Medicine Health

In today's society, it is almost impossible to get the correct nourishment from vitamins, minerals, herbals and others from our food intake alone. Many, (if not all) have to consume daily supplements to ensure our bodies are getting all it needs to continue working properly and disease free. As the natural health industry continues to increase in popularity, the amount of products that are ineffective will continue to increase. Several companies would rather see that you buy their product, instead of making sure that you are getting what is said to be in the bottle of "pills".So how can we get the best possible products for ourselves? There is a simple way to choose the best possible product for our bodies; from daily multivitamins to disease specific remedies. Below is an outline of what to look for when choosing your next natural health supplement.

Choose Whole food rather than multivitamin

One of the biggest mistakes that people make is buying a multivitamin made of synthetic (synthetic- human made) vitamins, and minerals that our bodies can not fully absorb. When humans create vitamins and minerals, our bodies recognize this as being "false" and doesn't absorb much of the vitamin. Have you ever wandered why urine is so yellow after consuming a multivitamin? It's the result of our bodies excreting the excess vitamins, and minerals that it did not absorb.The best way to ensure your body will absorb the most it can is to consume a "whole food" multivitamin. This means, anytime a product contains natural foods, herbs and other natural resources, they are the best bet. For example, broccoli contains high amounts of vitamin K. It's better to take a supplement that contains broccoli instead of taking a supplement that just contains vitamin K. · Always choose whole food supplements over synthetic vitamins.

Avoid fillers, binders and other synthetic materials

It is sad to say this, but over 80% of all natural health companies place fillers and binders in their supplements. Fillers are what companies place in the capsule (or whatever tablet used) to fill the remaining space that the actual product doesn't fill. For example, if a 500mg capsule contains only 400mg of the actual product, they will place 100mg of a filler substance to make up the 500mg. The filler substances are synthetic and can be harmful to our bodies. Some of the fillers used are partially hydrogenated soybean oil, which can cause cancer. Although this concern is not as great as avoiding synthetic vitamins, it is best to use products that avoid fillers, binders and artificial ingredients. If a product doesn't contain fillers, they usually will place that on the label as this sets them apart from most natural health companies.

The Big Deal About Enteric Coating

A supplement that has enteric coating is a supplement that has a coat that allows the tablet to avoid being dissolved in the stomach and passes to the intestine (small). This is where the majority of vitamins and minerals are absorbed. While this has brought great attention, I am not too concerned with this for a few reasons. If consuming a whole food supplement as stated, your stomach will need to digest some of this food and this will allow proper passing of vitamins and minerals. Also, if one is consuming a natural supplement for a disease like acid reflux, an enteric coating will almost take away from the meaning of the supplement. I would not concern myself with enteric coating unless it is a personal preference. Upon saying this, I do recommend enteric coating for certain vitamins and minerals; however it's not a great concern.

One Final Note I do believe that choosing the right natural supplement is one of the most important decisions that one will make in an effort to choose a more natural approach on health. This is why I am personally willing to help. Before you choose to purchase a natural supplement, you can contact me or ask to see if the company is reliable and meets the standards that I call "up to par". I will evaluate each company that one wants me to and eventually I will contain a list of companies that I call acceptable.

Integrative medicine is the combination of conventional medicine and alternative medicine modes of health care such as herbal medicine, nutrition, acupuncture, massage, yoga or stress reduction. It is a holistic medicine model that recognizes that the whole person is important in health and wellness. Functional medicine takes into consideration why an illness has developed in the first place, so that it can be addressed.

While complementary medicine has been around for a while, some people question the validity of alternative treatments. Integrative medicine tries to combine the most scientifically proven of complementary methods along with conventional medicine.

Both patients and providers often find this "best of both worlds" approach to be more fulfilling.

Functional medicine is also holistic, but is a way of looking at medicine that is based upon finding and addressing the root causes of illness. For instance, a functional medicine practitioner would look at environmental toxin inputs, nutrition and microbial imbalances, how the detoxification system is working, the nervous and endocrine systems, intestinal system function, and the impact of stress. They would look at the genetic and biochemical systems involved in a particular problem and how those systems vary between individuals.

In other words, functional medicine looks at how all systems are inter-related and how they influence illness and health. Rather than focus solely on multiple separate disease entities, functional medicine recognizes disturbances of a web-like interconnected system and aspires to restore health and balance to the foundation of that system.

Practitioners might use any appropriate combination of conventional medicine, nutritional interventions, acupuncture, stress reduction techniques or other sound methods to restore wellness to the system. And, rather than stopping there, these same principle would be used to institute ongoing preventive habits.

Let's look at an example. Let's say someone has chronic irritable bowel symptoms. It would be easy in the conventional model to consider that an isolated intestinal system problem. Those symptoms might generate an intestinal system work up. Now, irritable bowel syndrome is a particular problem that has also come to be considered as having a psychological component. So, there is an example of conventional medicine bringing in the possible role of stress, just as a holistic or integrative medicine doctor would.

But wait. Now, scientific studies are coming up with evidence that in irritable bowel syndrome, some people have bacterial overgrowth in the small bowel that might benefit from treatment, the immune system might be involved and respond to probiotics, and the nervous system might be calmed by acupuncture. Maybe some yoga or meditation would improve the contribution by stress.

By expanding the way the problem is viewed, looking for where the root of the problem might be, and drawing upon many different methods of care, a more holistic, functional and integrated plan of care can be offered.

With more of the U.S. population suffering chronic health problems and demanding more holistic health care, we can expect to see approaches like integrative and functional medicine becoming part of the solution.

Therapists, physicians, acupuncturists, massage therapists, body workers and energy workers need to be interviewed and checked out just like your roofer!

I don't know about you but finding a good roofer is might-near-impossible.

Psychological outcome research has shown that half of the therapists make us better and the other half makes us worse.

This means you need to choose wisely. You do not need to continue to pay someone if you are not making dynamic progress toward your goals. If the roofer does not fix your roof you do not continue to pay him money.

The outcome psychological research shows that the technique does not matter, the therapist is the important factor. If he or she is open, loving, caring then he or she can help you feel better. If they are uptight and nervous, they will make you uptight and nervous. I would think that this applies to all holistic practitioners and not just psychologists.

As a sensitive person you definitely need to feel safe and secure with any person you are working with. You have a responsibility and right to check therapists, physicians, massage therapists, acupuncturists, body workers and energy workers out very carefully before you put yourself in their office.

It is your responsibility as a client and consumer to pick and choose based on your own needs and desires.

Even if you get a good recommendation about a person, check them out by calling them up and interviewing them.

Your checklist:

1-What does his or her voice sound like? It is inviting, warm, loving?

2-How accepting are they toward you? Are they open or judgmental?

3-Do they relate equally to you? If not, keep checking around until you find someone who respects you and acknowledges your strengths.

4-How do you feel after talking with them on the phone? Do you feel comfortable? Do you feel hopeful? Did they rush you? If so, then they are anxious, forget them.

If they pass the phone test. Then set up an appointment and continue to check for the above things in person. If they pass the first psychology session test then it is up to you to be open and trust them enough to let them help you.

Therapists and practitioners are not perfect, they make mistakes, just like everyone else. The best ones don't pretend to be perfect, they know they are human.

What you want to look for during your sessions:

1- How present are they? Do they really listen to you and receive you?

2-How relaxed are they are in their body? Are they breathing?

3-How secure do they seem to be when you get scared, frightened or anxious? If you scare them, they cannot help you.

4-Do they had the information and knowledge to help you calm down your nervous system?

5- Do they know what they are doing?

6-Do you usually feel better and more hopeful after each session?

7-Do they let you express your deepest desires and fears without questioning you?

Remember, it is up to you, the client, to pick and choose someone who is capable and loving.

When you decide that someone is not good for you, you can leave at any time for any reason. Do not feel guilty and take care of the therapist. You are paying them for a service and they need to deliver.

Remember you do not owe your physician or therapist anything. They need to help you grow and become healthy or you need to find someone who can.

If you want to change and grow, pick a therapist who teaches you how to let go of judgmental energy so that you can achieve solid self-esteem. Pick a holistic professional who teaches you how to be assertive and take care of yourself. Then you will laugh and have fun along the way to good mental health, emotional health and physical health.

Copyrighted, March, 2005. Doris Jeanette

In traditional and widely used medicine (sometimes known as allopathic medicine) as practiced by many Western-educated doctors, the reliance on lab-created medications is widespread and accepted pretty much without reservation. There has been a movement, though, that is advocating for more homeopathic-oriented remedies and therapies. In this regard then, one must ask the question "Natural vs. prescription medicine: What risks are you taking?"

The question above tends to become an either/or proposition instead of what it really should be: which is what range of medicines, both natural and man-made, can be the most efficacious when it comes to healing the maladies afflicting the human condition? After all, there seems to be real and verifiable evidence that many substances found in nature have actual healing properties.

This insight into natural medicines, which has been gained sometimes only as a result of grudging acceptance by many medical practitioners educated and trained in classic Western medical schools, can be at once both helpful and yet also harmful. This is because some who advocate for an almost complete use of nature's substances in treating ill health fail to accept that some illnesses are not susceptible to such medicinal compounds.

Surely, there are any number of illnesses or injuries which are better served through use of health foods, aroma therapies, meditation, relaxation techniques and mixtures and compounds of various roots, grasses, seeds and the like. But is every illness treatable through homeopathic remedies and therapies? Most medical professionals and dispassionate observers would say that this probably isn't the case.

