. Instead of covering up symptoms, naturopathic doctors work to find and treat the cause of the symptoms.

3. First, Do No Harm: Utilize the most natural, least invasive and least toxic therapies. Naturopathic doctors try to use low-risk procedures and customize an overall wellness plan for each patient.

4. Doctor as Teacher-Educate Patients: Educate patients in the steps to achieving and maintaining health. Naturopathic doctors encourage self-responsibility yet they will work closely with each patient to teach them how to live the healthiest lifestyle possible by addressing nutrition and diet habits, exercise habits, and other physical and emotional nurturing habits.

5. Treat the Whole Person: View the body as an integrated whole in all its physical and spiritual dimensions. Each person is unique in their physical, genetic, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual makeup.

Holistic health practitioners

In our long history on this planet, only Man seems to have the desire to constantly change things. We convert our natural resources such as sand to glass, wood to paper and we grow food, combine seeds or grafts to create new and better types of food, we build structures and find new ways to make our lives better, faster, easier. Our never ending quest for the next best thing is unquenchable. While this can be a blessing it can also be a curse.

Before man reached the industrial age, except for some major cities, most of the earth was still clean and natural. The air was pure, the fresh water was clean and drinkable and our oceans were relatively untouched. In this state, our earth had an abundance of negative and positive ions.

Ions are atoms that have acquired an electrical charge by gaining or losing an electron. Positive ions make us feel tired, irritable and cranky. Negative ions make you feel refreshed and can dramatically improve your mood and sense of well being. What does this have to do with our health? Plenty!

Storms, water falls, rushing rivers or ocean waves all produce tens to hundreds of thousands of negative ions. Many people make vacation plans that somehow revolve around water. It could be the cottage at the beach, an island getaway, a water park or cruise. We unwittingly are drawn to places that produce negative ions. Water is not the only place these ions are produced. Forests, especially pine forests also produce these ions and promote a sense of well being.

Our ancestors walked along the beaches or crossed rushing rivers and explored the forests and lived and worked in more of a natural environment. Some of the health issues we see today were not present in our history. Chances are that if you live in a big city and spend your day in front of a computer you may be over exposed to positive ions and are in sore need of negative ions. This is where technology comes in. Ionic foot baths!

An ionic foot bath works by immersing your feet in the slightly salted water (sea salt) whereby positive and negative ions are emitted by the machine, which re-energize the body.

It is similar to walking in the sand along the beach only more powerful because your feet are in direct contact with the ions being made in the water. Water has an almost perfect balance of positive & negative ions. Since the body is composed of 70% water, its ability to interact with the water is very high. When you immerse a body mass into water, the vibration frequency of the water will affect the vibration frequency of the body due to the interaction of the magnetic & electrical field. It's an exceptionally wonderful and natural healing tool. It is a painless, actually relaxing, process and unlike prescription drugs, there are no harmful side effects.

An overall balancing effect occurs, along with a significant increase in the number of negative ions. Ions are atoms or molecules that have lost or gained electrons [Free radicals are unpaired electrons]. If the atoms or molecules lose electrons, they become positively charged ions. If they gain electrons, they become negatively charged ions.

Health practitioners all over the country are seeing results day after day. Many customers have stated positive results in reduced menopause symptoms, menstrual cramps, sexual health problems, skin problems, acne, sleep problems, restlessness, stress, toothaches, wrinkles, aches and pains and yeast infections, as well as faster disease healing and injury recovery. For some it is a sense of well being after such a session.