ADVANCEDBROWSE SUBJECTS
alive Academy
Alive Forum
Event Calendar
Health Retailer Search
Alive Awards
Alive Web Exclusives
Alive Australia


APEX Awards 2009

Find a store
Subscribe to our Free Newsletter!

Enlarge Font Printer Version Email It to a Friend
The Nature of Natural Healing
by author Siegfried Gursche

Never before has there been such a great interest in natural self-healing–and such a resistance to it.

Natural healing requires re-visioning. It cannot be viewed through the magnifying glass of modern medicine that sees everything in small, unconnected parts. Some alternative healing methods are vehemently attacked by orthodox medicine because they are seen to lack a basis in science or because they have not undergone clinical double-blind studies. Thousands of people, often over thousands of years–have shown traditional therapies work very well. Reports often verify tremendous success for patients on whom orthodox medicine has given up.

But then the goals of orthodox medicine differ fundamentally from those of natural healing. Orthodox medicine focuses on treating symptoms. Potent drugs are employed that often produce a whole list of dangerous side-effects. Mainstream medicine looks for the miracle drug, the one-shot magic bullet that will eradicate certain targeted diseases.

Natural healing, on the other hand, aims to treat the underlying causes rather than the symptoms. The goal is to restore balance to the whole system using gentle methods that work with and not against the body.

Through clever marketing and by pouring billions of dollars into advertising, the pharmaceutical industry has made us believe that health comes about through chemical drugs. Physicians write countless prescriptions every year for antibiotics, tranquilizers, diet drugs, sleeping pills–almost anything, it seems, that our drug-dependent society demands. But the dire consequences of this free-flow of medication are becoming more evident with each report of unforeseen side-effects and the rampant spread of bacteria that have grown immune to antibiotics. In contrast, the safety record of natural medicines including herbs, homeopathics, vitamins and minerals, tissue salts and enzymes is excellent.

Never before has there been such a great interest in natural self-healing–and such a resistance to it from some governments and medical powers. Yet it is your constitutional right to educate yourself in health and medical knowledge, to seek helpful information and make use of it for your own benefit, and for that of your family.

Siegfried Gursche is the founder and publisher of alive Magazine.

Source: alive #235, May 2002

Back to top

See Related Content
BC's Oldest Naturopath
Eighty-six-year-old naturopath Fred Loffler has been known to kill time before a talk by standing on his head. It's not hard to imagine as the ex-wrestling champion and Olympic Marathon contender strides to the stage. He's wiry, bald and throws his arms out to punctuates his words.
9-1-1 Naturopath
I remember visiting my grandmother in the hospital after she collapsed due to heart failure. Without the skilled knowledge of the paramedics who arrived at her home, she would have died.
Treating Toxic Bodies With Environmental Medicine
The scientific and medical world of the 19th and 20th centuries was dominated by the germ theory. The present century is dominated by chemicals and toxins.
Spring Clean Your Liver
It may not feel like it yet, but soon the frost will melt and springtime will arrive--a natural time for growth, renewal and regeneratio.
The Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine
There's excitement in the air as you step through the solid wooden doors of Canada's newest naturopathic college in New Westminster, BC. Or perhaps a better phrase to describe the feeling is "pioneer spirit.
Best of Both Worlds
bridging the medical divide

For decades, a medical war has rage.
Good News for Canada's Newest College
At the campus in New Westminster, BC, they paid their tuition, bought textbooks and attended classes - all without a guarantee that they'd be able to practise once graduating from the program.
A Sign of the Times
The strides gained in the naturopathic profession have been phenomenal given its near extinction only a few decades ago. Naturopathic medicine has hit the mainstream with a bang.
Naturopathic Medicine and Bone Cancer Prevention
The general public perception is that there is very little an individual can do to reduce his chances of getting bone cancer. This view can be challenged, because enhancing the body's ability to resist bone cancer is within our reach.
Meaningful Makeovers Part II
Last month you met Rob, a writer, and Toni, a costumer, who each want to become fitter and healthier. They've begun their alive makeovers by undergoing a naturopathic assessment to discover what they'll need to work on to achieve optimal health.
Integrative Medicine
The progressive educational experience of one Vancouver naturopathic doctor will forever influence his practice and his patients, and reveals the future of medicine.
Holistic Health Care
If you’re a holdout because you don’t know the difference between naturopaths and homeopaths, let this introductory guide, well, guide you.

Back to top