Additionally, the use of natural medicines can carry its own hazards, especially when it comes to overuse or misuse of such substances. There are cases of physical harm resulting from excessive supplementation with any number of natural compounds. Some amino acid admixtures, when taken in large doses, can lead to sometimes-fatal outcomes. This is just as true, though, when it comes to the taking of prescription medications; some of which can be extremely harmful if not taken exactly as directed.

Overall, almost every honest physician will say that people in the West have a worrying tendency to resort to prescription or even over-the-counter (OTC) packaged medicines at every turn. In actuality, they should be trying to examine their conditions and even their lives from a more holistic viewpoint.

The benefits of such a holistic approach - looking at the body as a whole -- is that a person who's beset with an illness or malady and his or her medical practitioner (whether allopath, osteopath or homeopath) can sit down, do a critical examination of all the factors impacting health and then devise an intelligent and concerted plan aimed at alleviating sickness and restoring health.

Because of this need, natural medicines can play an important role in the treatment of illness. As to whether or not they can play an exclusive role in such treatment, no honest practitioner of medicine of any type could really say that it is true. But one must be careful in not assigning excessive physical risk to natural medicines that doesn't exist; especially when the risks of lab-created medicines are so well known.

Unfortunately, those advocates of natural medicine fail to be as understanding in their own adherence to nature's substances as the one, true path to good health. No person suffering from possible metastatic cancer, for example, should be expected to forego medical treatment therapies or surgeries which have proven effective for a vast number of people solely to experiment with natural medicines in hopes that they'll be even more effective. Most studies haven't proven that to be the case, unfortunately.

In the final analysis, it has to be said that the risks being taken when trying - initially - natural medicines to treat many ailments are somewhat less than when taking some mixture cooked up in a lab. Its effectiveness depends on the ability of a person to obey directions exactly for its use, let alone how a person may react to that medication.

Happily, if the natural remedies being taken are not proving themselves effective, there is a fall back to more traditional treatments and therapies available. And when it comes to treatment of illness, the best method will always be the one which initially relies the least on extreme medical regimes.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has confirmed that NHS spending will rise in real terms but stated that large efficiency warnings were crucial. He admitted that Labour's extensive increase in health spending over their term in office was "not sustainable for the future". Some questioned how the coalition of parties with opposing views on health would affect the big question of spending but the Liberal Democrats have accepted a Conservative "ring-fence" to guarantee real-term increases in keeping with inflation.

During the election campaign, Vince Cable, now Business Secretary criticised the plan saying it would require deeper cuts elsewhere in Whitehall. On BBC Radio 4, Secretary Lansey declared that the Lib Dems had agreed the need for real term increases but acknowledged that it will impact upon other departments.

"We have come together as two parties, each with our own mandate from the General Election, but in order to secure the national interest," said Lansley. Although parliament has immediate plans to begin to cut the deficit and deal with the debt crisis, during the campaign the Conservative Party were very clear that they would not let the sick pay for Labour's debt crisis by making cuts to the National Health Service.

The coalition plan to safeguard the NHS by ensuring that resources and spending are increased each year in real terms, but Lansey warned that just by protecting the real level of spending relative to the level of inflation in the economy as a whole, it will not protect the NHS from the need to secure efficiency savings and to control pay and prices in the NHS.

A plan of sustainability for the NHS is to create efficiency savings in the same way the rest of the public sector is required. Because of the nature of the NHS, Lansley believes that efficiency savings can be reinvested back into the NHS to deliver an improving service. Lansley finished by acknowledging that although this spending plan will affect other areas, it is unsustainable to cut the real value of the NHS budget.

Separate attention should be given to women's health. It is obvious that men and women are different. The major health concerns of men are not the same for women. Moreover, women's bodies and systems also respond differently to various treatment approaches.

Vitality Medicine for Women

Like men, women too can choose to be treated with methods in conventional medicine. This is the option where you may choose to take scientifically tested man-made medicines or to undergo modern medical procedures like surgery and laser therapy. More and more people however, are beginning to consider alternative medicine as a valid option too.

As the term implies, alternative approaches are meant to substitute conventional methods and use nature based, systems, procedures and elements in disease treatment.

The female health issues that alternative medicine can address are nearly limitless. Women can choose alternative medicine options for such serious conditions as cancer and heart disease. Others however have minor issues like cellulite and diffuse hair loss. Of course, other uniquely female concerns such as menstrual discomfort, menopause and post partum depression are also addressed by various alternative medicine options.

Choosing Alternative Health Methods

There are many reasons why some turn to alternative treatments for women's health concerns. The major overwhelming reason however is the fear over the side effects and risks that could be brought about by conventional procedures and medications. Surgery and hormone stimulating medications for example are the obvious examples of potentially risky conventional medicine options. Many alternative options do not carry similar risks in the same degree. Alternative medicine also seems like a better option for some because there are procedures and substances from nature that can both help heal conditions and nourish the mind and body.

Alternative Medicine Concerns

It is important to note though that alternative treatments do have issues surrounding them. Many practitioners of conventional medicine do not approve of alternative methods. This is mainly because of the lack of strict standards for the control of production, use, dosage or execution of some alternative substances and procedures. Natural substances in particular do not all have large bodies of evidences gathered from studies to prove their effectiveness and safety. Some natural substances have also been found to lead to some minor side effects.

Treatment Choices

There are various ways to use alternative medicine. Of course, the most well known approach is to simply take plant extracts and herbal preparations in liquid or pill form. A second alternative approach involves some form of body part manipulation such as those performed in various massage techniques. Women can also opt for the mental based approach involved in yoga and meditation.

There is no direct prohibition against alternative medicine. It is quite possible therefore that some approaches may truly have positive effects on some women's health issues. Do not forget though that women do have intricate systems and conditions. Make sure you know everything there is to know about the alternative approaches that you choose. You should also at least inform your health practitioner of your decision to use an alternative approach.

The Ayurvedic Approach to Breast Health

Like all tissues and organs in the human body, the female breasts are multidimensional in function. Their most recognized function is as exocrine glands, producing breast milk for the newborn, a function common to all mammalian species. Given the multidimensional functions of the breasts, a discussion of breast health approaches could be complex. Therefore, in this article we will limit our discussion to what women can do from the Ayurvedic perspective to reduce their chances of developing the most dangerous of breast diseases: breast cancer.

First let's briefly review some simple breast anatomy. Mammary glands are basically highly modified and specialized sebaceous glands which derive from embryonic ectoderm. The adult breast consists of glandular tissue, adipose tissue (fat cells), nerves, blood vessels and lymphatics. Anatomically it overlies the pectoralis major muscle and is anchored to the pectoralis fascia by suspensory ligaments known as Cooper's ligaments (not shown). The breast contains about 15 to 25 lobes formed by groups of "milk glands", or lobules. Each lobule is composed of hollow milk producing acini (also called alveoli), and feeds into a milk duct leading to the nipples. The ducts converge near the areola, the darker area round the nipple, to form ampullae or milk storage cavities. Around the areola are small glands known as Montgomery's glands which secrete an oily substance that protects the nipples during nursing. Lymph nodes within the breast drain into the axillary lymph nodes in the armpit-the first place to which breast cancer will typically metastasize.

What Is Breast Cancer? The Western View

Cancer is fundamentally a disease of failure of regulation of tissue growth. In order for a normal cell to transform into a cancer cell, the genes which regulate cell growth and differentiation must be altered. A gene is a specific sequence of DNA at a specific location within a specific chromosome. Only 5-10% of breast cancers are inherited; the vast majority is due to sporadic, acquired mutations.

The affected genes are divided into two broad categories. Oncogenes are genes which promote cell growth and reproduction. Tumor suppressor genes are genes which inhibit cell division and survival. Malignant transformation can occur through the formation of abnormal oncogenes, the inappropriate over-expression of normal oncogenes, or by the under-expression or complete arrest of tumor suppressor genes. Typically, changes in many genes are required to transform a normal cell into a cancer cell.

Large-scale mutations involve a deletion or gain of a portion of a chromosome. Gene amplification occurs when a cell gains many copies (often 20 or more) of a small chromosomal locus, usually containing one or more oncogenes and adjacent genetic material. Translocation occurs when two separate chromosomal regions become abnormally fused, often at a distinct location. Disruption of a single gene may also result from integration of genomic material from a DNA virus or retrovirus, and resulting in the expression of viral oncogenes in the affected cell and its descendants, but this is not the case in breast cancer.

The transformation of normal breast cells into cancer is akin to a chain reaction caused by initial errors, which compound into more severe errors, each progressively allowing the cell to escape the controls that limit normal tissue growth. This renegade-like scenario causes an undesirable survival of the fittest, where the natural forces of evolution become distorted and work against the body's design and harmonious order. If the rate of DNA damage exceeds the capacity of the cell to repair it, the accumulation of errors can overwhelm the cell and result in early senescence, apoptosis, or cancer. Once cancer has begun to develop, it uses the body's own design to serve its own destructive and invasive purposes.

