Alternative Medicine and Therapies ? What, Why and How of it
Topic: Herbal Health
Alternative Therapies and alternative medicine has been gaining ground along with conventional treatments. Alternative therapies have been practiced for thousand of years especially in the east commonly known as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Modern medicine has replaced such therapies due to its ability to quickly suppress the symptoms and treat the specific physical condition with pharmacological and surgical methods evolved after much research.

However the modern medicine too has severe side effects due to its toxicity and chemical interference in cellular functioning. This has resulted in alternative therapies and alternative medicines gaining ground. The inability of the medical science to quickly tackle the outbreak of immunity related disorders and disease like Aids and SARS have rekindled the interest in alternative therapies.

Alternative therapy and medicine has also gained respectability as more and more clinical trials and research is establishing the efficacy of its treatments.

Alternative therapies have very simple principles.

The body can heal itself. You only need to facilitate the self-healing process.

Prevention is the key to healthy living. The alternative medicinal system stresses on prevention of disease through a change in diet, use of proven herbs and lifestyle changes which while preventing the disease also helps in dealing with the basic cause of any disease.

Each system of alternative medicine has their own complex method of diagnoses and treatment; broadly they focus on balancing the energies in the body as well as the emotional aspects of disease. Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as homeopathy works on the principle of assisting the body to heal itself.

All treatments in alternative therapy use medicines which are directly derived from botanical sources - ingredients in plants. They are generally safe in moderate doses if they are prepared with pure essence of such botanicals and unadulterated with any form of chemicals.

Selecting the right herbal products

There are plenty of spurious products in the market with tall claims. Buy only from the best source after verifying the background and credibility of the company.

Don’t go by claims of miraculous cures. You need to understand how each product works and go by the research available on the herbs along with the traditional history of healing.

Buy the herbal or food supplements only after verifying whether company is meeting with the quality standards and test certifications. Check whether the ingredients on the label are as per the claims on the advertisements.

Plenty of information is available from the website of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or NCCAM website for complementary and Alternative medicine.

A final word of caution while using alternative medicines and therapies, whatever the claims made or facts about the medicinal and curative properties do not stop your regular treatment recommended by a doctor.

It is best to use these products as a preventive and for good health. Do not use the products for symptomatic relief but for therapeutic use.

Use the alternative medicine as complementary or as an adjuvant therapy to your regular medicine. Use of herbal remedies as a preventive or as food and health supplements is the best way to go as you do not run the risk of interference with your regular treatment of any disease or disorder.

R.G. Srinivasan is a Certified Trainer, Writer and Author.He is passionate about alternate therapies and holistic herbal medicine. Check out his site at http://globalhealthnetwork.tripod.com

Health & Disease - Karma of Healing
Mood:  special
Within each one of us resides the divine healer. All healings come from within and not outside. Once the healer within is set in motion the healing takes effect.

Like all physical problems, health and fitness must be addressed within. The true realization of our health condition being part of our Karma or Actions sets in motion the counter measures-that is corrective actions.

All negative health conditions, disease and disorder is primarily brought about by too many wrong food habits including overeating, eating too much heavy or cold meals, frequent snacking, imbalance in sleeping habits, lack of exercise or physical activity, over indulgence in smoking and drinking, stress and of course to some extent on environmental pollution.

These are the ills of modern society which needs correctives urgently. To combat the problems of modern living and equip our body with the healing properties, Ganoderma is a blessing sent to mankind.

Ganoderma has a healing and medicinal history of over 4000 years documented in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Though it grew in rare environments and treasured as the elixir of life and used by only kings, now advances in cultivation methodologies has made it possible to grow ganoderma in the same simulated environmental conditions.

Much research has been done by various universities and action of ganoderma as a medicinal herb on the human body is well documented.

It removes toxins from the body

Balances the bio-electrical and Bio-Chemical factors

Regulate Organ Functions

Repair Cell Damages

Enhance the Immune System

Prevent Cell Damage

Prevents Ageing

Check out some important resources on the effects of ganoderma at the Japan Reishi Website

Srinivasan
Global Health Network

Anti oxidants ? A Must in Your Diet
Mood:  energetic
Topic: Herbal Health
While oxygen is the key to human survival, it is also responsible for maximum damage to the human body as ?free radicals?. Free radicals form when oxygen is metabolized or burned by the body for its functions. Free radicals are also produced through environmental pollution and cigarette smoke

Tens of thousands of them are formed everyday in the body. These free radicals travel through the body causing immense damage to the cell structures and causes chronic disease, anti aging as well as other health problems including DNA mutations leading to cancer.

Thankfully the answer to such destruction at the cellular level is anti oxidants. The body produces anti oxidants as well as they are available through fruits and vegetables. Anti oxidants scavenge free radicals; convert them to harmless substance before they can cause damage to the cells and tissues of the body.

Vitamin C beta carotenes and vitamin E are rich sources of anti oxidants. While a balance diet rich in these vitamins are an ideal source of natural anti oxidants they are also available as nutritional supplements and have gained much popularity in the past decade.

The efficacy of such anti oxidants remains questionable. Studies have suggested that anti oxidants occurring naturally as in fruits and vegetables have a far more protective effect than the dietary supplements.

However what has been proven beyond doubt by research is that anti oxidant intake does stave off degenerative diseases and especially cancer. It also improves the overall health and boosts immunity.

The best bet for improving your health dramatically is a complex range of natural anti oxidants. Here is a list of anti oxidants found in foods.

Vitamin C: All types of citrus fruits, kiwi, papaya, strawberries and leafy green vegetables, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower etc.

Vitamin E: Hard to find sufficient quantities of vitamin E from diet alone. A good source is almonds. Take supplements derived from natural vitamin supplements.

Carotenoids: Beta carotenes are found in oranges, and vegetables like carrots, apricots, beets, sweet potatoes are a good source. Most of the red and green leef vegetables would have beta carotenes.

Flavanoids: Found in whole lot of vegetables and fruits. Onions, beets, citrus fruits and berries contain flavanoids. Green tea is a good source.

Take 4 to 6 servings of these fruits and vegetables daily for getting the complete range of anti oxidants and you can be sure of keeping many of the degenerative diseases, cancer blood pressure and heart problems at bay. The icing on the cake is you can look younger and beat the ageing of your skin and tissues.

Srinivasan
Global Health Network

More Research Papers
Topic: Herbal Health
The cooperative research on ganoderma by Shanghai Medical University, Shanghai, China has clarified that taking reishi for long periods has the effect of improving improving microcirculation. It prolongs life without senility and makes one comfortable. There is a good amount of research, details Reishi products, clinical trials,and the latest news available at Japan Reishi Association. Check the website here for all the info.

Healthy Immune system
For a healthy living what we need is an healthy immune system. The key is the prevention of disease and cure. Though there are a variety of ways by which you can aim at prevention, the best method is the one which has no side effects of any kind. This is where herbal and alternative therapies scores high over drug based systems of prevention and healthcare.

The Royal Medical Society has described the term adaptogen as a treatment concept that can help the body to adapt to stresses of all kinds; these stresses could be due to temperature, trauma, exposure to toxins, sleep deprivation, radiation, infection and psychological stress. The adaptogen concept aims at causing no side effects on continued long term consumption, is effective in dealing with wide variety of illnesses, helps an organism to return to normal and balanced functioning, and boost up the immune system.

Red reishi or ganoderma is described as the king of adaptogen. Read some of my interesting articles on the subject.