What Natural Healing Offers Women

Made-to-Order Options for Total Health

Have you ever soaked in a hot, fragrant bath at the end of a stress-filled day? Or iced a bruise or used a hot-water bottle to ease menstrual cramps?

Have you ever had, or given, a back rub? Have you ever kissed away a child's pain?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you've tried natural healing. Your therapeutic repertoire in those instances? Aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, massage and one form of therapeutic touch.

If you're like many women, you might think that natural healing therapies are mysterious and exotic. Paradoxically, natural healing is quite simple. In fact, you may already be using natural healing to help yourself and your family stay healthy, without even realizing it. Many of the therapies are as familiar as hot-water bottles and back rubs.

A RENAISSANCE OF NATURAL THERAPIES

A therapy is considered natural if it relies more on your body's innate power to heal itself than on invasive interventions such as drugs and surgery. Some natural therapies, like acupuncture, are considered conventional in non-Western countries such as China. Others, like herbal medicine, are practiced widely in one form or the other in nearly every culture of the globe. In this country, however, natural therapies are variously referred to as unconventional, alternative, complementary or unorthodox.

Unless doctors make a special effort to explore alternative medicine on their own, they don't generally learn about aromatherapy, massage, herbs or other forms of alternative medicine in medical school--yet. Nor are these and other alternative therapies used in most hospitals. But you can expect alternative medicine to become even more familiar as we enter the twenty-first century, according to a landmark study by doctors at Harvard Medical School. The study reports that far more people than previously thought are utilizing unconventional therapies.

The Harvard study estimates that Americans make 37 million more visits to alternative practitioners than they do to conventional physicians, and that a third of all the people studied have used at least one unconventional therapy within the last year.

To further demonstrate that natural healing is becoming more mainstream, consider this.

* The National Institutes of Health established the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) in 1992 to research unconventional therapies. The OAM funds studies on health concerns as diverse as menopause and AIDS. In the first five years, the OAM budget more than quadrupled.

* In 1995, a National Institutes of Health panel found various alternative treatments to be effective for chronic pain and insomnia. Included were meditation, hypnosis, biofeedback, cognitive behavior therapy and relaxation techniques such as yoga and breathing exercises.

* The World Health Organization (WHO) says that more than 70 percent of the world's population relies on what Western physicians consider alternative healing methods.

Dozens of America's most respected university medical schools--including Harvard, Yale, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Tufts University in Boston, Columbia University in New York City and Stanford--have begun to add courses in various forms of alternative medicine to their curricula.

What's more, there are three schools of medicine devoted solely to naturopathy, a form of medicine that emphasizes the use of vitamin and mineral therapy, acupuncture and other alternative therapies over the use of drugs or surgery. They are Bastyr University of Naturopathic Medicine in Seattle, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences in Tempe, Arizona, and the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. So don't be surprised if one day soon, your family doctor recommends a natural treatment to you--if she hasn't done so already.

"I've been involved in alternative medicine for a long time," says Michael Carlston, M.D., assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. "We are in the midst of a huge transition in the way that we practice--and teach--medicine. Younger doctors feel comfortable with alternative medicine, and many are becoming certified in alternative treatments."

A NATURAL FOR WOMEN

You've probably noticed that interest in alternatives to Western medicine, like herbal remedies, is at an all-time high. Frequently featured in news magazines, major newspapers and broadcast media, natural healing has even figured into the story lines of television comedies and medical dramas. Suddenly, natural healing is everywhere. And that bodes well for women's health.

The preventive philosophy supports the "Dr. Mom" role that so many of us play.

"Women have traditionally been the gatekeepers for the health of their families," says Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D., former head of field investigations for the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. "Natural medicine stresses the importance of maintaining wellness, and it offers gentle, safe and effective
remedies that women can use to care for themselves and for those they love.

"Many natural medicine systems, like Traditional Chinese Medicine, provide good models for self-care and wellness," says Dr. Fugh-Berman. These modalities emphasize good nutrition, stress reduction and other habits that help prevent health problems--not just fix what goes wrong.

Furthermore, health problems unique to women, such as menstrual problems, breast discomfort and hot flashes, can often be eased by natural therapies like herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy and other therapies, says Dr. Fugh-Berman.