What Is Breast Cancer? The Ayurvedic View

The female breasts are predominantly Kapha organs, having a fatty nature and producing milk, a Kapha fluid. Breast cancer is a tridoshic (involving all three doshas) disorder of breast tissue. Causes are both hereditary and acquired; the acquired causes being physical, emotional, spiritual, and environmental. Breast cancer is ultimately caused by blockage and flow irregularities at both the gross and imperceptibly subtle levels of several srotamsi (channel systems).

Dietary and other physical factors can help to cause breast cancer, or to trigger the disease in one who already has the hereditary tendency. Breast cancer, like any malignant or degenerative disease, may be the result of prolonged wrong diet, wrong lifestyle, or prajnaparadha (mistake of the intellect). Wrong regimen leads first to accumulation of doshas, then in time to acute illnesses. If those illnesses are treated improperly, that is, if the excess doshas (the three body humors) are not expelled and ama (toxins) is not purified, then the imbalance is driven deeper, resulting in chronic complaints. If these chronic complaints in turn go untreated or are treated by suppressive methods without expelling doshas or cleansing ama, then the excess doshas will localize in the most toxic or most vulnerable tissue, in this case breast tissue, to create sannipatika gulma, a malignant tumor.

Cancer in Äyurveda is not seen as a discrete disease, but a milestone on the continuum of doshic aggravation, ama (toxic waste) accumulation, and srotodushti (channel blockage). A pernicious energy gains access to the individual through the diet, the emotions, the environment, or even the karmic-influenced internal momentum of one's life. Although modern medicine has disproven any appreciable connection between fibrocystic breasts or fibroadenoma to breast cancer, Ayurveda considers both of these benign conditions to be stages in the breast cancer samprapti. Cancer is a deepening pattern of internal disconnection from the body-mind's greater intelligence which eventually begins to exhibit its own warped purpose, momentum, and direction.

Importance of Srotamsi (Channels of Circulation) in Breast Cancer

The entire fifth chapter of the Vimanasthana Section of the Charaka Samhita is devoted to the detailed description of the srotamsi and their importance in health and disease. The body and mind contains a large number of srotas or channels through which the basic tissue elements, doshas, and malas circulate. These channels are called srotas (plural srotamsi). Srotas, meaning channels or pores, are present throughout the visible body as well as at the "invisible" or subtle level of the cells, molecules, atoms, and subatomic strata. It is through these channels that nutrients and other substances are transported in and out of our physiology. It is also through these channels that information and intelligence spontaneously flow. When the flow of appropriate nutrients and energies through these channels is unimpeded, there is health; when there is excess, deficiency, or blockage in these channels disease can take root.

The channels are, to a certain extent, similar to the different physiological systems of Western medicine (e.g. arteries, veins, nerves, digestive tract, etc.) but also contain subtler energies comparable to the meridian system of Chinese medicine.

The movements of energy in all srotamsi are directly influenced by stimuli that arise in the mind, which are conveyed by the Vata energy. Hence mental disturbances, both conscious and unconscious, can cause disorders in any of the channels.

Excessive or deficient mental activity can cause excess or deficient flow in the channels of the body. Emotional outbursts or lack of mental control have effects that are analogous to surges in the channels of the physical body and can produce such conditions as in strokes, heart attacks, hyperventilation, tremors, etc.

Stanya vaha srota, which consists of the milk-producing apocrine cells of the lobules, the related pituitary hormones (i.e. prolactin), the ducts, ampullae, and nipple, is the main srota involved in breast cancer.

Artava vaha srotas, which consists of the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, their hormones (i.e. estrogen, progesterone), secretions and connective tissues and related pituitary hormones (i.e. FSH, LH) all belong to artava vaha srotas--the channels carrying out female reproductive functions. The breasts are also included in this system.

Each lunar cycle between menarche and menopause, the proliferation of epithelial cells lining the breast's lobular acini (increasing from one to two layers) occurs during the luteal phase. The breast epithelium, unlike the endometrium of the uterus, cannot be shed at the end of the cycle; regression at the end of the cycle is by apoptosis (self-programmed cell death). The apoptotic residue (ama) is plentiful within the lumens toward the late luteal phase of the cycle. Efficient removal of this material is essential for the breast tissue to remain healthy and vital.

Samprapti (Pathogenesis)

Due to uncorrected exposure for a sufficient period of time to nidanas--internal and external causes of doshic vitiation--(a few common examples described below), the doshas can become aggravated and begin a sequence of pathological steps culminating in the creation of a disease state. The term "samprapti" (from the root "Ap" to cause, arrive, reach or obtain; "sam" conjunction, union, intensity, completeness) refers to this sequence of doshic-related pathology triggered by one or more nidanas (causes). Let us consider a brief explanation of this sequence.

First, one or more doshas begins to accumulate somewhere in the body and soon becomes vitiated (aggravated). Next, the aggravated dosha spills over and begins to spread. In the case of breast cancer, it may enter the stanya vaha srota or another associated srota. When it reaches a vulnerable or somewhat weakened area or organ of the body, it will stagnate there and begin to mix with and disturb the structure and function of the local tissues including sometimes cellular DNA. The tissues of the body, when spoken of in their healthy state are of course called the dhatus; however when we speak of these same tissues with regard to their mixing with vitiated doshas, we always refer to the tissues as dushyas.

This dosha-dusyas sammurcchana is the actual disease process (sammurcchana means "interaction"). The interaction of the doshas and dushyas, together with the specific effect from the site or organ involved (adhisthana) leads to the development first of specific prodromal features, and then of the main symptoms, of a disease. Involvement of primarily Kapha might result in a fibrocystic breast condition; predominantly Kapha-Vata vitiation might lead eventually to fibroadenoma; Pitta-Vata can be associated with mastitis and other inflammatory states; Tridoshic vitiation can ultimately produce cancer. Left untreated the disease will evolve its unique set of complications and can reach a stage where it is no longer curable by any means.

Ayurvedic Prevention and Treatment Approach

The essence of the Ayurvedic approach is beautifully summed up in one of its well-known statements, "Avert the danger from illness before it arrives". This terse directive emphasizes the importance of correcting imbalances while still in their earliest stages and hence very remediable. Ayurveda accomplishes this goal through health programs uniquely tailored to the idiosyncratic characteristics of each individual. It celebrates our individual uniqueness while recognizing our universal Oneness. It is through our uniquely developed human consciousness, which among other capacities, affords us the enormous power of choice, that we can influence our health. The positive and negative health effects of those choices have been understood by Ayurvedic sages for thousands of years.

It must be stated at the outset of this section that, based on current level of available Ayurvedic knowledge, Ayurveda has no place as a primary treatment for any form of breast cancer. Ayurvedic treatment for breast cancer are useful as complementary therapy in order reduce side effects and sometimes bring about a more comprehensive response to conventional treatment. Ayurvedic medicines main strength is as a strategy to prevent the initial disease or its recurrence and to prolong survival.

That being said, current research is advancing towards a rational use of Ayurveda as a primary intervention. Specifically, the methanolic leaf extract of Ashwagandha leaf (Withania somnifera) was demonstrated to restore normal p53 function in tumor cells bearing mutated copies. p53 is a tumor suppressor protein which causes either the complete destruction of cells which have irreparably damaged and abnormal DNA or to temporarily arrest cell replication so that the DNA repair mechanisms can repair the damage. Once repaired p53 then allows the cell to duplicate. How p53 chooses cell destruction or arrest is unknown; it is commonly called the "guardian angel" of the cell.

It should be noted that today all breast cancer patients should be under the regular care and supervision of a medical oncologist.

Practical Choices That Matter

The Ayurvedic approach to breast health centers on diet, detoxification, lifestyle and exercise, mental health, environment and herbal preparations. Additionally, both ancient and current Ayurvedic physicians also emphasize early detection. Self examination of breasts, regular breast examinations by health care professionals and mammograms if clinically warranted are the methods.

Diet

One of Ayurveda's great recognitions is that the body and mind naturally proceed in the direction of balance and, in fact, are designed to achieve and maintain balance and vibrant health. The systems and organs that make possible this remarkable state of physical and mental well-being, and the intelligence which directs them all, exist in all of us from birth. Cancerous changes show that, despite this inherent healthy tendency, there is an imbalance of the tri-dosha with toxins. Food is the foundation of the tissue formation process and health itself. Here are some of the more important Ayurvedic recommendations.

i. First and foremost, choose foods according to either your constitutional type or your primary doshic imbalance, if known. This will help match your diet to your agni (digestive fire). Your physician may alternatively instruct you to eat according to the seasons if you are already in a balanced state of health. Eat organic foods whenever possible.

ii. Construct a diet which reduces ama formation. A predominantly vegetarian diet of foods that are light, warm, and cooked will do this. Freshly prepared dals and soups, organic vegetables prepared with fresh spices, whole grains such as basmati rice, barley, and amaranth, and freshly made flat-breads are ideal.

iii. Include organic cooked prunes, figs, apples, pears, pineapple, papaya, and cooked leafy greens, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage (cruciferous vegetables) in your diet. These foods provide fiber, antioxidants, and detoxifying effects.There is also a burgeoning body of evidence that curcumin, a component of turmeric, has breast cancer protective effects.

iv. Avoid foods that create body ama, including leftovers; packaged, canned, and frozen foods; foods grown with chemicals, GMO's, pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

v. Restrict the intake of alcoholic beverages of all kinds.

vi. Visceral (abdominal) adiposity contributes to the risk for estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer in premenopausal women.

