It’s been called many things: alternative, holistic, complementary, comprehensive, and yes, even quackery, but natural medicine is simply natural. Even the term “natural medicine” is too limiting, because it’s so much more than just medicine. It’s a philosophy that involves many variables.

Natural medicine views health as a puzzle. When even one piece is missing, the puzzle is incomplete. Regardless of what you may have heard about natural medicine, there are no magic bullets. We all know that it takes more than one piece to complete a puzzle. We also know that our health can be one of the most complicated puzzles of all. So it only makes sense that there are many pieces needed. The completed puzzle is, of course, optimum health.

One of the most important concepts about natural medicine and holistic health care is that you are in control. With help, you can determine which piece of the puzzle is missing and what you need to do to fill in the gap. It all begins and ends with you. After all, it’s your body. And the power to heal lies within you. Natural medicine is an umbrella representing many services, products, and treatments. Everything from dietary changes to detoxification procedures can be called holistic or fall into the category of natural medicine. Here are some tidbits of information about just some of the opportunities available under the umbrella of natural medicine.

• Chiropractic Medicine. In 1980 there were one million patients utilizing chiropractic medicine. Today there are somewhere around 20 million.
• Nutritional Supplements (i.e. vitamins, herbal extracts, etc.). In 1994 alone, Americans spent well over $700 million on herbal medicines obtained from health food stores. Today estimates are at nearly $6.5 billion.
• Acupuncture. Several thousand US physicians use acupuncture in their practice, up from only 500 twenty years ago.
• Homeopathy. Practiced widely in Europe for centuries, this respected form of medicine has been recognized in the US for over 200 years.
• Hydrotherapy. The use of various warm and cool water treatments for a wide range of digestive, circulatory, and respiratory conditions, various forms of hydrotherapy have been around since the 19th century, and were originally marketed as “water cure”.
• Research. As with any approach to your own health, research is an important component. With the internet, today active research by individuals is much easier, with much more information widely available. Armed with additional information, you are much better equipped and informed to work with your own health provider.

As you can see, there are familiar and not so familiar holistic health care services available through natural medicine practitioners. Don’t let all of these options intimidate you. Don’t expect to learn them all at once. Take your time and find a practitioner that you feel safe and comfortable with and that you trust to help you. Most practitioners adhere to five time tested medical principles. These principles serve as the foundation upon which the alternative health care provider practices, whether he is a naturopath, chiropractor, acupuncturist, nutritionist, or medical doctor.

Principle 1: The healing power of nature. The body has considerable power to heal itself. It is the role of the healer to facilitate and enhance this process with the aid of natural, nontoxic therapies. Above all else, do no harm.

Principle 2: View the whole person. An individual must be viewed as a whole person composed of complex interactions of physical, mental/emotional, spiritual, social, and other elements.

Principle 3: Identify and treat the cause. It is important to seek the underlying cause of disease rather than simply suppress the symptoms. Symptoms are viewed as expressions of the body’s attempt to heal while the cause can spring from the physical, mental/emotional and spiritual levels.

Principle 4: The healer as teacher. A practitioner must also become a teacher, educating, empowering, and motivating the patient to assume more personal responsibility for their health by adopting a healthy attitude, lifestyle, and diet.

Principle 5: Prevention is the best cure. Prevention of disease is best accomplished through dietary and lifestyle habits that support health and prevent disease. Undoubtedly, these natural principles of healing will persist over time. By acting as a vital link in the evolution of medicine, these underlying principles of good medicine provide a bridge between the medicine of the past and the medicine of the future. Perhaps the famous words of Thomas Edison will turn out to be truly prophetic: “The doctor of the world will give no medicine, but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

All the modalities associated with natural medicine have one thing in common, their philosophy. Natural medicine practitioners and their clients believe that the power to heal lies within the body itself. If you provide your body with the proper tools, it can and will heal itself. The natural medicine concept believes that drugs and surgery should only be used when the body is in crisis and cannot defend itself properly. With natural medicine, there is a strong emphasis on proactive health care and disease prevention. Henry David Thoreau wrote: “Nature is doing her best each moment to make us well. She exists for no other end. Do not resist. With the least inclination to be well, we should not be sick.”

Natural medicine has a long history of use. Today, it is clear that what was once “old” has now become new again. It’s been called a paradigm shift in health care because of our new view of an old mode. But whatever you call it, there is no question that there is renewed interest in the treatment practices of yesterday – the very same healing practices that people hundreds of years ago used. Traditional treatments from centuries ago are finding widespread success in treating today’s health issues, and contributing to better health through prevention.

When I first started studying natural medicine in 1982 my head was swimming. I began researching nutritional supplements and found the terminology and jargon confusing and overwhelming at times. Fortunately, after I realized that I didn’t have to learn everything all at once, I went to Chicago to a state license school to become a colon therapist, a practice I have continued over the years. I opened my first office in April 1984 and began chipping away at the entire subject of natural medicine, and whittling it down into easily digestible pieces.

Your needs and interests create your learning path. You may not be inspired to make natural medicine your career or find it to be your passion to help others with their health. But whether you are researching methods of natural medicine to incorporate into your personal wellness plans or looking into various allopathic approaches, your time and dedication is well spent. The more you are informed about your options and various methods, the more proactive you can be in protecting one of the most important things in your life – your own health.