Holistic Medicine Resource Guide

Preventative Health Care, Herbal Remedies, Veg Diet, Yoga, Ayurveda

The idea that we can maintain good health through diet, preventative medicine, and alternative healing is considered dangerously eccentric by the medical profession and most people.

Within the span of a few centuries, thousands of years of practical healing knowledge has almost vanished in most of the world.

Fortunately, that's all changing, and a holistic health revival is flourishing.

Editorial Policy: We list a small number of resources which we think are most relevant to our visitors. This isn't a general directory. Reviews of the resource listings are based on our personal experience and opinions.

Articles:

Acid/Alkaline Balance and It's Effect On Bone Health: I came across this article in The Bone Health Newsletter, by Susan Brown, PhD. This is a long article and (I think) pretty balanced and informative. The connection seems reasonable to me - it fits with a lot of other informed opinions I've come across.

Ayurvedic Expert Says 99% Of Us Are Too Acidic -Interview with Dr. R. K. Mishra. This article by Janice McAwhinney appeared in the Toronto Star on Mar. 11/05. Dr. Mishra is an Ayurvedic health practitioner, product formulator, researcher and educator born into a family of Raj Vaidyas with a 5000-year-old history of healing. One of his fields of expertise is the body's pH balance, how acidic or alkaline our physical systems are. If you'd like to learn much, much more about it, read his full scholarly article: How to balance the "balancing factor" of health, an ayurvedic perspective on acid-alkaline balance

Medical Journals Are an Extension of the Marketing Arm of Pharmaceutical Companies by Richard Smith, Chief Executive of UnitedHealth Europe, London, Uk. Published: May 17, 2005

Competing Interests: RS was an editor for the BMJ for 25 years. For the last 13 of those years, he was the editor and chief executive of the BMJ Publishing Group, responsible for the profits of not only the BMJ but of the whole group, which published some 25 other journals. He stepped down in July 2004. He is now a member of the board of the Public Library of Science, a position for which he is not paid.

Books:

The Answer To Cancer - Is Never Giving It A Chance To Start, by Hari Sharma, M.D. & Rama K. Mishra, G.A.M.S. with James G. Meade, PH.D, Select Books, 2002. This is a book everyone should read, because it's informative, helpful, compassionate, and upbeat. Unlike most "must reads", Answer To Cancer is both wise and witty. James Meade's sense of humor is priceless, making a frightening subject easy to take.
Order Answer to Cancer from Amazon.com and also read the reviews.

The Bone Density Diet, 6 Weeks to a Strong Body and Mind, by George J. Kessler, D.O., P.C. with Colleen Kapklein, Ballantyne Books 2000. Even though this book on preventing and overcoming osteoporosis is written by A Man, and I suspect he may have some incentive to recommend HRT, there is more than enough excellent material on the alternatives to make it worthwhile. Kessler recommends a diet that leans toward the vegetarian, and thus is easily adapted to vegetarian diets. According to this book, osteoporosis, which afflicts most elderly N. American women, and a significant percentage of men, can be completely prevented, and reversed at any age. Kessler tells you with great confidence exactly how.
Order The Bone Density Diet from Amazon.com or, just read the reviews.

Herbs and Supplements

In the for-what-it's-worth dep't, here are my observations and opinions on dietary supplements:

• Most of us need supplements, because our health has been compromised by poor diet, aging, stress, and fatigue.
• Our food is often nutrient-challenged because of degraded soils and chemical-based agriculture.
• Herbal supplements should be used to strengthen the immune system, reduce stress, and prevent illness. They aren't an effective or desirable long term substitute for the holistic value of vitamins consumed in whole foods.
• Herbs can be powerful drugs. If you're sick, ask a knowledgeable professional what you need and how much.
• Go for the highest quality whole food and herbal supplements you can find.
• Synergistic combinations of herbs, in my experience, are more effective than single herbs
• Vitamins, on the other hand, are best taken singly, in the lowest available doses, and only when there's a possible deficiency. E.G. - B12 in a vegan diet, Vit D or C in the winter.
• Wild-crafted herbs won't do you much good if they were grown by the side of a highway. Buy from reputable sources.
• Supplements are just that, not substitutes for good diet, rest and relaxation.

That said, here are a few I recommend:

Rainbow Light: The complete pre-natal vitamin complex is highly spoken of by the expectant mothers I know, including my daughter. Some Moms find the spirulina or something affects their tender tummies. I recommend the tablets only, not the powdered form, which doesn't dissolve well, and tastes nasty. They also make a chewable children's vitamin, which is excellent, but which all children may not like. Generally, their products are complete, and high quality.

Magazines:

Yoga Journal: The practice of yoga is a powerful aid to all aspects of health, no matter what your level of expertise. I don't live in the same universe as the breathtakingly fit yoga adepts portrayed in Yoga Journal. I'm doing well if I can get into the lotus for 30 seconds, and meditate in any kind of sitting position. Be that as it may, I'm drawn to this magazine. It's always interesting to see what they consider beginners poses, and what the outer limits of human contortion really are. And there are always useful tidbits to apply to my own yoga practice, laughable as it may be.

Links:

Free yoga exercises for pregnancy, due date calculator.

Mapi: Ayurvedic Health: Articles, preventative health advice, ayurvedic herbs and more. There are also several excellent free ayurvedic newsletters available.

Botanical.Com - A Modern Herbal: Herbal experts including Susan Weed, products from Mountain Rose Herbs, lots of links.

Cholesterol: I was looking for information, and came across this page, which answered most of my questions.

Nutrition MD: How nutrition relates to the prevention and treatment of specific health conditions. Plus guides on how to make over your diet, answers to specific nutrition questions, and delicious recipes. Developed by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), Dr. Neil Barnard, president.