Detoxification

As discussed above, ama-along with agni and the srotamsi--has tremendous importance in the manifestation of breast cancer. Ama is principally the result of the initial ahara rasa (nutrient juices) not being completely digested in the amashaya (small intestines) due to abnormal jatharagni. Ama then enters the srotamsi where it causes srotodushti (pathology of the srota) leading to srotorodha (obstruction). This results in an abnormal or arrested flow of doshas, nutrients and wastes.

The doshas thus retained can extravasate out of the srota and penetrate the surrounding dhatus (now called dushyas). The site where this interaction occurs (dosha-dushya sammurcchana) is the site where disease is initiated. If the impairment to the srotas can be prevented or reversed, disease will be averted.

In Ayurveda breast cancer primarily involves the channels of the female breasts and of the reproductive system and are called the Stanya Vaha Srotas and Artava Vaha Srotas, respectively. They include all the reproductive tissue, breasts, hormones and all secretions including breast milk. Keeping these channels clear of ama and all toxins is essential. The Mano Vaha Srotas, channels of the mind, are also involved. Proper diet, lifestyle, exercise, emotional health and select Ayurvedic herbs all help however a regular comprehensive detoxification procedure is also advised. It forms the foundation of preventive health in the Ayurvedic view and is often an important part of the treatment protocol for diseases which have already occurred.

Vulnerable Breasts on a Chemical Planet

Besides the assault from endogenous toxins (ama), exogenous toxins also have a grave effect on breast health. As a consequence of decades of uncontrolled environmental pollution with persistent organic pollutants (POP's), the contamination of human milk has become widespread. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT and its metabolites, dioxins, dibenzofurans, phthalates, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and heavy metals are among the toxic chemicals most often found in breast milk. Whether she is pregnant or not, these and many other chemical pose a tremendous risk to the female breast. This is because POP's are fat-soluble "lipophilic" (i.e. affinity for fat) chemicals which undergo bio-accumulation and concentration over time in the breast fatty tissue. The positive news is that POP's can be significantly removed from their sites of accumulation through regular periods of panchakarma detoxification therapies.

Ayurveda states in the Ashtanga Hridayam Sutrasthanam IV/25-26:

"Exhaustive effort should be made to radically expel the malas (doshas and metabolic wastes) at the right times. Uncorrected accumulation will verily result in aggravation and cut short life itself." "Doshas which are subdued by langhana and pachana therapies can inevitably become re-aggravated, but those which are radically expelled by samshodhana (purification) therapies will not become deranged again." (italics added)

Lifestyle and Exercise: Balancing the Doshas

Scientific evidence suggests about 30% of all 572,000 cancer deaths (39,500 due to breast cancer) expected in 2011 will be related to being obese or overweight, inadequate physical inactivity or errors in nutrition and thus are preventable.

It is clear that only about 30-40% of all breast cancer cases can be traced to identifiable genes or a familial tendency. Of those, 5 to 10 percent of women have inherited defective breast cancer genes, the most common being BRCA1 or BRCA2. The remainder have forms of breast cancers in their families that involve several genes.

That leaves 60-70% caused by unknown factors. Some are environmental--toxins we breathe, drink, touch or are exposed to in some way. The biggest risk factors are simply being a woman (<1 percent breast cancers occur in men) and getting older (risk increases after age 50). We can't change that, but we can change our lifestyles. The best recommendations are these six:

-Avoid hormone replacement therapy -Improve your diet -Exercise regularly -Follow good detection strategies -Maintain good body weight -Consume less or no alcohol

Mental Health

The state of one's mental health is a direct reflection of how we think, feel and act as we face different life experiences. Our mental health determines how we handle emotional stress, relate to others and make choices. It is the emotional and spiritual resilience (atati shakti) which enables us to achieve happiness and to survive pain, sorrow and disappointment. Normal mental health instinctively creates an underlying belief in one's self-worth, and in the dignity and worth of other human beings and all life forms. Psycho-social-spiritual stress can play a role in breast health. To refresh the mind Ayurveda suggests the classical mental balancing and rejuvenation techniques described in Patanjali's system of Raja Yoga. Because there are eight aspects in the Raja Yoga path to enlightenment, it is also known as Ashtanga Yoga (eight-limbed). Patanjali's Yoga Sutras begins with the statement yoga cittavritti nirodhah (I/2), "Yoga is for the restraint of the activities of the mind". They proceed to describe the ways in which mind can create false ideas and understandings, and details the eight steps that can taken to escape from the unreal.

Meditation techniques have been shown in numerous research studies to positively influence the physiology. The regular practice of yoga postures (asanas), breath control techniques (pranayama), and dhyana (meditation) is the most effective way to relieve anxiety, depression and emotional stress, according to Ayurvedic tradition. Although the mechanism by which meditation helps re-establish mental health is not clear, we do know that these techniques provide periods of profound sensory and cognitive rest. The regular dissociation of the senses from their sense objects and the withdrawal of the attention within appears to release deep-rooted stresses that have lodged in the structure, chemistry and energetic matrix of the mind-body.

Herbal Medicines

Ayurvedic herbal medicine regimens are not conceived using the model of a specific drug to neutralize or suppress a specific symptom or disease (allopathic model). In fact, successful treatment depends on rational and logical actions of a mixture of plant substances coupled with the incomprehensible healing intelligence of Nature. The intention of herbal treatment, like all forms of Ayurvedic therapies, is to up-regulate the innate healing capacity of the human being. Herbal treatment may be categorized according to the following scheme which forms a sequence for the prevention of any disease including breast cancer and also for the treatment of many diseases.

1. Separation of Dosha and Dushya (Sammurcchana Bhanga)

2. Autodigestion of Ama (Ama pacana)

3. Clearing of the Srotasmi (Shroto Vishodhana)

4. Optimization of Agni (Dipanagni)

5. Strengthening of Immunity (Vyadhi Kshamatva)

Separation of Dosha and Dushya (Sammurcchana Bhanga)

The initial action which must be taken in the treatment of disease is the separation of the vitiated dosha from the dushya. Since many on the subsequent steps in treating disease are strong measures aimed at the doshas, if separation of the healthy tissue is not achieved first, these treatments can and will harm the tissues and the associated srotas and vital organs. The degraded dosha and the affected tissue or organ becomes joined together like the milk fats and ghee are joined together in milk. And just as we heat the milk in order to separate the ghee from the milk fats, the herbal substances which accomplish the separation of dosha from dushya (a process called sammurchana bhanga) have the following gunas: hot (ushna), sharp (tikshna), penetrating (sukshma), rapid onset (vyavam), purifying (punanam), destructive (nashita), and separating (viyujate).

The following herbal and herbomineral medicines have the action of separating dosha and dushya. This list is by no means complete. Please note that many of these medicines can be toxic and cause

adverse reactions. They should therefore only be given for short courses and only under expert supervision.

Terminalia arjuna

Trailokya Rasa Chintamani

Datura metal Boswellia serrata

Aconitum ferox Tamra Bhasma

Strychnos nux vomica Heerak Bhasma

Semicarpus anacardium Holarrhena antidysenterica

Abhrak Bhasma Embelia ribes

Autodigestion of Ama (Ama pacana)

The operative principle behind the reversal and removal of ama is to temporarily stop providing nutrition to those parts of the body which we wish to purge of ama. In clinical application, this is achieved most readily, not with herbal medicines, but rather through fasting. Fasting is advocated as a bona fide approach for the removal of ama when found to be present or to prevent its formation. Like any other therapy, it is prescribed and supervised by an experienced physician.

During the fasting period, no new nutritive substances are available to the digestive system. Therefore the jathara agni and various dhatvagnis are utilized for the digestion of the accumulated ama. The fasting period can be as short as one or two days, or may extend for up to two weeks under medical supervision. There are several herbs and formulations which have been found to be effective in supporting and augmenting ama pacana:

Zingiber officinalis, Terminalia chebula, Tinospora cordifolia, Terminalia bellerica, Berberis aristata, Coriandrum sativum, Piper longum, Alpinia galangal.

Clearing of the Srotasmi (Shroto Vishodhana)

Whereas ama pacana is effective in transforming and liquefying the waste materials in the tissues,

the process known as shroto vishodhana draws these substances out of the tissues and into the appropriate channels of elimination (i.e. Stanya Vaha Srota). In addition, this process initiates movement in the proper direction in the srotasmi for the expulsion of the wastes. This stage requires that no matter what the primary doshic imbalance may be (Vata, Pitta, or Kapha), the Vata dosha needs to be in a balanced state. Thus is because Vata dosha is what creates movement of the wastes. A balanced Vata dosha moves the wastes in the proper and natural direction.

Medicines which act on the rasa, rakta, mamsa, meda, and sukra dhatus and their corresponding srotas are used in promoting breast health. These medicines will promote the elimination of doshas from the tissues without harming the tissues and include:

Holharrhina antidysentrica, Cissampelos pareira, Tricosanthe dioica, Cyperus rotundus, Picrorrhiza kurroa, Azadirachta indica, Hemidesmus indicus, Triphala, Piper nigrum, Acorus calamus, Curcuma longa, Aegle marmelos.

In addition to these herbal medicines, anuvasana bastis (oil-based enemata) or often administered during this phase to promote the proper flow of Vata dosha in the srotas. Also there are specialized techniques of breast massage which are performed with specific oils (i.e. Narayana, Vishagarbha, Chandanbala Laxadi) and can be taught to patient to perform at home.

