Authored by Viviana Siddhi*,
Short Communication
Each year, Americans spend more than $34 billion on complementary and alternative treatment methods and visit alternative practitioners more often than they see primary care doctors. Complementary therapies are those that are used along with conventional treatments. The most effective is integrative approach. It refers to the combined use of evidence-based proven therapies and complementary therapies. This is the term that many people in the field are using more frequently. Integrative medicine services are becoming part of hospitals across the country and cancer centers.
Holistic medicine focuses on how the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual elements of the body are interconnected to maintain holistic health. When one part of the body is not healthy, it is believed to affect the whole person. Holistic approach concentrates on the whole body rather than focusing only on the disease or part of the body that is not working properly. A person should treat a whole self to reach a higher level of wellness. Patients treat disease by changing diet and behavior, taking botanical supplements, and undergoing various complementary therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic, hypnosis, yoga, massage therapy. These approaches can be used along with conventional medicine such as surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy. By combining these different techniques, a person can take control of the disease and obtain a feeling of total wellness: spiritually, physically, and mentally.
The American Holistic Association says that healthy lifestyle habits will improve a person’s energy and vitality. Those habits include exercising, eating a nutritious diet, learning how to breath properly, yoga, acupuncture, and other alternative methods.
“Some doctors suggest that cancer pain and some side effects of treatment can be managed by incorporating different aspects of holistic medicine that include the physical, psychological, and spiritual factors involved with each individual. Health professionals realize that a person’s health depends on the balance of physical, psychological, social, and cultural forces. Adopting healthy habits related to diet, exercise, and emotional and spiritual well-being are considered important to maintaining good health [1].”
There is no scientific evidence that healthy habits such as humor can cure cancer or any other disease. It can reduce stress, promote health, and enhance the quality of life. Laughter has physiological effects that can stimulate the circulatory system, immune system, and other systems in the body.
Humor therapy is the use of humor or laughter for the relief of physical and emotional difficulties. It is used as a complementary tool to promote health and cope with disease, improve quality of life, provide some pain relief, encourage relaxation, and reduce stress. We have different types of humor. Passive humor is created by observing a comic film or reading a book. Humor production involves creating or finding humor in stressful situations. The physical effects of laughter on the body involve increased breathing, oxygen use, and heart rate, which stimulate the circulatory system. Many hospitals have incorporated special rooms where people with humorous materials, are there to help make people laugh. Laughter has many clinical benefits that include positive physiological changes and an overall sense of well-being.
Research has been done on the effects of humor on pain and stress relief. Laughter stimulates the release of special neurotransmitter substances in the brain that help control pain. Laughter increases stress-related hormones which provides support for the claim that humor can relieve stress.
Also, hypnosis helps to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; manage pain; lower blood pressure; ease some of the side effects of chemotherapy; and create feelings in being in control.
“Physical exercise acts like a natural wonder drug for the brain; exercising is the single most important thing you can do to enhance brain function. It improves the heart’s ability to pump blood throughout the body, which increases blood flow to the brain. That supplies more oxygen, glucose and nutrients to the brain, which improves overall brain function. Research shows that exercise encourages the growth of new brain cells and enhances cognitive ability [2].
If you practice yoga, you will strengthen the immune system. The immune system is not a single, tangible part of the body like the lungs, heart, brain, or stomach. In one sense, the immune system includes all of the body’s parts and systems, being the interaction and union of all these systems. The goal of strengthening the immune system is to keep all the system working together, like working families in a large, healthy village. For example, if our bones are compromised from a break or osteoporosis, we will not be able produce new nourishing blood supply to feed our reproducing cells.
“Chemotherapy and other cancer treatments can compromise the immune system’s efficiency because they disrupt the development and balance of all cells, therefore stressing the body’s systems and increasing the risk of infection or other diseases. Specifically, treatments reduce white cells in the blood that are needed to form leukocytes, a natural immune protection. This is why it is so critical for active cancer patients to keep on “immune system alert”. Because yoga’s goal is to strengthen all body systems, the end product is an improved immune system [3].”
On the molecular level, we find further support that yoga boosts the immune system. Yoga causes an improvement in gene expression within lymphocytes, which are our cancer-fighting cells, often referred to as immune cells, that are being produced in our body all the time. Every yoga movement, position, or patterned breathing technique has one goal: to strengthen the immune system.
Yoga practice seeks to free the mind of negative thoughts and feelings about our bodies. Instead of looking into the mirror and making poor comparisons to magazine cover models, yoga teaches us how to turn the mirror around to find what is hidden on the inside. When we do something every day, even if it is a simple stretch, breathing exercise, or correcting our posture while walking down the street, we develop a healthier, more positive image of ourselves. Unfortunately, not everyone manages stress with the same success related to post-traumatic stress growth that requires self-discipline.
