Be Well Blog

Integrative Medicine Explained

By Dr. C. Evers Whyte

What is “Integrated Medicine?”  Ask ten different doctors this question and you might get 10 different answers.  It’s an exciting topic in that new findings are being published every day about how the success of medical outcomes are  improving through integrating different therapies, protocols and even medical paradigms.

My answer is this: Integrated Medicine is a model through which a physician or therapist first looks at a person who is coming for help, asks themselves, “What does this person need to become whole again?” and then uses any and every tool and resource available to facilitate that healing process.  It is more than the combined use of various “conventional” and “alternative” therapies, but aims to access deeper levels of our consciousness.  For example, a hug could be clinically described as, “two persons wrapping their arms around each other and squeezing,” but we all know this explanation lacks the true essence of what a hug is all about!

To begin to understand and appreciate the “process” of Integrated Medicine we first have to appreciate that while our bodies are made of interconnected physical systems–cardiovascular, skeletal, endocrine, nervous, etc, we are more than the sum of these parts.  We are in actual fact, beings composed of integrated and interpenetrating Intelligences: body, mind, soul, and spirit.

To be healthy, we need all these aspects of our beings to be “aligned” and working harmoniously.  If there is dis-harmony, there is dis-ease.  As an Integrated Medical physician, I seek to align and integrate all effective medicinal modalities to heal all the integrated elements, or Intelligences, of your being.

The patient that comes into our office with fatigue and brain-fog may be suffering from iron-deficiency, anemia, or adrenal exhaustion, perhaps hypoglycemia, decreased melatonin production, or the reluctance to go through the natural process of grief at a loved-one’s death after a long illness.  As I work with the patient to find the root of her ailments, we may discover that a number of these diagnoses are correct, perhaps even all of them.  This patient doesn’t have a Prozac deficiency.  She may need a change in

The Benefits of Acupuncture

 

 

Acupuncture is an ancient form of medicine that’s been used successfully for over 8000 years.  It is based upon the Taoist tradition of observing the flow of energy within and without, where the body is viewed as a network of interrelated energy channels or “meridians.”  Illness and pain are the result of blocked or imbalanced energy currents.  Acupuncture uses hair-thin needles painlessly inserted into specific points on the body to stimulate or unblock the flow of energy and restore one’s natural balance and health.

In the East this energy is called “qi” (pronounced “chee) and is linked to our relation to nature and seasonal changes.  Western science believes acupuncture likely works by stimulating the central nervous system to release chemicals that dull pain, boost the immune system and regulate various body functions.  

However one wishes to view it, thousands of years of use and modern day scientific studies have proven the effectiveness of acupuncture to treat a wide variety of health problems including  pain of all origins, disorders of the neurological, muscular, respiratory, and gastro-intestinal systems.  It’s also used to treat osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, chemotherapy-induced nausea, bladder control, carpel tunnel, anxiety, insomnia, allergies, asthma, high blood, constipation, weight loss, smoking cessation, and more.

Acupuncture can treat so many different maladies because it recognizes that all parts of the body create an integrated, “whole” being.   And unlike conventional pharmaceuticals, there are only beneficial side effects to acupuncture such as sleeping better, having more energy, breathing deeper and many other bonuses.

Like other Integrative Medical Practices, acupuncture believes the body naturally wants to remain healthy and balanced.  Like a ship on the water that rolls with daily sea changes and challenges while remaining upright, the body’s innate design urges it to return to a fully functional, balanced position.  Acupuncture  gently assists the body to heal itself naturally.