Optimization of Agni (Dipanagni)

There is not a single biological process occurring within our bodies and mind which does not depend on agni. Our intelligence, awareness, energy, appearance, perception, immunity, and life itself is kindled by its power. There are thirteen forms of agni as we have outlined earlier. The most important is jathara agni--which presides over and creates all the others. Any disturbance in jathara agni will result in incomplete and improper digestion and the formation of ama. Some of the herbal medicines which help to stimulate and balance the jatharagni and, indirectly, all the agnis of the body are as follows:

Gingiber officinalis

Piper longum

Piper nigrum

Cayenne pepper

Plumbago zeylanica

Strengthening of Immunity (Vyadhi Kshamatva)

The capacity to resist disease depends prominently on a substance known as ojas. Ojas is formed from the best and purest parts of each of the seven bodily dhatus; it is said to be the quintessence of human tissue metabolism. Like bees make honey by gathering the essence of several species of flowers, ojas is formed from the saptadhatus. There are certain plant-medicines which increase ojas and are therefore called jīvanīya gana aushadhi, medicines which sustain Life. Some of these include:

Withania somnifera, Curculigo orchiodes, Asparagus racemosus Phaseolus trilobus Hemidesmus indicus Ocimum sanctum Tinospora cordifolia Eclipta alba Emblica officinalis Shilajitu

Glycerrhiza glabra Terminalia chebula

In addition, medicines like Triphala Guggulu, Kanchnaar Guggulu, Arogyavardhini, Maha-manjishthadi kwath, Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia), Gokshur (Tribulus terrestris) as well as the two most renowned Ayurvedic compound preparations Triphala and Chywanprash are used on a long term basis to prevent recurrence.

Medicines like Medhohar-Guggulu, Chandraprabha-Vati, and Trivang-Bhasma are also used according to the presentation of symptoms.

To prevent or reduce side effects from chemotherapy and radiation therapy, Ashwagandha, Shatavari, Kamadudha, Shankhbhasma vati, Laghu sutshekhar vati and Shunthi (Zinziber officinale) can be used.

Patwardhan and Gautum5 summarize the results of preclinical studies on the cytoprotective potential of W. somnifera and its constituents. They include reports on the inhibition of breast and colon cancer cell lines compared to doxorubicin after the administration of withaferin A and an increase in the response to radio-resistant tumors when radiotherapy is combined with withaferin A treatment, among others studies.

Triphala is an Ayurvedic herbal rasayana formula consisting of equal parts of three myrobalan fruits: Amalaki (Emblica officinalis), Bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica), and Haritaki (Terminalia chebula). Rasayana preparations are adaptogens and can be taken for life without fear of side effects. Triphala was recently found to dose-dependently induce apoptosis in human breast cell cancer lines (MCF-7) and mouse thymic lymphoma (barcl-95). Treatment did not affect neither normal human breast epithelial and peripheral blood mononuclear cells nor mouse liver and spleen cells. Direct oral feeding of triphala to mice (40 mg/kg for 13 days) resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) reduced tumor growth and more than three times higher levels of apoptosis in excised tumor tissue. According to the researchers, increases in intracellular reactive oxygen species appeared to be involved with induced cytotoxicity, supporting the hypothesis that the antioxidant effect of triphala fruits is at least partly responsible for this anticancer activity (Sandhya et al.)6.

Chywanprash

Oxygen radicals are continuously generated within our cells. This is a result of normal breathing which creates something called hydroxyl radicals. These molecules damage your DNA, producing the mutations that initiate and sustain health issues later on. Studies suggest that a diet that is rich in antioxidants may help to support breast health. This has led to the current nutritional recommendation that we all should consume at least five portions of fruits or vegetables each day.

Chyawanprash is significantly more powerful than other single antioxidant; it is up to 1,000 times more effective per dose than comparable amounts of Vitamin C and Vitamin E in scavenging free radicals and preventing damage to the body. It provides full-spectrum, super-antioxidant power. Traditional literature states that Chywanprash improves cardiovascular and neurological functioning, reduces toxicity of the dhatus, improves immunity, balances emotions, and improves mental clarity.

Conclusion

All matter is energy vibrating at different rates. The fundamental state of the universe contains all possible forms of undifferentiated matter (i.e. energy) vibrating in coherent harmony. Human beings, because we are a part of the natural universe, also have a fundamental vibration that harmonizes with the rest of the creation. Illness, including cancer, is a manifestation of disharmony which arises in the individual's core vibration due to stress, environmental changes, emotional distress, physical injury, dietary indiscretion, or an infinite number of physical, mental, or spiritual factors. Healing is therefore initiated by restoring the normal vibratory state to the individual as a whole and to the vulnerable or diseased body part. The Ayurvedic therapies mentioned in this paper are not the only methods available from this comprehensive science, but will help us begin to understand how our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters can keep their bodies free from toxins and impurities and their immunity high even in modern times and thus avert the scourge of breast cancer.

Herbal medicine is the oldest form of health care known to mankind, and is also called botanical medicine or herbalism. Herbal medicine began with primitive cultures using different plants for shelter, clothing, and medicine. Herbal medicine is a complementary therapy that uses plants or plant extracts to treat illness, and is an important part of keeping healthy holistically and naturally. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that as many as 4 billion people, or 80 percent of the world's population presently use herbal medicine for some aspects of primary health care.

History of Herbals

Nearly every people, including ancient cultures dating back thousands of years, has used herbs. Medicinal herbs were found in the personal effects of an "Ice man" whose body was frozen in the Swiss Alps for more than 5,300 years. They appear to have been used to treat the parasites found in his intestines. In the written record, the study of herbs dates back over 5,000 years to the Sumerians, who described well-established medicinal uses for such plants as laurel, caraway, and thyme. The continuing importance of herbs for the centuries following the Middle Ages is indicated by the hundreds of pages of information on herbs published after the invention of printing in the fifteenth century.

How To Use Herbs

Herbs can be prepared in a variety of forms depending on their purpose. They have been used in all cultures throughout history to restore balance by nourishing the body and have provided humankind with medicine from the earliest beginnings of civilization. Herbs contain a large number of naturally occurring chemicals that have biological activity. They help the body strengthen its own resistance to infective organisms and throw off illness. Herbs can act on the body as powerfully as pharmaceutical drugs and should be treated with the same caution and respect.

Herbs can also have undesirable side effects just as pharmaceutical products can. Herbs may be harmful if taken for the wrong conditions, used in excessive amounts, combined with prescription drugs or alcohol, or used by persons who don't know what they are doing. Most herbal traditions have accumulated knowledge without modern scientific controls to distinguish between the placebo effect, the body's natural ability to heal itself, and the actual benefits of the herbs themselves.

Who Can Use Herbs

Medicinal plants can be used by anyone, for example as part of a salad, an herbal tea or supplement. Many of the herbs and spices used by humans to season food yield useful medicinal compounds. To use an herbal product as safely as possible consult your doctor or a trained herbalist before you begin. Do not take a bigger dose than the label recommends. Take it under the guidance of someone trained in and experienced with herbal use. Be especially cautious if you are pregnant or nursing.

While herbal medicine is older than any other type of health care, it continues to influence the medicines of today. Herbal medicine has proven to be a huge benefit to mankind and has never been more popular than it is today.

You can improve your health and personal well being as you begin to use complementary herbal medicines confidently and effectively.

We've all heard of people who have "a gift". That "gift" is the unique ability to tune in to one's intuition at a higher frequency than the general population. Often these individuals call themselves psychics, intuitive readers, and metaphysical channelers, just to name a few. The amazing thing is that they aren't unique or special in any other way than they cultivated their gifts. They tuned in to their inner life and discovered that by acknowledging the gift and working to make the messages, the frequencies, and the volume louder they could have deeper understandings and insights into life's mysteries.

Is it possible for you to become psychic? Well what if you weren't psychic but you simply paid more attention to your life? I'm not talking about the typical things like are you hot or cold, but more important things like when your body or your emotions try and give you guidance... would that be important to you?

When facing a chronic or life-threatening illness every opportunity that leads to personal understanding becomes another foot soldier in your battle for health and healing. It's your secret weapon in wrestling your illness to the ground; kind of take no prisoners approach to wellness. Your ability to pay attention will catch the attention of others because they will assume you're psychic when actually you're a finely tuned instrument that accepts, acknowledges and makes decisions based on your deepest intuitions. It's a gift that can't be denied so don't deny it...cultivate it!

Developing your "psychic" abilities or your highly sophisticated inner radar system, you engage in a dialogue between mind, body, and spirit. You provide your cells with the spiritual energy to fortify itself while focusing on your healing process. This practice gives you the knowledge that so many are looking for, that "secret" to health and healing that many believe to be out of arms length but sits nestled in your heart and soul.

This is one more arena where a bit of spiritual elbow grease is required. Paying attention takes work because we're a culture that lives on perfecting distraction. Developing the capacity to sit with uncertainty, emotional pain, and maybe even a bit of discomfort is at the forefront of your "psychic" adventure. Allow yourself to grow into your spiritual paws and allow the healing to begin!

Nuclear Medicine Technologists handle medical equipment, administer radiopharmaceuticals to patients, and observe the characteristics and functions of the relevant tissues or organs.