Take premenstrual syndrome (PMS), for example. "Over 200 symptoms are attributed to PMS," says Joyce Frye, D.O., an obstetrician/gynecologist and chairperson of the gynecology department at Presbyterian Medical Center and a clinical faculty member at Jefferson Medical College, both in Philadelphia.

"Some doctors say, 'Here's a women with PMS. She needs Prozac (a major antidepressant drug),'" explains Dr. Frye, who integrates natural-healing techniques with osteopathy. In contrast, she says, an alternative practitioner may evaluate the same woman and say, "Here's a woman who needs to improve her nutrition. She needs to exercise. Let's try vitamin

supplements and other natural treatments that won't trigger uncomfortable--or even dangerous--side effects."

When it comes to relieving discomforts associated with menopause, alternative medicine offers gentle, safe choices for women who decide against taking hormone replacement therapy.

"For example, herbal medicine will ease hot flashes and other symptoms for some women," says Dr. Fugh-Berman. "Other women find that taking vitamin E helps. Still others report that simple deep-breathing exercises make hot flashes more bearable. It's natural medicine for a natural transition."

THE SPIRITUAL SIDE

Some natural traditions encourage women to consider the spiritual essence of being female.

"The Iroquois called menstruation a woman's vision time," says Kathleen Maier, a physician's assistant, herbalist and director of Dreamtime Center for Herbal Studies in Flint Hill, Virginia, and former adviser on botanical medicine for the National Institutes of Health. "They believed that during menstruation, women's energies are much more sensitive to external stimuli and their surrounding environments and that women should use the time to rest and reflect. Even though these teachings have not been part of our culture, the concept is important to consider," Maier says.

FOCUS ON PREVENTION

In these days of medical miracles like organ transplants, bypass surgery and drugs that end common killer diseases, what place does natural healing play? First strike? Last resort? An add-on to other, more conventional therapies?

The answer is all of the above, depending on your circumstances. No competent natural healer would ever suggest that you bypass the emergency room if you're seriously injured in an accident. Nor should you forgo medical help if you suddenly come down with a life-threatening illness. No one should stop taking prescription medicine for serious conditions like cancer or heart disease in favor of a highly questionable therapy with no track record or scientific basis, says Dr. Fugh-Berman.

But natural healing and conventional medicine can and should peacefully co-exist. "Natural medicine is great for preventing illness and treating minor and chronic conditions, and it's a great complement to conventional treatments for heart disease and cancer," says Dr. Fugh-Berman.

Herbal medicine, for example, has tonics that help support heart function while you take your regularly prescribed medication. Some herbs can ease the discomfort of cancer treatments. And mind-body therapies like visualization, yoga, meditation and breath work can help reduce stress--an essential aspect of treatment for a long list of conditions, says Dr. Fugh-Berman.

What's more, alternative therapies are often appropriate for a long list of everyday complaints that can be safely and effectively treated at home--from cuts and scrapes to insomnia, indigestion and headaches.

Finally, "natural medicine can be an excellent alternative choice for treating chronic problems, such as irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia (painful 'trigger points' in the muscles), which have no good conventional treatments," says Dr. Fugh-Berman.

"Western medicine has big guns to solve life-threatening problems and medical emergencies: space-age diagnostic equipment, intricate surgical procedures, powerful drugs and the like," says Christina Stemmler, M.D., a Houston physician who uses acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in her practice and previously headed the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. "But we don't have or use weapons that can handle the little problems before they become chronic conditions. Instead, we use tools like acupuncture, dietary therapy and massage, which can halt the progression or reverse an illness before it becomes unmanageable."

Indeed, treating health problems before they become chronic may be the common denominator for therapies as diverse as Traditional Chinese Medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic, naturopathy, yoga and herbal medicine. In fact, perhaps the most important advantage offered by many natural-healing disciplines is their ability to help you stay healthy.

NATURAL HEALING AND YOU

If you decide to try an alternative therapy, tell your family physician about your plans. She may need to monitor your progress or adjust your medication.

And be patient. Don't expect natural-healing methods to work in quite the same way that Western medicine does.

"We're used to quick-fix treatments that work almost immediately," says Dr. Fugh-Berman. "Natural medicine tends to be slower, gentler and often easier on your system." So listen to your body, find what works for you and give it time.