Alternative Medicine: What Is It?

---

Alternative medicine.  A slogan for some, a tagline for others, or even a bumper sticker on some cars.  It is a concept that has been around for centuries, but only in recent times given a name, being 'alternative medicine'.  Overall, the idea leaves a bitter taste in some folk's mouths, but despite that, there is much truth to discover.

What we are referring to here is the creation or restoration of health through many different modalities ranging from diet and lifestyle to herbs and specific exercise.  Most approaches stem back to Ayurvedic Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine, being employed centuries ago and in current times to aid the body in healing.

There are many different modalities employed today in the world of alternative medicine, but the overall goal is to restore BALANCE to your body. Only when balance is created can health be restored. 

I've seen it in myself and in our patients, not to mention others around me, this state of imbalance which then leads to ill-health and disease on many levels. Only through alternative approaches can one truly restore the body.  This restoration is not created through pharmaceuticals, which I can attest to in my 30 years of clinical experience.

Alternative approaches to healthcare are just that, 'alternatives' or simply put, another choice.  A proper diet, lifestyle, exercise, and even herbs are not alternatives to me.  They should be primary options, given to all patients, human or animal.  They may be suggested by some doctors, but emphasis is rarely placed upon their importance, likely due to ignorance within the physician or veterinarian themselves.  One cannot teach something that they do not know or understand.  

Here, within the walls of this website, I hope to relay countless articles, some research based, some purely opinion, and other observationally driven.  The goal is to give you something else to consider in your journey of life and health restoration.  Something that is and has always been within your personal reach, but more times than not, ignored for one reason or another.

There is a reason for the dramatic rise in poor health in the human and animal population.  The cause is purely based upon choices that we make for ourselves and others.  To make a proper choice, one has to be informed but this is a personal journey.  Health is about cause and effect, in a nutshell.  Our lack of proper choices is due to a level of unknowing and this unknowing or ignorance in a subject leads to an effect, which is poor health and disease.

In the words of lay-physician Phineus Quimby from the late 1800's regarding disease:

"To be ignorant of the cause makes us more susceptible to the effects."

Always remember, you do have a choice. It is your life and your body.  Fear is abolished through understanding.

Tom Schell, D.V.M, CVCH, CHN