Natural Remedies
From Health Around Your Corner
Publications
Why Not Try the Natural
Way First?
By Juanee Surprise, DC, DAAPM, FAAIM
(Nutrition)
Dr. Surprise is nationally recognized as an expert in nutrition and pain management. She
teaches postgraduate nutrition and pain-management courses to doctors and staff. She has been interviewed for many
articles in various journals and publications and has published several articles on nutrition. Patients from many
states consult with her for help on a variety of health issues.
It is false security to
just pour supplements, even very good ones, into an ill-fed and overstressed body. Without changes in diet and
lifestyle factors, supplementation alone is not going to achieve vibrant health and
longevity.
If you’ve ever looked
for something to listen to on your radio on a Sunday morning here in North Texas, you’ve probably come across a
program called “The Dirt Doctor.” If you stopped and listened at all, it didn’t take long for you to figure out
the show’s host advocates “the natural way” to treat problems in your yard and
garden.
Natural
solutions are his answer to problems that came about because of misuse of the soil, inappropriate plants for the
area, and the use of harsh, man-made chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides. To stop, and
even reverse, the downward spiral of plant health in the yard and garden, the Dirt Doctor recommends things like
molasses, corn meal, nematodes and good old manure, along with adequate water, instead of man-made
chemicals.
And, you
know what? His recommendations almost always work! Plus, the natural way doesn’t leave you, your kids, and your
pets exposed to or rolling in toxic chemicals, and the food grown in a “natural” garden are higher in nutrients
and not full of the toxic chemicals. Followers of the Dirt Doctor say their grass, trees and shrubs are
healthier, look as good or better than those treated chemically, and often live longer. Imagine
that?
"Natural Way" For
Humans?
Now, if
there is a safer, healthier, non-chemical, natural way that works for daffodils, tomatoes and oaks, why isn't
there a natural way that works for humans too? The answer is, "There is and it almost always works,
too!"
But,
thanks to modern food-production technology; fast-paced, stressed-out lifestyles, and support for the lazy way
of fixing meals with take-out, fast food, prepackaged and microwaves, there is little “natural” left in the
Standard American Diet (SAD.) And, we’ve also moved away from the natural plants, given to us by our Maker for
health and medicinal purposes, to faster acting, man-made chemical drugs.
Many
articles have appeared in past HAYC issues about the SAD and how we need to return to eating a more “natural”
organic, living, nutrient-dense diet, and drink pure water that is uncontaminated by toxins, chemicals and
unhealthy microbes.
And,
there have been articles showing it is false security to just pour supplements, even very good ones, into an
ill-fed and overstressed body. Without change in diet and lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol, adequate
rest, exercise and stress reduction, supplementation alone is not going to achieve vibrant health and longevity.
So, if you haven’t gotten these messages yet, you need to, if you ever want to be healthy and live longer, with
fewer symptoms and health issues.
Drugs as a First
Choice? Why?
It is
always sad to see how many people have turned to and depend on drugs to cover up symptoms and get themselves
through another day in their life. With few exceptions, drugs do not treat the cause of the symptoms or health
issue. Drugs cause side effects, ofter life threatening or requiring the use of another drug to ameliorate. Have
you ever listened to a drug commercial and wondered at the insanity of relieving a headache, but causing ulcers
and GI bleeding that can lead to ademia or liver damage or even cause death? Surely, there must be a better,
more natural way.
Let’s
take pain (backache, headache) and inflammation (arthritis, fibromyalgia) for instance. The man-made, chemical route would be NSAIDs like aspirin, ibuprofen and
naproxen or acetaminophen. Among the most common pain-relief medicines in the world, more than 30 million
Americans use these drugs to soothe headaches, sprains, arthritis symptoms and other daily
discomforts.
We know
drugs do work, but they can and do cause side effects. Some of the more common side effects are gastrointestinal
problems, high blood pressure, kidney damage and allergic reactions, which then require more drugs, with
their own probable side effects.
Several
of these drugs encourage blood clotting and tighten the arteries, leading to heart attack and stroke. Serious
toxicity (leading to hospitalization or death) from NSAID use occurs for an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people
every year and it is estimated there are at least 10,000 to 20,000 deaths per year are related to NSAID use.
Side effects can occur after only one dose, or it may take several years of use before they develop, and there
is no way to know how many doses a body will tolerate. With the use of these drugs, you may die, but without
pain! Great!
