In today’s scene of tremendous advancement in medical science, it would be hard to believe that holistic treatments would have any place in modern society. The fact, however, is that more people than ever before are being driven towards holistic healing. The adverse effects of conventional medicine is one major reason, and the fact that they target only the suppression of symptoms is another.
Holistic healing regards the importance of various organs in the same way as medical science does. However, the holistic approach to treatment of disease is entirely different. It emphasizes the organic or functional relation between organs and the body as a whole. It focuses mainly on the underlying cause and believes that unless the root cause which initially caused the disease is attended to, the disease will most likely recur. It is because of this that holistic and alternative therapies are slow in showing results. In addition, holistic healing does not involve any harmful synthetic substances.
The thyroid is considered to be vital for overall health among those who believe in holistic treatment. What differentiates the holistic approach to treatment is the cause behind the occurrence of thyroid problems. Holistic practitioners believe that various environmental and personal factors are the major reason for the occurrence of thyroid disease and those must be removed first for a total remission of the disease.
According to alternative therapies, the factors that lead to thyroid problems include:
Unhealthy lifestyles
Stress
Pesticides
Food additives and medicines that contain hormones
Decreased intake of selenium, dietary vitamins and essential minerals
Large amounts of radioiodine released in the environment consequent to nuclear energy production.
As such, the primary target of holistic treatment to restore thyroid health is to first suggest a change in lifestyle to restrict exposure to toxins. Then certain therapies are suggested to treat the body as a whole, rather than targeting only the thyroid gland. The most common holistic treatments include ancient therapies like Ayurveda (India) and traditional Chinese medicine. Homeopathy is a relatively newer therapy that also has a holistic approach to treatment and involves the use of natural substances to prepare its extremely diluted remedies. The major focus of these therapies is on yoga, medication, exercise, dietary supplements, and herbs.
This, in no way, is a total denigration of conventional medicine. A holistic practitioner has a broader outlook, and in certain cases where there is an urgent need to control symptoms that are getting out of hand, the holistic practitioner may also suggest some of the safer treatment modalities of conventional medicine. A combined approach where holistic healing is used as supplemental treatment may provide better results in such cases.
Posts
