What is a Natural Therapy?

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Natural therapy is the treatment method
used by advocates of natural health.

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The mission of this Web page is to precisely define what a natural therapy is and is not. In other words, this Web page will answer the question of whether or not a particular form of therapy should be classified as a natural therapy. It neither claims that all possible forms of natural therapy work or that other forms of therapy do not work.

"It appears that medical researchers now have in their possession the technology and understanding necessary to more fully appreciate the value of 'natural' therapies. In essence, many natural therapies are being improved or refined through scientific investigations. Science is paving the way for the medicine of the future--a medicine that recognizes the healing power of nature." -- Encyclopedia of Nutritional Supplements by Michael T. Murray, N.D.

A therapy can be classified as a natural therapy, provided:

1. Its mode of action exists in the physical realm of existence.
   • Includes any therapy designed to manipulate the human body alone or the mind - body connection.
     • Mind - Body Connection: Considerable evidence exists to support an association between psychological states and immune function; with inflammation being one possible mode of action or mechanism.[1],[2],[3]
   • Excludes any therapy designed to work in other worlds or dimensions that are invisible to our normal senses (such as trying to manipulate spiritual, karmic, or ancestral forces and personal auras or energy flows around the human body).
2. The therapy can be physically measured or detected.
   • The therapy must be visible to our normal senses.
   • The therapy can be either about engaging in more, reducing participation in, or avoiding entirely specific activities or lifestyles.
3. The therapy is targeted either at health, wellness, illness, and/or healing.
   • The therapy must either promote personal health, wellness, or treat/manage a specific health condition.
     • What might be effective for treating a specific health condition, might not be recommended for promoting general health.
4. The therapy is slow acting, simple and inexpensive.
   • Natural therapies are slow acting because they rely on the body's innate healing abilities.
   • The first choice for treating any health condition, in natural health, should always be the simplest, safest, and least expensive method available.
     • Unhealthy diets and lifestyles are corrected, first, before any nutritional supplements and herbs are taken to enhance the healing process.
5. The therapy is under the control of the individual.
   • The therapy has to target some aspect of lifestyle that is a matter of personal choice and, thus, can be changed by that individual.
     
     

   "Patients should have rest, food, fresh air, and exercise — the quadrangle of health." -- Sir William Osler, MD (1849-1919), the father of psychosomatic medicine.

Wellness through Natural Therapies

Sample Natural Therapies:[4]

• Lifestyle
  • Going for an evening walk in the fresh air and sunshine.
  • STOP Smoking
    • Science has shown over and over again that smoking is a risk factor for most degenerative diseases.
• Eating natural whole foods
  • If you do not eat, you will eventually starve to death.
  • The science of nutrition exists to study the effects of diet on health.
  • The health benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables has been documented by science over and over again.
    • In 1754, James Lind, a Scottish naval surgeon, conducted the first ever clinical trial, when he studied 12 sailors with scurvy to see if they could be healed by diet. Within six days, the fruits effectiveness was obvious.
      • Today, people who live on a hamburger, coke, and French fry diet often suffer from borderline scurvy due to a lack of fruit in their diet.
• Nutritional supplements
  • Research on the value of nutritional supplements for preventing specific lifestyle diseases has shown mixed results.
    • Some studies support taking a daily multivitamin, while other studies do not.
  • Research on the value of nutritional supplements for treating or managing specific health conditions has been generally favorable, depending on the specific supplement used and the specific health condition treated..
    • Specific supplements are effective only for certain health conditions.
• Physical exercise
  • Exercise therapy has been proven by science over and over again to reduce the risk of getting most lifestyle diseases.
• Stress management
  • Getting seven to eight hours of sleep every night.
  • Taking yoga lessons.
  • Practicing counting meditation.

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Please read our Medical Advice Disclaimer.

Web Site News: : This Web site participated in a GNU Free Documentation project by contributing some selective material in order to create an information source on natural health, natural therapy, and lifestyle diseases in an encyclopedia format that is freely available. In addition, we participated in creating an orange colored infobox that both organized and classified a large number of encyclopedic articles on alternative medicine. Our project was successful as it got this selective material out on the Internet both at the original site as well as on a number of mirror sites. As time passes, our project will become even more successful as more mirror sites are created. There is a big difference between the above original tutorial article and these encyclopedic articles. The above original article makes a health claim, whereas these encyclopedic articles do not. Natural therapy: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Natural therapy: wordIQ.com Natural therapy: Fablis.com Natural therapy: Information Blast Natural therapy: NationMaster.com Natural therapy: TeachersParadise.com

References:

1. Glaser R, Robles TF, Sheridan J. Mild depressive symptoms are associated with amplified and prolonged inflammatory responses after influenza virus vaccination in older adults. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003 Oct;60(10):1009-14.
   PMID: 14557146.
2. Savard J, Laroche L, Simard S. Chronic insomnia and immune functioning. Psychosom Med. 2003 Mar-Apr;65(2):211-21.
   PMID: 12651988.
3. Rosenkranz MA, Jackson DC, Dalton KM. Affective style and in vivo immune response: Neurobehavioral mechanisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Sep 5 [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 12960387.
4. Support for the health claims made on this Web page can be found in the hundreds of citations referenced throughout this Web site on the Web pages that discuss the respective topics.