Natural medicine relies on natural active ingredients, such as plants and minerals, to which they associate energy therapies for the care of the organism. Let's find out better.
What is natural medicine
The foundations of natural medicine, and of the schools that compose it, derive from ancient traditions according to which the human organism is conceived as a psycho-physical-energetic totality, between earth and sky, immersed in the cosmos and in the nature from which it benefits. Natural medicine or better, natural medicines rely on natural active ingredients, such as herbs and minerals, to which they associate energy therapies, such as, for example, acupuncture, pranotherapy and Reiki.
It is essential to understand that a treatment with natural medicine is not aimed at suppressing symptoms, but rather at restoring the energy flow that flows within us, eliminating deficiencies or congestion and creating the conditions for a complete and completely natural healing. Natural medicine differs from the official, or allopathic, medicine in that the former does not merely identify the disease and search for its remedies mechanically, but considers the entire human being, his history, his emotions, his thoughts and the his habits. This is why natural medicine is often accompanied by the adjective " holistic ", which stands for " global ".
Benefits and contraindications
The therapeutic properties of many plants, used by natural medicine, are traditionally known to men who, since the dawn of civilization, having no other "therapeutic" remedy available, have used them on the basis of observations, experiences and coincidences such as "herbs treatments "and as such have been handed down to us. The Department of Medication (Istituto Superiore di Sanità) states that the natural remedy must be treated with due caution to obtain a benefit without incurring in adverse reactions.
The possible contraindications that are highlighted in this case are: abuse from intoxication, from incorrect prescriptions, from polluted and / or contaminated products; adverse reactions between natural products and conventional therapies; incorrect automedications; allergies and intolerances. With due caution, natural medicine is generally recommended for everyone, but it is always a good idea to inquire exhaustively to be able to enjoy the benefits of natural remedies exclusively.
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For whom natural medicine is useful
According to natural medicine, disorders and dysfunctions are more and more frequently linked to incorrect habits, be they food or lifestyle, capable of accumulating toxins within the body (even toxins are natural, as organic poisons). A correct diet, more rest, sports, a walk outdoors, are able to allow valid results, without expensive treatment or recourse to specialists. Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, represents a path on a natural path, through which to maintain or reach the overall health of the organism, according to a holistic vision for which the individual is considered in its complexity and uniqueness.
Naturopathic medicine does not consist of a single technique, but uses notions and methods of Chinese medicine, Bach flowers, ayurvedic medicine, Shiatsu, crystal therapy, iridology, chromotherapy, aromatherapy and more. Therefore, natural medicine is aimed at those who are interested in a different approach to both the disease and the person, taking the necessary distance from traditional drug-based treatments.
The law in Italy and abroad
A marked sensitivity to becoming a naturopath is not enough. The profession requires a training time ranging from three to four years, in addition to one or more specializations in the various naturopathic disciplines. In Italy, there is still no regulation of the profession of naturopath, while there is a European directive on herbs and medicinal plants, albeit with many differences between the different countries. This is Directive 24/2004 / EC which governs the new regulations on the use, production, processing and marketing.
The FENNAP is the representative body of Italian naturopaths. According to some estimates, in reality alternative medicine is very popular in Italy. In 2010, 11 million Italians, accounting for 18.5% of the population, have relied on alternative medicine for health care. In our country, over 30 thousand doctors have approached this medicine. Women, more than men, are those who consume more natural products and adopt them even for the care of their children.
Curiosity about natural medicine
The traces of a natural approach call into question characters such as Hippocrates, Paracelsus and Hildegard of Bingen. Hippocrates of Kos was the creator of the concept that the illness and the state of health of a subject depend on particular conditions and not on divine intervention. Galen, an ancient Greek physician, considered the presence of ethics, logic and physics necessary in the figure of the doctor. The knowledge of physics dictated that every knowledge in itself should be connected by the doctor to other areas, such as the cosmos and the earth, therefore nature. Father of naturopathy is considered Benedict Lust, founder of the first school in New York. Essential contributions to naturopathy are certainly those provided by Vincent Preissnitz and Sebastian Kneipp.
In essence, the natural approach to health has always enjoyed clear fame and success. Until the Second World War, when antibiotics proved to be much more effective than naturopathic treatment. After Lust's death, various conflicts broke out between the various schools of natural medicine and the advent of technology within traditional medicine dealt a blow to the followers of nature. The integration of scientific criteria in the method, in the fifties, allowed to take up ground again.
