How to decide what treatment to choose.

Our medical system is heavily biased toward chemically manipulating our bodies. Everything from pain medications, to antibiotics, to anti-hypertensives is anti anti anti!!!  So how and why do these medications work? As science developed tools to explore the biochemistry of the body it was able to produce chemicals that either mimic or block existing pathways.  So where am I heading?  Only to say that the reason medications work is because of something the body already knows how to do but for some reason its intelligence has been blocked or weakened.

There are some medication pharmacologists still don't understand, like Acetaminophen or Tylenol.  However other pain medications like NSAIDS, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, are better understood by the medical community.

When the body needs help to balance and heal, the first step is always to examine our life style, diet, and exercise. In addition, we should examine our relationships so that they are life supporting. Everything that we take into our body/mind through our senses must be metabolized whether its food or sensory experiences.  It is not an easy task these days as our food supply is peppered with fertilizers, pesticides and GMO's. And our senses are bombarded TV, movies and social media. All of which have to be "digested" and "metabolized".

I am often asked whether it is necessary to take supplements or Nutraceuticals? Taking too many can put a great a burden on the liver and various metabolic pathways in the body, putting the body out of balance. One fact that you must realize when making decisions on whether to take supplements is that it is a very big business.  A good example is the wonderful herb/plant medicine Turmeric. The new trend is to extract the "active ingredient" curcumin and sell it in bottles. However it's the whole herb working together with all of its component parts that provides the healing.

So what do we do if you doctor tells us to take medications or vitamins that might be life saving? Take them. Then work on putting your body back in balance by re-enlivening its own inner intelligence. Ayurved has many modalities that restore our natural balance.



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