The Problem
Today, “medicine” is associated with treatment & alleviation, as opposed to cure & prevention. We need to start looking at “medicine” in a different light.
At the end of the day, today’s medicinal pills are an artificial type of food we intake and ingest into our body. They “treat” a particular issue in our body, but often comes with side effects that negatively impact the rest of our body.
We need to start treating the food we take every day as our “medicine” to help prevent diseases in the long-term.
The Solutions
Below we introduce 2 types of “medicine” that are proving to be a natural, robust way for your body to tackle the core root cause of diseases.
Functional “Medicine”
Functional medicinal practice is an upcoming Western food-focused disease-prevention practice.
The mission of functional medicinal practice is curing the root cause of illnesses, as opposed to treating the surface-level symptoms. All factors are considered in identifying functional medicines for your illness — food, dietary habits, your gut health, genetics, stress, sleep, exercise. This is because the root cause is often attributed to a variety of factors.
Functional medicine doctors not only take into account their years of medical studies but also nutrition and dietary expertise. If you were to talk to one of these doctors, the “medication” they’ll prescribe is really tailored to cure the core implications in your individual body and lifestyle.
Examples of diseases that functional medicine has shown to cure is arthritis, depression, and inflammatory bowel disease, among many other inflammatory & lifestyle-related diseases.
Naturopathic “Medicine”
Asians are known to live relatively longer lives than Westerners. A lot can be attributed to the unwavering focus on natural, herbal medicines that have existed for 2,500 years in Asia.
The mission of what we can call naturopathic medicine is to cure the root cause of illnesses using natural herbs and plants. The philosophy has influence from Chi principles, in which the root of illnesses often comes from imbalance.
As an example, traditional East Asian Medicine (TEAM) focuses on natural treatments that include herbs, clinical nutrition, diet changes. Other naturopathic treatments also include fasting, sauna therapy, acupuncture, etc. More common naturopathic remedies include detox diets and vitamin supplements. The bigger picture here is natural medicine, not synthetic, not heavily-processed.
Examples of diseases that naturopathic medicine has shown to tackle is chronic pains, digestive issues, allergies, hormonal imbalances, and side effects of chemotherapy.
