How Alternative Therapies Changed My Life – Amaranth Health
Alternative therapies have become extremely well loved in the past few years. Many people nowadays take supplements or vitamins, indulge in massages or are on special diets. As a consequence, more and more allopathic medical practices are accepting alternative therapies and some are even incorporating these therapies into their patients’ treatment plans.
The reasons alternative therapies are sought vary from person to person. For me personally, I was looking for ways to address my health concerns that would have few unpleasant side effects. I also wanted to do what I could to cure my underlying quandary instead of merely addressing the symptoms. But the main reason that I started investigating and using alternative therapies was the feeling of empowerment that it gave me, which was extremely vital psychologically to me as someone dealing with a serious health condition that had taken me completely by surprise. Here are some of the therapies I have used and how they helped.
The first I’ll mention is yoga. Yoga is known as an expend that can increase strength and flexibility, and it helped me to be cooler, more focused, more accepting of my situation and less stressed out. Focusing on the breath is an vital aspect of this practice, and as I paid more attention to my breathing I felt that I was becoming more in tune with my body as well, which motivated me to pick better care of it.
When the medication I had been on for my health concerns wreaked havoc with my immune system, I started eating what is known as an anti-candida diet, one that is supposed to build aid natural immunity and friendly bacteria in the digestive system. The diet proscribes all forms of sugar including fruit (except very sour fruits like lemons and cranberries), white potatoes, eggplants, rice, gluten, oats, avocados, beets, legumes, and most nuts. I subsisted on mostly fish, poultry, vegetables, seaweed, and gluten-free grains like amaranth and millet. It was very restrictive but in two months my skin cleared up, I lost several pounds and my bloating and headaches went away. I also had more energy, and I no longer felt continually passe out and feverish.
Milk thistle and DHEA were two supplements I used. Milk thistle, an herb that is related to ragweed and chrysanthemum, was a therapy I weak to help with a liver condition I had. It has been claimed that milk thistle can improve liver function and cleave inflammation. I believe taking this supplement had a lot to do with my relatively rapid recovery from what was supposed to be a lifelong condition. I took DHEA to mitigate some of the side effects of prescription medicine I was on.This particular medication depletes DHEA, a substance made naturally by the body, and before I used the supplement to offset the deficiency I suffered diabetic-like symptoms such as excessive thirst and hunger, and hormone-related problems like insomnia and irritability. After taking DHEA, these unpleasant side effects were reduced. (Please notice that caution should be taken when ingesting any herbal supplement or hormone. I was prescribed milk thistle and DHEA by a physician. I did not choose to take them without first speaking with a professional.)
Before you try alternative therapies, there are a few things you should realize. They tend to work subtly (though not all the time), so it might take a while before you experience an improvement in your health, and not every therapy will work for every person because everyone’s body chemistry is different. It is not wise to stop taking your prescribed medications while you stare the right therapies for you. It is also vital to research any alternative therapy you plot to try, and to consult with a health professional about them. There are many alternative practitioners who can advise you, but you need to be careful about who you go to for advice. Based on my personal experience, I reckon you should look for practitioners who have medical degrees and are backed by a major health insurance company. In my case, the naturopath I saw was a medical professor at a major research university, which helped me feel confident that he knew what he was doing. He also did not philosophize me to stop taking my prescribed medications, since he understood my health could suffer if I did and he believed it was vital to use his recommendations as a complement to the allopathic treatment I was on, not as a replacement for it.
There are many alternative therapies available both to people who want to improve their health, and those who simply want to maintain it. They can be of tall back if you are smart about the therapies you try and are willing to become an advocate for your own well-being. Here’s to your health!
Sources:
Deardorff, Julie. “Doctors Going Alternative“. Chicago Tribune.
Pizer, Ann. “What is Yoga? ” About.com
Gates, Donna. “About Body Ecology Diet.” Bodyecologydiet.com
NCCAM fact sheet. “Milk Thistle”. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Medline Plus Drugs & Supplements. “DHEA”. Medline Plus.
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