Climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health and changes the way we must look at protecting ourselves. Is alternative medicine the new way to go?

We all make an effort to cut down on the intake of harmful substances in trying to stay healthy.  But we also need to protect our bodies from the environmental hazard that is present in today’s world, namely pollution.

Alternative medicines may be considered as a way of undoing the impact of climate change in our lives. They are recognised worldwide as safe and effective in treating many ailments and have been in practice for the past two centuries.

Susan Curtis, Medicines Director of Neal Yard’s Remedies (an alternative medicine chain), believes that such medicines recognise human beings as more than just a physical body. Humans are an entire energy system of thoughts, emotions and physical processes.

However, questions are still raised as to whether alternative medicines are effective enough to cure or prevent what modern medicine has been doing for centuries.

“There have always been sick people but the nature of disease changes over time relative to hygiene, sanitation, diet, environmental pollution, stress, etc.,” says Susan, as she explains why many people are getting more interested in such medicines.

In an environment where air pollution is increasing, water is contaminated by chemicals and foods are processed and highly artificial, such medicine is becoming popular. She explains that alternative medicines such as homeopathy ‘have had to evolve to stay effective against diseases both old and new’.

Our bodies must over-compensate in order to deal with these adverse conditions.

The body’s way of expressing imbalances inside comes in the form of diseases such as chronic bronchitis, asthma, allergies, migraine headaches, eczema, learning disabilities and multiple sclerosis.

Susan  explains that the reason most people are seeking an alternative medicine for their health problems is because of their ‘concerns about side effects, plus realisation that lots of drugs just don’t work as well as first thought’.

How do alternative medicines work? Read on to see if they are the best solution in this day and age.

Aromatherapy: It is said to treat or prevent disease by using essential oils. These essential oils are extracted only from plants. Its current use is not intended to replace standard medical care, but is meant to complement it. It  can offer relief from a variety of common ailments or symptoms such as assisting with cuts, wounds, bruises, inflammation, indigestion, acne, skin and hair problems, PMS, and menstruation.

Acupuncture: A technique of inserting and manipulating needles into points on the body with the aim of relieving pain and for therapeutic purposes. It stimulates the nervous system to release chemicals in the body that influence the body’s own internal regulating system. This sets the body’s natural healing abilities in motion. Acupuncture can also help to strengthen the body’s resistance and regulate the antigen-antibody’s reactions. This is important in helping to relieve hay fever and other allergic reactions such as asthma.

Homeopathy: Homeopaths view each case as unique and treat each patient on an individual basis. They look for the striking characteristics that show why a person is sick and what might be sustaining their disease. In other words, what environmental component is keeping someone in this diseased state?

Homeopathy uses highly diluted doses from plants, minerals and animals to stimulate natural defences in the body. For many who want to avoid using modern medicine, which is oftentimes full of chemicals and has many side effects, this is one of the many bonuses that homeopathy offers.

Naturopathy: Naturopathic medicine is an approach to medicine that emphasises the ability of the body to heal itself. Naturopaths contend that such a capacity for self-healing is innate and encompasses most alternative medicines such as manual therapy, herbalism, acupuncture, aromatherapy and homeopathy.

Photo credits: Neal’s Yard Remedies, Flickr