Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a really good MD but I will still seek out alternative health practitioners when needed and I will utilize supplements and nutrition over pharmaceuticals whenever possible. I think that both mainstream and alternative medicine have things to offer. Just different things. I don't take what my MD says as gospel and the same goes for alternative practitioners.
I didn't "get into" supplements until my mid 50's or so and now at 79 I truly believe they are keeping me healthier and stronger and yes I've had a set back recently with the knee but I'm getting stronger I believe with what I do. Our body is depleting many nutrients with aging and IF someone can get everything they need from foods, more power to them. I personally can't count on that and I eat fairly well.
I saw so much decline in the rehabs and that really shook me up more to take good care of myself.
We can't get everything we need from food, because of the unnatural agriculture practices, that have gone on for a long time. At least from what I have heard, the soil no longer contains the micronutrients we need.
However, supplements won't solve this because no one knows exactly what we need.
Whenever I'm in a health food store, I wonder how much I would have to spend to buy each of the supplements on the shelves.
When I was going to the alternative doctor, he had me spending at least $200 a month on pills. And the intravenous supplements cost over $1,000 a month.
Over my years when first introduced to integrative MD's, I would buy what they would recommend according to labs and my complaints, but then would buy the supps again from online suppliers. My first integrative MD had a small room filled with supps called the supplement pharmacy. Some of the integrative MD's I've gone to over years, also had a room dedicated to IV's. I use muscle testing/pendulm work and I believe this work gives me guidance too.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 12-03-2017 at 12:03 PM..
The general idea behind alternative medicine is that the body is always trying to heal itself and regenerate, as long as it has the nutrients it needs, and as long as it is not overwhelmed by toxins. So the goal of alternative medicine is to provide the body with what it needs to heal itself.
That sounds easy, but there are big problems.
While I agree with much of what you said, I don't think it can explain all the trouble an aging human is dealing with. Then there is the fact that not every copy of a human body is error free. There are mistakes. There is the sad reality that we are living decades longer than we used to....ironically partly because of more experienced health care (both conventional and alternative). Things wear out. At the cellular and DNA level, our ability to create the templates for "repairs" on structures doesn't last forever. Not all structures can really repair themselves equally well or indefinitely. One example would be tendons versus ligaments versus muscle. There is simply a lot more time for conditions to develop to the point they are troublesome or can overwhelm the entire system.
I try to remember that living things didn't live forever regardless of a world free of toxins and access to all the foods best suited for the "design". I'm thinking of the diet that human ancestors managed to survive on. Sure, not perfect, but as you said we don't know what "perfect" means even now. There are just more items on the menu. Well, maybe if you are a sequoia, bristlecone pine, mesquite bush, a Galapagos tortoise, or a coelacanth fish you might live close to forever, but most animate creatures have always had a very finite lifespan. The health problems of a person in 100 AD who wasn't seriously injured, ate basically an organic diet that was as varied as the region they lived in could provide, were still limiting. Even if they managed to avoid contagions or genetic faults, their life was still a lot shorter than a "modern" person's. When a serious condition did catch up with them they suffered and died. Cancers, heart disease triggered by infections, dementia, endocrine disorders, many that still are not curable today. We may be able to prolong these people's lives more by managing their problems, but some are just as hard to eradicate as they always were.
I am not suggesting that we wring our hands, give up and wait helplessly for the inevitable, but to remind ourselves about expectations. Some people spend their lives pursuing some nebulous key to endless existence. Others don't live long enough to even hope for a "normal" human lifespan through no fault of their own. Some of us are fatalistic, others more accepting and pragmatic, others eternally full of dreams. Modern science and medicine can certainly help with many things, but it can't stop time, halt genetic mutation, or solve all the problems we want them to. This is where the charlatans step in to take advantage of our fears. Which side of the medical "fence" they happen to stand on is up to us to figure out.
Honestly, by this time in my life I am not expecting miracles and even if one happens to be available I'm not sure I'd step right up anyway. I'll treat the everyday health inconveniences and take basically good care of myself. I have a brain and can make informed decisions about what to do or not do. I'm not going to drink myself into a stupor, smoke, take street drugs, run out in front of cars, etc. There are stupid choices to make and not-so stupid choices to make. There are also choices that result in a bit of pleasure. No life should be without all imperfect joys little pleasures provide. Hitting myself over the head with guilt over every single imperfect choice isn't healthy either. Frankly, living a life so rigidly that there's no pleasure or to weigh every single decision about what to put in, on, or surround my body as if it will be life or death, isn't what was intended for anyone. I don't expect any health provider, conventional or alternative, to change anything so drastically as to give me 100 years of life. Never did.
Last edited by Parnassia; 12-03-2017 at 03:57 PM..
No, we do not live decades longer than our prehistoric ancestors, that is a mostly a myth. A large percent of offspring used to die -- that is just how nature works. Maybe because of antibiotics and/or vaccines, most babies now survive. This brought the average lifespan WAY up.
The idea that primitive humans died of old age in their 30s or 40s is just a myth. If they survived childhood, accidents, and infections, their typical lifespan was similar to ours.
Every species is programmed to die around a certain age, and we can't do anything about it.
The goal is to be healthy and functioning as long as possible. There is no benefit to extending a person's life if they are going to be unhealthy and unable to function (however, of course, that is often done).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
