Many people are looking for a more holistic health approach to meet their health care needs these days, but don’t quite understand what it means or how it will benefit them. More and more consumers are becoming aware that our current health care system is failing us in more ways than one and some kind of action is required, but get frightened or diverted by other’s negative perceptions and skepticism of natural health which is really based on misinformation and lack of understanding.

Most skepticism of alternative health modalities is fueled by the unfortunate fact that modern medicine tries to discredit alternative means of healing because it is much more profitable for them to use surgery and pharmaceuticals, not on any real grounds for concern. The topic of alternative health always brings out the doubting Thomas’s who scream quackery and voodoo. You may hear that they tried a holistic method without any success or that they had some weird side effect or even felt worse.

Here’s a couple important points to keep in mind. Their experience may be true but that does not mean it is true for everyone and there could be other reasons that contributed to their experience. We can very easily find another group of people who had great success and no side effects with the exact same treatment method they used.

This is because not everyone’s body responds to a particular treatment or healing approach in the exact same way. Even though you may share the same health condition with someone else, each of you has a unique body chemistry and genetics and the same disease can have a different process or impact from person to person. Each of these factors influences the results that will be achieved. In addition to that, someone with a liver, lymph system, endocrine system or other organ or system that doesn’t function optimally may have a very different response than someone who has healthier organs and systems.

Just because one treatment approach is ineffective for one person, does not meant it will be ineffective for you or others and that doesn’t mean that “all” holistic health care is ineffective. Results can be completely different from individual to individual. A lot of times it requires some trial and error to find what works best with your biochemistry and specific circumstances.

Additionally, this is true whether we are talking about a holistic health method or traditional pharmaceuticals. Regardless of whether we’re talking about natural remedies or prescription drugs, what is effective for one may not work at all for another, but overall holistic health is much more effective and a lot safer. We can find hundreds of thousands of people who have severe side effects, get worse, develop more serious health conditions or even die from prescription drugs. On the other hand, these events are rare within the field of natural health.

Holistic health or alternative health has actually been around longer than prescription medication or so called “modern” medicine. Plants and herbs have been used successfully to heal by many civilizations for centuries and most pharmaceutical drugs have their roots in herbal medicine. For example, the common and popular aspirin originated from an herb called white willow bark.

However, a crucial fact that many are not aware of is that just because something is natural does not mean it will automatically be free of side effects, complications or risks. Many people doctor themselves before first doing their homework and having a thorough understanding of the method they are using.

Herbs, plants, vitamins, minerals, or any alternative treatment method can be just as potent as a prescription and requires a great deal of education and research to be sure you achieve the desired results. They should be taken or performed as prescribed by a knowledgeable health care provider. For example: some holistic remedies that are effective for depression can have a negative effect on someone with Parkinson’s.

Too much or too little of a particular herb can be ineffective, while too much of a vitamin or mineral can be just as bad as not enough. There can be complications or interactions even within natural substances, as one herb or even treatment modality such as massage or acupuncture may counteract or rev up another treatment approach and vitamins and minerals work in conjunction with one another

Additionally, herbs and other natural substances can interact with prescription medication and reduce it’s effectiveness and vice versa. Its extremely important that you consult with a holistic health care provider and disclose all medications and conditions prior to medicating yourself.

Another important issue that may impact results of a holistic health remedy is the quality of the product or service you use. It’s vital to do your Homework in this area as well and only use products and services from reputable companies. The natural health field is not immune to sales hype and scamming. You must be a diligent and informed consumer regardless of what path you follow.

Breaking free from the old way of thinking that conditions us to believe that drugs and surgery are the superior method of treatment can be frightening and difficult. It may seem foreign, threatening or strange at first, but when you get the facts about holistic health, you realize that it makes a lot of sense.

Holistic health offers us an abundance of wholesome, non-toxic, affordable approaches from herbal remedies and nutritional supplements to massage, acupuncture, yoga, detoxification, changes in lifestyle, environment and diet or colon cleaning, chiropractic manipulations, meditation and many more that attempt to not only restore balance and harmony in the body, but to society and the planet as well.

It’s an empowering approach where the patient works with the health care provider as a team and is encouraged to be an active participant in the health care plan, educate themselves about their condition and engage in a variety of self-care techniques and practices.

Unlike modern medicine, which only attempts to suppress symptoms, holistic medicine attempts to correct the health condition by finding the underlying cause. Instead of stuffing everyone in a cookie cutter treatment plan, holistic health care is a whole body/mind approach that is individualized according to each person’s specific needs.

The ultimate goal is to enable each person to reach their highest sense of well-being, function as optimally as possible and live life as fully as possible regardless of the presence or absence of disease.

Cynthia Perkins
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/understanding-holistic-health-725933.html

Hey. Please somebody help me. I am employed but don’t get any health insurance. I am 27 and single and need a good Health insurance but cheap. I live in South California. Can somebody can help me with that?

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What types of health problems are needed to qualify to have gastric bypass surgery? Do you only qualify if you have severe health problems caused by this or could you qualify if you have smaller health problems like knee arthritis & breathing problems? Most of my family is obese and have heart disease, sleep apnea. Would they take that into consideration? My sister had gastric bypass surgery with a starting weight at 208 and is down to 128. I don’t think she had any medical problems due to her obesity.

Usually you have to have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 40 or more to qualify for gastric bypass. If you have a BMI of over 35, sometimes you can qualify if you have significant co-morbidities such as diabetes or sleep apnea. First and foremost, "they" look at how morbid obesity is affecting you, however, your family history may be taken into account, if close relatives are morbidly obese and have Health problems relating to obesity.