They create diagnostic images using cameras that detect and map the radioactive drug in a patient's body, and they explain test procedures to patients. The images are interpreted by a physician.

Technologists keep patient records and operate diagnostic imaging equipment. They also assess the behavior of the radioactive substance inside the body.

In the U.S. there are about 20,000 people working as nuclear medicine technologists. Some 70% of the jobs are in hospitals. Other technologists work in offices of physicians or in medical and diagnostic laboratories, including diagnostic imaging centers.
Nuclear medicine technology programs are from 1 to 4 years, leading to a certificate, an associate degree, or a bachelor's degree. Certificate programs are offered in hospitals, associate degree programs in community colleges, and bachelor's degree programs in 4-year colleges and universities. Courses include physical sciences, biological effects of radiation exposure, radiation protection and procedures, the use of radiopharmaceuticals, imaging techniques and computer applications.

One-year certificate programs are for health professionals who already have an associate degree and wish to specialize in nuclear medicine.

Certification or licensure is required by many employers and an increasing number of states. Certification comes from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists and the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board. Nuclear medicine technologists are required to meet the minimum Federal standards on the administration of radioactive drugs and the operation of radiation detection equipment.

The Joint Review Committee on Education Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology accredits most formal training programs in nuclear medicine technology.

Nuclear Medicine Technologists must be able to:

I hope this article gives you a good idea of what is involved in the career of a Nuclear Medicine Technologist. Health care is the largest industry in the world. In the U.S. about 14 million people work in the health care field. More new wage and salary jobs are in health care than in any other industry. (Some figures from Bureau of Labor Statistics.)

Last week, we discussed energy sources in general terms, describing vibrational frequencies and the interactions between the currents of all kinds that flow around and through us. Today I want to propose some thoughts that may seem outlandish, but I'm going to try to explain in terms that will make the concepts more clear. Here's a revolutionary thought:

All healing takes place at the energy level.

Let's look at some commonly accepted energy tools that are in use today in the practice of medicine. Interestingly, a number of these have been in use for decades, and their reliability is unquestioned for diagnostic and healing purposes. But putting two and two together, we'll move on...

Years ago, a researcher discovered that the heart gives off electrical waves that can be measured. The healthy tissue in a patient gives off a very specific pattern. Stressed or dead tissue gives off a distinctly different pattern from the healthy tissue. The resultant recordings of those waves we know today as an electrocardiogram, or EKG. An EKC is a powerful diagnostic tool; it picks up the specific electrical changes in the heart's waves when anyone being tested is having a myocardial infarction (heart attack), or has had one in the past. 

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is capable of determining normal and abnormal brain waves, to the point that probable sources of seizures can be diagnosed because of abnormal electrical signals given off in the brain. We have also discovered and labeled different waves per second (delta waves) have a frequency of 1-3 waves per second, called Hertz or Hz, which is seen in people in deep sleep. Theta waves have a frequency of 4-7 Hz, which is seen in different stages of sleep, and with emotional stress. Alpha waves, at 8-14 Hz, are seen in the alert state. Finally, beta waves, 14-50 Hz, are present when there is intense mental activity. 

A magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is a machine capable of interpreting normal and abnormal responses of tissue to magnetic energy, from which an image can be extracted. Spectroscopy is a laboratory diagnostic tool which can identify a specific substance based on the frequency that it gives off. This frequency is measured and placed on a graph. Every substance gives off a different frequency, which can be used to identify the substance.

Ultrasound is basically a tool where sound waves are released, and as they bounce off tissue and return, this feedback can be interpreted by a machine and create an image. There are PET scans, and SPECT scans, which can differentiate healthy tissue from diseased tissue by the energy characteristics that are given off. We have many other tools in medicine, including auditory-evoked response, visual-evoked response, myograms and oculograms, all of which tell us whether that particular tissue is normal or abnormal, based on its measurable electrical output. 

There are also many therapeutic tools or modalities in medicine. One of the first was pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy, which releases specific low frequency, electromagnetic pulses to stimulate bone healing in non-healing bone fractures. Lithotrypsy has laser focused frequencies that are capable of breaking down kidney stones. Many of us have heard of or used light therapy for depression, called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Acupuncture is recognized within the medical field for its effectiveness in pain relief, which is based on centuries' old energy flow lines called meridians that flow throughout the body. There are also cold and hot laser therapy, which have been used in the healing of wounds and skin disorders. 

Outside of the medical field are many energy and electrical devices that are in common use. For instance, the computer chip in your computers, or the remote controls that send frequencies to television sets, radios, light switches. Even though we don't understand electricity, we have become accustomed to using lights and other things that need electricity to function. We even accept energy emissions from billions of light years away that are obtained through our telescopes. Gravity, much misunderstood, is a force that attracts objects from a distance to the center. A polygraph machine is capable of sensing electrical changes at the skin level, which differentiate a relaxed state of the parasympathetic nervous system and the anxious state of the sympathetic nervous system to determine the stress in peoples' bodies in answer to specific questions.

This background is merely useful for opening up our minds to the concept of how much energy and frequencies and magnetics and electrical devices are influencing our lives today, that we take for granted, whether we understand them or not. In order for us to recognize the potential impact of energy and frequencies on the body, we'll start by understanding how individual cells function in our bodies. That will be in our next article. For now, let's recap the different energy tools and sources we've reviewed today:

In the medical field:

Electrocardiogram (EKG)

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

1.      Theta waves
2.      Alpha waves
3.      Beta waves

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Ultrasound

1.      PET scans
2.      SPECT scans

Auditory-evoked Response

Visual-evoked Response

Myogram
Oculogram

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF)

Lithotrypsy
Light Therapy
Acupuncture
Cold Laser Therapy
Hot Laser Therapy

Outside of the medical field:

Computer chips
Remote controls
Light travel visible through telescopes
Gravity
Polygraph machines
Cell phones
iPods
Internet
Telephone wires

Did you know that there are almost one billion people who are overweight and three hundred million people who are obese on planet earth?

Being overweight or obese can prove fatal to your body system. It increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and cancer significantly. The list of diseases that can be triggered by being overweight seems almost endless. And don't you forget if you do get sick or if there is a need for surgery, being overweight can make treatments more complicated and dangerous.

So what are some weight loss alternative medicine health diets? Medicine can be defined as a substance that is able to cure a specific problem. A good herbal cure for people who are overweight is by drinking tea. Not just any kind of tea, Green tea!

Ancient Chinese people knew the benefits of green tea. They have always used it for medical purposes. Green Tea which is produced from leaves of Camellia Sinensis contains a variety of important vitamins and minerals. It is a good weight loss alternative medicine and health diet because it does not bring about any side effects unlike chemically produce medicines. Chemical based medicines are sometimes dangerous because some of them are detrimental to the human body. The side effects can lead to liver damage. What is the main benefit of this weight loss alternative medicine health diet? This weight loss alternative medicine health diet actually raises the metabolism and increase fat oxidation thus causing the fats in our body to be digested at a more efficient rate.

Next, chilli sauce and mustard can also be considered a "weight loss alternative medicine health diet". I know this is weird but factually, chilli sauce and mustard increases your body's calorie burning capacity by about five to ten percent which means weight loss can be achieved without the intake of slimming pills. The reason chilli sauce and mustard help increase the burning of calories is because they contain capsaicin which speeds up the body's metabolism.

So what are you waiting for? Try these weight loss alternative medicine health diets today and be impressed. Decrease your risks of fatal diseases. Prevention is better than cure!

Many people suffering from an illness or injury may be reluctant to try alternative medicine over conventional forms of treatment because of the cost. Many health insurance companies do not cover numerous necessary modern medical treatments, let alone alternative therapies. In the long run, however, alternative medicine treatments are cheaper to fund than those used in conventional medicine.

In The Beginning

Providing any type of insurance is big business these days, and that includes group health insurance for alternative treatments. The insurance company is selling you a service only because they want the profit that goes along with it. Many insurance companies feel intimidating, but remember that they need your business. While it may not appear so, most insurance policies are not carved in stone, so don't be afraid to try to personalize it a little.

Group health insurance for alternative medicine means that a group of people would buy into the same plan. This is the usual plan that you would receive from your employer. As of now, you cannot get health insurance that covers alternative medicine just for yourself. There are group health insurance for alternative medicine plans that can be obtained through a social service agency or through other organizations. You should check the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for help finding these plans.

Times are changing, and more and more people are realizing the benefits of alternative medicine and demanding access to these services. Now, some health insurance policies will cover alternative treatments like chiropractic care, acupuncture, and even hypnotherapy. Check with your insurance company and start requesting the addition of alternative treatments to your plan. Organizing group health insurance (alternative or conventional medicine insurance) takes time and patience. However, there are a few things you can do to move towards being able to get some sort of compensation for your alternative medical treatment costs:

* Ask your provider if they will accept installment payments, instead of paying for services all at once.

* Have your primary care physician explain in writing why this treatment is necessary for your health and well being.

* Get in touch with the Alternative Medicine Foundation or the National Centre for Complimentary and Alternative medicines for research papers and other information your insurance company may need to convince them that the treatment you received was absolutely necessary to help your specific symptoms and ailment.

* Know and don't be afraid to use your insurance company's appeal process. If your claim is denied and you think it has been denied unfairly, then follow the steps outlined in the appeal process.

