I think everyone has a crazy aunt. Or crazy uncle, I do not discriminate. Personally, mine happens to be an aunt. She wears more gold than the Gold Rush miners could ever have hoped to see in their lives. And that is just the clothing. Then you have the layers upon layers of turquoise jewelry. No, we do not have Cherokee blood in us. Her earrings could be used as chandeliers if the need arises. She has multiple cats, excuse me, multiple "children" and a common law husband. Conspiracy is not unheard of in her political chats. In fact, if you ever listen to talk radio, I'm sure you've heard her a few dozen times, she calls twice a day.
What does this have to do with alternative medicine? My aunt also happens to be an avid supporter of natural medicine. She does not agree with modern medicine and is strongly against unnatural chemicals. Although her fashion sense may be questionable, she may be on to something. She has an alternative medicine doctor that she uses, and despite the natural signs of age, she is remarkably well without all the chemicals.
After reading about the effects of certain chemicals on the body I decided to do my best to eliminate unnecessary chemicals. In today's world it is impossible to completely avoid all of them, unless you can grow your own food and isolate yourself from the atmosphere. On a college campus on a small budget it gets even more challenging, but I have done what I can and you would be shocked at the results.
For health reasons, I became a vegetarian back in my sophomore year of high school. That in itself was followed by the healthiest years of my life. I used to get sick once a year with bronchitis, yet not since the big switch. But I was not unfamiliar with the occasional cold or scratchy throat and even the flu. As any person with a busy life would do, I loaded up on over the counter or prescription medications to keep me going.
When I got to college I decided to stop taking most modern medicines, but not for the big natural reason. It was too expensive. Of course my parents would have more than gladly paid and I have insurance for the prescribed stuff, but who has time for doctors in a new town and extra cash for the co-pay. To get on a college campus today you usually are required to have the meningitis shot, so maybe that has something to do with it. I still take birth control for medical reasons so maybe that contributes, but something unexpected happened when I gave up the rest of the pills and syrups. When I started to have a bad feeling or others were getting sick all around me I was suddenly immune. Not to say I would not wake up one morning with a bit of congestion, but my body was able to fight the infection without outside help.
That is the amazing thing about the human body that our society does not give it credit for. Our bodies are able to fight these infections and pain if we let it. No one can expect results to be immediate, but a little after a year of stopping chemical drugs I rarely wake up feeling ill and even my allergy symptoms have begun to alleviate.
Now I fight flu season with strong herb teas and a spoon full of sugar. I fight colds with exercise and meditation. Congestion is taken care of with going outside for a walk, especially in the cold. This alternative medicine has some weird options that sound like someone had a complete lack of common sense, but I dare you to try some of them. You might be surprised at how healthy you really could be.
Think about it...
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