Of
course, the best treatment for pain and inflammation is prevention. Proper feeding, watering, exercising and
upkeep of the body allows the body to work better doing any job you put it to, AND would prevent or eliminate
much of the pain and inflammation caused by everyday activities. You know ~ like it was designed to
work?
But, if
you have had an injury, or are currently suffering from headaches, arthritis or other painful process, wouldn’t
it be safer and healthier to use natural remedies and treatment for pain and inflammation? Sure, because when
natural remedies are used correctly, there are almost no nasty side effects.
Natural Pain Relief
Pain and inflammation in all parts of the body usually respond very well to non-drug approaches like
chiropractic adjustments, if there is fixation and abnormal motion in joints. Acupuncture and chiropractic work,
just in different ways, for most health issues, especially pain and inflammation. They have been used long
enough to show they are safe and effective.
Homeopathic remedies have been used with great success and very few side effects for all health issues
over the last couple of centuries. Botanical medicines, herbs and spices such as ginger, turmeric, garlic,
boswellia, and cayenne, to name a few, have been used successfully since before man even started recording
treatment for pain. There are reams of research showing the value of essential fatty acids from fish, flax,
borage, evening primrose and other oils for the prevention and treatment of pain and inflammation. The same is
true for proteolytic enzymes (do not use with ulcers and gastritis.) Many other specific nutrients like vitamin
B complex, vitamins C and E; calcium, magnesium; quercetin, zinc, selenium, all have documented use for the
prevention and treatment of pain and inflammation.
Knowledge, Advertising,
and the Quick “Fix”
So, why isn’t everyone going the natural way when it comes to pain and inflammation? (Or any other
symptom or disease process for that matter.) First, lack of knowledge about natural ways is probably the biggest
reason. Over the past 30 or more years, our parents and teachers quit using those “old-fashioned” remedies, so
the knowledge wasn’t passed on in the usual manner.
And for
about the last 50 years, in combination with the drug companies, medical doctors are trained to use drugs, not
the old-fashioned natural remedies and treatments. Plus, advertising has everyone believing the SAD is fine and
that there is a quick fix, safe and effective, over-the-counter or prescription drug available should a symptom
or disease develop. The potential side effects are down played and seldom are all mentioned. Drug advertising is
just not the whole truth.
There
are also some real and perceived drawbacks to natural prevention and treatment methods. They usually take a
little more time and effort to do than just popping a drug. The results may not happen as quickly as drugging
the body into submission, instead of supporting it to heal, then become and stay healthy with natural diet and
treatments.
Surgery
First?
Sometimes surgery is the best or even only option. An example might be a compound
fracture, an aneurysm that has or is about to rupture, or a blocked heart artery.
However,
what about gall-bladder removal, when there is not a stone actually blocking the duct? There are many
ways to help an inflamed, or sluggish or even stone-filled gallbladder to repair and function without the need
for surgery. Besides, once the gallbladder is removed, fat digestion and detoxification is forever
compromised.
And,
what about heart arrhythmia surgery? How many heart cells can you kill with a laser before there really is
a permanent problem? Why not first try the nutrition supplements known to “fix” most
arrhythmias?
Remember, the knowledge of the doctor you see will dictate his/her recommendations. And it is well
known that surgeon’s families have more surgical procedures than others. So, choosing a doctor who might have
knowledge of non-surgical recommendations for the same problem could keep you out of the
OR.
Power to
Choose
But, in
the end, it is always a choice ~ the “natural way” or the “man-made way. If you choose the drug option, you have
to be willing to accept that it usually leads to side effects that require more drugs with side effects, leading
to….
Or one
can choose to spend the time to learn how to do the “natural way” to support healing and health. One can take a
short cut and just find a doctor who knows about and uses natural methods and treatments. There are quite a few
in the North Texas area. And remember, if the natural way doesn’t work, one can always switch to the drug method
of health care.
Here is
an observation from years of practice. It just seems that we’ve got it backward when we use the drug method
before the natural way. And this is true for the human body as well as for our yard. Most of the people who come
to us for help, do so when all else has already failed or they are tired of dealing with the original problem
AND the side effects of the drug(s) they are using. The overwhelming majority show response to just changing
their diet from SAD to “natural” and modifying their lifestyle issues. Then, when the underlying cause of their
symptoms is determined and addressed in a “natural way,” it is both amazing and gratifying to see the shift from
ill health to health. The sad thing is, why didn’t they try the “natural way” first?
Copyright 2009 Health Around Your Corner Publications
Healthayc.com
|