Holistic medicine is a term used to describe therapies that attempt to treat the patient as a whole person. That is, instead of treating an illness, as in orthodox allopathy, holistic medicine looks at an individual’s overall physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing before recommending treatment. A provider with a holistic approach treats the symptoms of illness as well as looking for the underlying cause of the illness. Holistic medicine also attempts to prevent illness by placing a greater emphasis on optimizing health.
The body’s systems are seen as interdependent parts of the person’s whole being. Holistic therapies tend to emphasize proper nutrition and avoidance of substances—such as chemicals—that pollute the body. Their techniques are non-invasive. Some of the world’s health systems that are holistic in nature include naturopathic medicine, homeopathy, and traditional Chinese medicine.
Many alternative or natural therapies have a holistic approach, although that is not always the case. The term complementary medicine is used to refer to the use of both allopathic and holistic treatments. There are no limits to the range of diseases and disorders that can be treated in a holistic way, as the principle of holistic healing is to balance the body, mind, spirit, and emotions so that the person’s whole being functions smoothly. When an individual seeks holistic treatment for a particular illness or condition, other health problems improve without direct treatment, due to improvement in the performance of the immune system, which is one of the goals of holistic medicine.
Many Americans are disillusioned with the high cost and limited effectiveness of traditional healthcare, and are turning to CAM as a way to take control of their own health. This has led to a growing movement towards integrative medicine, which combines traditional and alternative treatments to provide a more holistic approach to healthcare.
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