What is the difference between alternative medicine and holistic health?

The core difference between the two is not actually the specific operation, but at the attribute level - alternative therapy is the general term for a series of intervention methods that are different from mainstream medical paths, while holistic health is a health concept that treats people as a complete system, which is a completely two-dimensional thing.

I worked as an assistant in a natural health studio for half a year, and I met too many people who confused the two. The one that impressed me most was an aunt who had a history of high blood pressure for ten years. She secretly stopped the antihypertensive medicine prescribed by the doctor, and drank celery juice and did moxibustion every day to lower her blood pressure. She said that she was taking the path of "holistic health". As a result, she felt dizzy and went to the emergency room within half a month, with her blood pressure soaring to 180. In fact, she was using typical alternative therapy, and she also stepped on the most controversial pitfall of "blind replacement of formal treatment" in alternative therapy.

In fact, there is no unified conclusion on the attitude of the industry towards alternative therapies. There are clear evidence-based supports, such as acupuncture to relieve postoperative pain and mindfulness meditation to improve nausea after chemotherapy. Rehabilitation departments and psychosomatic departments of many regular hospitals will also include regular auxiliary programs. However, those wild alternatives that frequently claim to be able to "cure cancer" and "replace hypoglycemic drugs" are essentially charging IQ taxes and may delay the disease. This is the core reason why alternative therapies have been criticized.

And overall health, which everyone often confuses, actually does not involve the choice of "what method to use to treat a disease" at all. It is more like the underlying logic of how you view health. There was a young man who suffered from recurrent gastric ulcers. He took acid-suppressing medicine for more than half a year, but it didn't heal. Later, I looked at the overall health concept and found out that he was in sales. He drank with customers every day, and had to argue with his family over trivial matters when he returned home. His mood was always very tense. Later, he only followed the doctor's instructions He took medicine, actively adjusted the frequency of drinking, and went cycling along the riverside two nights a week to relax. The ulcer healed within two months. No special alternative therapy was used throughout the process. It was just that his stomach was not treated as a single "bad part" to be repaired, but the problems of his entire life were taken care of.

If you compare maintaining health to taking care of a small garden, the difference will be easier to understand: alternative therapy means that you do not use conventional chemical fertilizers, but use unconventional maintenance methods such as homemade organic fertilizers and biological pest control.； As for overall health, you don't just focus on whether there are insects on the flowers or whether the leaves are yellowing. You also look at whether there is enough light, whether the soil is well breathable, whether there are weeds around to compete for nutrients, and whether the temperature of the water for watering the flowers will stimulate the root system. You are taking care of the ecology of the entire garden from beginning to end, rather than thinking of changing medicines to cure problems when they arise.

Of course, the two are not completely separate. Many people who practice holistic health concepts also use proven alternative therapies as tools. For example, if an office worker suffers from back pain after sitting for a long time, in addition to applying anti-inflammatory and analgesic ointments as prescribed by the doctor, he will also regularly do bone-setting and baduanjin exercises to adjust the muscle condition.

Oh, by the way, many businesses now deliberately bind the two, packaging ordinary alternative physical therapy programs as "holistic health solutions" and selling them at high prices, and also deceiving people to stop regular treatment drugs. This is also the core reason why many people misunderstand these two concepts. If you really want to get in touch, whether you are using alternative therapies or practicing holistic health, don't risk your life. It is always right to consult a regular medical staff first.