Blood purification is absolutely essential to keep “river of life” flowing and delivering nutrients and oxygen. “What makes ozone so special, in my view, is the way it merely catalyzes the delivery of oxygen, and ultimately energy, into the cells. Ozone stimulates the production of cytokines, or “messenger cells”, that set off a domino effect of positive energy changes throughout the immune system, delivering more oxygen to cells so they can perform the metabolic and detoxifying functions for which they’re designed [4].”
Interesting enough, Neil Schachter, M.D. is mentioning in his book particulate matter. “Doctors are particularly concerned about the very fine particle matter (less than 2.5 microns in diameter) that can be inhaled deeply into the airways. Studies throughout the world have linked “Particular Matter” to a range of serious health problems [5].”
During aerobic exercise, the body needs additional amounts of oxygen. The heart needs to pump more blood with each beat and with exercise it becomes more efficient. Doing this type of exercise allows muscle arteries to dilate so that more blood can be carried to the muscle. This makes it easier for the heart to move blood throughout the body, a change which also lowers blood pressure. All these factors assist the heart, allowing it to work better with less effort. For the lungs the most important benefits of aerobic exercise are that the muscles throughout the body become more efficient at absorbing oxygen from the blood. This means that the lungs do not have to work so hard to supply oxygen. With exercise, muscles can become more efficient and obtain more oxygen because of improved circulation. Increased oxygen levels provide more energy and relieve feelings of fatigue.
Chinese medical practitioner analyzes a patient’s energy, looking for signs of excess or deficiency, for indications that something is blocking energy flow, or for clues that there is an ambulance between the main types of energy in the body: the yin and the yang.
“The main underlying concept of Chinese medicine is qi (pronounced “chee”; also spelled chi). Qi is the fundamental life force that guides and controls all life processes, from breathing and the beating of the heart to digestion and sleep. Qi is produced by the metabolism of food and the intake of breath. Qi serves many functions throughout the body and exists in various types, such as protective qi and food qi. Too much or too little qi can lead to imbalance and illness, as can stagnation or blockage of qi [6].”
Ying and yang represent the primary opposing and counterbalancing forces that operate in the universe and, consequently, within each individual. Yin and yang are not merely opposites, like black and white. Instead, taken together, they represent a complete dynamic equilibrium, a constantly changing balance. Yin and yang are expressed in many ways hot and cold, inner and outer, moist and dry, dark and light, male and female. When there is a balance between the qualities of yin and yang, harmony and good health exist. If either becomes too predominant, then disharmony exists. Illness may result.
One yin quality is moisture. If too much is present, the body may experience edema (swelling) or diarrhea. But if dryness (yang) predominates, a person may experience dry mucous membranes, dry skin, or internal dryness leading to constipation. It isn’t a question which is better, yin or yang. Both are necessary. What’s important for good health is the balance between the two.
“As we move toward “Health, Happiness and Harmony”, we experience a greater sense of freedom in our lives” [7].
Asian body healing originated thousands of years ago in the villages and small communities in and around the countries of India, China, Japan and Korea. The actual techniques used began as instinctive responses to manifestations of imbalance in the body. The only tools they utilized were their senses. Each person they worked with represented a microcosmic manifestation of the macrocosmic world. Everyone was treated individually, even if they displayed the same outward indicators. Many aspects of a person’s lifestyle including diet, climate, exercise, type of work, family relations and ancestral influences were considered relevant in order to ensure successful therapy. For example, if two people suffered from fatigue and one lived in a cold area while the other came from a warmer island home, the methods utilized would have to be different for each of them.
After working with many people over thousands of years, certain observations were collected on how all the elements of the environment harmoniously interviewed and coexisted with each other. Eventually, they were able to describe how the ever-changing forces of nature influenced the human body. This system was based on heaven’s force originating from the constellations, interacting with the forces emanating from the earth: yin and yang.
We can supercharge our immune system to protect our bodies against disease – everything from the common cold to cancer. “Super immunity can be best defined as the body’s immune system working into its fullest potential. Modern science has advanced to the point where we have evidence that the right raw materials and nutritional factors can double or triple the protective power of the immune system. If you learn to fill every cell receptor lock with the right nutrient key and meet the demands of each cell, the body’s defenses take on superhero qualities – and you will hardly ever get sick again. More important, this change from average immunity to Super Immunity can save your life [8].”
Smoothies are the quickest and easiest way to incorporate a variety illness fighting nutrients into your diet. The drinks are rich in phytoestrogens from the soy and contain abundant amounts of antioxidants from the fruits and fruit juices.
Excellent source of beta-carotene and vitamin C are apricots and mangos. Place the banana, mango, orange juice, and soy yogurt in a blender. Blend ingredients until they are smooth. Antioxidant-rich beverage is smoothie made of kiwi, mango, apple juice and silken tofu. Smoothie made of mango, carrots, soy yogurt and orange juice are very rich source of beta-carotene.
“The brain is a beautiful thing. It’s deeply complex and intricate with so many neural pathways that it’s hard to know exactly which electrical impulses are being fired from where. Remember that you are the master of your mind. Know that you can and will accomplish all that you set out to do if you just believe that you can do it [9].”
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