Which natural medicine is for you?

Confounded over which alternative healthcare to use? This guide to homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Ayurveda will give you what you need to decide.

IN THIS SECTION

HOMEOPATHY

The two-century-old system of homeopathy works by giving the patient very small dosages of substances that stimulate the body to heal itself. The dosages are so tiny that they are extremely unlikely to have adverse effects; however, their effect on the body's self-healing powers may be dramatic.

CHINESE MEDICINE

This 4,000-year-old form of medicine relies on herbs, acupuncture needles, bodywork, nutrition, and exercise to help bring the body's energy into balanced, healthful alignment. People who get acupuncture often report that they feel relaxed and "plugged in."

AYURVEDA

The 5,000-year-old Ayurveda is a complete system of medicine that embraces every aspect of a person's life. Ayurvedic doctors tell you what your dosha (body/ personality type) is and what herbs, s, exercises, and other lifestyle habits produce harmony for that dosha.

Alternative healthcare is no longer alternative. Visits to alternative healthcare practitioners, like chiropractors and acupuncturists, now outnumber visits to conventional doctors (see "The Future of Medicine?" on page 124). The country's top scientific body, the National Institutes of Health, last year gave its blessings to acupuncture. Insurance companies are beginning to cover some forms of natural medicine (see chart on page 123). And at least one government-funded clinic--the Kent Community Health Center, outside Seattle--now includes natural medicine in its standard offerings.

The question many people are now asking is not whether they should use alternative therapies, but which one. Why would you choose to see a homeopathic doctor over an acupuncturist? How do you determine which therapy or medical system is right for you?

Answers to these questions can start with understanding three medical traditions that underlie much of natural medicine today: homeopathy, a school of medicine that originated in Europe two centuries ago; Ayurveda, a system of healing that began in India 5,000 years ago; and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which originated in China around 4,000 years ago. While very different in their methods, these three healing systems share fundamental principles that set them apart from Western medicine. Understanding these principles and how doctors of homeopathy, Ayurveda, and TCM work with their patients provides both a thorough grounding in natural medicine and a basis for selecting and using any modality or therapy, whether it is St. John's wort for depression or magnets for pain. Here, then, are the major similarities of these healing systems:

* First, do no harm. While this is a part of the Hippocratic Oath that medical doctors take before they begin to practice, conventional medicine's basic tools--drugs and surgery--have a history of producing high rates of injury and harmful side effects. The treatments used in homeopathy, Ayurveda, and TCM are decidedly less risky, and the doctors of these medical systems almost always first consider benign prescriptions (of dietary and other lifestyle changes) that they believe are likely to produce a healing response.

* Focus on the person, not the disease. All three schools operate on the premise that no two people are alike, so the same illness (as defined in Western medicine) will manifest itself differently in each person. While Western medicine treats the symptoms of an illness, homeopathy, Ayurveda, and TCM are more concerned with the specific traits and habits of the person who has the illness, to understand how those have combined to produce sickness.

* Activate energy. A third principle shared by these systems is based on three fundamental assumptions: first, that there is a force, or energy, in every human being (and in the natural world around us); second, that health follows when that energy is properly activated; and third, that the doctor's role is to help activate it in the patient in appropriate ways. In homeopathy this energy is called the vital force, in Ayurveda it's referred to as prana, and in TCM it's called qi (pronounced chee). This life force is what animates us and governs all our functions. It is hard for many Westerners to conceive of an energy that we can't see, feel, or measure. However, says C. Peter Albright, M.D., past president of the American Holistic Medical Association, "Western medicine is one of the few medical systems, if not the only one, that doesn't recognize a vital force in human beings."

* The body, not the doctor, heals. Homeopathy, Ayurveda, and TCM are all predicated on the principle that within our bodies are recuperative powers, which, when functioning well, will heal any disease. Each of these schools of medicine uses methods that encourage the body in its own healing process.

* Allow time for healing to occur. A trademark of modern medicine is the quick cure. Many medicines will rapidly destroy pathogens and thereby reduce or eliminate the symptoms produced by the activity of those pathogens. However, many illnesses and diseases (such as sinusitis, arthritis, and many skin conditions) are not provoked by pathogens, but rather are the outcome of prolonged errors in diet, inactivity, and other lifestyle factors. For these illnesses to heal, the body needs to be restored to balance and injury to tissue must be repaired. These take time and patience. Most often, people who commit to several months of changes in dietary and other habits--including getting more rest--notice that positive outcomes appear gradually and steadily. The improvement in one's health is often far more dramatic than if the individual were to simply take a medication that relieves pain and other symptoms.