What is the best health insurance policy? I am recently need to purchase an individual Health ins policy. However, I am not sure which ones are the best. I am a student, do they offer any good student policies? Also, is the SGLI to VGLI conversion a good change to make?

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usainsurancequotes.net

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I’ve always liked lots of sugar in my coffee, in my tea. Would this cause certain health problems when I get older, if so, what would they be?

Be sure you make a distinction between sugar from fructose ("bad") and glucose ("good"). Humans are anatomically and physiologically designed to seek and consume sugar. The tip of our tongue tastes with pleasure only one calorie-containing substance, sugar (carbohydrate). Some tissues of our body, such as red blood cells and kidney cells (glomeruli cells) will only burn carbohydrates.

Under experimental laboratory conditions, however, where people are overfed large amounts of simple sugars, the human body will resort to converting a small amount of sugar into a small amount of fat (triglycerides) in the liver.

Yet other studies comparing sugar intake with risk of developing type-2 diabetes show people on high sugar diets are less likely to get diabetes. There is, however, a strong relationship between red meat consumption and diabetes… The lowest rates of diabetes in the world are found among populations that consume the most carbohydrates. Contrary to popular belief, refined sugars actually make the body’s insulin work more efficiently though large quantities do cause a spike in insulin production. Sugar is rarely eaten alone, but rather in combinations with fat as single foods, like cake, ice cream, pies and candy bars, or a combination of Foods, like the standard American diet which is about half fat and half sugar. The sugar spikes insulin production, pushing the readily available fat from the spoonful of dessert right into the belly fat.

There can be some real drawbacks and health hazards caused by consuming simple sugars, especially for those in poor health. It’s generally best to eat only complex and unprocessed sugars. As the carbohydrate becomes more purified through refining, weight control becomes less efficient. Also, the more sugar is consumed, and the more often it is consumed between meals, the more likely the teeth will decay. Pure sugars have been stripped of all their nutrients, except for the simple carbohydrate—thus they are called “empty calories.” To metabolize the sugar, nutrients stored in the body or from other foods must be scavenged—in this sense “sugar robs your body of vitamins and minerals.

Hope this helps!

I already have Health insurance. I have "Cover Florida Plan II" through Blue Cross Blue Shield. Will I just keep paying for my insurance like nothing happened? I am happy with my insurance and I don’t plan on changing it, unless I have to for some reason.

It will stay the same for the time being. As soon as the insurance companies are mandated to accept pre-existing conditions the premium will drastically increase. This will happen sometime this year. Most of the rest of the bill, except for the new taxes, won’t take effect until 2014 so little else will change until then.

Many of us dog owners get really amazed to see our dogs scratching away to glory in spite of the fact that there is not a single flea on its body! This is one thing that most dog owners will know. Many a time, our dogs just keep on scratching their skin although they do not have fleas or any other parasites. This is one thing that all dog owners have to be careful about. Continuous itching without any reason might have larger health implications.

This incessant itching can highly be an early symptom of dermatitis. Dermatitis is similar to fever in human beings. When we have fever, we just start sneezing like crazy or have congestions. But in case of dogs, their skin becomes itchy and they keep on scratching their skin. Fever in dogs happens generally when they inhale a large amount of pollen.

If you notice, you will see that your dog starts itching more during the months of August and September. This is a time when you need to take extra care of your beloved pet. Pets become especially sensitive to things around them during these months. Thus, this is the time when you have to look out for Dermatitis because your dog will be highly susceptible to it.

The other months when your dog will start itching indiscriminately are March and April. Since these two are the pollen months, dogs become very likely to catch hold of Dermatitis during this season. The grass pollen season of May, June and early July are also particularly troublesome months.

This dog health symptom is something that affects your dog particularly badly. Once your dog gets affected by Dermatitis, it will practically suffer from scratching problems throughout the year. This gives rise to another problem of increased sensitivity which means that something like dusting your sofa will also make your dog uncomfortable and scratchy.

The owners who have a dog who is less than six months old are lucky because young dogs do not get Dermatitis. It is a disease seen in dogs that are three or more years of age. Also, almost every breed of dog can get Dermatitis as it is not a breed specific disease.

However, despite of not being a breed specific disease, Dermatitis is something that affects certain breeds of dogs, like Dalmatians, West Highland White Terriers, White Haired Fox Terriers and Poodles particularly badly. Dermatitis is something that should be treated immediately because it can make your dog suffer a lot and live in great discomfort.

As for the treatments of Dermatitis, you must consult your dog’s vet. There are multiple treatments available but you have to choose one that suits your dog’s breed and age, so it is best to go for whatever your dog’s vet suggests.

Apart from the treatment, you also need to take care of the fact that your dog gets regular grooming so that its skin remains in perfect condition. If your dog is not groomed regularly, it might suffer from skin problems that are extremely uncomfortable.

Kelly Marshall
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/dog-health-symptom-does-your-dog-itch-like-crazy-but-has-no-parasites-725993.html

My parents are in their early 50’s, and do not have health insurance. They are struggling with money, so paying for Health insurance is the last thing on their minds.

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What Health effects do both cranberry and pomegranate have? I hear one of the repairs the liver?

Cranberry is good for detoxing. Be careful with the pomegranate it has estrogen increasing properties, it is sometimes sold as a estrogen "replacement".

I have to a do a nutrition project for nursing school and I have to write something on the following question but I can’t figure out what the 2 public Health concerns may be. Any help?

What are 2 public health concerns that have a bearing on nutritonal status?

Salmonella tomatoes…

and other bad fruits and veggies…