Complementary or Alternative: A Clash With Modern Medicine?

What's the difference?
A visit to a local health food store allowed me to overhear a conversation between the shop owner, also a practicing pharmacist in the ordinary clinical sense, and a member of the public. The converstaion highlighted the misconceptions surrounding alternative and complementary medicines and therapies. When the member of the public asked, "How do you know which one to recommend to a customer?", the answer was straightforward and that understood by anyone with an understanding of such practices. That is, that it is not a case of choosing one over the other, one can be used instead of the other or both used simultaneously.

Complementary medicines are just that: complementary to "Western"/"modern" or "mainstream" medicine. According to the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), this is a practice "used together with conventional medicine". On the other hand, alternative medicines are defined by NCCIH as practices "used instead of conventional medicine". 1

Complementary medicines and therapies and alternative ones are therefore exactly the same thing. The only distinction is how and when they are used in relationship to the conventional clinical world.

How does nutritional therapy support me?
The foundation stone of the nutritional aspect of these practices is simply live well to be well: adopt lifestyle and nutritional practices to prevent illness - or disease (dis-ease). When you are in this ideal state you boost your immune system which is in turn preventative. Although many of today's medical and healthcare practices have derived from this and are encouraged by mainstream healthcare professionals (mindfulness, yoga, for instance), prevention is how this 5000-year-old science taking a holistic approach contrasts with modern medicine in that the latter often fails to take a whole system holistic view of the person. However, recommended natural remedies also exist to assist us when ailments afflict us.

Even when eating a carefully thought out diet that is nutritionally beneficial to our own personal constitution and following healthy lifestyle practices, it is easy for our bodily systems to fall out of balance. Consider how everything surrounding us is in constant flux: weather patterns, seasons, even the change between night and day influence the balance in our outer environment. This, and other actions such as eating incompatible food combinations (there are several), also influences the balance of our internal environment i.e. our physical and mental responses, processes and actions. These in turn impact on our physical and mental health and wellbeing often due to the accumulation of bacteria in the gut. Often there are simple ways to rectify such an imbalance and general advice can be given to anyone.

What's so great about this therapy?
A great thing about Ayurveda is that it does not assume a one-size-fits all approach. Other than adopting a holistic approach to wellbeing and treatment, it recognises that we all have our unique personal constitution and therefore some guidance, dietary in particular, can be highly personalised to help with the condition or imbalance experienced, both physical and mental.

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IMPORTANT: Advice on natural remedies, nutrition or lifestyle is NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR ADVICE FROM A QUALIFIED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL OR PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLING SERVICES. It is offered as a complementary therapy and not as a guarantee to prevent or cure any condition, illness, disease or ailment.

1www.nhs.uk/conditions/complementary-and-alternative-medicine/