When we think of health insurance and the kind of coverage it provides, we tend to think of emergency room visits, doctor visits, hospital stays, and standard medication such as pills, liquids, and injections, i.e., drugs. However, there is enough of an increase in interest in alternative medicines and remedies that is causing a few health insurance companies to include them, to a degree, in their health insurance policies.

Alternative medicines and remedies tend to be more cost effective than standard medicines and remedies, and scientific evidence shows that alternative medicines and remedies are more than just beneficial to our wallets - they are also beneficial to our health. A few examples of alternative medicines and remedies include: acupuncture, massage therapy, meditation, mind and body stress management, chiropractic services, and herbal remedies.

People who choose to use alternative medicines and remedies currently pay for most of the cost, if not all of the cost, themselves. Even though the consumer demand for alternative medicines and remedies continues to grow, most health insurance companies don't offer coverage for these types of health services, and those that do might offer very limited coverage.

One of the main reasons health insurance companies are skeptical about including alternative medicines and remedies in their health insurance policies is the fact that many of the alternative medicines and remedies don't seem to work; however, the reason many of them fail to work is because the health insurance companies that do provide coverage for alternative medicines and remedies do so only to a limited degree. In other words, due to the limited coverage health insurance companies provide for alternative medicines and remedies, many of the practices aren't given enough time to be effective.

If you're interested in purchasing health insurance that covers alternative medicines and remedies, give your state insurance agency a call. Find out what health insurance companies in your state offer coverage of alternative medicines and remedies.

Although, the allopathic medicines have saved a billion lives but they are unable to do it in a healthy way, whereas, the natural practitioners use natural therapy to maintain and restore your health. Various alternative techniques such as chiropractic, homeopathy, Ayurvedic, naturopathy, acupuncture and many more are in constant demand and rise because people have started taking interest in the benefits of holistic medicines.

Interested students that are looking for the natural medicine courses such as holistic health care or naturopathic medicine can apply to the reputed natural health schools that are offering professional alternative health course in this particular field of study to get a bright career in holistic health care. A natural education provides the required training that a student needs to be able to provide proper treatment to the patients through harmonizing modalities of complementary medicine.

Holistic medicine schools instruct the students in diverse natural tricks to encourage the natural techniques and spiritual health. They practice assorted holistic healing methods to carry forward the insight of the speckled culture and modalities of health care.

Natural medicine improves physical, emotional and mental health and also supports spiritual and psychic growth and offers complete sense of wellness. With the growing demand of natural health care practitioners, taking holistic medicine as a career option can be the most beneficial step for any student. The work of a natural health care doctor has the combination of natural medicine along with the conventional western curative practice.

In order to spread this fine technique among today's generation globally, a lot of natural health care schools are conducting various holistic programs. These courses give complete understanding on different fields of holistic medicine by covering diverse disciplines of this technique. During these holistic medicine courses, students practice a large variety of proportions of the natural medicine that help a person suffering from bad health and offer absolute physical and mental wealth

Various natural medicine schools offer a bright career in holistic medicine today. Choose a well known alternative medicine university if you want to build a career as holistic health care specialist and help the needy!

Find Alternative Medicine Courses in the United States and Canada. Students searching for unique training programs may be intrigued by one or several alternative medicine courses offered through a number of healing arts and holistic schools.

Depending on your career interest, successful completion of one or more alternative medicine courses can lead to professions in naturopathy, natural health, homeopathy, massage therapy and Oriental medicine – to list just a few. Alternative medicine courses in natural health, for example, can help students achieve required education to become natural health consultants, educators or natural health technicians. Naturopathy schools that provide alternative medicine courses are commonly comprised of comprehensive studies in naturopathy, phytotherapy, botanical and herbal medicine, aromatherapy, and other Chinese medicine subjects. In many cases, alternative medicine courses in this line of work can lead to careers as Doctors of Naturopathy, Naturopathic Health Practitioners and/or Natural health advisors.

Some alternative medicine courses, such as the ones offered through homeopathy schools can teach students necessary skills to become homeopathic practitioners and herbal medicine practitioners. Alternative medicine courses that are extended through a variety of Oriental medicine schools may include training in Tuina (Chinese Medical Massage), Oriental medicine, herbology and even acupuncture. While some alternative medicine courses result in certification or diplomas, some require licensure; as in the case of medical acupuncture.

The vast majority of healing arts schools frequently afford students with a wide assortment of alternative medicine courses in acupressure, Chinese medicine, energy healing therapies, iridology, life coaching, massage therapy, Neuro linguistic programming, osteopathy, reflexology, reiki, sports medicine, yoga and many others.

Good examples of the more comprehensive, but longer alternative medicine courses can be found in chiropractic, naturopathy or acupuncture schools. Whether you decide to enroll in one or more alternative medicine courses, it is always wise to carefully review course prerequisites, tuition and length of program. In some instances, alternative medicine courses may be as brief as a weekend seminar, but as long as 4 years.

If you (or someone you know) are interested in enrolling in one of several alternative medicine courses to help find your dream job, let education within fast-growing industries like massage therapy, cosmetology, acupuncture, oriental medicine, Reiki, and others get you started! Explore career school programs [http://school.holisticjunction.com/clickcount.php?id=6634739&goto=http://www.holisticjunction.com/search.cfm] near you.

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The origin of healing systems

The division of medicine into traditional/conventional and alternative/complementary did not occur by accident. Mankind as a whole needed to experience both of them before it was ready for a system of medicine whose purpose would be of a higher nature than is currently available. The new medicine, although it is so unlike the conventional and alternative models, is being birthed by both of them

Other than the Lemurian and Atlantean approaches to healing, it is clear that the 'medicine of nature' has been the most influential in recorded history. Nobody created this form of medicine; it was simply there to be re-cognized or discovered by those who had direct access to the language of nature called Veda, which means knowledge or science. The first written records of nature's medicine appeared about 6,000 years ago. They were channeled messages written down by Vedic sages in direct response to the first occurrences of illness on the planet. This system, which kept illness and suffering at bay for hundreds of years, became known as Ayurveda, or the 'Science of Life'.

Although Ayurveda only survived the passage of time in India and some in areas of Brazil and China, it remains a universal form of medicine. Today it stands revived to some of its original form. It greatly contrasts with the western approach to modern medicine in that it seeks to address the underlying imbalance responsible for the symptoms of illness rather than trying to alleviate or remove the effects of the imbalance.

Outsmarting the violation of the laws of nature

Before Ayurveda became a textbook science of healing, people knew how to live in harmony with the laws of nature. As a result, sickness, pain and poverty weren't part of life. But as time progressed, we began to replace some of the laws of nature with our own laws; in other words, we violated natural law. To try to address the consequences of this transgression from natural living, a system of healing (Ayurveda) was developed to treat the physical and mental effects resulting from the deviations from natural law. A new set of natural laws needed to be employed to undo the damage that was caused by the violation of the original laws of nature. When you dam a stream of water and it flows over its banks, the flooding caused by this action requires a different approach than just letting the stream flow in its own course. We needed to employ new laws and insights to help us deal with the damage once done. The first violations of the laws of nature on Earth created the need for a natural system of healing, one that would give us access to those secondary laws that would reduce the damage caused by violation of the primary laws. This system would show us how to release the obstruction that hinders the flow of the stream in its natural direction. Without anyone violating the primary laws of nature, such healing systems would otherwise be unnecessary.

Hippocrates was perhaps the most enlightened father of nature's medicine in the more recent history of our species. He understood that the need for healing (applying secondary laws) resulted from the loss of alignment with one's inner wisdom and intuition. The more humans distanced themselves from their own inner wisdom and the rules of the natural world, the harsher were the corrective measures needed to be taken by the force of nature. So, killer diseases such as the plague began to decimate the population, which then generated the urge for a new kind of medicine, which would combat disease-causing germs and stop each new one dead before it became an epidemic. This approach is what has become known as the conventional system of modern medicine. Of course, all of this was part of the master plan - to throw much of humanity into the other end of the spectrum of duality for the purposes of greater learning and growth in consciousness.

Breeding illness

Just like Ayurvedic medicine, modern medicine, too, was unable to prevent the escalation of disease on the planet. Modern medicine was so concerned with the effects or symptoms of disease that it lost sight of the reasons why people fell sick, most of which weren't even physical causes. The discovery of the first antibiotic medicine (penicillin) caused euphoria among the medical circles and general population. Years later, the enthusiasm of developing an effective drug for almost every infectious disease became dampened by the fact that the side effects generated by the poisons contained in the drugs were so severe that they often outweighed their benefits. In fact, they actually contributed to the emergence of an entirely new class of diseases now known as chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, only 10 percent of all diseases fell into this category. The rest were acute problems, including fractures, infections, burns, etc. By around 1980, over 90 percent of all diseases had reached a chronic stage, meaning they couldn't be cured by modern medicine. They also became known as the killer diseases of the modern era. Since our genes haven't changed a bit over the past hundreds or thousands of years, genetic errors cannot be held responsible for such a sudden and dramatic escalation of diseases, especially when most of them occur only in the modernized world. What's more, having defective genes doesn't mean an affected person is going to get ill. Research on the blood disease thalassaemia, for example, has shown that patients who have exactly the same defect in the gene may be extremely sick, mildly ill, or completely healthy. This applies to most other 'genetic' illnesses, too. There may be just as many people with healthy genes who suffer from diabetes or asthma as there are those who have defective genes.

