Healing Energy

You know, it wasn’t too many years ago when blood letting (usually with live leeches at a local barber shop) was a medical treatment, as was ingesting cola syrup served at the local "drug store." It would appear that we’ve come a long way since those times, with hi-tech medical complexes dominating the landscape in towns and cities. However, are we getting any healthier?

A little over a year ago the prestigious JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) said that between 1990 and 1997 almost twice as many people visited alternative health practitioners than they did primary care physicians. Six hundred and forty million [640,000.000] people spent over $27 billion [$27,000,000,000.00]…out of pocket! Considering a 80% deductible, this would have meant over $132 billion dollars spent.

I contacted a few alternative heath care professionals in this area to get a feel of how "alternative" Chattanooga really is.

The term was coined by the popular alternative medicine advocate, Andrew Weil, MD. Dr. Jump has had a practice in Chattanooga for 4 1/2 years. One could almost conjure up a mystical image of the way some people connect with the new healing paradigm. During a one-week undersea period, Lieutenant Jump, while serving as a doctor in a Navy submarine he had an epiphany pointing him to alternative medicine. A board certified family specialist, Dr. Jump says he has not "thrown the baby out with the bath water."

While he affirms that the "technology of medicine" today is out of control, he also stands by many traditional diagnostic methods of the allopathic tradition.

Does alternative care really work, and if so, why aren’t most medical doctors using its methods?

"The Chattanooga area has been slow to embrace complementary alternative medicine," says thirty-four-year-old Chattanoogan, John Baird, MD. "Like most southern towns, people here seem to want their healthcare to be what is most comfortable, which is the disease model of healthcare." "The medical community in Chattanooga," continued Baird, "is extremely suspect of alternative therapies, and fearful of the lack of knowledge they possess in this area compared to their patient's, armed with information from the Internet."

Dr. Binh Le, OMD (Oriental Medical Doctor), 28, says he gets most of his patients after they’ve been unable to get satisfaction from their family physician or specialist. Although from Vietnam, Le studied medicine at California’s South Baylo University of Oriental Medicine, Anaheim, CA. Like the other physicians, the one biggest problem that he sees in today’s contemporary medicine is dependency on drugs and pharmaceuticals. Le, whose grandfather aunt and uncle were Oriental medical doctors, uses meditation and Tai Chi, along with acupuncture, and herbs.

"Most people seem to find it difficult to change habits, eat more healthy, exercise, and reduce stress." says Dr. Baird. "They would rather take medications and have surgery." "But with time comes change, and today’s adults are embracing a holistic approach to medicine. Many of these people are unhappy with waiting hours to see a doctor only to see the practitioner for a few minutes and be sent for a test or given a medication, with no individual treatment. He went on, "…holistic medical practitioners take time to get to know their patients and look into a patients diet, spirituality, support systems and relationships, as well as how these relate to their health."

Dr. Randy Davis, 37, a local Chattanooga pharmacist whose specialty is compounding medicines, says that most pharmaceutical companies add binder, fillers, color dyes, etc. that may themselves cause health problems. He also carries a full line of herbs and vitamins and supplements. He recently purchased the Wellness Center Pharmacy, an 18 year old business, and is already seeing a growing customer base. "I feel there are about 50,000 people in this area investigating alternative health and healing," says Davis. "I am delighted to see A.C.A.M., the American College of Advanced Medicine having their National Convention in Tennessee, just two hours from Chattanooga."

There are common threads that run through Alternative Medicine. While there is a plethora of modalities, techniques, substances and philosophies used in alternative medicine, from Ayurveda to Zazen, here are some prevalent aspects of new paradigm healing:

• People are interconnected holistic bionic beings. All their parts are connected in some way, and affect each other in some way.
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• Alternative, Integrative, Complementary, Holistic, Naturopathic, Chiropractic and Energy medicine, including acupressure, acupuncture and homeopathy treat or examine the cause not the symptom.
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• Letting the patient know he/she is responsible for healing her/himself.
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• Using less invasive drugs and procedures.
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• Acceptance of spirituality in the healing process.

"Individualized treatment programs, taking a holistic approach, work to help people heal themselves." Says Dr. Baird, "With time, education and results, as well as research to back up what we do, these effective methods will become acceptable. The key is to choose a certified practitioner offering good medicine with the goal not income, but to work together with patients to help heal whatever ails them, whether it be an emotional heartache or recover from a heart attack."

So, why aren’t all doctors changing? Unfortunately, non-traditional medicine is still not in favor. The reason…simple inertia. When a multinational, pharmaceutical conglomerate is raking in billions of dollars on a single "patent medicine," change is sometimes "out of the question." When FDA tests are required, often exceeding $10 million, and up to a decade to complete, they will be on Viagra, not St. John’s Wart! Pharmaceutical companies provide the fodder for the medical schools…along with grants and other funding. It’s a viscous cycle and the person seeking health is the one to get hurt. Corporate interests will continue to fight alternative therapies tooth and nail. In further columns I will tell you of some nightmares.

Dr. Jump, who respects new paradigm physicians including Larry Dossey, MD, Bernie Siegel, MD, Deepak Chopra, MD and Andrew Weil, MD says it well, "People will let their feet do the talking as conventional medicine no longer works. People today are becoming more knowledgeable."

In coming columns I will examine the esoteric healing methods …from crystals to pyramids. Next week, "Water, Water Everywhere, And Not A Drop to Spare!"

Until next week, this is Virato, saying….take another look at your reality. 

Do e-mail me: virato@mindspring.com

This week’s Websites:

JAMA, November 11, 1998 edition
http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v280n18/ffull/jtw80027.html

Alternative Medicine
http://www.yourhealthbase.com/alternative_medicine.html

Chattanooga Spirit
http://www.newfrontier.com/chattanooga

© 2001, Virato. All rights reserved.