What is the difference between alternative medicine and holistic health

To put it bluntly, the two are not dimensional concepts at all - alternative therapy is a type of "intervention method used to replace mainstream conventional medical care", while holistic health is a full-dimensional health concept covering physiology, psychology, lifestyle and even social relationships. The scope of the latter is actually much larger than the former, and it can even incorporate compliant complementary therapies into its own intervention system.

I have been doing health management for almost 7 years, and I have seen too many people who confuse the two. A while ago, a 32-year-old client was diagnosed with type 3 breast nodules. At first, he believed in the "alternative therapy" of a certain health center, which said that he did not need to review or listen to the doctor, and he only needed to do essential oil massage every day to disperse the knots. After three months of massage, his chest pain became worse, so he came here in a panic. When we made overall adjustments for her, the first requirement was to follow the doctor's instructions for regular six-monthly check-ups to eliminate the risk of malignant transformation, and then simultaneously adjust her daily schedule to stay up until two or three o'clock every day to help her relieve her sulking mood at work. We replaced her two cups of high-sugar milk tea a day with warm rose tea, and added breast expansion exercises three times a week. Three months later, she went for a follow-up check-up, and found that the nodules had not enlarged and the pain had basically disappeared.

Oh, by the way, many people will ask, what do acupuncture, moxibustion, and aromatherapy count? In fact, if you take all the regular medicines and check-ups and use these to relieve cervical pain and improve sleep, then this is a complementary therapy and can be included in the overall health intervention system; but if someone says that you don’t need insulin for diabetes or antihypertensive drugs for high blood pressure, and can be cured by acupuncture and drinking herbal tea, then this is a typical alternative therapy. Most of them do not have large-scale evidence-based support, and the risk of trying it rashly is extremely high. Two years ago, I met a 60-year-old uncle who stopped taking antihypertensive medication after listening to a lecture on alternative therapy. He drank so-called detox soup every day. Finally, he suffered a stroke and was admitted to the ICU. It was really a pity.

There are a lot of controversies in the industry now. Those who support alternative therapies will say that conventional medical treatment does not have a good solution to many chronic problems such as chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Some alternative methods can indeed make some people feel much better, which is why they have always had an audience. However, the opposition is also very clear. There are no proven methods that can directly replace conventional treatments. In essence, you are gambling with your own health.

To give a very common analogy, if the engine of the car you are driving breaks down, the alternative treatment is to throw away the repair plan given by the 4S shop and replace it with a wild road repair method that you don’t know where it came from; and for overall health, you first repair the engine according to the regular plan, pay attention to regular maintenance, add the appropriate grade of oil, change the habit of violent driving, and even change the air-conditioning filter regularly to ensure that the air in the car is good, so that the status of the entire car is always online, and there will be no minor problems.

Nowadays, many unscrupulous businesses deliberately confuse the two and promote alternative therapies under the banner of overall health. They often make people stop doctor's advice and treatment, which in turn ruins the reputation of overall health. In fact, the first rule of formal overall health management is that you will never go against clinical medical advice. All interventions are auxiliary, and the goal is to help you adjust your entire life to a more comfortable level. There is never a "replacement" for anyone. If you encounter someone who denies hospitals and routine treatment from the very first moment, saying that his method can cure all diseases, no matter what label he applies, stay away. There is no harm in being more stable when it comes to health.