The symptom-oriented approach of modern medicine became synonymous with the revival of the old epidemics that so scared and scarred humanity less than a hundred years ago. The wide use of antibiotics and steroids have forced the targeted microbes, blamed for causing infectious disease, to resist the drugs' action and mutate into what is termed 'antibiotic resistant organisms'. The germs, following their natural survival instincts, are now outsmarting one drug after another, which means that there are now very few effective 'treatments' left for diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria. Millions more people each year are dying from these 'new' infectious diseases than ever before and the current trends suggest it will get worse. Unless medicine takes a complete u-turn in its approach, or healing is practiced in a different fashion, mankind will be greatly decimated once again.

It is highly unlikely, though, that modern medicine is going to save humanity from self-destruction. The side-effects of drugs and treatments are breeding so many different diseases and causing so many deaths every minute of the day that it is virtually impossible to even remotely win the battle against disease as long as people believe they depend on any form of medicine, even an alternative one. Since the current medical system is primarily controlled by financiers who have a vested interest in keeping it going and even expanding it further, it is not in the investors' interest to find a real cure for the most common illnesses, for this would mean the end of medicine. Modern medicine is not designed to make people healthy; it is designed to make and keep people sick.

Many voices among doctors, patients and alternative practitioners denounce the exploitation of 'innocent' people. However, they have not yet realized that the same medical system that is misleading and enslaving mankind and robbing millions of people of their sense of sovereignty and self-empowerment is also instrumental in birthing a new medicine, one that will make everyone their own best healer. The government, health care agencies, medical associations, insurance carriers, and drug companies are unaware that they are key players in the cosmic game of transformation. They have helped a major portion of mankind to feel helpless and powerless against microbes and other disease-causing factors. The extreme denial of the infinite power of healing and rejuvenation that lies inherent in everyone is forcing the pendulum of time to swing back and allow the masses to gain complete and unrestricted access to this power within. Without the hazards of the old medicine, the new medicine could not come about.

The perfection of all this lies in the fact that no person can fall ill, regardless of whether it is through a microbe or a medical drug or treatment, without having (unconsciously) agreed to this. The Universal Law of Non-interference makes certain there are no victims and no victimizers. Each person's Higher Self knows exactly what lessons are needed to move on and evolve toward greater wisdom, love, compassion and self-empowerment, however hard and painful the learning process may appear to be. The final lesson of each individual is to discover and produce the New Medicine, the medicine of one's Higher Self.

The New Medicine

The return of old diseases and the emergence of chronic illness divided mankind into two camps: One that continues to uphold the trust and confidence in modern medicine, and one that takes recourse to natural methods of healing. Although alternative (complementary) medicine is still battling to make its approaches available to the masses, in some countries of the world such as Australia, Germany, England, New Zealand and now also in the United States, it is becoming more and more common sense to try the natural route, either along with or without conventional medicine. Now both approaches are well represented in the overall scheme of things and can be accessed by almost anyone. Medical doctors still risk prosecution and loss of their license to practice medicine if they dare speak out in favor of alternative health modalities or even apply these in their practice. But before long we will find that both approaches of medicine will intermix or merge together. Indications for merger are already subtly there; when it happens in a more obvious way, a New Medicine will be born, one that will be entirely different from that which existed before. It will work according to the principle, "The whole is more than the sum of its parts."

The New Medicine will be less concerned about what is wrong with the body or mind; it won't need to be. Instead, it will focus on unleashing the creative power of the individual as the principle source of health and youthfulness. The New Medicine will recognize that disease is ultimately the result of disconnection from our Source intelligence and Source energy. It will give health care back to the people. Miracles will take place as frequently as operations take place today. Reconnecting with our spirit Source will be the most important thing that can be done to improve one's health. It's like switching on the light that dispels darkness. Mankind as a whole will realize that trying to find out everything about the symptoms of disease is like trying to investigate all the possible problems that darkness could cause to a person who has no light to see the path along which he is walking. Although switching on the light is a very simple act, it can solve some of the most complex problems arising from being in the dark. Imagine if there was no light. What could you possibly do in your life except sit, think and worry? Fixing diseases is similar to fixing darkness; there is no end to the fixing.

Both the alternative/complementary and conventional systems of medicine are incapable of eliminating disease on this planet. Both of these systems are expressions of duality; therefore, their scope of influence remains very limited and incomplete. They each have their value in upholding their particular expression of duality; some of it is effective, and some of it is not. To find the eternal fountain of youth and healing, however, we must return to the origin of both these streams, that is, human consciousness. Now is the time to move collectively into the Divine moment where the consciousness of spirit and the physical matter of the body meet, and are recognized as one. It is in the gap of the moment where the two spirals of duality find their common origin. Of the two approaches neither is better or more important than the other. Both are capable of taking us to the desired place of wholeness. Here in this gap of simple existence we activate our creative intelligence, the intention of desire that becomes instant manifestation. The power surge emanating from the Divine moment of being within our own awareness creates the instant and automatic healing of that which is without.

In the gap of Non-Judgment

Healing does not need to take long. In fact, if it does it is likely to be incomplete. According to Japanese research studies, spontaneous remission and complete cure of cancer occurs when those afflicted with the disease move into the gap of non-judgment or non-duality, i.e., when they relinquish all needs or desires to have it one way or the other. This cannot be accomplished by will or by use of the rational mind. It may occur when someone faces death and, oddly, loses all hope for survival. Giving into death may take someone into the gap of their eternal spirit self, provided this is in the person's highest interest. Thus, consciously losing the fear of dying and stepping into one's essence may instantly stimulate the body's immune system into a powerful response that can dismantle egg-sized malignant tumors in the brain, bladder, intestines, etc., within less than 24 hours, in some instances within as little as 15 seconds. There are thousands of documented cases like these.

What is most interesting in these cases of spontaneous remission is that the healing merely (if that is not enough) consisted of gaining freedom from judgment, of accepting one's situation at that moment. Fighting for life doesn't get you to this magical place of the Divine moment, for effort and struggle are born out of fear. Giving up one's desire to live, on the other hand, is born out of resignation, frustration and merely represents the other end of duality awareness. However, accepting death without trying to avoid or enforce it moves you into the Divine moment where miracles take place.

Of course, we don't all have to face death, either our own or someone else's, in order to find the opening to slip into the Divine moment. Life provides us with plenty of other opportunities that can serve in the same way. All we need to do is to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to receive and accept these opportunities, many of which may show up in the disguise of problems and misfortunes. In due time, our polarized duality consciousness becomes anchored in the singularity of Self. The body simply follows suit. Once we lose our polarity thinking, that is, our mode of reference to what we believe is right and wrong or good and bad, the DNA of our body begins to lose its polarity mode as well. As soon as we are able to accept whatever is, which means all our strong and weak sides, our successes and failures, fears, anger, and guilt, etc., our body will move, automatically and spontaneously, out of its polarity mode.

You can make your body do anything

When you are under the strong emotional influences of fear, anger, or even excessive joy, your body is out of balance, too. The stress of sudden joy can cause a heart attack just as easily as the stress of sudden rage. Being 'good' is no antidote to disease. We need to remember here that being or expressing one quality also means that its opposite is not far away; in fact, it lurks in the invisible shadow part of our consciousness known as the subconscious mind. True healing begins when we can be both qualities and have no judgment about which one is better or worse. Shadow and light serve each other well and co-exist all the time. The reason we have 'weak' spots in our attitudes and behavior is to bring out and develop their opposite, 'strong' counterparts. Accepting both creates oneness or balance, and balance is the key to healing. Preferring one quality to another generates discord in the body and mind. For example, even if we choose happiness over sadness, it counts as an imbalance. Consequently, the body has no other choice but to develop a physical imbalance, too.

Everything in life is valuable, and once we see that we then become graced with the perception of oneness. Since the body does nothing of its own accord but simply follows instructions, the new perception of oneness and acceptance of whatever is becomes the new blueprint reference for DNA. The genetic codes in your body's DNA adjust to the 'new you' and copy that information into a new RNA which subsequently alters the functioning of your body, making complete rejuvenation not just possible but unavoidable. When the adjustment is complete, the DNA structure will go off like a time bomb in order to accommodate the light of oneness. The time for genetic detonation is now.

Our body is nothing but soft clay, shaped and molded on a minute-by-minute and day-by-day basis. If you tell your body that something is good for you, it believes you. It has no other choice but to serve one master, you. If you tell your body it cannot heal itself and requires help from outside it will believe this too and you will find yourself in need of a doctor, a drug or surgery.

On the other hand, your body can walk on fire if you can convince it that it can. You can even pierce your body with knives and needles and suffer no injuries if you can make it believe that this won't hurt it. If you persuade your body that it can live without air for several days while being buried under the earth, then it can even do that for you. Levitating in mid air or walking on water are other so called 'impossible feats' the body can accomplish if it trusts its instructor enough. Sri Chin Moi, the well-known peacemaker and musician from India living in the United States, repeatedly lifts 1,000 pounds of weights in front of camera crews. He claims that the power is coming from his mind. Numerous 'miracle performers' have been scientifically studied and show that the above abilities have actually nothing to do with the body but come from the power of the mind. Likewise, your body can remove a tumor that has metastasized (spread) everywhere.

But for this to happen, you need to step outside the awareness of the body (duality) and move into the awareness of the spirit (oneness).