Health
Holistic health (or holistic medicine) is a diverse field of alternative medicine in which the "whole person" is focused on, not just the malady itself. The holistic concept in medical practice, which is distinct from the concept in the alternative medicine, upholds that all aspects of people's needs including psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. A 2007 study said the concept was alive and well in general medicine in Sweden. Some practitioners of holistic medicine use alternative medicine exclusively, though sometimes holistic treatment can mean simply that a physician takes account of all a person's circumstances in giving treatment. Sometimes when alternative medicine is mixed with mainstream medicine the result is called "holistic" medicine, though this is more commonly termed integrative medicine. According to the American Holistic Medical Association it is believed that the spiritual element should also be taken into account when assessing a person's overall well-being.
- Text from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holistic_health
- Image from http://www.myballard.com/2013/04/18/holistic-health-events-set-to-educate-ballard-locals-this-week/
- Text from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holistic_health
- Image from http://www.myballard.com/2013/04/18/holistic-health-events-set-to-educate-ballard-locals-this-week/
Herbal medicine (or "herbalism") is the study and use of medicinal properties of plants. The scope of herbal medicine is sometimes extended to include fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts. Pharmacognosy is the study of all medicines that are derived from natural sources. The bark of willow trees contains large amounts of salicylic acid, which is the active metabolite of aspirin. Willow bark has been used for millennia as an effective pain reliever and fever reducer. Plants have the ability to synthesize a wide variety of chemical compounds that are used to perform important biological functions, and to defend against attack from predators such as insects, fungi and herbivorous mammals. At least 12,000 such compounds have been isolated so far; a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total. Chemical compounds in plants mediate their effects on the human body through processes identical to those already well understood for the chemical compounds in conventional drugs; thus herbal medicines do not differ greatly from conventional drugs in terms of how they work. This enables herbal medicines to be as effective as conventional medicines, but also gives them the same potential to cause harmful side effects.
- Text from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalism
- Image from: http://www.essentialoils.co.za/herbalism.htm
- Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_plants_used_in_herbalism
- Text from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalism
- Image from: http://www.essentialoils.co.za/herbalism.htm
- Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_plants_used_in_herbalism