Health Prog. 1994 Sep; 75(7): 52-7.

Alternative medicine complements standard. Various forms focus on holistic concepts.

Seaward BL.

Health Sciences Center, University of Colorado, Denver.

Western or conventional medical practices are founded on the principle of Newtonian physics; the body is viewed as a large clock whose broken parts are fixed or replaced. The placebo effect, hypnosis, psychoneuroimmunology, and spontaneous remission have recently inspired researchers to look beyond this mechanistic model toward a new paradigm of greater understanding regarding the entity we call "human beings." The premise of alternative medicine, based on the paradigm of whole systems, suggests that human beings are more than physical bodies with fixable and replaceable parts; they are a complicated network of pulsating energy frequencies often described in terms of a human aura. Western researchers now call this "the human energy field." Homeopathy, acupuncture, polarity healing, and the healing power of touch are only a few of the more common branches of holistic medicine that unite body, mind, and spirit for optimal health. The U.S. Congress has appropriated more than $2 million to the National Institutes of Health to research the validity of alternative or complementary medicines. In light of proposed changes in the healthcare system, alternative medicine may eventually be incorporated into the American structure of healthcare delivery. Proponents of holistic medicine agree that various forms of alternative medicine should be used to complement, rather than compete, with, the current accepted standard of healthcare.