0
mote health and well-being. Women
who visit such doctors for symptoms
of menopause are likely to come away
with odd prescriptions, such as licorice
root, blessed thistle and false unicorn,
according to a recent USA Today arti-
cle.
No doubt they consulted Dr.
Andrew Weil, an early researcher of
"the relaxation response." A medical
doctor, Weil (www.drweil.com )
believes that health is an inner
resilience that allows one to interact
with germs without getting infections,
with allergens without haring allergic
reactions and with carcinogens with-
out developing cancer.
"Optimal health should also bring a
> c sense of strength and joy; it's more
than just the absence of disease," he
says. In his books, he advocates dietary
change, vitamin supplements, exercise
and working on your mental and spir-
itual well-being through meditation.
His latest is "8 Weeks to Optimum
Health" (Knopf).
0 We're seeing a
return to the
roots of
medicine.
Dr. David Simon, medical director
for the Chopra Center for Well Being
in La Jolla, Calif., and author of a new
book titled "The Wisdom of Healing:
A Natural Mind Body Program for
Creating Optimal Wellness" (Crown
Publishing), sees a return to genuine
"traditional" medicine.
What we're really seeing is a
return
to the roots of medicine," he
_
>
said, "which always acknowledged the
body, mind and spirit in terms of
process. The community and health-
care providers recognize that there's
an important role for individuals to
take responsibility for their own well-
being, to learn how to keep them-
selves healthy and to become vigor-
ous participants and partners in a
0 recovery process when they face ill-
ness.
"For a while there we thought that
the continued application of scientific
principles would allow us to cure
every illness and solve every problem.
In 1928, we discovered penicillin,
which cured infections in a very pro-
found way, so we had this thought
C)
that for every illness there must be a
pill. "Even as we treat illness with fab-
ulous miracle medicines, we find the
emergence of other illnesses as a direct
result of our efforts. Right now there's
great concern about the virulent,
antibiotic-resistant bacteria that have
learned to override every drug we've
offered, and it's because we've used
antibiotics in a fairly liberal way."
The important thing is prevention,
according to Simon. People must con-
sider what they eat, how they live their
lives, whether their relationships are
healthy or toxic, whether they're cop-
ing well with stress. They can't wait till
they have heart attacks and expect to
be cured and/or fixed.
"We can no longer live with this
idea that the body is like a mechanical
vehicle, and when it gets broken we
take it to the shop and fix it up
again," said Simon. "At last we realize
it's time for a health-care system as
opposed to a disease-care system," he
said. "Ultimately, the most important
healer is the healing force within each
of us."
The kind of integrative medicine
practiced at the Chopra Center and at
Weirs Mind/Body Medical Institute is
being adopted by other far-sighted
modern physicians in medical clinics
around the nation. It's a blend of tra-
ditional clinical practices, alternative
treatment and patient education that
invites active participation. Herbal
remedies, aromatherapy, chiropractic,
acupuncture, massage, Eastern medi-
cine, biofeedback, meditation, herbal
and vitamin/mineral therapies, dietary
modification and exercise - that most
prescribed of all remedies — are ever
more frequently to be found at a med-
ical clinic near you.
Physicians are more open to the
integration of alternative therapies and
holistic principles into their clinical
practice. The public is willing at last
to accept the fact that doctors are not
infallible and to take a larger part in
determining their own treatment and
life maintenance.
And managed health-care organi-
zations are coming to see integrated
medicine as a means to cut costs. In
January 1998, Blue Shield of
California introduces the Life Path
Program, which provides health care
policyholders with a list of caregiver
groups that offer some of the afore-
mentioned treatments. These caregiv-
er affiliates offer discounts to Life
Path policyholders. Can regularly
covered alternative treatment be far
behind? 0
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