Taking a Look at Health
In last weeks article I touched on the idea of "blended medicine" and how the best of all possible health care would include any and all types of treatment; whatever would best benefit the patient. Twenty to thirty years ago, it was difficult if not impossible, to find a medical doctor who would understand and agree with you if you wanted to take herbal products. Just as uncommon, was a naturalist who would admit there was a suitable time to go to a traditional practitioner. Today, and for the past five to seven years, I have been fortunate to have a medical doctor, a chiropractor and a specialist in chemical brain imbalances who all understand and permit me to have an active say in my own treatment. They all are open minded enough to read about new things I find out about, and to tell me whether or not they feel it's safe for me to take natural supplements and alternative treatments.
My chiropractor, Dr. Robin Hunter, (a woman, by the way) has always been an advocate of natural herbals, and all kinds of natural forms of treatment. She includes kinetics, accupressure, trigger points and electrical stimulation in her regimen of treatment and manipulation. Each modality has, in it's turn, been beneficial to helping my condition, and I'm sure, to others, as well. "Dietary supplements" as defined in the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, include vitamins, minerals, herbals, amino acids and derivatives of these substances. Most health advocates and ordinary people agree that we need more testing on the natural supplements. Many consumers unfortunately become victims of adverse reactions to some supplements, because they are too trusting and believe that the government wouldn't allow unsafe products to be sold. Another cause of problems associated with these products, is that many people believe that if a little will help, then a lot will do wonders. This is not the case. Even some safe herbals and vitamins can be used to excess, thus causing quite severe consequences.
Intolerance to one or more ingredients in some substances, even vitamins, is another possible effect reported in the use of some supplements. Some people have reported adverse reactions after taking certain supplements for extended periods of time, or say that a product "no longer works". Because of this, it is advisable to change brands at least every year, so the risk of intolerance buildup is less probable.
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