There is a need for self education on natural health care.
Herbs are strong medicine and can interfere with prescription drugs or interact badly to produce severe side effects. However, if you’re educated in the ways of herbal and other alternative medicines they are much safer and less likely to produce side effects than conventional medicine. It’s time we took responsibility for our own health instead of putting all that responsibility on an already over worked health care system.
Unfortunately buying these herbs and supplements and paying out of pocket for alternative health care is expensive and those who need help the most can’t afford it, as insurance covers nothing “natural” or complementary and alternative. To make the situation worse, our food supply is contaminated. Yes, contaminated. Inexpensive food that is affordable to the lower income families is packed to overflowing with preservatives to give them a long shelf life and additives to make the color more appealing and to enhance the taste. Our bodies aren’t designed to filter out that overload of chemicals and eventually, usually sooner rather than later, the health breaks down and various diseases pop up. The medication used by conventional medicine to control these diseases often times produces a break-down in another part of the system, which is treated with yet another drug, and the cycle repeats.
To take responsibility for our own health requires not only rethinking our diet and lifestyle, but also changing the “there’s a pill for that” mind-set. Prevention should be the greatest part of our health care from the cradle to the grave. Thanks to the internet, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to educate yourself on natural health care, but one word of caution. Don’t take just one author’s opinion or test results. Research, research, research. Compare data. Trust your instincts. After doing the research and comparing data some will decide one way and some will decide another. One person may decide that dandelion leaf is sufficient to keep their kidneys healthy while another may decide, based on their symptoms, and lifestyle that they need uva ursa or nettle or a combination of several herbs. If in doubt, there are many natural health forums and e mail groups with seasoned veterans in natural health. Join some of them, ask questions, and again compare data before deciding.
Written by thebeaddoodler
Professional beader and bead pattern designer, herbologist, reflexologist, freelance writer
In August, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey argued in the pages of the Wall Street Journal that the solution to America’s health care crisis was to be found in “less government control and more individual empowerment.” His own company’s unique health care plan, Mackey wrote, covers 90 percent of employees, costs less than health insurance plans, aned provides a “very high degree of worker satisfaction.” But for the sin of not supporting a government take over of health care, labor unions and left-wing activists called for a boycott of Whole Foods, claiming that Mackey’s solutions were unworkable and his employees were unhappy. Reason.tv talked to protesters, Mackey, and employees about “the Whole Foods alternative to ObamaCare.” Produced by Michael C. Moynihan and Dan Hayes. Edited by Dan Hayes. Approximately 5 minutes. (Full disclosure: Mackey has contributed to Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes this website.) Related video: John Mackey’s Conscious Capitalism: The Whole Foods CEO on health care, veganism, and free markets: www.youtube.com Go to reason.tv for downloadable versions of these and other videos.
Video Rating: 4 / 5